EQ Magazine - March 2008 - (Page 60)

Soft Machines WAVES GTR3 Plug-in and Rage! by Michael Ross Waves has been one of the gold standards of plug-ins almost since the inception of digital recording, so it makes sense that when venerated guitar builder Paul Reed Smith decided to get involved with a digital plug-in, the designer he chose was Waves. Together these industry giants have come up with a hardware/software combination to help guitarists get their sound without any amps or pedals, in both live and recording applications. In plug-in mode, GTR3 offers two-, four- and six-slot “pedalboards.” OVERVIEW Smith’s involvement focused primarily on the hardware section—an interface that changes the guitar’s unbalanced, high-impedance signal into a balanced, low-impedance signal to reduce hum and retain the instrument’s full dynamic range. The Waves end of the deal was designing software that offers 19 guitar and seven bass amps, 16 guitar and six bass cabinets, and 26 effects (including compression, gate, noise reduction, distortion, modulation, delay, and reverb). The software works in stand-alone or plug-in mode. In stand-alone mode, the interface offers pages that include a virtual pedalboard (with slots for a maximum of six effects that can be placed before or after the amp), an amp page offering a pair of amps that can be mixed or matched along with cabinets and mic choices, a tuner page, and a preset page. In plug-in mode you can instate the Tool Rack—which operates much like the stand-alone mode—or a modular system in which you get a choice of pedalboards containing two, four, or six slots, amp modules, and a tuner module. This allows you to place the amp in the track strip while placing some of the effects in an aux bus. All parameters can be controlled by MIDI—either with a controller or DAW automation. The program requires an iLok authorization and a USB iLok key. Amps, cabinets, and mics can be mixed and matched. Routing Mode lets you chain stompboxes in Cascade, Parallel, and Split configurations, while View lets you see how the effects are routed. IN USE Though labeled an interface, the GTR3 hardware is actually an impedancematching device that includes preamp circuitry. Designed expressly to deliver a balanced, hum-free signal into a DAW, the interface offers no direct connection to the computer, and therefore requires an additional Firewire, USB, PCI card, or mixer interface. I ran it into the line input of an M-Audio 1814 FireWire interface for recording in Ableton Live. The unit runs on two included 9-volt batteries in an accessible compartment, or with an optional 12VDC positive-tip adaptor. Originally only available as a hardware/software set, Waves is now offering the software by itself. I found the PRS hardware definitely adds girth to the guitar tone over running directly into the 1814— though a variety of other preamps could very well produce the same effect. The software is quite simple to use on a basic level—especially if you are in tune with the GTR philosophy. The company’s concept is that you are looking for a certain, general type of amp sound— such as Warm, Edge, Sweet, or Shredder—rather than a brand-specific Fender, Vox, or Marshall tone. However, Waves hedges its bets by also providing brand references for their titles if you click on the Help question mark (i.e.—“Punchy: Based on a 100W Marshall head”). The same holds true for the effects, though these hold a few graphic clues like the Electro-Harmonix appearance of Fuzz, and the green-colored (Tube Screamer anyone?) Overdrive. The software interface is well labeled and intuitive. In no time, I was getting all sorts of sounds. And what sounds! The amps appeared big, warm, and decidedly un-digital. Effects such as 60 EQ MARCH 2008 www.eqmag.com http://www.eqmag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EQ Magazine - March 2008

EQ Magazine - March 2008 Contents Talk Box Sounding Board Punch In Tool Box Dream Theater Nick Drake LO-FI Recording Tricks Guitar Trax Bass Managment Key Issues Drum Heads Vocal Cords Mix Bus Cheat Sheet Tascam Gigastudio 4 Cakewalk Sonar 7 Crane Song Avocet Cad Signature Series Mic Packs Waves GTR3 Kjaerhus MPL-1 Pro SE Ableton Live 7 Centrance Micport Pro, Tapco LINK.midi 4x4, Multi-Gigabyte USB 2.0 Memory Sticks Digital Redux Electrotech, Nine Volt Audio Action Drums, Big Fish Audio Hadeeth 2 Room with a VU

EQ Magazine - March 2008

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