ProAudio Review - May 2008 - (Page 32) POST | REVIEW top end all the way and it just keeps sounding sweet and more exciting. The entire Waves SSL Collection sounds amazing and easily stands above 99 percent of plug-ins out there. Much like SSL itself, Waves has set the gold standard to beat. Waves SSL is one of a handful of plugins I need to do what I do. For a full mix, I regularly put only the E-Channel on all but a couple channels. Between my Pro Tools HD|3 cards and RTAS power, I can insert as many as I need gear. But the Waves SSL bundle’s value to you and me depends on only one thing: Does it sound great? Oh my, yes it does. And if everyone bought one, which you should, maybe we could engineer a group discount. | SUMMARY Do you identify with any of the following? Why does EQing in my computer never sound as exciting or smooth or musical as it does/did with analog gear? It seems like even when I use radically different EQ settings on plug-ins from differ- WAVES Continued From Page 30 great for adding punch in auto mode and ruthless as a dynamics conformer in fast attack mode. The expander/gate is by far the most musical and immediately usable digital exp/gate I’ve ever used. I don’t know how they figured out back in 1977 to make it listen so effectively to transients, but it just works. According to Waves, the EQ section of its SSL E-Channel is based on “the renowned Black Knob equalizer, developed in 1983 with legendary producer George Martin.” It sounds so great, you can really dig yourself into or out of a gorgeous hole. Having all this power in one place, on each channel, at the mixer’s fingertips for the first time back in 1977 changed the sound of music forever. Today, you can have it on each channel of your DAW and change your world forever. The famous G Series EQ, known for even more aggressive capabilities than the E, is offered as a stand-alone equalizer plug-in. I don’t know if it’s right to single out one of these three components as most identifiable with the sound of pop music, but the stereo bus compressor just might be able to claim the crown. Commonly known as the “glue” that holds mixes together, it’s as familiar and important as the sound of FM compression. I’ve done several mixes now where I’ve chosen the Waves SSL Stereo Bus Compressor over my Alan Smart hardware comp — the latter a unit widely accepted as a more “hi-fi” version of the hardware SSL stereo bus comp. Regarding ratios, frequency ranges, bandwidth, and gain stages: It’s a big, fun sandbox to play in. Having mixed on an SSL 4056 at Mastermix on many occasions, I was excited to see how much the Waves collection also looks like the real thing, right down to dirty smudges on the faceplate of the stereo bus compressor. In terms of functionality, those brilliant Israeli plug-in designers reaped the rewards of those brilliant English console designers’ innovative concepts for a clear, logical, functional layout of controls; everything is in its right place. If you’ve never touched the console, the 30-yearold ergonomics still make good sense and take only a few minutes to get used to. | IN USE The first time I used the Waves SSL E Channel was the first time I enjoyed using an EQ in the box: the first time I had an emotional response. I actually smiled and, though I was by myself, exclaimed something aloud, an experience no doubt repeated by hand-on-mouse hopefuls around the globe. You can crank the The G-EQ The E-Channel is the most powerful and feature-filled part of the package, whose components include HP+LPF, EQ, comp, and gate. The E-Channel at 44.1 and 48 kHz. I have to be more judicious above that sample rate as the processing power gets tapped quickly and card slots aren’t used to 100 percent capacity before another is required for the next instance. One instance in which digital is less flexible than analog. All the anecdotal evidence about this collection that passed through my ears amounted to this: Waves nailed it. No discernable differences were reported when some users applied the identical setting to a plug-in and a hardware version. Does this mean by using the Waves SSL Collection your mixes will sound the same as if you mixed them on an actual SSL console? It does not. For the reasons of workflow, analog busses analog summing, console resonances and reflections, VCAs, P+G faders, and that one module with Coke spilled in it, the current state of the art of mixing in the box cannot replicate the sound and experience of mixing on a real desk. Of the most exciting plug-ins, many are based on analog forebears. That this collection of plug-ins had to be a virtually indiscernible clones of the originals in order to qualify as a success speaks to the ongoing value of analog ent manufacturers, tracks lose their individuality in a dense mix. My EQ plug-ins all look different from one another, but I think they all sound the same. How do I get that slammin’, in-your-face sound I hear on all the big records? The Waves SSL collection will shift your “paradigidigm,” if you will. If you want the most exhilarating EQ experience you’ve ever had in a DAW — to punch up your tracks with exuberant dynamics and the feeling of the legendary yet still contemporary hit making SSL sound at your fingertips — the Waves SSL Collection is a bargain at twice its selling price. If you want to reinforce your studio floor, build a machine room, hire a tech and a tea boy to get the same effect, then buy a used SSL console and download a do-it-yourself divorce with your last $249. (Sing it, Phil: “And you coming back to me/Is against all odds/It’s the chance I’ve gotta take.”) Alex Oana is an award wining engineer, who mixes and masters at his studio in Los Angeles. He'd love to hear from you at alexoana.com. 32 | ProAudio Review | May 2008 www.proaudioreview.com http://alexoana.com http://www.proaudioreview.com
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