The opening part? Two sine waves driven by polyrhythmic arpeggiators (3 against 5), with distortion, plus FabFilter Timeless glitches and pitch glides.
Thank you for putting waves in their place with this one. It is much needed. When analog emulations we’re a novel thing 20 years ago and Waves and UAD were the only ones doing it, sure, recreating the hardware limitations in the plug-in made a little more sense. But now that the market is saturated with analog emulations, the bar is being raised by companies that are starting to really push the boundaries on combining the best of analog emulations and digital workstations. Companies you feature right here on the channel, like TDR, u-he, and fabfilter to name a few. So when waves had the opportunity to innovate again when they released an update to their SSL channel, but chose not to, I was disappointed, but not surprised. Hopefully having someone like you who isn’t afraid to tell the truth as an affiliate will help them wake up to the fact that times have changed and in order to make compelling, usable modern tools for the DAW means taking hardware emulations beyond the hardware. While it’s not perfect either, look at the amount of extra thought that went into the design of the BX_SSL4000 series.
Brainworx did a great job with there analog emulations. Headroom, input and output, and mix parameters on every plug in is just exactly what we need in every plug in these days
TDR and FabFilter, two of my favorite companies doing this kinda thing. They give us analog options without being afraid to fully harness digital capabilities.
Dan is a maestro, i would like to see a plugin company hiring him just to make a channel strip Dan Worrall Edition with all he would find useful and necessary. Really, i would like to see that and then a video by himself explaining why this and that and how it works. Keep up the good work, man. Cheers! :)
I do mind if the value showed is not exactly the amount of gain I am adding or subtracting, and it has nothing to do with mixing with your ears. It happens often that I have a chain of plugins, and if I want to subtract one db on one and adding it on another, while at the end of the chain I've got a multiband compressor, I end up hitting the compressor harder without noticing it, just because you are 8 hours in the mix and you don't double check simple math, you trust that 1 - 1 = 0.
Same. Also, for the less experienced it's important correlate values to what your hear, if a change labeled 2db would be different on every plugin then we would never learn how much of a difference 2db really sounds like.
This could actually be a great opportunity to debunk some Waves myths like the ones that imply that practically every compressor they designed is an untouched RComp with a saturation stage added.
@@AmagrasMUSIC I don't believe it is that simple either! I respect the heck out of Waves for what they've brought us in the DSP realm. However... there ARE some famous myths worth looking into, I believe. I mean, going by the main plugin featured on this video alone, it is somewhat widely believed that EV2 is a stripped down CLA Mixhub.
@@pedrochalkho7629 if you knew the story of waves from the beginning you wouldn’t believe that; but also it’s all in the manuals, forumites don’t read those anymore?
A very thorough and insightful review. Thank you, Dan. With so many plugin developers and choices available, an informed decision is sometimes hard to acquire.
Here's the thing (as I suspect you know),: lots of bedroom recorders who've never been anywhere near a real analogue desk have been convinced they "need" an SSL. So what they WANT is something that looks just like the real thing, and they don't know or care if it actually does a good job. I'd argue that there isn't anything at all that this does that the Scheps Omni Channel doesn't do much better (just to take another Waves plug in as an example). But then that doesn't press that satisfaction button that makes a hobbyist think "now I have an SSL"
Dan, do you have any actual Mixing videos on the interwebs? I for one would Love to see your full process, especially after watching this video which I think is the most comprehensive Channels --> Busses --> 2-Bus setup you've shown on this channel. (I happily admit that I've watched ALL of your videos here numerous times.) I, like all the rest of your fan club, really appreciate the quality and thoughtfulness of these UA-cam episodes (Pretty much everything else goes on pause as soon as I get the alert), and your focus not on "Tips & Tricks" but rather techniques, fundamentals, and philosophies. However I think MUCH value would come from watching you take a song from Importing raw Multitracks --> Exporting Stems and a Final Mix. (Maybe a short series of videos with as many parts as you see the stages of a start to finish mix. Say "Dan Worrall Mix Series: 1/5 - Mix Prep", "...2/5 - Static Mix Balance", etc.) Not that you don't give us Way more than we deserve already, but if such a series were to exist, I would likely watch it once a month for the rest of my life!
He was the engineer that FabFilter hired to create their "Mixing and Mastering" playlist that is extremely helpfu: ua-cam.com/video/-jCwIsT0X8M/v-deo.html Of course some of them are directly geared towards FabFilter plugins, but there is still great info in there.
These days, I regard WAVES as marketing for 'wealthy enough enthusiasts' rather than professionals. Not that I am claiming to be even competent. But buying loads of plugins seems to be a phase we all go (I went) through and WAVES is there to fulfill that need. Now I aim to learn to use a few good plugins well. Maybe I will be inspired by Dan to buy more in future - Having said that, I got so much from this tutorial and remain an enthusiastic student. Thank you Dan
I couldn't agree more. I bought all of them back in the day (Mercury bundle). Now I mainly use the Fab Filter stuff and a few select others. The only Waves plugins I use frequently now are RVox and Maxx Bass.
Great video. I like having the options of all of these things, old school stuff where I'll use my ears, more surgical stuff, and sometimes the Scheps is great just to drop on a background element and mix the entire thing in one plugin.
The one (big) gripe I have with Waves is how they separate mono and stereo versions for all their plugins. All other plugin producers have managed to make their products intelligent, but not Waves. It slows down my workflow and doubles the number of keyboard shortcuts I need for my plugins. And I can't tell you how often I've wasted time trying to figure out why a stereo track didn't sound right, only to find a mono Waves plugin to be the culprit, followed by the fun of duplicating the settings after installing the stereo one. I like Waves, but I hate their mono/stereo policy.
It is your DAW actually, Reaper does not have stereo and mono tracks, it is the limitation that exists only in our brain as we're used to this old way of thinking.
Dan, thank you for this very in-depth video. You are one of a handful of people that makes reviews that really makes sense. Waves, are you listening...? I really do hope you will review the Scheps Omni-channel as well. I expect you like the workflow much better of this all-in-one channel solution than any thing else you've put your hands on so far. Thanks again for your contribution, thumbs up!
I think that waves biggest factor now is that they are 50/50 studio and live. This plugin is INCREDIBLY helpful live. SSL gates have their own sound, so it’s great on drums, the saturation on it is nice for some vocal parts and guitar parts, and the listen band is invaluable on throw and go type scenarios (particularly with vocals). It’s not trying to be the brainwork’s plugins or anything fancier like that, it’s trying to sound good at a decent cpu load with as low of latency as it can.
I really appreciate the way you analyze in detail every time but, the most important thing is that the music has to be able to get to the listener and this is outstandingly present from the first record that ever came out. I still think about being able to do something that doesn't have to be elaborate on, if it is so thanks for your hard work and I can tell you something, I learned a lot from your content and I really appreciate everything you do for community. My point is that you can inspire people in creative ways. Bless you good human being. Greetings from Kosova. Besim Baftiu.
The only channel strip I use, is the SSL9000 from PA, mainly for the same reason as you Dan, and when I do, I use the THD knob cranked to max, just to get some added harmonics...and often I use FF ProQ3 to further sculpt the sound if needed. I'm not ashamed I work 100% ITB, and take advantages of every "weird" quirk a software plugin can do, after all in computer world we most often we use the mouse ( can't really say anything about any DAW Control Surface as I haven't tried one yet ). Thanks for the video Dan, really informative. Cheers
Channel Strip Plugins (2 of 5) My point here is that Softube as a company, in close coordination with Solid State Logic, deliberately took the Channel Strip Plugin idea much further than it had ever been. They did stick to "accurately emulating" the sound and workflow of the original console(s), but they added a ton of not-so-obvious advancements over the real thing. (I wand to go into depth, but this is way longer than intended already. So I'll try to just hit a couple of points. Thanks DAN!) 1) Mixing in the box with a mouse is 1-Click at a time. I have numerous gaming mice, track balls, track pads, pen displays, tablets etc, and they All have their place. Plus in Reaper you can train them to do Amazing tricks. But the Console 1 hardware is essentially a Midi Controller, dedicated to exactly One plugin. That has many implications but one is that you can grab multiple controls at once, like on Analog equipment. And because the hardware is so tightly connected to the software, you develop a Hand/Ear coordination, even with you monitor switched off, that is simply impossible with any mouse or other "Pointing Device". 2) That point and this one have more to do with the Hardware than the Channel Strip plugin concept, but because that hardware is communicating directly with each of the plugins, from the control surface you can fly through all of the channels in your session. If you had a 96-channel session say on a real million-dollar SSL XL9096J, you would roll your chair way over to the left 48 channels, then way over to the right 48 channel strips, standing up and down to reach all the controls, in and out of the sweet spot, so you return to the center and realize you have to go back to readjust, all day. With this system, there's 20 channel buttons that bank up and down, right at your finger tips on a controller the same size as your QWERTY keyboard. So with 5 clicks of a button, one hundred SSL 9000 channel strips Come to You, within seconds, without you moving one inch out of your perfectly triangulated monitoring system. And again, you never have to touch the mouse or look up at the screen! 3) However, about that screen.... While the knobs on the controller are laid out to match an SSL Channel Strip, spread out and turned on its side (a concept I love, but also one of my pet peeves), and the idea is that your hands already know where to go, plus the controller is full of LED meters and indicators that give you lots of visual feedback for what your hands and ears are telling you, they Also included on On-Screen Display system, that with the click of a button (and maybe not even that) super-imposes a display over whatever is already on your screen and gives you additional Bonus information, audio x-ray vision into your signal that was Never possible on any analog console of the golden years. So the system gives you the sound and the hand/ear mixing workflow of their emulated originals, but with far more of the control and visual feedback of the 21st century mixing experience than was imaginable at the time those studio classics were at their prime. 4) Console 1 is old now, relatively speaking. And it's not the only game in town anymore. Plus it itself has expanded and evolved over the years to include features and functions some of which weren't imagined at the time it was created. That 1 original Analog Console emulation has since expanded to eight, with two SSLs, an API, a NEVE, and others that were never actually Consoles in the real world, but were amazing rack pieces now reimagined into fairly complete console channel strips with the cooperation and endorsement of those companies: Emperical Labs, Chandler Limited, Summit Audio, and Weiss. But that points to another thing that exists within the Console 1 ecosystem... (again this is Not a commercial!) 5) Over the years Console 1 has expanded what you can do with it and it's channel strips. From the beginning you could swap out not only the full console emulations, but the three individual component sections in the chain: you could load the Strip, the Shape, the EQ, or the Comp independently. They've since allowed you to load the Drive section and the Filters separately as well. So you can think of your channel strip as 6 different pieces of gear in a signal chain (like they did with the afore mentioned companies above). And those component sections can come from mixing-n-matching those now 8 Channel Strips, which you can break into 6 parts each giving you 48 pieces of gear (well plugins), but those 6 links in your chain can also come from the hundreds of other plugins Softube themselves as well as Dozens of plugins from their collaboration with Universal Audio. (Plus there's "Apollo Central" mode....but I digress) 6) So again, kinda controller related and not necessarily Channel Strip specific, but putting those buttons knobs and faders from the original hardware, into code, and then Back at your finger-tips rather than mouse clicks, really does change the experience. If you've used any plugins from Softube or Universal Audio with your mouse, and you were happy with the sound and user interface while clicking-n-dragging, putting both hands on two knobs of an LA2A or 1176 finally FEELS right. Your eyes and ears may have been having all the fun, but now your hands get to play as well. I also have to say that, the point of the Console 1 hardware was that the Threshold knob is always the Threshold knob, no matter what emulation you are running. The 4 EQ band gain knobs are always in the exact same place, you don't have to think about it or look for it. And Softube did an amazing job mapping the hundreds of Plugins with thousands of individual Parameters to the 26 FIXED knobs on the hardware controller a when you're using a UAD plugin or UAD Console, it feels like Universal Audio made the hardware. Almost all of it feels intuitive, and the amount of time you do spend looking for something is nothing compared to with the mouse and a plugin window. However this is also its limitation... (Continued 3 of 5......)
Really appreciate the review and the content! My only note where I differ is that I always try to gain stage my mix from the fader on a channel strip and not my DAW faders. It makes automation nicer and means I have the same resolution for automation on all channels. Plus I know that if 1 channel is -1.6db then it's because I accidentally knocked it
Finally a proper review for the plugin ... and the developers could easily create the modern version, with switch of a button. So u can choose the original setup channel strip or modernised with all your suggestions
A possible benefit of creating a channel strip with the same layout and limitations of the corresponding hardware is that the users can go back and forth between the two with no learning curve and work the way they're used to working. It's not as flexible as it could be, but it's perhaps faster for those who are used to working that way. This approach could also function as a good training tool for aspiring engineers to come to grips with the hardware before they get to sit down in front of it. Nonetheless, imposed limitations can limit the usefulness of a plugin; and I appreciate you illustrating these issues in your usual, detailed way. Well done!
This turns out as a high quality, very detailed QA review. Now Waves knows how to make this a good channel strip. Hope, you get your fee for this QA, Dan. ;-) It is most important that you keep being honest and fair, and it's great to see you do!
Exactly my thought,.. Waves coders and R&D will be getting some invaluable information to employ or remove features with just a NFR .. Brilliant! Question is.... Since this really is the first full Waves review, will they actually take on board what Dan has pointed out? If in a few months there are options as suggested, I bet it'll be another version and another cost. Say the "SSL almost EV Virtual 3"
A million times yes about having two volume knobs with one dedicated to headroom/saturation without any effect on the real level. So many “analog emulation” plugins are SO much harder to use because there’s no simple way to try different gain structures for different modeled preamp behavior!
Great video as usual. Always admire your work. That's a really nice Reaper theme, by the way. Would love to see an analysis of the Waves, Scheps Omni Channel sometime in the future.
Superb - as always. The difference in the bypassed (channel plugins) mix is certainly there, but it seems to me you could replicate this with with many other EQ's and compressors we've all bought over the years, including the native DAW plugs which are rather good on all DAW platforms methinks - could save a lot of CPU in the process. Something I wish I'd known years ago before being seduced by fancy looking GUI's and raving reviews in magazines !
Waves gave Dan all access to evaluate their plugins and mentioned SSL EV2 as their top seller and they instantly regret it 🤣🤣🤣 as you were giving your honest critics, I've heard that they replicated the 1st SSL, added some features which i consider not a big deal and marketed it well so they can sell it, still not even close to bx_console SSL 4000E which has been there for years. Great video 🙏👍 thanks
When you asked the listeners to suggest other Waves plugins that you could review, the thing that immediately came to my mind was their Enigma, which seems to be included in several of their bundles.
Great review! Now that you're partnered with Waves I'd love to hear your take on their analog-style compressor plugins like the LA-2A, SSL Buss, and 1176
Dan, you make great points about the need to modernize "console emulation" workflow in a modern DAW. I use them, love them but have often found myself frustrated for having to(for example) choose where I will dedicate my HP/LP filter on SSL emulations.
Thanks for this fine plugin review! Another Waves SSL "channel strip" is CLA MixHub (apart from the hub functionality). However it also sports a switchable 1176 compressor algorithm plus dedicated side chain filters & EQ, plus a built-in parallel compression mix knob. A review/comparison with the EV2 channel strip would be interesting. :)
I have the bucket and water and watched a few detailing videos on youtube, so just say when and where and I'll help get your car spotless Dan. Then I can always say, I actually know this man irl. I used to wash his car when he didn't have 1m subscribers yet. Some have bigger accomplishments than others, but maybe I should focus on cleaning my own car first...anyway finally subscribed after watching all your videos. The car washing request did it for me.
The SSL channels from Waves are OUTSTANDING!! I don’t rave often, but really, I’d mix whole shows or records with nothing else if I had to. I’ve been a Waves customer since virtually day one. I remember sending an email with a tech question and getting a phone call in my back yard on July 4 from the founder of the company, saying in a heavy accent “Hoppy Indeepandance Day, Peter”. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I realized what was going on. He spent nearly an hour with me and sent me a Gold bundle from the kindness of his heart which was at the time something really special. It represented at least $800 upgrade from the 6 or 7 plugs I had alreadly purchased. Customer forever.
Channel Strip Plugins (1 of 5) The original Waves SSL channel strip & G-Comp (not this EV2) are probably the suspect zero of All channel strip plugins to follow. The promise was, as in this video: Put this on Every channel, with the Bus Comp on your master bus, and Boom you're mixing on an SSL 4000E, signed off on by Solid State Logic themselves. The bus comp became more omnipresent than the channel strip I think mainly because people's computers back then couldn't run that many instances of the channel strip without maxing CPU and RAM. The limitations of the channels strip EQs and Dynamics, when compared with every other option in our rapidly expanding plugin folders was another blow. And for me, the inflexibility of inserting any other processor into the chain, say after the input stage or between the EQ & Compressor, another Con. What I've wondered about for over a decade now, is what Dan touched on in this video. There are many Pros to working with channel strip plugins, and for me they far outweigh the Cons. But why the hell are the Cons coded into the virtual products at all? Or if you are going to code it in, to make some purists happy, at least give us a way Around the limitations of the 1980s in the 21st century. FFWD to 2022, and now almost every plugin maker has some form of SSL, NEVE, & API "Analog Emulation" plugin, some endorsed some not. I might have a Dozen SSLs at this point. To contradict my self, I actually Love the concept, at least the illusion, that I can buy an emulation of an high end piece of studio equipment, that would cost thousands of dollars per unit, and performs similarly enough to the original hardware that the Actual Company puts their own logo on the plugin, all for a hundred bucks. (we all know that with Waves the real price is $29, but others hover around a hundred for the first year or so.). Even at their full MSRP of maybe $350 bucks, which I Never pay, the deal if you can suspend disbelief, is two good to be true Even if you only inserted that plugin on one channel, but you get to use it as many times as your poor little Mac can handle. Now, I bought, love, and am touching right now, the original Softube Console 1 system (actually manufactured in Sweden) shortly after it came out for $1,000, and it only came with one SSL 4000E channel strip emulation and the option to buy the SSL XL9000K for a few hundred more, which I also did. And it changed everything, for me. The first obvious difference between the Console 1 SSL and all the others, is the dedicated Hardware Channel Strip. The philosophy was the same as the OG Waves: install the plugin on every channel in your DAW and you move from channel to identical channel intuitively knowing the controls and what they will do to your sound. But Console 1 added the Muscle Memory back into the equation. Your ears hear, your mind know what to do, and now your hands are already doing it. (This is sounding like a commercial for console one, which it is definitely not as you will see. Plus my on-screen display app is broken right now and I'm not happy about it.) (Continued 2 of 5......)
Your pre-emphasis EQ video blew my mind. Might be worth revisiting that concept with Waves Studio Rack. Studio Rack lets you save chains of multiple waves plugins. You can assign macros to any parameters and have them inversely proportional, so it would allow users of Daw's that don't have that sort of functionality natively to create emphasis/pre-emphasis templates for their waves plugins.
The behavior at higher sample rates is explained on the product page and in the manual. It’s only supposed to operate up to 96kHz like many other waves plugins.
One aspect I rarely see mentioned in any reviews is whether a program's controls are multipoint touch-sensitive. It's convenient to be able to, for example, alter an EQ stage frequency while also adjusting the bandwidth, or change a synth's envelope shape while also adjusting the velocity response. EV2 and most Waves plug-ins handle multipoint touch well. However, regarding touch in general, it took me a while to figure out that I didn't need to have my hand over the control where I couldn't see what I was adjusting, but could touch the knob, then slide my finger to the side while still being able to adjust the control. I particularly like multitouch with signal processors and synthesizers, to avoid the "one parameter at a time" mouse issue.
Great review. I bought this a year or two ago because I wanted an SSL console type plugin. I quickly found out don’t touch the red knob unless your mix specifically needed crap. The Studio One fat channel accomplishes the goals without an Add Crap knob. My lesson learned is learn the functions of your DAWs plugins before looking for solutions elsewhere. 😃
Another great informative review. This kinda thing is why I have quit using Waves a long time ago. The name is more important than the quality/usability of their plugins it seems. Hopefully these critical deep dives will help them get back on track. I doubt it, but the info is good for us mere mortals nonetheless. Thanks Dan.
As a hobbyist that is self taught from UA-cam and other self help sites. I’ve always stayed away from waves due to the insane amount of hate they get from content creators and commenters saying they suck. Leave it to Dan Worrall to show their power. One thing I did buy in my early days was the waves JJP series, which are all in one plugins to treat drums, strings, keys, etc.. with faders for brightness, punch, ambience and things along those lines. Would love to see a review of those style of waves plugins which streamline workflows for non technic producers.
I'm also self taught from yt and other sites, but until recently I've never seen the hate or dislike towards waves. There was always one or lot more plugins from them on tutorials, ssl stuff, pultec, rvox/bass/whatever, even the ugly 20 years old eq, etc. It has changed since the slate stuff became the cool thing to use, and now there's even more companies making emulations. Crazy to think we saw completely different stuff from the same learning process, there is such much stuff to read and watch from so many different people
Thanks for this. I know it would be a bit redundant, but I'd love to see your take on the CLA Mixbus. It has been a huge game changer for me, in terms of overall sound of my mixes and workflow.
Another fantastic video. Thank you. I'm getting weary of skeuomorphism in general, but especially in plugins. Why are we limiting ourselves to controlling our sound with cute little knobs that look like SSL knobs? The sound is what matters. Make an interface that is intuitive, easy to control with a mouse, and visually informative as well as appealing. FabFilter figured it out.
The designs that basically mimic hardware are somewhat lazy. So often, there has been little to no consideration for the UX of an interface's navigation or interpretation in a digital environment.
Totally agree @Jim. I'm getting weary of anything that looks like a channel strip. Channel strips are shaped that way because of a space *limitation* - it was the only way to put multiple processors side-by-side on a mix console. It's a terrible way to arrange knobs and buttons unless you physically have to. In the computer era, we can design things any way we want - we should design them in a way that facilitates intelligibility and workflow, and stop cloning limitations.
@@lyingpancake95 skeumorphism can be done well imo. Some plugins, like U-He plugins or TDR plugins look like real hardware but often deviate completely from what a real unit would look like and function, for the purpose of being a better to use plugin
Personally, I like the SSL Ev2 a lot because I'm the kind of mixer who needs to go fast and straight to the point. I use a mixing template in reaper with the ev2 ssl on each channel and one or two other plug-ins in "offline" mode which are different for each channel. The SSL EV2's knobs are placed at specific points that I like for each instrument. example, for Kick, compressor ratio at 4, release at 100, open attack, expander at -18, release at 150, EQ points placed at 70, 250, 500 and 8000 with the Q value also defined . which allows me during the mix to make my first "usual movements" very quickly and see if it works. if so, I move on, if not, I also move on knowing that I will have to come back to this line and explore with something else but I move forward and try to bring the mix to 80-90% what I want in the first 15 minutes. once I have something solid, then I explore with more "precise" plug-ins to tweak and go back to lines where the SSL channel didn't give me satisfaction. one things that I like à lot in this channel is the EQ monitor buttons which I personnaly enable by default and so, I could easily feel if I'm in the right spot or not.
Being the old git I am, I have lived through the evolution of having no option but to use a recording studio to where we are today when all options are on the table including the modern approach of "working from home". Waves have 30 years experience in the digital plugin market starting back at the beginning of the move from analogue to digital, to where we are today when almost all music is digitally recorded mixed and mastered. How times have changed. For some people, 30 years might be a life time for me it has been most of my working life, others potentially less than half their life. Why might you ask is any of that relevant? Back when the digital era started, engineers wanted evolution not revolution, they wanted plugins that they already understood and knew its purpose and how to use it. That transition was a migration from a physical analogue mixing desk with numerous coloured knobs, buttons and faders to a computer screen with a keyboard and a mouse. Todays music industry has been built on thousands of hours of dedicated work programming software algorithms that accurately replicates yesterdays physical hardware we should all be incredibly appreciative of companies like Waves and what they have contributed over the past few decades. Why did Waves plugins once cost so much? Simple business economics, supply demand on top of the research experience knowledge and development costs needed to deliver a working finished product. If they did not replace with considerable accuracy a physical channel strip no engineer would buy and use them, no studio would want them. Now everyone has access to them, we should be grateful and thankful and appreciate the work done by companies like Waves to make todays home studios possible and a reality.
According to the manual for the mic trim it supposed to add harmonic distortion along with the input but in the video it was switched on meaning the analog mode that enables the harmonics and without it should be normal gain
Sweet little Reaper tweak at 21:00 - The 'Imperial' skin. Always wondered what it looked like in real life. And using that skin must give the mix more wonderful warm analog vibe Ha ha!
I use the Pressure for room mics. It is a one knob plugin, but it is quite interestingly squashing the sound. MV2 is another one that people praise which has upwards and downwards compression as "secret weapon for drums".
I'm one of those guys who adjust balance through trim or channel strip output knobs/faders instead of the DAW faders. I only like to write automation on those. However for anything EQ, comp and saturation related I think every plugin should have an EL gain compensation these days.
for me it's the other way around. i use the DAW's faders to mix, as they are literally giving me all sounds next to each other, and load an extra plugin if i need a gain automation to have it seperated from the mixer volume.
Reapers trim/read automation mode is good for being able to do both on your faders, though admittedly having layers of volumes on a single fader quickly felt like a recipe for confusing myself and I went back to read only @@Beatsbasteln
Love your videos. It would be awesome if you'd make a video about Acoustica, since it now has entered the ARA ranks and is actually not that well known compared to what it is capable of. But anyways keep on doing such fantastic videos. To be honest, your videos have become the most entertaining thing to watch on UA-cam. And that's not even accounting for the huge information-value.
Channel Strip Plugins (5 of 5) SSL 360: With the introduction of the UC1, came new Channel Strip and Bus Compressor plugins from SSL, as well as a new app SSL 360 to control it all, like Console 1 OSD. The two ecosystems are very similar: plugins on every DAW mixer channel, USB hardware controller, Side-Car App. They're not identical though. To start with UC1 is Only for the two SSL plugins, so just one particular sound, while Console 1 has the 8, which are in 6 parts so 48 dedicated pieces, the hundreds of other options from both Softube and Universal Audio. So they're not exactly the same. But then they are the two most comprehensive and convincing 'mixing In the Box with hand-on Channel Strip plugins, like a real physical Analog Console' systems that I'm aware of. And they both have advanced this mixing lane more than anything else as far as I'm aware. That said, neither is broadly popular because they require* the purchase of Expensive** hardware to use. (I want to say here "But those who know, know", however it has long been the case that Console 1 systems are all over Reverb & Ebay for dirt cheap, from people who tried it out then bailed out taking a big hit on the way. That's obviously not my experience, by YMMV.) There are however a couple of differences that SSL brought to the table that I consider, dare I say: Game Changers. See while Console 1 brought incredible modern Digital Analysis tools and workflow to their vintage Analog Console emulation system, and I for one am in love with that. They did so at the expense of being visually connected to the actual Analog equipment they were emulating. Its like standing at a board or a rack, turning knobs, but with a computer screen between your face and the knobs you're turning. Yeah I love the information on that screen, but I'd kinda like to See my gear too thank you. Well SSL flipped that on its head. You don't get Any special modern analysis tools. But the Channel Strip Plugin inside your DAW is ginormous! and its directly connected to the equally gargantuas hardware controller with a near perfect representation of the look, feel and sound.... of a 1980s piece of studio history. I love it. But is it enough. Unfortunately, no. But wait there's.... What about that Game Changer business? Okay, okay... so from the beginning of working in the Box, every DAW had basically two main windows, an Arrange/Edit window and a Mixer window. And that mixer showed you, like all analog mixers a bunch of Channels, maybe some Busses, and a Master. Each "channel strip'" had a Fader and Pan, then above that a place to put Sends and a Place to put your Plugins. Then you click those plugin slots, a window opens, and you tweak. Cool. But even if you loaded it with console emulations, and it sounded like a real desk, and the plugins looked like photographs Of said desk, it was still nothing like Working on a real desk. Console 1 put hands on the controls, but took your eyes off. Okay. But that whole 'It won't let me see what I'm doing thing" really bothered me. Now the SSL UC1 lets me pop out a plugin and See the damn plugin I'm tweaking. Fantastic. But not enough. Allow me drag this out a minute longer... Back in the old, well not analog old, but early DAW old days, there were only two DAWs that I know of that got the Mixer Window "right" as far as I'm concerned. One is Harrison Mixbus 32C. There's a lot I could say about it, but the 1-knob per function, everything's right in front of you, no opening windows or menu diving... That's how mixing consoles feel. I hear something, look over and see everything, then grab a knob...well the mouse and tweak. I always assumed that Harrison would eventually make a dedicated controller, being a hardware company and all. There is RuCo, but I haven't tried it. I should. The other one though, came out in 2009 when the global economy was in free-fall. It was simply called Record. Its only Reason for its existing was to add a software based audio recording program to its parent company's other popular, but MIDI only software. They Way over shot the mark, and turned their software mixer into an amazingly comprehensive SSL XL9000K SuperAnalogue virtual console 'emulation', complete with: Input Gain knob & Polarity reverse switch, many DAWs still lack that; flexible Routing options for the EQ, Dynamics, Insert Points, HP&LP Filters; basically the same 4-Band EQs, Comps, Gates that you see on all the other plugins & the real board; 8 Aux Sends, Pre/Post switchable; Fader, Pan, Mute, Solo, Meter with Pan having Width on Stereo channels; and Clicking on the inserts took you to a 'Rack' for which that company is famous. The two crucial and unique things it did, for me was: A) They put EVERYTHING on one channel strip, like a real board. Looking at that strip is like looking at a real Analog Channel Strip. One long line of buttons, knobs, and faders. Their innovations here were to a) allow you to collapse each section so you could view what you were working on without having to Scroll all the way up and down the strip and b) allow you to turn off anything you weren't using to conserve CPU. B) Equally importantly, ALL of those channels were side-by-side in the mixer, AS CHANNEL STRIPS. you could glance at the mixer and SEE all of the knobs and all their settings, all at once. You could mouse over and click and drag any knob. You had the same Global View that you have while standing over an Analog Console with a full mix spilled across it. The visual representation was 1-to-1, and you can See all of the relationships in between channels. I thought at least if mix engineers weren't going to switch to Record as their DAW of choice, it would still create a demand and other companies would learn from it. Basically none did, until now. (By the way, believe it or not, if you didn't know that company was Propellerhead and their main product was Reason. In about 2011 they merged Reason with Record, AND its mixer, into Reason 6. Propellerhead as a company is gone, now its Reason Studios, but the current version Reason 12, along with that SSL Mixer, which looks better than ever, is still there. Now I have to try it too....) So, this brings us back to Solid State Logic, and SSL 360. Well first off, unlike Console 1, it turns out you don't actually need any hardware to use it. Just the Plugins. A fantastic surprise! So if you load the Channel Strip plugins on every channel in your DAW, then just launch the SSL 360 you are presented with a NO DEVICES DETECTED message, however to the left there's a button labeled PLUG-IN MIXER. Click it and if you're like me your life changes! All of those individual plugins in your DAW are sending realtime information to SSL 360, and EVERY Channel Strip is presented top to bottom, side by side, like an Analog Board. Click the green full screen button on your Mac, on a second display, and that monitor becomes an SSL 9000K. This is the Channel Strip DAW Mixer visualization I've been dreaming of for years, and using it does exactly for my mind what I imagined it would all along. It shows you the whole picture, spilled out across the board. You can reach over, with your mouse, and grab any knob and move it. And there's a Zoom to pop right into the EQ or the Comp. Right on the Mixer, not just in some floating window. But that works too! Adjust one you adjust the other, as well as the hardware, they're all in perfect sync. Finally!! But then the little voice in my head says "Yeah but Console 1 gave me all those additional super powers...." Well I now have a template with Console 1, SSL Channel Strip, and Izotope Neutron on every channel! Okay that too way too much of my day, so I'll leave it there. If anyone reads this far, I will be stunned, and grateful, and apologetic. At some point this became more about getting it out of my head than into a comment section. Again Thanks Dan!!!!! Not the first time you've released a video that hijacked my whole day. G. (The End!)
I am very much looking forward to you dragging more waves plugins in such a thorough fashion
Also Dan, what does the slithery synth line in the beginning?
The opening part? Two sine waves driven by polyrhythmic arpeggiators (3 against 5), with distortion, plus FabFilter Timeless glitches and pitch glides.
I would love to see a review like this for the scheps omni (which is my favourite and main plugin)
"Dragging"? Okay Cassandra from homeroom
Same
this is precisely the type of video which will drive up the quality of products for engineers. even handed and as objective as possible. thanks dan
Thank you for putting waves in their place with this one. It is much needed. When analog emulations we’re a novel thing 20 years ago and Waves and UAD were the only ones doing it, sure, recreating the hardware limitations in the plug-in made a little more sense. But now that the market is saturated with analog emulations, the bar is being raised by companies that are starting to really push the boundaries on combining the best of analog emulations and digital workstations. Companies you feature right here on the channel, like TDR, u-he, and fabfilter to name a few. So when waves had the opportunity to innovate again when they released an update to their SSL channel, but chose not to, I was disappointed, but not surprised. Hopefully having someone like you who isn’t afraid to tell the truth as an affiliate will help them wake up to the fact that times have changed and in order to make compelling, usable modern tools for the DAW means taking hardware emulations beyond the hardware. While it’s not perfect either, look at the amount of extra thought that went into the design of the BX_SSL4000 series.
Brainworx did a great job with there analog emulations. Headroom, input and output, and mix parameters on every plug in is just exactly what we need in every plug in these days
Yeah, another fan of the Brainworx SSL right here.
TDR, U-he and fabfilter are great examples of such companies, couldn't put it better myself.
TDR and FabFilter, two of my favorite companies doing this kinda thing. They give us analog options without being afraid to fully harness digital capabilities.
Pulsar, Tone Empire, Acustica, Arturia, kazrog, and Audified also come to mind, but the list is ever growing these days
Dan is a maestro, i would like to see a plugin company hiring him just to make a channel strip Dan Worrall Edition with all he would find useful and necessary. Really, i would like to see that and then a video by himself explaining why this and that and how it works.
Keep up the good work, man. Cheers! :)
I do mind if the value showed is not exactly the amount of gain I am adding or subtracting, and it has nothing to do with mixing with your ears.
It happens often that I have a chain of plugins, and if I want to subtract one db on one and adding it on another, while at the end of the chain I've got a multiband compressor, I end up hitting the compressor harder without noticing it, just because you are 8 hours in the mix and you don't double check simple math, you trust that 1 - 1 = 0.
Same. Also, for the less experienced it's important correlate values to what your hear, if a change labeled 2db would be different on every plugin then we would never learn how much of a difference 2db really sounds like.
Incredible, Dan. I appreciate your honesty even with a deal with Waves in place.
This could actually be a great opportunity to debunk some Waves myths like the ones that imply that practically every compressor they designed is an untouched RComp with a saturation stage added.
Whoever said that has no idea what’s talking about
@@AmagrasMUSIC I don't believe it is that simple either! I respect the heck out of Waves for what they've brought us in the DSP realm. However... there ARE some famous myths worth looking into, I believe. I mean, going by the main plugin featured on this video alone, it is somewhat widely believed that EV2 is a stripped down CLA Mixhub.
@@pedrochalkho7629 if you knew the story of waves from the beginning you wouldn’t believe that; but also it’s all in the manuals, forumites don’t read those anymore?
Yeah, sure, the manuals! xD
@@pedrochalkho7629 yes, the manuals explain when they used an algorithm from old plugins
A very thorough and insightful review. Thank you, Dan. With so many plugin developers and choices available, an informed decision is sometimes hard to acquire.
Love your videos Dan, you're the most interesting, articulated and even funny audio geek youtuber out there!
Here's the thing (as I suspect you know),: lots of bedroom recorders who've never been anywhere near a real analogue desk have been convinced they "need" an SSL. So what they WANT is something that looks just like the real thing, and they don't know or care if it actually does a good job.
I'd argue that there isn't anything at all that this does that the Scheps Omni Channel doesn't do much better (just to take another Waves plug in as an example). But then that doesn't press that satisfaction button that makes a hobbyist think "now I have an SSL"
Dan, do you have any actual Mixing videos on the interwebs?
I for one would Love to see your full process, especially after watching this video which I think is the most comprehensive Channels --> Busses --> 2-Bus setup you've shown on this channel.
(I happily admit that I've watched ALL of your videos here numerous times.)
I, like all the rest of your fan club, really appreciate the quality and thoughtfulness of these UA-cam episodes (Pretty much everything else goes on pause as soon as I get the alert), and your focus not on "Tips & Tricks" but rather techniques, fundamentals, and philosophies.
However I think MUCH value would come from watching you take a song from Importing raw Multitracks --> Exporting Stems and a Final Mix.
(Maybe a short series of videos with as many parts as you see the stages of a start to finish mix. Say "Dan Worrall Mix Series: 1/5 - Mix Prep", "...2/5 - Static Mix Balance", etc.)
Not that you don't give us Way more than we deserve already, but if such a series were to exist, I would likely watch it once a month for the rest of my life!
He was the engineer that FabFilter hired to create their "Mixing and Mastering" playlist that is extremely helpfu: ua-cam.com/video/-jCwIsT0X8M/v-deo.html
Of course some of them are directly geared towards FabFilter plugins, but there is still great info in there.
His actual songs are pretty meh
These days, I regard WAVES as marketing for 'wealthy enough enthusiasts' rather than professionals. Not that I am claiming to be even competent. But buying loads of plugins seems to be a phase we all go (I went) through and WAVES is there to fulfill that need.
Now I aim to learn to use a few good plugins well. Maybe I will be inspired by Dan to buy more in future -
Having said that, I got so much from this tutorial and remain an enthusiastic student. Thank you Dan
I couldn't agree more. I bought all of them back in the day (Mercury bundle). Now I mainly use the Fab Filter stuff and a few select others. The only Waves plugins I use frequently now are RVox and Maxx Bass.
Dan, you’re on my list of people to have a beer with someday. Your videos are thee best! Thank you sir!!
Really love this analytical approach to plugin reviews!
Thanks Dan! I’d love to watch you go through the Scheps 🙏 (for the same reasons/differences you point out here).
Great video. I like having the options of all of these things, old school stuff where I'll use my ears, more surgical stuff, and sometimes the Scheps is great just to drop on a background element and mix the entire thing in one plugin.
The one (big) gripe I have with Waves is how they separate mono and stereo versions for all their plugins. All other plugin producers have managed to make their products intelligent, but not Waves. It slows down my workflow and doubles the number of keyboard shortcuts I need for my plugins. And I can't tell you how often I've wasted time trying to figure out why a stereo track didn't sound right, only to find a mono Waves plugin to be the culprit, followed by the fun of duplicating the settings after installing the stereo one.
I like Waves, but I hate their mono/stereo policy.
It is your DAW actually, Reaper does not have stereo and mono tracks, it is the limitation that exists only in our brain as we're used to this old way of thinking.
@@BojanBojovic, no other company's plugins do this. It's Waves.
Yes, but stereo plugins will use 2x the CPU of a mono plugin.
Or maybe Waves could install a mono/stereo-switch that also dynamically adjusts the cpu load. that's not too complicated
@@rrrafiel, they shouldn't have to if it isn't necessary. Use mono processing for a mono track, and switch to stereo for a stereo one.
Excellent review!, this is the kind of reviews for plugins I want to see!, Thanks!
Dan, thank you for this very in-depth video. You are one of a handful of people that makes reviews that really makes sense. Waves, are you listening...? I really do hope you will review the Scheps Omni-channel as well. I expect you like the workflow much better of this all-in-one channel solution than any thing else you've put your hands on so far.
Thanks again for your contribution, thumbs up!
New video from you brings a smile to my face, regardless. Also, loved your recommended channel! 💯
I think that waves biggest factor now is that they are 50/50 studio and live. This plugin is INCREDIBLY helpful live. SSL gates have their own sound, so it’s great on drums, the saturation on it is nice for some vocal parts and guitar parts, and the listen band is invaluable on throw and go type scenarios (particularly with vocals). It’s not trying to be the brainwork’s plugins or anything fancier like that, it’s trying to sound good at a decent cpu load with as low of latency as it can.
Thanks for this video. Needed to hear that calming voice today!
You’re channel is stellar man. Much love ❤️
I really appreciate the way you analyze in detail every time but, the most important thing is that the music has to be able to get to the listener and this is outstandingly present from the first record that ever came out. I still think about being able to do something that doesn't have to be elaborate on, if it is so thanks for your hard work and I can tell you something, I learned a lot from your content and I really appreciate everything you do for community. My point is that you can inspire people in creative ways.
Bless you good human being.
Greetings from Kosova.
Besim Baftiu.
Always love the content Dan!
Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. About as good as reviews get with loads of useful information and just the right amount of opinions too.
The only channel strip I use, is the SSL9000 from PA, mainly for the same reason as you Dan, and when I do, I use the THD knob cranked to max, just to get some added harmonics...and often I use FF ProQ3 to further sculpt the sound if needed.
I'm not ashamed I work 100% ITB, and take advantages of every "weird" quirk a software plugin can do, after all in computer world we most often we use the mouse ( can't really say anything about any DAW Control Surface as I haven't tried one yet ). Thanks for the video Dan, really informative. Cheers
Channel Strip Plugins
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My point here is that Softube as a company, in close coordination with Solid State Logic, deliberately took the Channel Strip Plugin idea much further than it had ever been. They did stick to "accurately emulating" the sound and workflow of the original console(s), but they added a ton of not-so-obvious advancements over the real thing.
(I wand to go into depth, but this is way longer than intended already. So I'll try to just hit a couple of points. Thanks DAN!)
1) Mixing in the box with a mouse is 1-Click at a time. I have numerous gaming mice, track balls, track pads, pen displays, tablets etc, and they All have their place. Plus in Reaper you can train them to do Amazing tricks. But the Console 1 hardware is essentially a Midi Controller, dedicated to exactly One plugin. That has many implications but one is that you can grab multiple controls at once, like on Analog equipment. And because the hardware is so tightly connected to the software, you develop a Hand/Ear coordination, even with you monitor switched off, that is simply impossible with any mouse or other "Pointing Device".
2) That point and this one have more to do with the Hardware than the Channel Strip plugin concept, but because that hardware is communicating directly with each of the plugins, from the control surface you can fly through all of the channels in your session. If you had a 96-channel session say on a real million-dollar SSL XL9096J, you would roll your chair way over to the left 48 channels, then way over to the right 48 channel strips, standing up and down to reach all the controls, in and out of the sweet spot, so you return to the center and realize you have to go back to readjust, all day. With this system, there's 20 channel buttons that bank up and down, right at your finger tips on a controller the same size as your QWERTY keyboard. So with 5 clicks of a button, one hundred SSL 9000 channel strips Come to You, within seconds, without you moving one inch out of your perfectly triangulated monitoring system. And again, you never have to touch the mouse or look up at the screen!
3) However, about that screen.... While the knobs on the controller are laid out to match an SSL Channel Strip, spread out and turned on its side (a concept I love, but also one of my pet peeves), and the idea is that your hands already know where to go, plus the controller is full of LED meters and indicators that give you lots of visual feedback for what your hands and ears are telling you, they Also included on On-Screen Display system, that with the click of a button (and maybe not even that) super-imposes a display over whatever is already on your screen and gives you additional Bonus information, audio x-ray vision into your signal that was Never possible on any analog console of the golden years. So the system gives you the sound and the hand/ear mixing workflow of their emulated originals, but with far more of the control and visual feedback of the 21st century mixing experience than was imaginable at the time those studio classics were at their prime.
4) Console 1 is old now, relatively speaking. And it's not the only game in town anymore. Plus it itself has expanded and evolved over the years to include features and functions some of which weren't imagined at the time it was created. That 1 original Analog Console emulation has since expanded to eight, with two SSLs, an API, a NEVE, and others that were never actually Consoles in the real world, but were amazing rack pieces now reimagined into fairly complete console channel strips with the cooperation and endorsement of those companies: Emperical Labs, Chandler Limited, Summit Audio, and Weiss. But that points to another thing that exists within the Console 1 ecosystem... (again this is Not a commercial!)
5) Over the years Console 1 has expanded what you can do with it and it's channel strips. From the beginning you could swap out not only the full console emulations, but the three individual component sections in the chain: you could load the Strip, the Shape, the EQ, or the Comp independently. They've since allowed you to load the Drive section and the Filters separately as well. So you can think of your channel strip as 6 different pieces of gear in a signal chain (like they did with the afore mentioned companies above). And those component sections can come from mixing-n-matching those now 8 Channel Strips, which you can break into 6 parts each giving you 48 pieces of gear (well plugins), but those 6 links in your chain can also come from the hundreds of other plugins Softube themselves as well as Dozens of plugins from their collaboration with Universal Audio. (Plus there's "Apollo Central" mode....but I digress)
6) So again, kinda controller related and not necessarily Channel Strip specific, but putting those buttons knobs and faders from the original hardware, into code, and then Back at your finger-tips rather than mouse clicks, really does change the experience. If you've used any plugins from Softube or Universal Audio with your mouse, and you were happy with the sound and user interface while clicking-n-dragging, putting both hands on two knobs of an LA2A or 1176 finally FEELS right. Your eyes and ears may have been having all the fun, but now your hands get to play as well. I also have to say that, the point of the Console 1 hardware was that the Threshold knob is always the Threshold knob, no matter what emulation you are running. The 4 EQ band gain knobs are always in the exact same place, you don't have to think about it or look for it. And Softube did an amazing job mapping the hundreds of Plugins with thousands of individual Parameters to the 26 FIXED knobs on the hardware controller a when you're using a UAD plugin or UAD Console, it feels like Universal Audio made the hardware. Almost all of it feels intuitive, and the amount of time you do spend looking for something is nothing compared to with the mouse and a plugin window. However this is also its limitation...
(Continued 3 of 5......)
Really appreciate the review and the content! My only note where I differ is that I always try to gain stage my mix from the fader on a channel strip and not my DAW faders. It makes automation nicer and means I have the same resolution for automation on all channels. Plus I know that if 1 channel is -1.6db then it's because I accidentally knocked it
fantastic and thorough as always-- I'd love to see a scheps omni channel review sometime-- love this channel!
Really dig your synth patches this one is glorious, wish i knew what was going on in that intro patch. So pretty and animated
Two sine waves driven by polyrhythmic arpeggiators (3 against 5) with distortion plus glitches and glides from FabFilter Timeless 3.
Great work on the review - very informative - and very entertaining!
Very much enjoying your tunes and great advice.
One of the best reviews I have ever seen. Thank you very much. I‘d like to see more waves stuff. Most of all the Abbey Road Mastering Suite.
*More incredible insights from the "Rainman" of audio!* 😎👍
Finally a proper review for the plugin ... and the developers could easily create the modern version, with switch of a button. So u can choose the original setup channel strip or modernised with all your suggestions
A possible benefit of creating a channel strip with the same layout and limitations of the corresponding hardware is that the users can go back and forth between the two with no learning curve and work the way they're used to working. It's not as flexible as it could be, but it's perhaps faster for those who are used to working that way. This approach could also function as a good training tool for aspiring engineers to come to grips with the hardware before they get to sit down in front of it.
Nonetheless, imposed limitations can limit the usefulness of a plugin; and I appreciate you illustrating these issues in your usual, detailed way. Well done!
I love the scheps omni channel. Literally use it on every mix. Especially for bus processing. Would love the see a full review 🙏
This turns out as a high quality, very detailed QA review. Now Waves knows how to make this a good channel strip. Hope, you get your fee for this QA, Dan. ;-) It is most important that you keep being honest and fair, and it's great to see you do!
Exactly my thought,.. Waves coders and R&D will be getting some invaluable information to employ or remove features with just a NFR .. Brilliant!
Question is.... Since this really is the first full Waves review, will they actually take on board what Dan has pointed out?
If in a few months there are options as suggested, I bet it'll be another version and another cost. Say the "SSL almost EV Virtual 3"
the best review of SSL EV2. Thanks! :)
love your guitar playing awesome. nice review of plugin
A million times yes about having two volume knobs with one dedicated to headroom/saturation without any effect on the real level. So many “analog emulation” plugins are SO much harder to use because there’s no simple way to try different gain structures for different modeled preamp behavior!
It could be interesting to see you look at Waves' "NX" plugins, and speak to their efficacy in a realistic scenario.
Great video as usual. Always admire your work. That's a really nice Reaper theme, by the way. Would love to see an analysis of the Waves, Scheps Omni Channel sometime in the future.
Yeah, I was keen on that theme too. Any idea what it is?
The mix sounded really good!
Was always wondering when you would do a proper waves analysis... Please continue this project, thank you!!! 🙏❤️
Superb - as always. The difference in the bypassed (channel plugins) mix is certainly there, but it seems to me you could replicate this with with many other EQ's and compressors we've all bought over the years, including the native DAW plugs which are rather good on all DAW platforms methinks - could save a lot of CPU in the process. Something I wish I'd known years ago before being seduced by fancy looking GUI's and raving reviews in magazines !
Best videos on youtube for audio nerds, thank you
Thanks for linking the Reaper Theme
Gotta say Waves got some balls letting Dan go through their plugins with a fine tooth comb and microscope.
Waves gave Dan all access to evaluate their plugins and mentioned SSL EV2 as their top seller and they instantly regret it 🤣🤣🤣 as you were giving your honest critics, I've heard that they replicated the 1st SSL, added some features which i consider not a big deal and marketed it well so they can sell it, still not even close to bx_console SSL 4000E which has been there for years.
Great video 🙏👍 thanks
You're the best mate!! Keep up the hard work
When you asked the listeners to suggest other Waves plugins that you could review, the thing that immediately came to my mind was their Enigma, which seems to be included in several of their bundles.
Elegant as always
Great review! Now that you're partnered with Waves I'd love to hear your take on their analog-style compressor plugins like the LA-2A, SSL Buss, and 1176
Dan Worrall's channel is where I go when I want to go to my happy place. 🙂
Dan, you make great points about the need to modernize "console emulation" workflow in a modern DAW. I use them, love them but have often found myself frustrated for having to(for example) choose where I will dedicate my HP/LP filter on SSL emulations.
Thanks for this fine plugin review! Another Waves SSL "channel strip" is CLA MixHub (apart from the hub functionality). However it also sports a switchable 1176 compressor algorithm plus dedicated side chain filters & EQ, plus a built-in parallel compression mix knob. A review/comparison with the EV2 channel strip would be interesting. :)
I haven’t used this channel strip but I have a ton of waves plugins and I absolutely love the way they sound.
Excellent video! Thanks a bunch!
I have the bucket and water and watched a few detailing videos on youtube, so just say when and where and I'll help get your car spotless Dan. Then I can always say, I actually know this man irl. I used to wash his car when he didn't have 1m subscribers yet. Some have bigger accomplishments than others, but maybe I should focus on cleaning my own car first...anyway finally subscribed after watching all your videos. The car washing request did it for me.
C-1 is my favourite compressor in the world. I think I've been using it maybe 20 years. Reviewing that would be so cool!
Also using it for 17 years, Unless I want ultra clean sound and than FirComp has won :)
The SSL channels from Waves are OUTSTANDING!! I don’t rave often, but really, I’d mix whole shows or records with nothing else if I had to. I’ve been a Waves customer since virtually day one. I remember sending an email with a tech question and getting a phone call in my back yard on July 4 from the founder of the company, saying in a heavy accent “Hoppy Indeepandance Day, Peter”. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I realized what was going on. He spent nearly an hour with me and sent me a Gold bundle from the kindness of his heart which was at the time something really special. It represented at least $800 upgrade from the 6 or 7 plugs I had alreadly purchased. Customer forever.
I like the brainworks ssl strips much better.
Channel Strip Plugins
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The original Waves SSL channel strip & G-Comp (not this EV2) are probably the suspect zero of All channel strip plugins to follow.
The promise was, as in this video: Put this on Every channel, with the Bus Comp on your master bus, and Boom you're mixing on an SSL 4000E, signed off on by Solid State Logic themselves.
The bus comp became more omnipresent than the channel strip I think mainly because people's computers back then couldn't run that many instances of the channel strip without maxing CPU and RAM. The limitations of the channels strip EQs and Dynamics, when compared with every other option in our rapidly expanding plugin folders was another blow. And for me, the inflexibility of inserting any other processor into the chain, say after the input stage or between the EQ & Compressor, another Con.
What I've wondered about for over a decade now, is what Dan touched on in this video.
There are many Pros to working with channel strip plugins, and for me they far outweigh the Cons.
But why the hell are the Cons coded into the virtual products at all?
Or if you are going to code it in, to make some purists happy, at least give us a way Around the limitations of the 1980s in the 21st century.
FFWD to 2022, and now almost every plugin maker has some form of SSL, NEVE, & API "Analog Emulation" plugin, some endorsed some not.
I might have a Dozen SSLs at this point.
To contradict my self, I actually Love the concept, at least the illusion, that I can buy an emulation of an high end piece of studio equipment, that would cost thousands of dollars per unit, and performs similarly enough to the original hardware that the Actual Company puts their own logo on the plugin, all for a hundred bucks. (we all know that with Waves the real price is $29, but others hover around a hundred for the first year or so.). Even at their full MSRP of maybe $350 bucks, which I Never pay, the deal if you can suspend disbelief, is two good to be true Even if you only inserted that plugin on one channel, but you get to use it as many times as your poor little Mac can handle.
Now, I bought, love, and am touching right now, the original Softube Console 1 system (actually manufactured in Sweden) shortly after it came out for $1,000, and it only came with one SSL 4000E channel strip emulation and the option to buy the SSL XL9000K for a few hundred more, which I also did. And it changed everything, for me.
The first obvious difference between the Console 1 SSL and all the others, is the dedicated Hardware Channel Strip. The philosophy was the same as the OG Waves: install the plugin on every channel in your DAW and you move from channel to identical channel intuitively knowing the controls and what they will do to your sound. But Console 1 added the Muscle Memory back into the equation. Your ears hear, your mind know what to do, and now your hands are already doing it.
(This is sounding like a commercial for console one, which it is definitely not as you will see. Plus my on-screen display app is broken right now and I'm not happy about it.)
(Continued 2 of 5......)
dan + waves, been waiting this for so long :D
Your pre-emphasis EQ video blew my mind. Might be worth revisiting that concept with Waves Studio Rack. Studio Rack lets you save chains of multiple waves plugins. You can assign macros to any parameters and have them inversely proportional, so it would allow users of Daw's that don't have that sort of functionality natively to create emphasis/pre-emphasis templates for their waves plugins.
This reaffirms my opinion on why I don't use channel strip plugins. Cheers!
The behavior at higher sample rates is explained on the product page and in the manual. It’s only supposed to operate up to 96kHz like many other waves plugins.
Thanks, Dan! Please consider exploring the Waves NLS plugins. Cheers!
One aspect I rarely see mentioned in any reviews is whether a program's controls are multipoint touch-sensitive. It's convenient to be able to, for example, alter an EQ stage frequency while also adjusting the bandwidth, or change a synth's envelope shape while also adjusting the velocity response. EV2 and most Waves plug-ins handle multipoint touch well. However, regarding touch in general, it took me a while to figure out that I didn't need to have my hand over the control where I couldn't see what I was adjusting, but could touch the knob, then slide my finger to the side while still being able to adjust the control. I particularly like multitouch with signal processors and synthesizers, to avoid the "one parameter at a time" mouse issue.
Great review. I bought this a year or two ago because I wanted an SSL console type plugin. I quickly found out don’t touch the red knob unless your mix specifically needed crap. The Studio One fat channel accomplishes the goals without an Add Crap knob. My lesson learned is learn the functions of your DAWs plugins before looking for solutions elsewhere. 😃
"I, now, officially have too many plugins."
me too man
a+ explanation of this plugin.
Brilliant review..
This channel is a Gem!
Another great informative review. This kinda thing is why I have quit using Waves a long time ago. The name is more important than the quality/usability of their plugins it seems. Hopefully these critical deep dives will help them get back on track. I doubt it, but the info is good for us mere mortals nonetheless.
Thanks Dan.
Logical Fallatio is a wonderful track. Loved it !
As a hobbyist that is self taught from UA-cam and other self help sites. I’ve always stayed away from waves due to the insane amount of hate they get from content creators and commenters saying they suck. Leave it to Dan Worrall to show their power.
One thing I did buy in my early days was the waves JJP series, which are all in one plugins to treat drums, strings, keys, etc.. with faders for brightness, punch, ambience and things along those lines. Would love to see a review of those style of waves plugins which streamline workflows for non technic producers.
I'm also self taught from yt and other sites, but until recently I've never seen the hate or dislike towards waves. There was always one or lot more plugins from them on tutorials, ssl stuff, pultec, rvox/bass/whatever, even the ugly 20 years old eq, etc. It has changed since the slate stuff became the cool thing to use, and now there's even more companies making emulations.
Crazy to think we saw completely different stuff from the same learning process, there is such much stuff to read and watch from so many different people
I would love to see this plugin against the previous SSL channel strips and/or the Schoeps Omni strip
Thanks for the awesome video!
Thanks for this. I know it would be a bit redundant, but I'd love to see your take on the CLA Mixbus. It has been a huge game changer for me, in terms of overall sound of my mixes and workflow.
Great analysis of EV2! I hope you will do this for Scheps Omni Channel & AR TG Mastering Chain in the future!!
Nice analysis!
Another fantastic video. Thank you. I'm getting weary of skeuomorphism in general, but especially in plugins. Why are we limiting ourselves to controlling our sound with cute little knobs that look like SSL knobs? The sound is what matters. Make an interface that is intuitive, easy to control with a mouse, and visually informative as well as appealing. FabFilter figured it out.
Yeah, that's part of why I love Goodhertz plugins
well... if that is all you need, it can be good. but theres good no reason to limit yourself to anything anymore. haha.
The designs that basically mimic hardware are somewhat lazy. So often, there has been little to no consideration for the UX of an interface's navigation or interpretation in a digital environment.
Totally agree @Jim. I'm getting weary of anything that looks like a channel strip. Channel strips are shaped that way because of a space *limitation* - it was the only way to put multiple processors side-by-side on a mix console. It's a terrible way to arrange knobs and buttons unless you physically have to. In the computer era, we can design things any way we want - we should design them in a way that facilitates intelligibility and workflow, and stop cloning limitations.
@@lyingpancake95 skeumorphism can be done well imo. Some plugins, like U-He plugins or TDR plugins look like real hardware but often deviate completely from what a real unit would look like and function, for the purpose of being a better to use plugin
Personally, I like the SSL Ev2 a lot because I'm the kind of mixer who needs to go fast and straight to the point. I use a mixing template in reaper with the ev2 ssl on each channel and one or two other plug-ins in "offline" mode which are different for each channel. The SSL EV2's knobs are placed at specific points that I like for each instrument. example, for Kick, compressor ratio at 4, release at 100, open attack, expander at -18, release at 150, EQ points placed at 70, 250, 500 and 8000 with the Q value also defined . which allows me during the mix to make my first "usual movements" very quickly and see if it works. if so, I move on, if not, I also move on knowing that I will have to come back to this line and explore with something else but I move forward and try to bring the mix to 80-90% what I want in the first 15 minutes. once I have something solid, then I explore with more "precise" plug-ins to tweak and go back to lines where the SSL channel didn't give me satisfaction. one things that I like à lot in this channel is the EQ monitor buttons which I personnaly enable by default and so, I could easily feel if I'm in the right spot or not.
Being the old git I am, I have lived through the evolution of having no option but to use a recording studio to where we are today when all options are on the table including the modern approach of "working from home". Waves have 30 years experience in the digital plugin market starting back at the beginning of the move from analogue to digital, to where we are today when almost all music is digitally recorded mixed and mastered. How times have changed. For some people, 30 years might be a life time for me it has been most of my working life, others potentially less than half their life. Why might you ask is any of that relevant? Back when the digital era started, engineers wanted evolution not revolution, they wanted plugins that they already understood and knew its purpose and how to use it. That transition was a migration from a physical analogue mixing desk with numerous coloured knobs, buttons and faders to a computer screen with a keyboard and a mouse. Todays music industry has been built on thousands of hours of dedicated work programming software algorithms that accurately replicates yesterdays physical hardware we should all be incredibly appreciative of companies like Waves and what they have contributed over the past few decades.
Why did Waves plugins once cost so much? Simple business economics, supply demand on top of the research experience knowledge and development costs needed to deliver a working finished product. If they did not replace with considerable accuracy a physical channel strip no engineer would buy and use them, no studio would want them. Now everyone has access to them, we should be grateful and thankful and appreciate the work done by companies like Waves to make todays home studios possible and a reality.
According to the manual for the mic trim it supposed to add harmonic distortion along with the input but in the video it was switched on meaning the analog mode that enables the harmonics and without it should be normal gain
woh great video as always thanks! I would be very curious to see what is behind the API collection ...
Sweet little Reaper tweak at 21:00 - The 'Imperial' skin. Always wondered what it looked like in real life. And using that skin must give the mix more wonderful warm analog vibe Ha ha!
Very good honest video again. Would be interested to hear your thoughts and detailed analysis on some of the new “intelligent” EQ’s like Gullfoss.
Hi Dan! thanks for all the schooling! please review the Analog Obsession CHANNEV it be great if you would. cheers
I use the Pressure for room mics. It is a one knob plugin, but it is quite interestingly squashing the sound. MV2 is another one that people praise which has upwards and downwards compression as "secret weapon for drums".
I'm one of those guys who adjust balance through trim or channel strip output knobs/faders instead of the DAW faders. I only like to write automation on those. However for anything EQ, comp and saturation related I think every plugin should have an EL gain compensation these days.
for me it's the other way around. i use the DAW's faders to mix, as they are literally giving me all sounds next to each other, and load an extra plugin if i need a gain automation to have it seperated from the mixer volume.
Reapers trim/read automation mode is good for being able to do both on your faders, though admittedly having layers of volumes on a single fader quickly felt like a recipe for confusing myself and I went back to read only @@Beatsbasteln
I hope that this will make them make better plugins. THANK YOU DAN !
Love the British radio style ducking.
What can i say i havent already, dan! Your plugin tests are awesome. May be would you agree to test waves 1176, scheps 73 or la2a?
I like how the in out meters are next to each other for gain matching.
Glorious.
Awesome Dan.
Pls do the CLA series from Waves
Love your videos.
It would be awesome if you'd make a video about Acoustica, since it now has entered the ARA ranks and is actually not that well known compared to what it is capable of.
But anyways keep on doing such fantastic videos.
To be honest, your videos have become the most entertaining thing to watch on UA-cam.
And that's not even accounting for the huge information-value.
Channel Strip Plugins
(5 of 5)
SSL 360:
With the introduction of the UC1, came new Channel Strip and Bus Compressor plugins from SSL, as well as a new app SSL 360 to control it all, like Console 1 OSD. The two ecosystems are very similar: plugins on every DAW mixer channel, USB hardware controller, Side-Car App. They're not identical though. To start with UC1 is Only for the two SSL plugins, so just one particular sound, while Console 1 has the 8, which are in 6 parts so 48 dedicated pieces, the hundreds of other options from both Softube and Universal Audio. So they're not exactly the same. But then they are the two most comprehensive and convincing 'mixing In the Box with hand-on Channel Strip plugins, like a real physical Analog Console' systems that I'm aware of. And they both have advanced this mixing lane more than anything else as far as I'm aware. That said, neither is broadly popular because they require* the purchase of Expensive** hardware to use. (I want to say here "But those who know, know", however it has long been the case that Console 1 systems are all over Reverb & Ebay for dirt cheap, from people who tried it out then bailed out taking a big hit on the way. That's obviously not my experience, by YMMV.)
There are however a couple of differences that SSL brought to the table that I consider, dare I say: Game Changers.
See while Console 1 brought incredible modern Digital Analysis tools and workflow to their vintage Analog Console emulation system, and I for one am in love with that. They did so at the expense of being visually connected to the actual Analog equipment they were emulating. Its like standing at a board or a rack, turning knobs, but with a computer screen between your face and the knobs you're turning. Yeah I love the information on that screen, but I'd kinda like to See my gear too thank you.
Well SSL flipped that on its head. You don't get Any special modern analysis tools. But the Channel Strip Plugin inside your DAW is ginormous! and its directly connected to the equally gargantuas hardware controller with a near perfect representation of the look, feel and sound.... of a 1980s piece of studio history. I love it. But is it enough. Unfortunately, no.
But wait there's.... What about that Game Changer business?
Okay, okay... so from the beginning of working in the Box, every DAW had basically two main windows, an Arrange/Edit window and a Mixer window. And that mixer showed you, like all analog mixers a bunch of Channels, maybe some Busses, and a Master. Each "channel strip'" had a Fader and Pan, then above that a place to put Sends and a Place to put your Plugins. Then you click those plugin slots, a window opens, and you tweak. Cool. But even if you loaded it with console emulations, and it sounded like a real desk, and the plugins looked like photographs Of said desk, it was still nothing like Working on a real desk. Console 1 put hands on the controls, but took your eyes off. Okay. But that whole 'It won't let me see what I'm doing thing" really bothered me. Now the SSL UC1 lets me pop out a plugin and See the damn plugin I'm tweaking. Fantastic. But not enough.
Allow me drag this out a minute longer...
Back in the old, well not analog old, but early DAW old days, there were only two DAWs that I know of that got the Mixer Window "right" as far as I'm concerned.
One is Harrison Mixbus 32C. There's a lot I could say about it, but the 1-knob per function, everything's right in front of you, no opening windows or menu diving... That's how mixing consoles feel. I hear something, look over and see everything, then grab a knob...well the mouse and tweak. I always assumed that Harrison would eventually make a dedicated controller, being a hardware company and all. There is RuCo, but I haven't tried it. I should.
The other one though, came out in 2009 when the global economy was in free-fall. It was simply called Record.
Its only Reason for its existing was to add a software based audio recording program to its parent company's other popular, but MIDI only software.
They Way over shot the mark, and turned their software mixer into an amazingly comprehensive SSL XL9000K SuperAnalogue virtual console 'emulation', complete with: Input Gain knob & Polarity reverse switch, many DAWs still lack that; flexible Routing options for the EQ, Dynamics, Insert Points, HP&LP Filters; basically the same 4-Band EQs, Comps, Gates that you see on all the other plugins & the real board; 8 Aux Sends, Pre/Post switchable; Fader, Pan, Mute, Solo, Meter with Pan having Width on Stereo channels; and Clicking on the inserts took you to a 'Rack' for which that company is famous.
The two crucial and unique things it did, for me was:
A) They put EVERYTHING on one channel strip, like a real board. Looking at that strip is like looking at a real Analog Channel Strip. One long line of buttons, knobs, and faders. Their innovations here were to a) allow you to collapse each section so you could view what you were working on without having to Scroll all the way up and down the strip and b) allow you to turn off anything you weren't using to conserve CPU.
B) Equally importantly, ALL of those channels were side-by-side in the mixer, AS CHANNEL STRIPS. you could glance at the mixer and SEE all of the knobs and all their settings, all at once. You could mouse over and click and drag any knob. You had the same Global View that you have while standing over an Analog Console with a full mix spilled across it. The visual representation was 1-to-1, and you can See all of the relationships in between channels.
I thought at least if mix engineers weren't going to switch to Record as their DAW of choice, it would still create a demand and other companies would learn from it. Basically none did, until now. (By the way, believe it or not, if you didn't know that company was Propellerhead and their main product was Reason. In about 2011 they merged Reason with Record, AND its mixer, into Reason 6. Propellerhead as a company is gone, now its Reason Studios, but the current version Reason 12, along with that SSL Mixer, which looks better than ever, is still there. Now I have to try it too....)
So, this brings us back to Solid State Logic, and SSL 360.
Well first off, unlike Console 1, it turns out you don't actually need any hardware to use it. Just the Plugins. A fantastic surprise!
So if you load the Channel Strip plugins on every channel in your DAW, then just launch the SSL 360 you are presented with a NO DEVICES DETECTED message, however to the left there's a button labeled PLUG-IN MIXER.
Click it and if you're like me your life changes!
All of those individual plugins in your DAW are sending realtime information to SSL 360, and EVERY Channel Strip is presented top to bottom, side by side, like an Analog Board.
Click the green full screen button on your Mac, on a second display, and that monitor becomes an SSL 9000K.
This is the Channel Strip DAW Mixer visualization I've been dreaming of for years, and using it does exactly for my mind what I imagined it would all along.
It shows you the whole picture, spilled out across the board.
You can reach over, with your mouse, and grab any knob and move it. And there's a Zoom to pop right into the EQ or the Comp. Right on the Mixer, not just in some floating window. But that works too! Adjust one you adjust the other, as well as the hardware, they're all in perfect sync. Finally!!
But then the little voice in my head says "Yeah but Console 1 gave me all those additional super powers...."
Well I now have a template with Console 1, SSL Channel Strip, and Izotope Neutron on every channel!
Okay that too way too much of my day, so I'll leave it there.
If anyone reads this far, I will be stunned, and grateful, and apologetic.
At some point this became more about getting it out of my head than into a comment section.
Again Thanks Dan!!!!!
Not the first time you've released a video that hijacked my whole day.
G.
(The End!)