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anonymous 10 November 2004

does anyone here master their tracks with the Wavesplatinum bundle? I'm not interested in mastering my own tracks professionally(no training, and professional mastering much better), I'm just curious as to the procedure or the order of plugins you use in order to achieve a better sound... i want to play around and see what i can learn but i have nowhere to start.
how do you go about mastering a track with Wavesplatinum?

Juan

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Ben Godin Wed, 11/10/2004 - 20:34

The only thing that i ever use from the waves bundle is the waves LinMB, and i use that to get a really nice bass sound and only for the bass, and even that doesn't happen too often. The waves package is a great daw mixing package, but for mastering you can use the LinMB and the L2 (the RCL and LinEQ are not very good for mastering).

Ben Godin Thu, 11/11/2004 - 09:47

Hey David, i like the LinEQ, but when you put it up to the UAD-1 series EQs or the Sonalksis EQ, imo (again this is an opinion), those two are better sounding and more accurate, even with the Q feature of the Waves EQ, i just like the accuracy of the other EQs for mastering, for mixing individual instruments the LinEQ sounds great

Ben Godin Mon, 11/15/2004 - 10:38

Trust me, ozone( :D ) , You just need more practice with Waves...
Ozone is a self contained 300 dollar program which is just a big money bribe, along with that goes t-racks. When it comes to the quality of the eqs and compressors of Waves vs. that of Ozone, there is no match between Waves and Ozone.

anonymous Tue, 11/16/2004 - 23:46

Waves vs Ozone

Hmm $300 may be a bribe but $1800 for Waves is extortion.

with Waves it seemed like when I moved the settings by 0.1 the sound changed dramatically. Especially with the EQs. I was using Waves for about a year before I tried Ozone. There's just something about the Waves sound that I don't like. When I was mastering with it there was always something I was trying to get but it always either missed the mark or was extremely hard to get.

Ozone just sounds more musical to me than Waves and didn't take long to get it set and sounding good. Which was a bit frightening to be honest after agonizing for hours over my settings in Waves.

The MBIT+ algorithm found on Ozone is pure genius. I'm not sure who developed it but it really sounds musical, for lack of a better word. The dither feature on Waves gives me a headache and I'm sure it can be blamed for plane crashes, depression and mad cow. (just kidding)

Believe me I tried really hard to like Waves (I paid an obcene amount for it), but it was pure hell trying to get a sound I was happy with. Even after a year of using it. Simply put, my Ozone masters are nicer to listen to.

In the end I guess it's just a preference really.

Ben Godin Wed, 11/17/2004 - 09:31

Nobody is forcing you to buy waves, there are many better packages than waves for mastering. But the hype about the Ozone (technology) is all bull in reality. If they honestly invented a system that is pure genius, im sure that ozone itself would not cost 300 dollars. Maybe you like ozone because they have more specific presets, with waves or any other processing unit that doesn't have specific presets one who isn't at pro level often finds their setting not exactly how they want and dislikes the program. Thats actually the reason why i shut out waves a few years ago when i was just starting, cause their presets were not good enough or detailed enough. Now that i don't use presets anymore I no loger look for apps that have the best presets, rather the truely better design and sound. I recommend the Sonalksis EQ and comp. Get the demo and compare that to the overboosted low end sound of ozone that makes it "pure genius" and get back to me on what you think.

I have to agree about the dither is waves it does suck. You can download the demo software version of the Apogee H22 dither system. I LOVE the sound of that and that of the Pow-r.

anonymous Wed, 11/17/2004 - 12:19

Ben Godin wrote: Nobody is forcing you to buy waves, there are many better packages than waves for mastering. But the hype about the Ozone (technology) is all bull in reality.

I haven't heard or seen any hype about Ozone. A friend of mine suggested it. Waves looks like the most hyped of the bunch.

Ben Godin wrote: If they honestly invented a system that is pure genius, im sure that ozone itself would not cost 300 dollars

Not necessarily. Look at VHS vs Beta. Beta was technically superior to VHS (still is) and cost less, but the developers of Beta lacked the marketing clout to make it a big seller. High price doesn't always equal high quality. But I digress.

Ben Godin wrote: Maybe you like ozone because they have more specific presets, with waves or any other processing unit that doesn't have specific presets one who isn't at pro level often finds their setting not exactly how they want and dislikes the program.

I don't use presets. Never have. And shame on you for equating my love of Ozone with not being at "pro level". :wink:

Ben Godin wrote: I recommend the Sonalksis EQ and comp. Get the demo and compare that to the overboosted low end sound of ozone that makes it "pure genius" and get back to me on what you think.

Sonalksis deserves more praise and attention than Waves. I just like Ozone. If it's wrong to like it, I don't want to be right.

Ben Godin wrote: I have to agree about the dither is waves it does suck. You can download the demo software version of the Apogee H22 dither system. I LOVE the sound of that and that of the Pow-r.

I was using UV22. Haven't heard of H22. Just might try it out. Same thing with UV22 though. Something about it that did my head in.

Ben Godin Wed, 11/17/2004 - 18:01

I think we should end the ozone battle here because to each his own 8-) , i meant the UV i was just thinking of something else. Anyways, pollen, if you like ozone keep using it, i would suggest looking at sonalksis, and im sorry if you feel that i was misjudging you, even though thats not at all what i intended at all i was just saying that may ppl get ozone for the price and for the presets. Waves in not at all my favourite for mastering, in fact i try to stay away from plugins in general other than the UAD series. So best of luck to you pollen and i wish you luck with ozone.

I'm not sure where to get the UV, i know that it comes with wavelab, nuendo, probabaly cubase, and sonar 4.

anonymous Sun, 12/12/2004 - 11:42

I love Waves Mastering

Well I for one love the Waves Mastering plug ins. I start with their multiband compressor to shape the dynamics. Once you read the manual and it sinks in, it is a powerful compressor though transparant. So it won't change the great tones you got when you tracked and mixed the audio.

Then I go to their EQ. Again, it's like a George Massenburg EQ. It is transparent, however I like it better since it is a little smoother in the higher freq's.

Then go to the L2. The problem people have is they over to it here. Just go up to -3db. Anything more than that can kill your dynamics.

If I want a little warmth to the signal, I will add the UAD Pultec first and just turn it on which adds a little smoothness. Another option is to turn the Fairchild on as well. Though it can soften the low end too much, if you put it on a very low setting it can smooth out your signal.

So for me, the Waves mastering is great to use if your tone is already there, and you need just to polish up your mix. If I want to add a little color, I gently put the Pultec and Fairchild on.

Ben Godin Tue, 12/14/2004 - 04:11

Hey Revelation, i'm in Charlotte too 8-) , in the beginning i used the Waves Package because i thought that the EQ was very good, but after a period of time (before i started using outboard) i was using the Sonalksis EQ due to its, in my opinion, much better sounding on the basis of both accuracy and transparancy. Give it a try free at Sonalksis' website, there is a free 30 day demo, and give me a comparison of which are better.

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