Another new Waves plug-in - MPX Master Tape

[philbrown]

Gotta say, haven't listened to MPX yet, but I'm a big fan of Magnetic. I used it on metal/hard rock on the master fader just before Slate FG-X.

I haven't used Magnetic a whole lot since I just bought it, but I'm really impressed so far. Several nice color flavors and it does what it supposed to do very well at a fair price point (even without a special deal). I don't love all of Nomad's stuff, but some of their plugs are really excellent.

[melenko]

just before Slate FG-X.

I've just downloaded the demo, thank's.

[James Steele]

just before Slate FG-X.

I've just downloaded the demo, thank's.

Let us know what you think! I'm pretty pleased with it!!

[melenko]

OK!

[melenko]

Still waiting for an iLok licence...

[zed]

Finally a Tape plugin that actually looks delicious, with turning reels!! I would be happy to see that opened on my second monitor quite often. I really like the look of it, but I haven't tried the demo yet, though. YouTube demos sound pretty good though.

Of course, some of you have made me apprehensive about buying my first Waves plugin, with all that stuff about the highway robbery when upgrading. What I gather from their site is that there are no free upgrades, so unless I pay $200 for their upgrade plan, I am stuck with whichever version I purchase, even if it turns out that it doesn't work properly with the next version of DP, or with my OSX Lion upgrade. Is that correct?

Seems like a gamble, but maybe it is not as bad as all this. But if indeed there are no upgrades without the upgrade plan, is this a 64bit plugin and *likely* to work with DP for a few years without needing to pay for an upgrade?

[jloeb]

Things I bought from Waves 14 years ago still work and have been updated fairly reliably. It's not as bad as people make it out to be. Also, they're absolutely not going to charge you $200 to WUPdate if you only own one $99 plugin. $200 is the maximum per bundle.

Honestly, with their current pricing, Waves has prettied themselves up quite a bit in my eyes. They've finally realized - really realized - that they have actual, formidable competition in terms of quality now, and their pricing is finally reflecting that.

[kgdrum]

any verdicts on this plug?
I am somewhat hesitant to buy a product from Waves(dumped Gold NATIVE when they wanted WUP for OSX transition)but this looks like a good inexpensive tape flavor,how does it sound?flexibility,CPU usage etc......
I would love to get a UAD Quad w/ Studer but I can't afford it now, how does the Waves MPX vs UAD Studer compare?
Thanks
KG

[pencilina]

After 5 days or so with it I think it sounds profoundly good. I had a 1/2" Ampex 440B 4 track in my studio for many years that I'd mix to (I sold it a year or so ago) so I'm very familiar with the sound and though different the waves plug is just what the Dr. ordered for my occasional post partum longing for tape. You can dial in a a bit of crunchy tape compression or hit it soft and let it smooth out the sound. It really behaves like tape except you don't have to clean and calibrate the machine. I do miss the 440s violent transport and glowing meters. I think the MPX be across my master fader most of the time. The cpu hit on my machine seems low like 5-7%. There's a youtube video that tries to compare the different tape emulators:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjVtFJcgeik" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Best,

b

[Kubi]

Agreed, I think it's very good and useful to 'liven up' tracks that sound too 'digital' in some way or another.

[burp182]

One important thing to keep in mind - one of the developers of the plug said that the best results are gotten when the actual input to the plug isn't too hot. You can increase the gain once it's in there, but the best sound comes when you don't slam the actual input.
Good to know.

[zed]

One important thing to keep in mind - one of the developers of the plug said that the best results are gotten when the actual input to the plug isn't too hot. You can increase the gain once it's in there, but the best sound comes when you don't slam the actual input.
Good to know.

Yes, I discovered this by trial and error. With the record level all the way down and the playback level on full you get nice clean compression.

I'm having trouble convincing myself that I need this plugin, though. I'm looking for some sort of a magical transformation, and I am just not hearing it. There have been some instances where I thought the plugin made a mix sound better, but it is such a subtle difference. Other times the application seems slightly detrimental.

I have yet to hear a plugin that truly mimics the tone of magnetism on tape. The real thing has an organic quality that none of these plugins seem able to deliver.

I'd love to have it in my arsenal, but I'm not sure if I wanna cough up the $99 right now. I think I'm gonna wait to try out SoundToy's Juice before I purchase anymore plugins aimed at adding tape or tube tone to recordings.

Still love the GUI though. Those spinning tape reels make me happy.

[Armageddon]

I still haven't messed around too much with this one, but I do like that it replicates warble, tape noise, etc. If you use it in a subtle way (like most analog-emulating plugs), I imagine you can lay in some character without going overboard. Between this and my iZotope Vinyl plug, I can pretty much make all my recordings sound like crap! I'd still reach for T-RackS or PSP to warm up tracks or masters before this one, but again, the subtle nuances of MPX would be great at the tail end of a mastering chain. I'll have to experiment ...

I will go on record as saying that this plug makes a hell of a lot more sense than the King's Microphone, which I also got courtesy of my Waves v8.7 upgrade. First of all, unlike Antares Mic Modeler, it doesn't undo the characteristics of whatever mic you used to record something in the first place, so it's actually the "King's Microphone Plus Whatever Mic You Recorded With". Secondly, these mics were apparently terrible. I could see maybe using them for a very specific effect, like, if I wanted it to sound like Prince Phillip were singing a death metal tune back in 1939, but I think I would have rather they incorporated the three mics as part of a larger package that included Neumanns, Sennheisers, etc. And the ability to at least try and undo the characteristics of your original mic.

[davedempsey]

MPX is a great plug - subtle but great.

Armageddon

I will go on record as saying that this plug makes a hell of a lot more sense than the King's Microphone, which I also got courtesy of my Waves v8.7 upgrade

I've got the latest Mercury but King's Microphones isn't included....not that I'm feeling like I'm missing out... which bundle is it included in?

[zed]

MPX is a great plug - subtle but great.

Okay... the demo period ended and I broke down and purchased it... but not before reassuring myself that it was in fact doing some interesting and useful things on my tracks. I experimented with a few different instruments and combined it with other plugins and definitely like what it can do.

So now I own my very first Waves plugin.