alternative to waves

ec_pat5150 · Post by **ec_pat5150** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 7:30 pm

so i'm a waves user. but since i got my mac pro i've been unable to use them b/c they cause way too many problems.

the included plug ins with DP are pretty cool, but i'm looking for a really flexible reverb similar to the waves rverb. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

gregwhartley · Post by **gregwhartley** » Wed Nov 08, 2006 7:57 pm

Which Waves reverb are you referring to? If you're talking about one of the Waves bundles ones you may want to try the IR-1 - it's Waves, but it's awesome! Also, you could go with the UA DSP card and try its reverbs - or maybe a Powercore of some variety. Too many options! More info please

-Greg

The Sinner · Post by **The Sinner** » Wed Nov 08, 2006 8:20 pm

I want to get off waves cuz I do not like the way the company is heading. What are all these renting rumours I am hearing of now?

gregwhartley · Post by **gregwhartley** » Wed Nov 08, 2006 8:32 pm

Renting? Eww, gross.

jjohnson · Post by **jjohnson** » Wed Nov 08, 2006 9:13 pm

I always use the Apple AUMatrixReverb. It sounds great - and it's free

Try the 'Cathedral' setting (100% wet) on an Aux bus. Hard to beat if you ask me.

KarlSutton · Post by **KarlSutton** » Wed Nov 08, 2006 9:16 pm

wavearts masterverb 5 is pretty good for the money

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Wed Nov 08, 2006 10:28 pm

Anyone try any of the Eventide Anthology II stuff? I hear it's pretty good, but haven't heard much else about it.

http://www.eventide.com/

Seems like it could be comparable to some of the Waves in a way with a touch of UAD...

Free demo...!!

iMAS · Post by **iMAS** » Wed Nov 08, 2006 10:46 pm

I believe the Eventide plugs are for PT/TDM only.

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Wed Nov 08, 2006 11:28 pm

iMAS wrote:I believe the Eventide plugs are for PT/TDM only.

Well, hush my mouth. You're right again, iMas.

http://www.eventide.com/plugins/compatable.htm

So much TDM; so little money.

No wonder people are saying it sounds nice.

davedempsey · Post by **davedempsey** » Thu Nov 09, 2006 12:40 am

There's a lot of really good plugs available but I don't think any developer comes anywhere near close to the quantity and quality presented by Waves. You could get there by choosing from a substantial number of different product lines (and I've not done the research to this extent) but I would expect you'd end up paying substantially more for a comprehensive suite of plugs.
Financial considerations aside (WUP included) - with Waves you're dealing with 'the' established company and can feel confident that barring a major change in the game, (read catastrophic), your plugs will not fall off the radar screen in regards ongoing development.
I had a look at the Blue Tubes and thought they were quite nice. Waves Arts are also very nice plugs. DUY product is quite useful.. I heard the Sonalkis plugs are excellent but haven't used them.
I'll admit to taking the easy way out and buying into Waves, which is still the standard - a standard not often reached and sometimes surpassed by other developers - and I've never been other than happy with that choice.

ryst · Post by **ryst** » Thu Nov 09, 2006 5:16 am

Reverb-Altiverb
EQ-Hydratone, Valvatone, MWEQ
Compression-PSP Mixpressor, Blockfish, Sonalkis SV-315
Delay-PSP 608, Lexi 84, Lexi 42 or DP's delay plug

That's the bread and butter stuff that replaces most of the Waves stuff I like. For Maxxbass or Renbass replacement the PSP MixBass is pretty good.

The only Waves plug in that I haven't found a replacement for that I really like is Ren Vox. I use it sometimes just for the gate and I find it much easier to use than the C1 gate and i usually always get much better results with it. Come to think of it, the C4 is hard to find a replacement for too although I have Ozone 3 so maybe I should try the Multiband Dynamics section for certain tasks instead of C4.

ec_pat5150 · Post by **ec_pat5150** » Thu Nov 09, 2006 1:28 pm

well i've been hooked on the renaissance reverb. a similar plug in is what i'm looking for.

azusa749a · Post by **azusa749a** » Thu Nov 09, 2006 2:40 pm

Ambience, a donationware, is super nice.
I just tried AudioAcoustic reverb, and like it very much.
The reverb tail is so smooth.

larrytheo · Post by **larrytheo** » Thu Nov 09, 2006 3:25 pm

I second Altiverb, although it won't be Universal Binary for several more months (if you're going Intel Mac).

I also like the Univeral Audio reverbs, plus if you pony up for the UAD-1 you can also get the most awesome dynamics processors (1176, Fairchild, LA-2A, Precision Limiter, etc.). I like their EQs, too.

I'm going to be leaning more heavily on my UAD-1 now, since Waves is so off in la-la land about compatibility with DP 5.1.

Another possibility is...wait for it...buy a used Lexicon reverb and use outboard hardware. It sounds great and the few milliseconds of latency you incur with the A/D/A conversions won't matter so much with a reverb (that is, if you can't go AES3 or SPDIF).

I'm still trying to get to the bottom of the "major architectural change" that Waves claims MOTU made.

HCMarkus · Post by **HCMarkus** » Thu Nov 09, 2006 5:43 pm

I third the Altiverb vote... it is simply fabulous. So many choices, including one's favorite hardware 'verbs, all in one place. Altiverb is a rock, and ROCKS on G5 Quad. It is my everything (except tracking) reverp.

And Larry... you go girl! I have emailed Waves and MOTU on the compatibility concerns. As has been discussed many tiem here at UnicorNation, using AU versions of Waves plugs (Gold) works pretty well most of the time in DP 5.1, but most of the time is not cool for $1k in software.