jlaudon wrote:Ahh, Shoosh you bad man... I ended up picking up the C6 based on your post
I don't mind taking responsibility for that! If you are new to this set of sound-shaping plugins by Waves, there are some things that will get you up to speed quickly. The C4, Linear Phase MultiBand, and C6 are three versions of the same plugin, with roots in the C1, which more resembles the compressors we're familiar with from analog days. But the C6 and family couldn't be more different from analog devices. To get the most out of it, practice by manipulating the following and seeing what happens:
1) for each band, set the range to large positive and negative numbers. This is just for sake of experimentation and demonstration, so go ahead and set it far and wide to watch and hear what happens.
2) now set the threshold around the top of the yellow threshold meter. You should see the long orange line begin to dance up and down a bit for that band.
3) move the threshold further down and watch the results.
4) repeat with the range set to the other extreme, and at various points in between.
5) now use the gain to shape the line as you want. Using a combination of range, gain, and threshold, you can get compression with even volume, compression that changes dynamics, expansion that likewise keeps the volume more steady or changes dynamics (ie, limiting), EQ that changes with the dynamics, leveling (steady volume), and you can make some bands' ranges compress while others expand, or using the two floating bands, you can make them work against each other at specific volumes to make the results more complex.
6) the ARC release will help prevent artifacts, but manual adjustment of the releases can help with leveling or delayed decay.
Once you see how the threshold really goes to work in its sweet spot, or pushes extremes when set low, or produces mild changes when set out of the yellow range except in peaks, and so forth, you will see where the power of the C6 is. Yes, it's using basic compressor techniques, but somehow it seems a lot easier, more powerful, and far more flexible than regular compressors. The display helps to immediately establish what's going on in each band. You can solo bands to hear exactly what is happening.
Quickly set up all bands with the global controls on the far left. Then tweak each band with its own controls. If you like a setting, but you still want to hear changes, and you don't want to save it yet, just copy what you have to the B settings, then switch to B and tweak some more. The original settings are still available in the A display. Click A/B to compare.
It's pretty easy to get wrapped up in sound-shaping and lose track of your center. Bypass often for comparison, and don't forget the sound you were originally seeking.
Shoosh
Isn't life grand?
