Waves ssl plugin cla
Coders could go only so far before running into a brick wall of available CPU power.įast forward to today, when advanced processors allow for more sophisticated and detailed emulations. Back then, plugin designs were constrained by CPU performance.
Waves ssl plugin cla windows#
We’ve all learned a lot since 2006-the year when Apple started its transition from PowerPC to Intel, Windows was still on XP, Daniel Powter’s “Bad Day” topped Billboard’s Hot 100 and Intel released the Core 2 Duo. Well, testing and working with the SSL EV2 answered that initial question. Also, the workflow-oriented CLA MixHub includes an emulation of Chris Lord-Alge’s personal SSL E-Series console. When I first heard about SSL EV2-a new SSL E-series emulation-my initial question was “Why? What’s really different?” After all, Waves’ original SSL E-series and G-series channel strip plugins (introduced in 20 respectively) have become industry standards. Now, with SSL EV2, we’ve changed the game again.
Waves ssl plugin cla series#
But whether you’re looking to experiment, or just to quickly and efficiently dial up some polished-sounding tracks, the CLA Signature Series plug-ins have a lot of good sounds packed into their accessible interfaces.įind out more about the Waves CLA Signature Series here.For years, Waves’ SSL E-Channel and G-Channel strips set the standard for console emulation. You may not always get the best results from mismatching, but then again, you may come up with something new and exciting. I’ve mentioned it already, but it bears repeating-just because each plug-in is specifically designed to process a particular instrument doesn’t mean you can’t run a synth or guitar through CLA Bass, or a bass or acoustic guitar through CLA Vocals, or any application you think might be worth trying. And that brings up to the last suggestion. I wouldn’t hesitate to run one into other, but I’d take care to disable the features I don’t want in each, to avoid over-processing the signal. So the Pultec-style EQ and 1176/LA2A-style compression available in CLA Bass might provide very different results than the SSL-type EQ and dbx-style compression on tap in CLA Drums. Even though many of the controls are similar for each plug-EQ, compression, delay, reverb-the actual sound of those processors varies from plug-in to plug-in, as different kinds of EQs, compressors, etc., are emulated in each unit. Plus, some of these effects are the kind that need to be tweaked on-the-fly, like rhythmic delays, or the echo “Throw” switch, which lets you add a repeating echo to, say, a single word in a phrase.Īudio Example 5-CLA Effects: A repeating echo effect, added only to the last word in a phrase by Automating the Long Delay “Throw” switch (on-the-fly):Įven thought these plug-ins are presented as all-in-one solutions for different instruments and vocal tracks, there’s no rule that says you can’t combine them for additional flexibility. Even if you run them in auxes as well as channel inserts, you could end up instantiating quite a few of these in a mix, but to manage resources more efficiently, a little Automation could allow one instance to serve double or triple duty, dialing up just the right effect or setting in different parts of the song. Even though some of the features on tap here are also found scattered among the other plugs, there are FX here that are found nowhere else in the collection, like Phasing, Fuzz, dotted-value Delays, and even the classic Telephone Voice effect. The Compress fader’s Push (dbx160/SSL), Spank (1176), and Wall (limiting) settings move from thick boomy drums to tighter, stronger attacks, and you can further fine-tune the decay with the Gate fader, for a fair bit of control over the drum envelopes.Īudio Example 1-CLA Drums: Dry then processed (with separate instances for each drum):ĬLA Effects has so many classic effects built into it that you could probably handle an entire mix with this plug-in alone. Despite the simple controls, you can do that here, too. Engineers have always used compression and gating to coax a wide variety of sounds from a single drum kit-everything from tight R&B-style drums, to big, boomy rock drums. While basic in operation, there’s a surprising amount of variety in the sounds, especially between the three compression options. You may find that the different preset values, though designed for one drum, provide an interesting or unexpected result when mis-matched, and that’s how great sounds are born.ĬLA Drums has two dynamics faders: Compress and Gate. But don’t feel that you have to rigidly stick to that-go ahead and try the “wrong” drum setting, like choosing kick position on a snare track. The Drum plug-in has a knob that selects different preset values for each fader’s three options, for six different drums: kick, snare, toms, hi-hat, overheads, and cowbell (or general percussion & cymbals).