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Waves Gold Native 3.6
Mastering & Effects plugin software For Mac and Windows

Waves Gold Native "Everything you need for mastering and effects."
Beat Mode gives Waves Gold Native 3.6 a 10 out of 10 star rating!

Waves Gold Native is truly the Rolls Royce of plugin software for mastering and effects processing on the Mac and PC. There is no question that Waves has had their share of acclaim from the professional recording and mastering segments of the music industry, and we too just can't help adding a little more praise to their portfolio.

Not an inexpensive bundle, Waves Gold Native 3.6 retails for $1,300. and has a street price of around $900 to a $1,000. While at first glance the price may seem high, in reality the vast array of plugins included in this bundle really makes Waves Gold Native 3.6 quite a value. Granted, in this day and age of free and low cost DirectX and VST plugins, it may be difficult to part with your hard earned cash just to grab some new toys, but Waves Gold Native 3.6 is far from an ordinary bag of toys. Included in this comprehensive software bundle are some of the most essential plugins for recording musicians and engineers who desire to obtain professional results from their computer recording systems.

Plug-In Formats Supported by Waves Gold Native 3.6

TDM Mac:Yes Windows:Yes
RTAS Mac:Yes Windows:yes (with v3.2)
AudioSuite Mac:Yes Windows:Yes
VST Mac:Yes Windows:Yes (with v3.2.1)
MAS Mac:Yes Windows:No
DirectX Mac:No Windows:Yes

Now, also included in the Waves Gold Native 3.6 bundle are the new C4 Multiband Parametric Processor and Renaissance Reverberator! This ups the ante and makes the bundle even more of a value.

The Waves Gold Native Bundle comes packaged with: Renaissance Compressor, Renaissance Equalizer, L1 Ultramaximizer, MaxxBass, Q10 Paragraphic, S1 Stereo Imager, C1 Parametric Compander, Enigma, Supertap, MondoMod, Doppler, UltraPitch, MetaFlanger, TrueVerb Room Emulator, DeEsser, AudioTrack and PAZ Psychoacoustic Analyzer. It comes in a hefty box with printed manuals for each of the plugins. It weighs more than a phone book and looks nice tucked away on a shelf. Very pleased at the thorough printed documentation. Help within the plugins are also only a click away, plus PDF files are included with the installation.

Wow! What a bundle! That's a ton of stuff! In fact when you pull up the Direct X Menu or the Waveshell Menu for the VST effects list in Cubase you come upon a long list of plugs that continues on past the first page of on the menu! There are variations on many of them as well such as stereo and mono versions, 1 band, 10 band etc. This makes it easy to lighten the load on your CPU if necessary. But don't worry, the latest 3.6 version seems to run more efficiently than ever, with SSE optimizations and such to reduce processing stress.

OK, that's a lot of plugins... What exactly do they do? First off a quick note about my previous experience working with Waves products. Originally I became familiar with Waves when I got the Waves Power Pack for my Mac back in 1997 or so... I soon became hooked on it's L1 Ultramaximizer which is the ultimate brick wall limiter and a much respected tool of professionals to get the hottest sounding tracks possible (without annoying coloration). It became a staple on all my final mixes. I just can't rave enough about the L1 Ultramaximizer! In fact, I'd say that the price of admission for the Waves Gold Native bundle is justified alone by this one incredible plugin!

Fast forward a few years to more recent times and I have moved most all of my music production from my G3 450 Mac to a Windows Pentium 4 1.7 PC. Initially I found it difficult to work without Waves on my PC. I found myself mastering on the Mac (using Bias Peak). But now that I have Waves Gold Native on my PC I no longer find the need to even boot up my old friend the G3. (Now if only Pluggo would go PC!)

The new Gold Native Bundle includes so much more than my old Power Pack with a mind bending assortment of Plugins for both tweaking and mutilating pleasures. I'll go down the list and give a brief description of each plugin. There are no duds and almost all of the Waves Gold Native plugins find their way into my recordings. And of course the L1 Ultramaximizer is utilized on every single final mix.

L1 Ultramaximizer

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The L1-Ultramaximizer from Waves combines lookahead peak limiting with advanced requantization. This gives maximum level and highest resolution for all audio applications, from CD mastering to multimedia. L1 can be used as a mono or stereo limiter, with or without IDR processing, as well as the 'original' L1. TDM users can place the L1 limiter on a vocal track, for instance. You can also place the IDR plug-in at the end of a chain of plug-ins or on your master fader.

Features: 48bit double precision, dithered to 24bit output for TDM, Lookahead peak limiter for maximum level, Two types of dither Three noise-shaping curves for optimal control, Maximum peak control with minimum distortion, Requantize to 24, 20, 16, 12, and 8-bit output, Sample-accurate peak hold metering, Adjustable release time

Applications: Create maximum levels for CD's and multimedia, Use as final audio processor in mastering, Maximize audio level and resolution, Minimize quantization noise, Create 20-bit files with 23-bit perceived signal to noise, Create 16-bit files with 19-bit perceived signal to noise, Create 8-bit files with 11-bit perceived signal to noise.

The L1 Ultramaximizer is a monster! It truly creates hot yet pleasant sounding final masters that will put your songs in the league of the big boys! It is a must have plugin!

C4 Multiband Parametric Processor

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The C4 Multiband Parametric Processor has 4 band up and down expansion, limiting, compression, plus dynamic and standard EQ. Compress the bass, expand the mid, De-ess the highs, EQ the air, all with complete understanding and control. No tiny LCD screens or confusing menus. Pure multiband power. Instant gratification. Each band of the C4 includes threshold, range, attack, release, and gain. Crossover has independent bandwidth control and global Q adjustment. This unmatched flexibility allows highly different functions in each band simultaneously. For example, you can compress the lows, expand the low-mids, add fixed gain to the upper mids (with no dynamic change), and limit the highs, all at once. The combinations are staggering and give you the ultimate in tonal control.

Features: 4 fully-parametric bands for any combo of compression, expansion, limiting or EQ, ARC™--Waves patented Auto-Release Control TechnologyTrue Parametric control including independent threshold, range, gain, attack, release and bandwidth per band, DynamicLine™ display shows all parameters simultaneously, with exclusive Waves select-and-drag capabilities, Global variable slope (Q) control.

Renaissance Reverberator

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The Renaissance Reverberator. Classic sound and controls for the demands of everyday production. Designed to be musical, not technical, Renaissance processors have clean and simple interfaces that are ultra functional with minimal clutter. The Renaissance Reverberator is the newest addition to the series, and is as easy to use as any classic processor with just a few straightforward controls and simple interfaces. It features rich reverb tails, plus a second generation early reflection system, providing density and texture.

Renaissance Reverb is a sweet reverb with lots of great presets! A great addition to this bundle!

Renaissance Compressor

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Exceptional compressor with Opto and Electro modes, plus ARC™ auto-release, and L1 style limiter on output. When you use Renaissance Compressor, you can: Get a hard punch from any solo track using Opto compression-mode. Get in-your-face vocal and instrumental processing using Electro compression-mode. Add up to 6dB or more to the output, maximizing levels with minimum distortion using a new no-clip 'brick-wall' internal limiter. Produce a warm rich sound using a 'Warm' character setting that adds low frequency harmonics to the original signal. Designed to be musical, not technical, Renaissance Compressor has a clean and simple interface, rather than an emulation of hardware controls.

Features: 56bit precision dithered to 24bit output for TDM, Opto-compression-mode - emulates opto-coupled hardware compressors. Ideal for mastering or submix compression. Electro compression-mode - allows deep compression by increasing release times at high attenuation levels. Ideal for in-your-face vocal or instrument processing! No-clip 'brick-wall' internal limiter - add up to 6dB or more to the output, maximizing levels with minimum distortion. Warm character setting - add low frequency harmonics while approaching deeper compression to produce a warm, rich sound. ARC (Automatic Release Control) technology delivers greater RMS levels. Comprehensive factory presets.

Renaissance Equalizer

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Renaissance Equalizer. Vintage EQ for rich, clear equalization. It has Michael Gerzon and Baxandall filter-curves that emulate the warm sounds of analog vintage-style EQ filters. If you have a slightly dull or flat track, during final mastering you can tweak the edges and really breathe some life into it.

Waves innovative standard functions allow simultaneous multi-parameter adjustment, so if you design a filter-curve that you like, you can select all bands and adjust them all together while maintaining the curve. It includes real-time graphing, preview, bypass functions and all with just a few intuitive clicks.

 

MaxxBass

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MaxxBass. An unparalleled (and patented) mixing and mastering tool. Maximum bass response from any system is in your hands. Now 88.2/96kHz-ready for many native platforms!

Push the low-end capabilities of your speakers to the maximum. Creatively add bass harmonics to extend perceived bass response. For mastering or mixing, MaxxBass delicately sharpens the bass without blurring other musical instruments. MaxxBass patent pending technology takes your bass to the maximum on more speaker sizes, from any source, by adding a series of harmonics to the signal.

These harmonics stimulate a psychoacoustic bass-enhancing effect – a phenomenon that small speakers rely on to play audible bass. MaxxBass simply maximizes this known acoustical phenomenon.

Thus bass frequencies are greatly enhanced without traditional EQ or bass compression. Taken to the extreme, you can actually remove the original bass signal completely and the ear will still "capture" the fundamental from the added harmonics.

MaxxBass helps you hear better bass on all speakers, from your full-range to your laptop. Whether for mastering enhancements or site-specific mixing, your ears will perceive an amazing low end.

Q10 ParaGraphic EQ

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Q10 ParaGraphic EQ: The world's most powerful equalizer, even used by other designers to design their EQs. 200+ audio effects and processes in the setup library, from SuperNotches to precision mastering.

The Q10 provides precision control of equalization from subtle adjustments to extreme complex filters. Ideal for any aspect of audio production. Q10 works in mono/stereo, and with 1 to 10 bands of equalization. For instance, place 2 bands of mono parametric EQ on 30 tracks.

Setup library with over 200 setups including: PseudoStereo, Brickwall bandlimiting, SuperParametric, SuperNotch, Baxandall, Psychoacoustic noise filters, Telephone, AM, Multimedia and many more!

 

S1 Stereo Imager

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S1 Stereo Imager: True Blumlein shuffling, MS/LR procesing, four unique stereo-image tools, unequaled anywhere. Now 88.2/96kHz-ready for many native platforms and 48bit double precision, dithered to 24bit output for TDM! The S1 is a unique set of tools for remastering stereo mixes by enhancing and altering the stereo effect, designed for whenever the best stereo effect from a stereo track, mix or recording is required for mixing, mastering or remix applications.

Enhances stereo spatial effect, Remixing and rebalancing existing stereo mixes for remastering, Retains mono compatibility, Avoids phasiness effects, No alterations of tonal quality; no unwanted added effects, Simply brings out what is already there in the stereo mix

C1 Parametric Compander

C1 Parametric Compander: The ultimate one band dynamic equalizer, and father of the C 4. Select any frequency range, then compress, expand, limit, or gate those frequencies. Simply an astonishing dynamic EQ, with phase compensation for transparency and quality.

The C1 is a frequency-selective dynamic processor allowing two simultaneous dynamic processes. It is an expert tool for any application requiring compression, expansion or gating. Select any frequency range, then apply a dynamic process to that range, or use as a traditional wideband device. C1 offers mono and stereo capabilities of the compressor and/or the gate. Now the C1comp and C1gate also offer 88.2/96kHz support!

 

Trueverb

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Trueverb. One of the best room emulations in existence, with exclusive distance control. Define the room, choose your seat!

TrueVerb combines two separate modules - an Early Reflections simulator, and a Reverb - to produce a high quality, natural-sounding room effect. The user can define the room size, its decay time and frequency response, and, most uniquely, the distance (beyond the speakers!) to the sound source.

A design driven by psychoacoustic research gives TrueVerb its very convincing, yet uncolored sound. TrueVerb is specially designed for the multi-channel mixing environment. It will not change the original signal's stereo image, and will not alter the perceived level balance of the mix.

Creates more natural sounding rooms. Will not distort stereo imaging information. Will not alter mix balance. Position sounds in space according to psychoacoustic rules. Enhanced control over reverb characteristics. Simple and persuasive control over sound distance illusion. Informative & convenient interface. Wide range of frequency characteristics. Convenient storage and recall of setups. New types of reverb sounds. Allows for dense audio effects.

Low coloration reverberation and early reflection. Stereo compatibility. Constant perceived sound level. Novel distance control. Separate distance & reverb controls. Linked distance & reverb mode. Editable time response display. Editable frequency response display. New setup filing mechanism. Space dimensional control. Variational control.

DeEsser

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DeEsser. Precision high frequency dynamic processor, modeled after vintage gear for fast, easy de-ess ing/HF limiting. Now 88.2/96kHz-ready for many native platforms!

Isolate and attenuate specific high frequencies. Can be applied lightly to a wide variety of mixes producing great sounding results. The ideal audio plug-in for attenuating high frequency ‘ess’ sounds - perfect for editing solo vocal takes and instrumentals. Using simple controls and dynamic graphic interface, either BandPass or HighPass SideChain filter-modes can be selected to isolate specific 'ess' sounds for attenuation. Factory presets are included for male and female voices, including wide and narrow focus for "ess" and "shh" sounds.

DeEsser's low CPU requirements make it super-quick and easy to use. It includes sharp filters in the SideChain, an energy detector hard knee compressor and a crossover filter. DeEsser features wideband or split audio-modes for attenuating either the entire audio or just high range frequencies.

AudioTrack

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AudioTrack. The original channel insert with 4-band, fully parametric, EQ, compressor, and gate, all in one space-saving window, now 88.2/96kHz-ready for many native platforms! This is ideal for multimedia producers, voiceover, project studios, and more. Unbelievably efficient on any system, with undeniable quality!

AudioTrack's EQ is a true fully parametric 4-band EQ, with bell, shelf, and highpass/lowpass filters, all taken from the design of our famous Q10 equalizer. AudioTrack's Compressor includes expander ratios, plus a "one-hand" Autogain feature. The noise-gate removes background noise from voiceovers and more. And as a cherry on top, AudioTrack has excellent factory presets for producers in a hurry (who isn't?).

PAZ

 

 

PAZ: Realtime analyzer based on our hearing, shows 52 or 68 bands, with RMS, peak, weighting, variable integration time, and much more. Built on the math that the ear uses...See what you've been hearing!

Perfect for mastering, trouble-shooting, environmental analysis and more. See more of what your audio is really made of. See peak or RMS frequency content and levels quickly. Includes a Stereo Position Display for evaluating the 'spread' of the source. PAZ uses wavelet techniques (as opposed to FFTs) to provide users with optimal graphic accuracy. Individual bands update independently for the fastest response and consequently increased accuracy and resolution.

PAZ offers two distinctive real-time audio-analysis displays in addition to Peak/RMS metering: A distinctive continuous-graph Frequency Display - showing 52 bands most closely resembling the ear's constant Q critical frequency bands. A wavelet-based real-time analysis including RMS or Peak modes with dual channel or total-stereo-energy graphing from DC to Nyquist, and unweighted, C- and A- weighting modes. Optional resolution in 10Hz steps can be shown for precise analysis below 250Hz for a total of 68 bands. The display can be zoomed into any area of the graph, all the way to -80dBFS. Level analysis can be saved to a text file.

Doppler

Doppler. Create real-time doppler effects, both realistic and "outside the box".

Waves Doppler gives you auto and manual triggering modes, plus full control of air damping, panning, pitch, path curve, gain, start/stop points, and reverb tail.

 

 

 

 

Enigma

Enigma. Somewhat mysterious, totally innovative, Enigma is a completely new tool.

Ideal for creation of creative filtering, it combines a complex notch filter system, short delay feedback loops, and modulation. Absolutely distinctive.

Definitely Enigmatic.

 

 

 

MetaFlanger

 

MetaFlanger produces vintage tape-flanging, phaser-emulation, and special effects like no other flanger, ever.

Create gentle choruses, sharp phasing effects and a variety of true dual-delay flanging sounds quickly. The wet signal includes filters so you can flange or phase just part of the signal (and they are FIR filters for absolutely perfect harmonic alignment). Wow. Harmonic Convergence in a plug-in.Also features phase inversions at all key points, extensive factory presets of vintage emulations (Mutron, MXR, Itchycoo Park) and more.

 

MondoMod

MondoMod. A very unique combo of linked modulators: AM, FM, and Rotation (stereo panning), for gentle wandering guitar solo panning or bizarre destructive effects, all in one plug-in.

A single LFO drives all modulators with independent phase offsets between the modulator signals. Wacky, pulverizing, but still sensitive and totally unique, MondoMod throws a wrench into the works just when you need it.

 

 

SuperTap

SuperTap. Six taps with up to six seconds of mono or true stereo delay. Each tap includes independent Q10-style filtering, rotation (stereo panning), gain, and precision time control. Global LFO modulation and 2 feedback modes greatly expand the possibilities. Waves unique Rotation control on the feedback section can make each repetition progressively shift through (and outside) the entire stereo image.

Set either the tempo or pattern using the Tap Pad; set your delays using standard note values or milliseconds. Precision Ampex 440 head spacing delays, killer factory presets, etc. It's the Mother of Delays. (And Native users have the full 6 second delays *with* modulation).

 

 

Ultrapitch

UltraPitch. An incredible formant-corrected pitch shifter with 6-voices (yes, *six*). All pitch shifting is done with optional formant-correction to avoid the old chipmunk effect, or for excellent gender-bending.

Make a guy into a girl, or an alto sax into a tenor, etc. Each voice has independent stereo panning and delay, plus a little Animator delay-randomizer. Set the pitchshift by musical intervals (with 5 cent resolution), plus the formant mapping can be fully manual or you can use the presets that perfectly match instrumental formant responses.

UltraPitch can create huge and thick stereo chorusing, doubling, parallel harmonies, excellent vocal slap/spread effects, and much more! The factory presets include classic setups for instruments, voices, plus some rather "outside the box" effects.

 

Conclusion: Waves 3.6 plugins handled admirably in both VST and DirectX within host program Cubase VST. Also the plugins worked well within Sound Forge. We exprienced much greater CPU efficiency than with earlier versions. Waves 3.6 is a free update to registered 3.0 users and is a must have upgrade.

Mastering with Waves is a dream come true, with so much control over the finished product. A great many presets made chores very easy. Also when it comes to sound mangling, we were very pleased with the plugins Ultrapitch, Mondo Mod and Enigma. A great variety of sonic mutilation is possible, and a perfect weapon to spice up audio loops. Even some of the mastering type plugins can be utilized to mangle loops. Exploration is key to find new ways to mutilate.

For the money Waves Gold Native serves up a healthy dose of effect processing power. Though not inexpensive, the value overall is very high. Considering the power of L1 Ultramaximizer combined with all the other plugins this bundle is a must have for any serious computer recording enthusiast. You'll have all your bases covered and will be competing with the best studios in the world with many of the same tools they utilize. From post processing and mastering, to effects mangling, Waves Gold Native delivers the goods. Save up your money and get in on the action!

Beat Mode gives Waves Gold Native 3.6 a 10 out of 10 star rating!
"Indispensible. Must have. Cream of the crop."

Check out some of our loop manglings with WAVES on some Rebirth Loops.

mp3 file - click the file name to open, or right click and save target rebirth-circuit-133-01-mondo1.mp3 29k
mp3 file - click the file name to open, or right click and save target
rebirth-circuit-133-01-mondo2.mp3 29k
mp3 file - click the file name to open, or right click and save target
rebirth-circuit-133-01.mp3 ORIGINAL 29k
mp3 file - click the file name to open, or right click and save target
rebirth-rb-133-01-enigma1.mp3 29k
mp3 file - click the file name to open, or right click and save target
rebirth-rb-133-01-enigma2.mp3 57k
mp3 file - click the file name to open, or right click and save target
rebirth-rb-133-01-mondo1.mp3 29k
mp3 file - click the file name to open, or right click and save target
rebirth-rb-133-01-mondo2.mp3 29k
mp3 file - click the file name to open, or right click and save target
rebirth-rb-133-01.mp3 ORIGINAL 29k
mp3 file - click the file name to open, or right click and save target
rebirth-redstripe-133-01-enigma1.mp3 29k
mp3 file - click the file name to open, or right click and save target
rebirth-redstripe-133-01-enigma2.mp3 57k
mp3 file - click the file name to open, or right click and save target
rebirth-redstripe-133-01-enigma3.mp3 57k
mp3 file - click the file name to open, or right click and save target
rebirth-redstripe-133-01-enigma4.mp3 57k
mp3 file - click the file name to open, or right click and save target
rebirth-redstripe-133-01.mp3 ORIGINAL 29k
mp3 file - click the file name to open, or right click and save target
rebirth-redstripe-133-02-supertap1.mp3 57k
mp3 file - click the file name to open, or right click and save target
rebirth-redstripe-133-02-supertap2.mp3 57k
mp3 file - click the file name to open, or right click and save target
rebirth-redstripe-133-02.mp3 ORIGINAL 29k

Files that are dry and uneffected are designated as ORIGINAL.

Some of the plugins included with the Waves Gold Native bundle are perfect for mutilating loops. Check out some of our manglings.

If you'd like to snag WAV versions of any of the mp3 files for this set visit our FREE LOOP PAGE.

Click HERE to play all 16 of the MP3 files in succession

Beat Mode Waves Gold Native Links

Waves Web Site

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ProRec Review of Waves Native Gold Bundle

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Electronic Music Review Waves Gold Native

Electronic Musician Review of Waves Gold Native

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