Waves Announce A Host Of New Plugins At AES 2015

Our friends at Waves have announced a host of new plugins at AES 2015, they include a new vocal plugin, sub align plugin for FOH engineers and a new synth.

Waves Sub Align Plugin

Waves say this about their new Sub Align Plugin, aimed at FOH engineers.

Sub Align, a revolutionary tool that provides an original solution to a problem that Live FOH engineers repeatedly encounter, and for which, until now, there was no all-embracing solution: aligning sub and top speakers in unaligned and inaccessible full-range PA systems. Waves Sub Align is a must-have survival tool for any live sound engineer, enabling full control over your sub and top alignment.

The problem:
The physical position and distance between tops and subs are critical for the overall punch and clarity of a PA system. However, most performers and engineers around the world play small and mid-size venues where very often the tops and subs are not properly aligned; they are usually stacked somewhere all the way in the back or sides of the venue, in order to clear space for tables, etc., causing the sound coming out of the unaligned PA system to be smeared, unfocused and usually with low impact. Moreover, the system processor is not accessible and the PA subs are tied in with the tops.

The Solution
Sub Align puts you in charge of the venue’s PA sound with a simple and original solution: by giving you control over the delaybetween your tops and subs and creating a crossover point between them, it enables you to “move” your subs back or forward in relation to the tops, until you reach the alignment point that sounds best to your ears. No longer do you have to waste precious time fighting unaligned PA systems with EQs and compressors. To achieve extra clarity and punch, Sub Align also gives you control over the subs’ volume and polarity/phase.

Sub Align puts the control in users’ hands, giving them the ability to get a clearer and punchier mix, no matter the venue.

Greg Wells VoiceCentric Plugin

The Greg Wells VoiceCentric plugin is the first in a line of Greg Wells Signature Series plugins, created in collaboration with Wells, who has songs on over 85 million units sold.

The VoiceCentric plugin is a user-friendly and straightforward plugin, featuring one main control and three additional controllers for Wells' customized Delay, Doubler and Reverb settings.

Designed for those looking for an A-level mixed vocal sound, this plugin gives you a quick, world-class solution for vocal processing, together with access to Greg Wells’ signature sound.

Greg Wells is a multiple GRAMMY®-nominated producer/composer/musician and mix engineer Greg Wells (Katy Perry, Adele, One Republic, Mika, Twenty One Pilots).

Element 2.0 Virtual Analog Synth

Element 2.0 is an updated version to the original Waves Element, an analog-style polyphonic instrument engineered to deliver the fat, gritty sound of the classics, with all the precision, flexibility and control of contemporary digital synths.

Element includes a vast array of convenient features and functions, including integrated effects, a 16-step arpeggiator/sequencer, MIDI Learn for all controls and a massive preset library with total tweakability. Plus, all parameters are laid out right there in front of you, so when inspiration strikes, there’s no need to scroll through page after page to customize your sounds. Searing leads, booming basses, ethereal pads, electro-percussion, sequential motions, mind-blowing FX and lots more: Element does it all.

The updated Element 2.0 is a VST that will help close the sound gap between Analog and Digital synthesizers. It includes Waves’ 2nd generation “Virtual Voltage” technology that provides users with an unprecedented realism in emulating analog component behavior:

High-resolution oscillators – uncompromising fidelity across the full range.
Zero delay feedback filters – faithfully replicating analogue filters behavior and character.
Vastly improved anti-aliasing – free of digital artifacts even at extreme settings.
Updated envelope behavior – closely mimicking the curve response of analogue components.
Element 2.0 will also run side by side with the original Element synth, so users will be able to flip back and forth between the two at the touch of a button. This feature will mean that all presets from Element will also work in Element 2.0. 

Additional features include a new “Unison” algorithm with selectable 2- and 4-voice modes, re-designed high quality Reverb and a new Crusher effect.

As soon as we have our hands on these new Waves plugins we'll put them through their paces with review.