Waves Jack Joseph Puig Pack

Waves Jack Joseph Puig Pack | Reviews
97
time constant can really affect how you
perceive the attacks in the track. The
50/60Hz switch does make a difference
too, 60Hz sounds a little crisper while
the 50Hz seems to make it just a bit
thicker in the low end and a little more
‘chewy’. Maybe that’s why so many
American guitarists complain that their
amps don’t sound how they expect
them to in the UK!
EQuality
With this package come emulations of
the two classic Pultec units, the EQP1A
and the MEQ5. The EQP1A is the
‘program’ EQ and the MEQ5 the mid-
range unit, the front panels being
faithful to the originals with, as on the
Fairchilds, the addition of a voltage
frequency selector and an output level.
They also come with a suitably vintage
looking VU meter, which contains an
overload indicator.
One of the great features of the
EQP1A is the ability to simultaneously
boost and cut on the same band in the
low frequencies. You’d think that this
would result in the two controls
cancelling each other out, but on a
Pultec, the LF becomes a resonant shelf
adding another dimension to what you
can do to the low end. The HF boosts as
a notch with bandwidth control and
seven selectable frequencies and cuts
as a shelf with three selectable
frequencies, allowing you to focus in on
a specific area while shelving out what
goes on around or above. In practice,
this deceptively simple looking EQ has a
very broad range of possibilities. Add to
this the MEQ5 and you have a full range
EQ with some very individual features.
I’ve used many Pultecs over the
years and they have always been a
weapon of choice because, beyond
anything else, they sound so musical.
From the real weight they add in the low
end to the mid-range crunch on drums
or a distorted guitar and the ‘air’ and
sheen they put into the highs, and all
with that legendary warmth, they are the
perfect foil to the clinical nature of
digital. Even with the most extreme
settings the sound is always believable
– it’s never too twisted or nasty. To get
that into a plug-in is quite an
achievement but Waves have done it.
Both these equalisers give exactly what
they should. Whatever you ask of them
they do just what you’d expect, and like
the originals the results are musical,
warm and solid.
Puig perfection
I’ve looked for criticisms but to be
honest, I can’t really find any. Waves
plugs are never cheap and these are no
exception, but at
the very high
standards that
they set for
themselves, and
achieve, they
justify the price.
In 27 years, I’ve
used a lot of
Fairchilds and Pultecs and no two are
ever the same. The characteristics are
always similar and you get to know the
good ones from the bad but if I came
across units sounding like these in a
studio I would use them every day. Now
there’s no need to raid Jack Joseph
Puig’s rack with a screwdriver.
SPECS
Mac: G5 2.0GHz or Intel-
based 1.83GHz, 1024x768
display, 1Gb RAM, OS X
10.4.11 or higher
PC: Win XP or Vista, Intel
Pentium 4 2.8GHz / AMD
Athlon 64 or equivalent,
1024x768px display,
2Gb RAM
Version requirements for
host applications.
DAE
Pro Tools HD 7.3.1cs6/7.4,
Pro Tools LE 7.3.1cs6/7.4,
Pro Tools M-Powered
7.3.1cs6/7.4
VST
Cubase SX4.1.2,
Nuendo4.1.2, Live 7-7.0.7.
Audio Units
Logic 8.0.2, Garage Band
Version 4.1.1,
DigitalPerformer 5.1.3,
SoundTrack 2.0.2,
MainStage-1.0.2,
Wave Burner 1.5.2
The sound gives the impression
that it will jump out of the speakers
and smack you between the eyes
Why Emulate?
With all the myriad of
compression and EQ plug-
ins on the market at the
moment why do
manufacturers devote so
much time to bringing out
emulations of old gear?
Well, the answer is in the
detail. Taking the
Fairchilds and Pultecs as
examples, these units
have been used by
engineers since the
1950s. The reason they
have lasted is that they
sound incredible. Each
one of them has it’s own
individual characteristics
and no two sound exactly
the same. That’s why
Waves went to Jack
Joseph Puig for this
collection and UAD, for
example, went to Alan
Sides at Ocean Way in LA
when they brought out
their Fairchild. The plugs,
while similar, really do
give two different
sounding results and that
means more choice for the
rest of us and more
sounds to add to our
palettes. If you are
chasing the feel of
recordings made when
these units were the
standard kit in studios,
(and that means from
1951 to today) what
better place to start than
with good emulations.
Most manufacturers have
demo’s available, so try
before you buy and find
out why these things are
so loved. Now what about
some Decca EQs and
some Pye compressors?
ALTERNATIVES
UAD1e: Express Pak
£266
This card comes with $100
worth of credit on the UA
site, where you buy and
register extra plugs, and
they also have an offer at
the moment which gives
you $150 extra credit. This
means you could get their
version of the Fairchild and
Pultecs just by buying the
PCI card.
uaudio.com
Bomb Factory
Fairchild and Pultec
emulations
Fairchild: $550
Pultec: $550
I’ve used these and they are
not bad, but the JJP and the
UAD really are, in my
opinion, much closer to the
real thing, and being Bomb
Factory you can only use
them with Pro Tools.
digidesign.com
VERDICT
STABILITY
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VALUE
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EASE OF USE
❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚
VERSATILITY
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RESULTS
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Very expensive, but then they
sound it. Demo them at your credit
cards peril!
FMU206.rev_jjp 97 12/9/08 2:35:0 pm