Waves NLS

Waves NLS | Reviews
87
VERDICT
STABILITY
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VALUE
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EASE OF USE
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VERSATILITY
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RESULTS
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Waves prove once again that they
have the ability to hit the top. An
excellent plug-in.
Drive, as the name suggests,
pushes more signal through the
channel. The Output fader allows you
to both increase and decrease the plug’s
output, which is particularly useful as
being dependent on source-level drive
can make things very hot. The other
knob allows you to select none or any
one of the eight control groups. Then
you have a Bypass switch, a Noise
switch that bypasses the modelled
channel noise (yes, they went that far)
and a Mic switch.
A lot of engineers push a line signal
through a mic amp for all the extra
harmonic distortion that can add and
the Mic switch emulates that. It’s only
available on a channel, but apart from
that the buss controls are identical.
If you open the Load menu, you get
to choose between the 32 different
channels from each console. NLS
automatically loads the next channel
with each extra instance you use but
this allows you to override that order or
choose your favourite channel for
certain instruments.
Amp it up
On the top-right you’ll see a button
marked VCA TAB. Click this and a
second page opens up, showing what
looks like a little mixer. These are the
controls for the eight VCA groups. Here
you can globally set all the functions of
the channels or busses connected to it,
including a group bypass which allows
for very simple A/B switching when
processing multiple channels.
So the big question is, how does it
sound? We’ve been using Slate
Digital’s VCC for a while now, and we
love what that does to our mixes, so
we’re already sold on the idea of
console emulation.
The fi rst thing you notice with NLS
is that there’s a very obvious colour
change between the three console
choices. Even with all the drive controls
set to minimum, you really get the
impression that something is happening
and, having worked many times on
these period Neve and SSL consoles,
we can only say that they sound how
we’d expect them to. We’ve always
advocated running consoles hot, so the
drive controls quickly came into play
and you can push them just like on the
real thing. Taking things up to the point
of distortion and then backing off a
touch gives you all the harmonic
richness you’d expect, and that feeling
of added space and depth.
Annoying little peaks get fl attened
out so there’s less need to reach for a
compressor, and that mysterious bit of
audio glue that you get from a great
console is there by the bucketload.
Console heaven
The real surprise is the Mike Hedges
EMI. We’ve never had the chance to
work on an original but, having tried
the NLS version, we’ve really been
missing out. It’s got wonderful
presence and warmth and when you
push it hard it just keeps sounding
beautiful and musical.
The mic option on all three is a real
treat, providing a great way to get very
usable distortion, and again sounds just
like it should. Of course the beauty here
is that you can build your own hybrid
console in your DAW using the different
colours for different instrument types,
and because the drive control on the
VCA group is an
offset master, you
can set all your
channels how you
want and then try
adding a bit more
or less overall from
the group itself.
If you’re
looking for that intangible something
that an analogue mix gives you, then
this is the closest yet that we’ve tried ‘in
the box’. Hats off to the Waves team.
They’ve done it again.
SPECS
Requires Waveshell 9
System Requirements:
PC: Intel Core 2 Duo
2GHz/AMD Athlon 64 or
equivalent, 4GB RAM,
Windows 7
Mac: Core Duo 2.3GHz, 4GB,
OS X 10.6.8 or 10.7
Authorisation: The new
Waves License Centre
allows you to authorise the
machine or put your
authorisation onto a USB
fl ash drive. We tested it and
it works very well
ALTERNATIVES
Slate Digital Virtual
Console Collection
$249
VCC has many pro fans
and with good reason. Not
capable of such extreme
settings as NLS but
excellent and well worth
the comparison.
www.slatedigital.com
URS Classic Console
Strip Pro
$299
While it doesn’t have the
grouping capability of
NLS or VCC, you get lots
of console emulations,
compressors and EQs in
one plug.
www.ursplug-ins.com
Nebula3 Pro
139 euros
Nebula emulates consoles
and outboards by analysing
them. You can make your
own patches or buy them
from many third-party
developers. Not the
simplest of plugs but well
worth checking out.
www.acustica-audio.com
The real surprise is Mike Hedges’
EMI – push it hard and it just keeps
sounding beautiful and musical
During their research into
the NLS project, Waves’
engineers came to realise
that it’s the tiny
differences in harmonic
response and distortion
characteristics on each
individual channel of a
console, which gives it a
large part of its sonic
character. Obviously, the
fundamental circuit
design and the
components used make
up the bulk of the sound
but, unlike their digital
counterparts, analogue
components are made
to within certain
‘tolerances’ so even with
the highest quality
components there are
minute differences. Put
them together over a
large-scale console and
those variations make a
much bigger difference.
It’s this non-linearity that
Waves saw the opportunity
to emulate with NLS.
Consequently, Waves
have modelled 32
channels from each
console and the master
outputs. So, when you
insert 32 instances on
32 channels of your
DAW, each instance can
be of a different channel
on the original console.
Those component level
variations of the originals
can then make up the
fundamentals of your own
personal console within
your DAW, with all the
fl exibility that digital
control can offer.
Non-linear Summing?
FMU255.rev_waves.indd 87 6/20/12 4:59 PM