Tony Maserati Collection
Waves
mode activates the additional ‘buzz’ efect. In
practice, this makes the B72 a winner for a
multitude of low-end treatments. We found this
particular treatment more swirly than buzzy,
though, so don’t expect it to dirty up a sound.
Most welcome, however, is the input dynamics
section, with the input lamp moving from
green through amber to red, indicating the
amount of compression.
DRM ofers a one-stop shop for all drum kit
elements. The seven presets (BD, SNR TOP, SNR
BOT, HH, TOMS, OH and ROOM) all rely on
diferent combinations of the same parameter
set. This time, direct EQing control is limited to a
Treble knob, with the emphasis being more on
frequency-speciic dynamics via the Thump and
Snap controls. The former seems to combine
both EQ and compression with plus/minus
settings. Whereas the latter is a one-way
ticket to fast attack/slow release dynamics,
and you simply wind it up until you reach the
desired amount.
Strings and things
ACG is the simpler of the two guitar processors,
with its two modes (ACG1 and ACG2) ofering a
slightly diferent underlying sound. The EQ is
three-band, but notched rather than continuous,
and the compression is this time applied using
the Input Sensitivity knob. The onboard efect is
a room reverb with adjustable exciter and
pre-delay. In use, we found ACG1 produced a
thinner tonal response with a brighter reverb,
while ACG2 responded with a thicker, heavily
compressed and more upfront sound.
GTi is probably the most complex processor
in the bundle, with ive operating modes – Clean,
Clean Chorus, Heavy, Thick Rhythm and Soft
Flange – each featuring diferent
sound-colouring options. This applies not only
to the efects available (Chorus, Vibrato, Delay
and Efect Width), but also the dynamics and EQ.
We found that, while it was possible to match
knob settings between two modes, the results
were diferent, indicating additional stuf going
on under the hood. Even so, the options
achieved everything from a tight, picked sound
to a swirly, efected one.
Being vocal
VX1 is the vocal processor, with Contour 1, 2, or 3
modes, each of which has its own reverb/delay
combo (studio, larger chamber and very small
room respectively). You’ll also ind that Contour
3 replaces the Compress option of the other two
with an Air parameter. Again, we found that each
mode afected vocals in a subtly diferent way:
Contour 2 produced the fullest, most natural
sound, and Contour 3 the most compressed, for
example. The EQ options seemed similar across
all modes, but the Air control acted like a
dynamic EQ at various points. Overall, the
included reverbs work well, and you could view
them as a quick ‘try out’ option or as one aspect
of a more complex mixing setup.
All in all, the Tony Maserati Collection is a
broad and easy-to-use set of plug-ins that
cleverly disguises plenty of complex, underlying
processing. At times, we found this refreshing
and at other times slightly annoying, but
ultimately, the results were good, which is the
important bit. It certainly doesn’t replace the
need for more traditional processors, but as a
palette of additional colours, it’s excellent.
Contact Sonic Distribution, 0845 500 2 500
Web www.waves.com
Verdict
For Gives a taste of Tony’s sound
Easy-to-use format
Novel instrument-speciic concept
Good results obtained quickly
Against Pricey!
Sometimes unclear what’s happening
The ‘black box’ approach will frustrate
some, but this atypical Waves ofering
succeeds due to its hit-making sonics
Alternatively
Waves The JJP Collection
131 >> 8/10 >> £480
Another ‘celebrity’ bundle ofering
speciic vintage emulations
Sonnox Oxford Elite Bundle
N/A >> N/A >> £744
This seven-processor pack covers
plenty of more traditional ground
The HMX Harmonics Generator is the
only plug-in in the Tony Maserati
Collection that isn’t obviously
instrument-speciic. The manual states
that it’s designed for keyboards and
strings primarily, but it’s basically a
jazzed-up reverb/delay processor
that can be very good for all manner
of applications.
First up, it has two distinct modes:
Modal and Bounce. Modal includes an
ambience-type reverb with Size and
Mix controls and a modulated delay in
the form of Spread for adding artiicial
width. Bounce mode replaces the
ambience with a spaced-out delay, with
both sync and manual tempo modes. It
also includes a high-frequency
enhancer as an efects send.
Clearly, it’s a bit of a hybrid plug-in,
and, of course, you can use it alongside
or in series with any of the others. In its
own right, we found that the Modal
setting was great for thickening things,
due to the combination of its two types
of efects.
Overall, Bounce mode is subtler, but
we found it excellent for adding life to
dry acoustic guitar, for example.
However, it’s not clear why Waves
couldn’t have made all options of both
modes available simultaneously. Even
so, HMX is a useful plug-in that tackles
uncommon processing tasks very well.
The odd one out
Does the GTi guitar processor go to 11? It’s hard to tell,
as none of the controls have value markings!
“This disguises
precisely what’s
going on, but also
encourages you to
use your ears”
Waves say it’s aimed at strings and keyboard sounds, but HMX works well on a variety of signals
July 2009 / / 95
waves tony maserati collection / reviews <
CMU140.rev_maserati 95 15/5/09 11:33:50 am