All controls have a pop-up value display when adjusted. The dual-concentric knobs are beautifully modelled, with clever implementation of controls using up/down and left/right mouse control for the different knobs, with helpful little arrow indicators appearing as you hover over them. But it is welcome, things are easier to see and manipulate, and it makes sense when LCD screens get ever larger and cheaper.ĭialling up the EQ plugins, one is confronted with a huge screenfull – these are lovely authentic graphic recreations, with a few helpful modifications. This seems rather incongruous with the rather diminutive hardware API equivalents. Opening any of them, one is initially surprised by the enormity of the window size – this seems to be current policy with Waves, as other recent releases boast similarly large graphics.
The plugs support TDM, RTAS, AudioSuite, MAS, VST, DirectX and AU formats, and in Pro Tools show up in all the expected places. Furthermore, the reselling procedure seems rather complex. There is also the matter of WUP for purchasers, meaning that an already expensive purchase gradually becomes more so. I have yet to have this complete smoothly for any demos, and this was no exception. Waves’ tedious installation and authorization process is more complex than most companies’. Oddly, the simpler 525 compressor is absent. The collection comprises three vintage EQ channels and the more recent 2500 buss compressor.
API developed their 2520 op-amp in the late 1960s, and several original module designs are still available. Waves now provide emulations of arguably the three most respected players in the analogue console world, with the official SSL 4000 Collection and the unofficial Neve-based V-Series. URS had an unofficial attempt at modelling some of the API hardware, but this is an officially sanctioned release. With the proliferation of SSL and Neve emulations that have appeared over the last couple of years, it is perhaps inevitable that there would be an officially licensed set of plugins based on these well-loved API (Automated Processes Inc.) analogue processors.