Waves MaxxVolume user reviews ( 9/10) - 3 user reviews

• 12/12/11

  ericthegreat's review "raise the volume!"

  Getting Started

  The Waves Maxx Volume was easy to install and I had no compatibility issues with my system. The plug-in comes with Pro Tools LE and is installed while you are installing Pro Tools, so there couldn't be anything easier about that. The configuration of the pedal is a basic compressor and is easy to follow. I don't have a manual for this and I'm not even sure if one exists.

  Suitability/Performance

  I run Waves Maxx Volume with a Mac Book Pro that has a 2.2 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 4 GB of RAM. I use it with Pro Tools LE 7.4 and a Digi002R. I have never run it with anything else as I'm pretty sure you can't run it with any other software because it is a Digidesign plug-in that comes free with Pro Tools. I am able to run a bunch of these at once without any problems and I have never had a problem with it whatsoever - this plug-in with my configuration is completely stable.

  Overall Opinion

  I've been using this since I got Pro Tools, which was about three or fours years ago. The sound of this compressor is good and usable, but since I have other options like Smack and a URS compressor, I don't use it all that often. The sound quality is good but is definitely not spectacular. The meters and graphs are a big upside on this as they are quite helpful. The interface is easy to follow and even those with no previous use with a compressor should be able how to us this. I like it on drums and guitars and I probably wouldn't use it for anything else, as the tone isn't vibrant enough for my taste. It is easy to follow though and since the price is free with Pro Tools, you can't really complain about it at all and it is nice to have as an option.
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• 07/09/11

  Hatsubai's review "Watch your clipping levels carefully"

  Getting Started

  Volume is easily the most overused and abused thing in the music industry today. Low mixes make things sound lacking in production, and overly hyped volume causes extreme ear fatigue. Waves tries to help cater towards the people who want to really crank up their volume, and this plugin works well for what it sets out to do. The plugin has a gain and threshold slider in the low level section, gate and leveler slider, button to allow you to soften everything and threshold and gain slider for the high level section. Overall, it's a very simple plugin to use. Just enable it on your master buss and start adjusting.

  Suitability/Performance

  First of all, this plugin is super rock solid. I've never experienced a single hiccup or crash while using this. Considering that Waves is one of the best companies in this aspect, it's really no surprise. The plugin itself is cross platform compatible, so both Windows and OS X users alike can use this without any issues. The plugin itself also doesn't take up too much RAM, and in a world where processing power/RAM mean everything, that's a huge plus. There is one issue that I have with this, however. The plugin itself is a 32 bit plugin, but my DAW is a 64 bit DAW. That means that my DAW has to launch a special bridge application to allow me to use these plugins without having to lower my RAM limit. It's a minor inconvenience, but I'd still like to see Waves update these plugins in the future. I've been using the Mercury bundle for the past half a year or so, and it's bee a great experience.

  Overall Opinion

  Be sure not to overuse this, please. it's very easy to compress a mix so hard that there are no more dynamics in the overall mix. It does the job it's supposed to do, but I usually just reach for an EQ, compressor and my trusty adaptive limiter for the master buss. It just seems to work out better for me.
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• 02/07/10

  moosers's review

  Getting Started

  The Waves Ltd MaxxVolume is a unique dynamic processor with a variety of capabilities. The plug-in was easy to install, as it was just as basic as a process as installing any plug-in out - simply follow the step by step instructions. I can't say that I had any compatibility issues along the way, or any other problems with getting this plug-in up and running. The interface of the software is generally easy to follow, as each feature is split up into different sections, containing sections for low level and high level compression, as well as gate and an overall leveler. Both the high and low level sections have parameters for threshold and gain, while the gate and leveler are simply sliders controlling how much of each you would like. Lastly, the plug-in has a 'soft' button which will make the compression less harsh if you so choose. I can't say anything about the manual for Waves' MaxxVolume as I've never had a need to check it out.

  Suitability/Performance

  I'm currently running the Waves Ltd MaxxVolume on a Mac Book Pro that has a 2.2 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 4 GB of RAM. I run the plug-in in Pro Tools LE 7.4 that runs with a Digi 002R audio interface or a Digidesign Micro Box depending on where I am. I can't say that I've had an issue running this plug-in at all within this configuration, but I should say that thus far I've only had a need to run one instance of this plug-in with a session at a time, so I don't know how well it would run beyond this...

  Overall Opinion

  Overall, the Waves Ltd MaxxVolume is a very powerful piece of software. It is great for getting the loudest volume possible from your mixes, building on the success of the L2 and L3 maximizers. This is certainly more versatile than its predecessors, as you have a lot more to work with here, and I'd also say that it sounds cleaner than them as well. The price for the native version of the plug-in isn't too expensive, but certainly isn't the cheapest plug-in out there. If you want the TDM version, as always it will cost considerably more. All in all, the Waves Ltd MaxxVolume is definitely worth trying out if you're looking for any sort of loudness maximizer!
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