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Hatsubai « Another vinyl noise reduction tool »
Published on 08/04/11 at 20:07Transferring vinyl and other shellac style recordings to the digital world can be a real pain due to age and noise that occurs during the transfer. Those static noises and pops that occur can totally ruin what would otherwise be a great sounding recording. Thankfully, Waves has the X-Click plugin to help combat those issues. The plugin has adjustments for threshold, shape and different monitoring modes. It's a very simple plugin, and it's meant to only do one thing -- remove those static clicks from vinyl and shellac recordings. To use this plugin, just enable it on whatever buss you need to inside of your DAW and start adjusting. It's so simple to use that no manual is required.
SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE
Waves rules when it comes to things like performance and stability. I've never had a crash while using this plugin, and that goes for all of the Waves plugins I've used. They all seem super rock stable, and in something as mission critical as a recording environment, that's a huge plus. The plugin works on both Windows and OS X, so nearly anybody can use it without a hassle. The plugin itself doesn't take up much RAM or processing power which is another plus. There is one issue I have with it, but it's a somewhat minor complaint. The plugin itself is a 32 bit plugin inside of OS X. For my DAW, Logic Pro, to fully utilize this, it needs to run a special bridge application. Performance is still the same, but it's just a pain with the way Logic implements that bridge application because the plugin doesn't remain visible in the background. I've been using the Mercury bundle for the past six or so months, and it's been a wonderful experience.
OVERALL OPINION
Just like in the last vinyl plugin I tested, I had to borrow a vinyl recording from my friend to test this out. I also had to borrow some of his outboard gear to transfer it and see how this works when it came to removing different clicks and whatnot. To be fair, the plugin works great. However, I have zero use for this. I simply tried it out to see how well it works as it came with my Mercury bundle. It's solid, and if you deal with vinyl, you'll love it. I just have no real use for this, hence why I rated it the way I did.
SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE
Waves rules when it comes to things like performance and stability. I've never had a crash while using this plugin, and that goes for all of the Waves plugins I've used. They all seem super rock stable, and in something as mission critical as a recording environment, that's a huge plus. The plugin works on both Windows and OS X, so nearly anybody can use it without a hassle. The plugin itself doesn't take up much RAM or processing power which is another plus. There is one issue I have with it, but it's a somewhat minor complaint. The plugin itself is a 32 bit plugin inside of OS X. For my DAW, Logic Pro, to fully utilize this, it needs to run a special bridge application. Performance is still the same, but it's just a pain with the way Logic implements that bridge application because the plugin doesn't remain visible in the background. I've been using the Mercury bundle for the past six or so months, and it's been a wonderful experience.
OVERALL OPINION
Just like in the last vinyl plugin I tested, I had to borrow a vinyl recording from my friend to test this out. I also had to borrow some of his outboard gear to transfer it and see how this works when it came to removing different clicks and whatnot. To be fair, the plugin works great. However, I have zero use for this. I simply tried it out to see how well it works as it came with my Mercury bundle. It's solid, and if you deal with vinyl, you'll love it. I just have no real use for this, hence why I rated it the way I did.