Waves Software multiband compressors

The L3 was a revolution when it came to limiters. It had tons and tons of features that most other limiters didn't have. Even today, some limiters don't have what the L3 can do. However, to always remain ahead of technology, Waves released yet another L3 version, and this time, it's CRAZY versatile. The thing features an intuitive paragraphic interface with a built-in linear phase equalizer, automatic release control, increased digital resolution with double precision bit requantization, complex dithering, linear phase filtering, free of phase distortion, up to 24 bit/96KHz resolution and whatnot. Basically, it means that this thing is awesome. To use this, simply enable it on your master buss and start going from there. It's very complex, so I recommend reading the manual. Waves is generally pretty good about this, but I find messing with settings is the best way to figure out how everything works. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE This plugin takes a bit more memory and processing power than some of the other limiters out there. I'm sure it'll run on older machines, but it's just something to be wary about. These plugins are rock solid, though. I've never experienced a single issue or crash directly related to a Waves plugin, and considering how important it is for music production, that's a huge plus. I'm a big fan of the fact that these Waves plugins are cross platform compatible. That means that they can be used on nearly any OS. I'm a Mac OS X user who uses Logic Pro, so that's definitely something I always have to keep in mind. There is one issue, however. This plugin is a 32 bit plugin, and that means my DAW needs to enable a special bridge to utilize this inside of my 64 bit DAW. It's not a huge deal, but I hope they fix that later on. OVERALL OPINION The L3-16 is probably the king of limiters. It can do everything and then some. There are so many features packed into this that even after months of messing with it, I'm still finding new things about it that help make a mix louder, clearer, punchier and overall better. It'll take some time to truly learn it, so be sure to set some spare time aside and fully learn how all these functions work. It'll benefit you in the long run.

The process of installing Waves Ltd. L3 Multimaximizer Native was quick and easy and was one without compatibility issues or other problems. The whole process only took a few minutes and I had the plug-in up and running on my machine quickly. The interface of the software didn't take too long to figure out as I was familiar with Waves Ltd. L2 and this version has some similar functions. At the same time, the L3 is a lot more in depth and it took me a little while to get used to the new features and understand what everything did. Even if you aren't familiar with previous versions of this plug-in, the interface is user friendly enough that it shouldn't take you too long to understand the plug-in. I haven't seen the manual for Waves Ltd. L3 Multimaximizer Native, but it isn't really necessary as the plug-in can be figured out without one. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE Since installing the Waves Ltd. L3 Multimaximizer Native plug-in, I haven't encountered any problems at all in terms of running the plug-in. Since this is a mastering plug-in for the most part, I usually don't use more than one of them at a once and I've never had a problem doing so. I am currently running the plug-in 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 off of a Digi 002R audio interface. While it largely depends on what machine you are running the plug-in on, as long as you have a pretty good machine I don't see why you wouldn't be able to run this plug-in to its full capacity without issues. OVERALL OPINION Since this is a relatively new plug-in, I've only been running the Waves Ltd. L3 Multimaximizer Native for a few months, but I already like it much better than its predecessor, the Waves L2. It has more features and definitely has a cleaner sound, which is saying a lot as I was a big fan of the L2. The price of the Waves Ltd. L3 Multimaximizer Native is pretty reasonable and I would say it is definitely a good investment for any home studio owner who is looking for a good limiter. Overall, this is a very powerful plug-in that I would recommend to home studio owners and professional engineers alike.