Waves L3 Multimaximizer

The L3 plugin is the one that really started to put Waves ahead of the competition in terms of flexibility and power. The L1 and L2 plugins were always great, and they contained an awesome look-ahead feature to help really dial in the perfect loudness mix. The L3 takes it to an entirely new level with multiband limiting. The plugin has a PL mixer, linear phase EQ, huge digital resolution, re-quantization and dither, master and individual automatic release controls, supports up to 24bit/96KHz resolution and has mono/stereo components. To use this plugin, you simply enable it on your master buss and start shaping the tone. This is one of the more complex limiters out there, so you might want to check out the manual for this. Another thing you can do is check out Youtube videos on how to properly use a complex multimaximizer like this.

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

This plugin takes a little more RAM and processing power than the standard L1 and L2 plugins. That said, it's still not a huge deal with today's machines. Waves is the king when it comes to stability. I've never experienced a directly related crash with these plugins, nor have I experienced any freezing or glitches. The plugin is cross platform compatible, so Mac and PC users alike can use this without any issues at all. As a Mac user, that's a big thing for me. There is one issue, however. This plugin is a 32 bit plugin for OS X. I work in a 64 bit DAW, and I need to have a special bridge application run every time I want to use this. It's not a huge deal, but I hope they update it later on in the future. I've been using the Mercury bundle for the past six or so months now, and I'm loving every second of it.

OVERALL OPINION

This is one of the more powerful limiters out there. There are lots of features packed into this, and it can be a touch overwhelming for first timers. That said, just take everything one step at a time, and you'll soon realize what everything does and how it shapes the sound. I actually prefer L1 and L2 at times for simple mixes, but when I'm concentrating on professional style mixes, I'll break out something like this, or its newer brother -- the L3-16.

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.

Installation, configuration without problems. No incompatibilities. Manual very clear.

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

My configuration: Mac pro quad core + 2.66Gig motu ultralite, on Logic Pro 8. The software works beautifully. No crash, super stable. The L3 latency is very hungry, but Low Latency version works very well.

OVERALL OPINION

I use it for 1 year and a half. What I like most is its quality. I would love to go to L3-16 soon!