All user reviews of 4/5 for the Waves Maserati DRM Drum Slammer

Tony Maserati is mostly known as an R&B style producer, so my approach to drums and his approach are a bit different. This plugin is meant for those more acoustic sounding kinds of drums instead of the heavily sampled ones that I tend to utilize. The plugin has knobs for sensitivity, thump, snap, treble and output. There are also a ton of buttons at the bottom to select what you're adjusting -- bass drum, snare top, snare bottom, toms, hi-hats, room, overhead, etc. There's also a meter selection switch on this which helps with monitoring. The plugin is super easy to use; simply enable it on whatever drum busses you need and start adjusting.

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

Considering that I play and record metal most of the time, this plugin had a more limited usage for me. On my more rock productions, it did a fairly solid job, and I believe the sounds I was getting out of this is what Tony was thinking of when he helped co-design this. However, considering that most of my drums are triggered, it didn't seem to give me the tone I was going for.