Waves Maserati HMX Harmonic Generator

Harmonic generators can be a true godsend to certain mixes. They can really add some cool depth and life to something that would otherwise sound a touch dull. Tony Maserati has been a long time master at putting out quality mixes, and this plugin helps represent his philosophy on mixing. This plugin is really meant to be added to the master buss, but you can use it on whatever you want. It's super simple to use, so there's no real need to read the manual. The plugin has knobs for sensitivity, size, amount, spread, output, fx and wet. There are also different switches you can utilize to change the overall sound.

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

When it comes to things like stability and overall performance, Waves tends to be at the top of the totem pole. I've never experienced a single crash, freeze or hiccup while using any Waves plugin, let alone this one. They all seem to be super stable, which is a huge plus for something as critical as a recording environment. The plugin itself is cross platform compatible, so there is no issue when it comes to using this with either an Apple or Windows based computer. The biggest problem I experienced simply has to do with the recently technological evolution of OSes. My DAW and OS are now 64 bit. However, these plugins are still 32 bit. For Logic Pro to fully utilize this plugin, it needs to run a bridge application, unless I want to gimp down my DAW. It's a bit of a pain, but it works. I'm hoping they update these to 64 bit in the future. I've been using the Mercury bundle for the past half a year or so, and it's been working out great.

OVERALL OPINION

I've used this plugin fairly successfully in various mixes that I've done. It can really help make a mix stand out, but be sure not to use too much of it. Once you start overusing it, it tends to make everything sound overly processed. Definitely give it a try; it should work with most styles of music.

The Waves Ltd. Maserati HMX Harmonic Generator is a unique plug-in that comes as part of the Tony Maserati Collection of plug-ins. Tony Maserati is of course the famed producer who has worked with virtually every pop star out there. I installed this plug-in along with the rest of the Maserati Collection and all of the Waves plug-ins, which was a pretty quick and easy process that I didn't have too much trouble with at all. Learning how to use the plug-in isn't quite as easy as installing it is, but it's still pretty simple to understand. For me it was just a matter of messing around with the different parameters available in here to get a good idea of what the plug-in was all about. It's got two different modes - 'bounce' and 'modal,' the first of which is kind of a chorus effect, and the latter of which adds a bit of depth and liveliness via reverb. The parameters are different for each of the two modes, with almost no overlap. Some of these are pretty ambiguous parameters on paper however, so it's definitely necessary that you get in there and mess around with them a bit to find out exactly how they'll affect your sound. A manual might be helpful but I haven't seen it for myself...

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

I've got the Waves Ltd. Maserati HMX Harmonic Generator plug-in currently running on my recording system at home. This system is made up of Pro Tools 9, a Digi 002R audio interface, and a Mac Book Pro lap top that has a 2.2 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 4 GB of RAM. Since I do a lot of interfacing back and forth between home and the studio I work at, I've also used this a bit on our Pro Tools HD systems there. Either way, the plug-in has been running quite smoothly for me as I can't say I've had any issues running a single instance of it, which is all I've needed it for so far.

OVERALL OPINION

The Waves Ltd. Maserati HMX Harmonic Generator is a really cool little plug-in that can be useful in a variety of different situations. I've used it for a few different applications, and it's definitely versatile enough to be tried out on all sorts of different instruments and vocal types. Between the two modes, there's a ton of different effects that are possible as it's really up to the user to make it happen. I've used the HMX Harmonic Generator primarily for vocals, but recently I've been experimenting a bit more as I recently threw it up on an electric guitar track and was definitely happy with the end result. This one is about what you do with it, which can certainly be many different things!