Waves Renaissance Bass

Bass can be one of the hardest things to mix. The low frequencies itself are harder to hear than midrange frequencies, and there are a lot of sound systems out there that have trouble capturing the full scale of the bass end of music. As a result, a lot of people tend to overmix bass. It then creates a mix that is way too flubby on a set of professional monitors. This is especially noticeable with headphones. This plugin helps try to beef up your bass without having you overmix it too much. However, I still noticed that you can overmix if you're not careful. The plugin is very simple and only has three slides -- intensity, gain and frequency. By utilizing these three sliders, you can tighten up the bass a bit so it's not as ridiculously fat. On the opposite end, you can also beef it up real good if you play your frequencies right. I never had a problem using this, and there shouldn't be a need to read the manual for it as it's very simple.

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

Waves is really one of the best companies out there when it comes to implementing solid plugins with no real fuss. These plugins are always rock solid and super stable; this plugin is really no different. I've never experienced a single crash or hiccup while using this plugin. The plugin is also cross platform compatible, so Windows and OS X users alike can use these without any problems. There is one issue that I always gripe about, however. These plugins are 32 bit for OS X. Right now, I'm using a 64 bit DAW, and for me to utilize these plugins, it needs to launch a special bridge application. I'm not a huge fan of the way my DAW utilizes these, so I'm hoping they update these in the future. I've been using the Waves Mercury bundle for the past six or so months, and it's been a very enlightening experience to say the least.

OVERALL OPINION

The plugin is good, but I don't tend to use it all that often. Personally, I just throw a compressor on the bass buss, and if I need it to be more aggressive, I'll add a gain plugin. Most of the time, a simple VST amp for the bass can get me there. It's not a bad plugin, but I wonder if it's meant more for electronica than bass.

The Waves Ltd. Renaissance Bass was easy to install and had no compatibility issues setting it up with my Mac and Pro Tools 7.4. It is pretty much your basic plug in installation process. I never looked at the manual as it was easy enough to install and is even easier to use! It only has 3 virtual sliders to control.

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

I have the Renaissance Bass running on a Mac Book Pro with a 2.2 Ghz processor and 4 GB of ram. The software works exactly as it should on my machine and I never had any problems using it. My machine is pretty sturdy and is able to handle a bunch of plug-ins at once, but like all plug ins, R-Bass will only take you as far as your machine will allow it to.

OVERALL OPINION

I've been using the Waves R-Bass for about a year and a half and since then I have put it on almost every bass guitar track that I have recorded. It adds a fullness and depth to the bass that is hard to live without after hearing the difference between the signal with and without the plug in applied to it. It is incredibly easy to control as it only has three sliders - one for intensity, one for gain, and one to set what frequency you want to boost. Since it is designed especially for bass instruments, the frequency range is pre set for frequencies that will enhance the bass in your mix. I haven't been able to find any plug ins that do the same things that Renaissance Bass does. If you get the R Bass in plug in pack, it really isn't too expensive and is definitley worth it as you won't be able to live without it after you use it! All in all I'm a big fan of R-Bass and would recommend it to anyone who wants a generally richer bass tone!

I thought this plug-in would be all hype and not particularly useful, but that is definitely not the case. I didn't have any compatibility issues. This installed without any problems as part of the waves Renaissance package. After registering the Ren package you don't really have to do any specific configuration to use this plug-in, just put it in your VST channel and it's ready to go. The manual explains the functions of the plug-in very well, though it leaves out some details of how it works, but that won't affect your ability to use it.

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

I have a Dell computer that runs Windows XP. It has a dual core processor and 4GB of RAM. I use the Nuendo software host with it. This plug-in works absolutely perfectly on my computer, I have never had a problem with it. This plug does definitely use a slice of your CPU power, so it is usually a good idea to freeze your track after setting this up. On my computer one instance of RBass uses about 5% of my CPU, which is definitely a lot for one plug. This can improve your bottom end so much though, that it is easily worth the CPU cost. The plug is also very stable.

OVERALL OPINION

I have had this plug for years now, and I love it. It is really a secret weapon for bass tracks that just aren't heavy enough. I put this on every song I use that has some kind of a bass instrument, and I also like to use it on kick drums and anything else I want to be a bit more bottom heavy. It uses psychoacoustic properties to make the bass fundamentals seem louder than the actually are, so your brain tells you there's more bass than there really is. As an added bonus, you also end up with a bit more headroom for pushing up your master volume with your newly lessened need for massive low frequency content. It is a really great value because of what it can do, but I'm not aware of anything else on the market that can do the same thing. This is a really great software and I highly recommend it.