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Hatsubai « Beefs up the bass »
Published on 07/20/11 at 19:47Bass 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.
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.