Waves CLA Bass

The Waves CLA Bass plug-in is an effects processor to be used inside a DAW. It can be downloaded and installed directly from the Waves website. Authorization is completed with any USB stick as a dongle, or with the Waves authorization software application if your computer connects to the internet.
All of the CLA signature series plug-ins are simple to use, and easy to get started with. As soon as you insert on your track you will hear a difference, hoping a good difference.
There are just a few controls. Sliders increase or decrease whatever effect you are adjusting. Buttons pick between different types of effects. For instance, you can pick between different low-frequency eq options. Essentially this will allow you to boost or cut a particular range of low-frequencies. The same goes for the 'distortion'. You can pick between 3 different types, then change the amount.

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

In use, this plug-in makes your bass sound rock and roll. It is useful for both bass DI or on the recording of a mic'ed up bass amp. I find that it is easy to get carried away with the effects like 'sub' and 'distortion'. In reality, I usually find that a little goes a long way in the mix, extreme settings can be a bit too much.
I am not someone that usually uses modulation/pitch effects on bass. I usually don't use this effect in the plug-in, but it is nice to know its there on the rare occasion. This is another effect that I think if you are going to use it, you probably only need to mix in a very small amount to be appropriate.
The most useful part of the plug-in is the compressor. Bass is definitely an instrument where a consistent level is key. All three compressors options are great. Getting the attack/release/ratio/threshold settings on a normal compressor set up properly for bass is difficult. I love being able to open this plug-in and slide the fader to get my bass level right.

OVERALL OPINION

The CLA Bass plug-in is best suited for modern rock bass. It is high specialized at achieving this sound, but also really simple to use. If you are looking a the various Signature Series options from Waves, there are other options that will be better for a large range of musical styles. This plug-in is best if you want your bass sound to be over-the-top, in-your-face, over-driven, and heavy. I don't always mix modern rock, but I like having the CLA plug-ins so that when a band comes in that needs that modern/polished rock sound, I just call up these plug-ins and it is instant gratification.

CLA Bass is part of the CLA bundle that Waves has to offer. These are plugins that were created by/for Chris Lord-Alge, the famous mixer who's done everything from Rocky IV to Slipknot. This plugin is meant for those wanting to add some proper bass compression and mastering to the mix. The plugin itself is pretty easy to use. It has a slider for input, bass, treble, compress, sub, distortion, pitch and output. There are also buttons at the top of each slider to adjust the type of frequency you want to adjust. To use this, you simply enable it on your bass buss and start adjusting. I didn't experience any compatibility issues, so I can't comment on that. I never read the manual, but I don't think it's really necessary for these plugins. It's very easy and simple to use, so no issues there.

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

Waves plugins have always been some of the most stable plugins I've experienced. They're cross platform compatible, so they'll work with both PCs and Macs. As a Mac user, that's a huge advantage for someone like me. They run in 32 bit mode, but Logic uses a wrapper-like application that runs so you don't interfere with your 64 bit interface. I've tried this on various different buses, and it seems to work on anything with ease. It even works nicely on MIDI, which I found a bit surprising. There are no performance issues at all, and that's a huge plus when working in a DAW filled with all kinds of synths and tracks running tons of plugins. These plugins came with my Mercury package, and I've had that for a few months now.

OVERALL OPINION

If you're looking for a good bass buss master plugin, this will work fairly nicely. It sounds great, and it's easy to use. I think Waves tries to push this as a simple solution to do any bass mastering, but it really depends on the mix. The best weapons you'll always have when it comes to getting bass to fit the mix will be high pass and low pass filters. Learn to master those, and it'll make your life so much easier when it comes to getting just the right amount of bass.

Waves Ltd. CLA (Chris Lord-Alge) Bass is an all in one processing chain for bass guitar and other bass instruments. It's in the CLA bundle of plug-ins that are designed in tandem by Waves and famed engineer/mixer Chris Lord-Alge. I don't believe that you can get any of these plug-ins individually, but I'm not 100% sure on this. I got these plug-ins within the Waves Complete bundle, which includes everything that Waves has to offer. I installed all of the plug-ins at once, which was a process not really noteworthy one way or the other. The interface of the CLA Bass plug-in is pretty simple, as it's just a series of sliders to control the different effects and other controls. You've got bass and treble control, as well as compression, distortion, chorus, and bass enhancement. It also has input and output leveling control. I haven't looked at the manual for this plug-in...

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

To date I can't say that I've had a problem running this plug-in. I'm currently running the Waves Ltd. CLA Bass 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 8 that I run with a Digi 002R audio interface. I've only used one of these at a time however, on the bass guitar track only when I've used it, so I haven't exactly tried to max out it's capabilities.

OVERALL OPINION

The collection of Chris Lord-Alge plug-ins from Waves is a very nice bundle of powerful plug-ins for all applications, including the CLA Bass plug-in which is designed as a one stop shop for bass processing. In general I like to use separate processors, but if I'm looking to get some quick sounds to enhance my bass sound a bit, this is the perfect plug-in to do it with. There's a lot that you can do with it, but at the same time it's got a pretty simple interface which should be easy for most users to catch on to. I'm not in love with the distortion, but the compression sounds nice and 'sub' slider, which is like a bass enhancer, is pretty awesome. The CLA plug-in bundle is definitely one worth looking into, although don't expect it to turn you into him!