Favorite Settings - Waves Reverbs, Eq, comp, Delay...

[Bahris]

I know it's different for every song, but what parameters do you know generally sound good to start with for lets say acoustic guitar, vox, overall mix???

[mbuster]

Ah, the un- answerable question of the uninitiated. Like you said, it's different for every song to say the least. Also, one must consider the fact that any given verb, comp, whatever is going to sound and behave differently from any other. This question is just impossible. To prove this, check out the presets of some of your plugins. Now, there you go, they're all set up for you. Only... they sound like shit don't they. That's exactly what would happen if we gave you some list of settings. You can use a preset as a starting point, but you'll find out that just spending some time messing around will teach you better than anything else. Especially if you post some of your work in the clinic and ask how to acheive a specific goal. Then some guys can give you some good direction. Have fun.

[mbuster]

BTW, I can't believe you paid for a Waves bundle without knowing how to use any effects.

[Cyrokk]

I tend to lean towards the Mesa Dual Rectifier sound for guitars.. I think the tone is sweet on my Epi.

The only time I use a stock preset is on my Zoom 506II bass modeler. I always use setting b2 because it sounds like my favorite bass tracks of my favorite songs.

I don't use any outboard gear when recording: no eqs, no compression, no reverb. I do an ungodly amount of work on a/b tests with mic placement and DI presets to get just the guitar sound I am looking for that will fit the rest of the mix.

After I recorded a take, it sounds best with all the mixer's eqs either at zero or a slight cut on the mids because I spent so much time getting it right beforehand.

Cy

[willovercome]

i used to think some magical settings existed somewhere that would save my mixes, but i've learned it sounds way better to just learn how to use the parameters in the software. plus, it's way more fun to make your own.

what i did was choose a few presets that sound close to what you want. adjust each parameter until you hears some difference. that way you'll learn what each one does to the sound. then you can make up your own settings.

[chessrock]

Some of the presets aren't bad.

On Wave's RCL compressor, for instance, I happen to like both the vocal and bass presets.

And the R-Verb is full of 'em. I particularly like Studio A, Small Nightclub, and the Tiled room is pretty unbelievable for a plugin.

[gordone]

Ditto on the RVerb presets. They're great starting points. I then just tweak from there. I never use the RCL presets though.

Originally posted by chessrock
Some of the presets aren't bad.

On Wave's RCL compressor, for instance, I happen to like both the vocal and bass presets.

And the R-Verb is full of 'em. I particularly like Studio A, Small Nightclub, and the Tiled room is pretty unbelievable for a plugin.

[chessrock]

As far as accoustic guitar reverb goes, it's all about the Rverb Tiled Room.

[willovercome]

yeah, like i said pick the presets and adjust as needed. the Rverb does sound pretty awesome. i love the studio A and the plate reverbs it has. i was looking into getting some hardware reverbs as well. chess, i remember you recommended some alesis or lexicon unit around $500?

[c9-2001]

i usually use Waves Rverb "studio a" preset too.. with in the last week i started using Wave Arts masterverb and i really like the sound i'm getting from it.. its really smooth like a real lexicon unit... rverb is too, but something about masterverb has me right now.
i'm a wave arets beta tester and i never even used masterverb until now.. i always used the trackplug on vox, now i just use

Waves Rvox
Waves 6band Ren Eq

as my 2 main plugs then go to reverbs, delays, chorus ETC...

[Teacher]

Waves Ren Vox is the SHIT!

[c9-2001]

Originally posted by Teacher
Waves Ren Vox is the SHIT!

isn't it
i love that plug too

[terrible_buddhi]

what order do you guys usually go in? eg...equalizer, then reverb, then compressor?

[Chris Fallen]

Originally posted by terrible_buddhi
what order do you guys usually go in? eg...equalizer, then reverb, then compressor?

You usually want to compress before you EQ (unless you're looking for a specific effect) because if you EQ first the compression just smashes down the peaks you just made.

[Bahris]

So chris, how does that work if you have REALTIME pluggins overlaid on top of each other - EQ and Compression???

Seems that whichever realtime plug you overlay first will take
presidence, right? So you would want to put compression pluggin over first right?

Dre

[terrible_buddhi]

depends on the program you use... I know in both CEP & in Cubase you can decide which order you want them in.

[c9-2001]

with Sx i always use compression before Eq. you can hear the difference when you go the other way.. it sounds over compressed usually.

[junplugged]

None. then on mastering, I add some reverb. But i don't know if you would like it.

[Jblount]

I keep a notebook for every recording project I work on. So that when I do finally get the settings right, or that correct mic placement, I write it down. And I do use a tape measure on the mics. I know I am a dork, but it works, no more guessing.