Waves Signature Bundles for EVERYTHING

[Clark Kent]

I've had these JJP and CLA plug-ins for a long time now and I recently heard that they work really great when EVERYTHING is being mixed with them. I've been using them for vocals and toms only so I made test mixes with both the JJP and CLA and I really liked the results I got.

I know posting this will make the "purists" of mixing on this forum bash me but I think you guys should really listen what JJP has to say about how he uses compressors. The guy goes in depth with attack/release times in a way that no book can guide us. Like f.ex. he pays attention to players that play a bit early and late to the beat and gives the early players a longer attack time, the late players get a shorter attack time. This will give a whole new kind of compressor groove etc. and ofcourse you can experiment with that even more.

Anyways as most of us know both CLA and PUIG have a certain way their tracks are prepared before they even listen to them. The tracks should instantly blend together in a certain way. These plugins should give you a situation that is close to the process they go through.

Both of these plugins bundles are great. I think the JJP bundle is more versatile... you can get different tones with it. I love what it did to my snare sound with the top and bottom mic settings.

Here's a 10 minute test of both bundles:

 

[OneDaySky]

mmmmh interesting, you gonna post some clips, like a A/B test of the full series on a mix?

 

[Clark Kent]

Well sure I can do that... I'll make a quick test!

 

[Clark Kent]

Okay here it is! This is a VERY QUICK comparison and doesn't tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help... Ok. Everything has been done with ONLY the JJP or CLA plugins. Most of the settings were presets and I didn't even tweak them. I guess the biggest differences can be heard in the snare and guitar tracks. The guitars are way louder in the CLA so don't automatically assume that it's better because of that... it's my fault, sorry.

JJP: http://www.mediafire.com/?xyglnwux9lyhp66

CLA: http://www.mediafire.com/?9us3f7d8c984lum

Well they have different tones. For modern stuff I would probably choose the CLA. JJP has more of a vintage tube hardware vibe going on but it's still modern. Maybe I should've tried the "CHUGG" setting for the guitars on the JJP? Oh well... now it's compressing in a weird way.

Once again... took me like 10min to make these mixes.

 

[TimatWaves]

Good to hear you dig them.

The best way I like to describe the Signature Series plugins are purely right brain mixing.
I'd be interested to hear what you are doing with them Clark (or anyone else for that matter) on the heavy side of things.

EDIT: You beat me to the punch and already posted something. Is it possible to use Soundcloud or Dropbox streaming? Unfortunately I can't download from MediaFire from the office.

 

[PhilTheBeard]

Almost all of our mix's at the studio have cla siq pack on them

 

[Clark Kent]

Here are both of them in Soundcloud format:

 

[Clark Kent]

Good to hear you dig them.

The best way I like to describe the Signature Series plugins are purely right brain mixing.
I'd be interested to hear what you are doing with them Clark (or anyone else for that matter) on the heavy side of things.

Well I use them for a lot of things actually. The CLA bundle is my go-to for toms, bass and vocals when I want things simple which is like 90% of the time. I usually don't change the way I mix no matter what genre I'm mixing so sure I use these for heavy stuff too although the clips I just did aren't that heavy. The JJP series is something I haven't used a lot, not because it's bad in any way but because I was so happy with the CLA bundle that I didn't feel the need to even try anything else. I love the reverbs and delays these things have... not a fan of the noise gates.

I've been more of a left brain kinda guy but I'm starting to lean to the right side because in the end... no one really cares that much. If it's a puzzle that works, no one will be asking what the pieces were.

Other than that the black 1176 is amazing for snare/kick punch.

Are you allowed to say what the chains are in the JJP and CLA bundles?

 

[TimatWaves]

You can find some under the hood drawings and comments on the chains from CLA at http://www.waves.com/content.aspx?id=10986

Unfortunately JJP nor Eddie Kramer provided the same for their Signature series. In the end I suppose the point is to not analyze it and just get a great sound quickly.

Thanks for posting the clips! I look forward to checking them out.

 

[Ermz]

I've had the CLA Sig pack for a while, but only ever used it for running off roughs quickly for bands. I like to recreate the chains manually for final mixes, because it gives extra tweakability for the music.

 

[Clark Kent]

I've had the CLA Sig pack for a while, but only ever used it for running off roughs quickly for bands. I like to recreate the chains manually for final mixes, because it gives extra tweakability for the music.

Yeah I get what you mean. These plugins are kind of limited. Like compressors that only have one setting. It's not something I suggest everyone to use.

I made a comparison between a mix I had been working on for a long time and then I re-did the mix with just the CLA bundle in an hour or two. Then I compared the two and the end result made me think how I should run things in the future. Sure the mix I had been working on for a long time was more detailed (mostly because I knew what I had done to it) but the CLA version was in no way inferior. It just sounded like someone else had mixed it. Still equally good meaning that if an "audience" were to hear these two mixes both of them would make them equally happy... and maybe the overall sound of the CLA plugins was something people are used to hearing on the radio. Not saying that it's always a good thing but if it makes my mixes sound "professional" then I think it's all good.

 

[OneDaySky]

Yeah they definitely have their ow character, CLA works great on that mix of yours, IMO!

 

[Uros]

I see that there's built in overdrive in CLA Bass plugin. So guys, have you tried to use it for metal (for that grit bass track), and if so, with what results?
Clips would be awesome, of course. Cheers

 

[Clark Kent]

This is just random wanking with the CLA Bass plugin. Every setting is default. I'm just switching between the different overdrive modes. The last sloppy tapping is with no overdrive.

 

[Lamsy]

I think they both sound great, the geets are real nice and edgey, i personally prefer the cla one, seems that bit thicker and polished for that sample, off topic but what is that synth? Got that serious soilwork thing going on, i really like it