Waves Musicians Bundle II

Howdy fellow surfers

Right now I'm listening to Del Amitri Twisted which honestly I wouldn't recommend as a great album, but is worth the price of admission for one song tucked in the middle of it. "Tell Her" is simply a great song. It's funny, I bought this album when it came out in 1995 because I liked the song "Roll To Me" and then a few years later during a CD cleanout it didn't make the cut. Relistening to it now, I see why. But after I got rid of it, the song "Tell Her" snuck back into my subconscious and really dug in. So I started playing it for my own satisfaction (it's one of those 3 chord wonders on guitar) and I grew to really love it. So I just got the CD again and am listening to it right now. The funny thing is, the recording of "Tell Her" doesn't live up to my memory of the song. The arrangement isn't terribly good and the tempo feels all wrong. But it's still a good song.
That reminds me. This is a CD that I got from a great service called La La. It's this online CD trading website. You list the CDs you have and then another member indicates that they want something you have and you agree to ship it to them (with LaLa provided envelopes and shipping). Then you find some CDs you want and request them. So essentially you're trading CDs but the discs you get aren't necessarily from the member you're sending the CDs to. Just a great idea. Plus La La pays royalties so the artists don't get screwed in the deal. Check it out.

So anyway, I thought I'd talk about some plugins today. My studio is ProTools based for the most part. I use other programs for other things, but for tracking in the studio I work almost exclusively in PTLE. With DAW work comes the inevitable conversation about plugins. What do you use, how do you use it, where do you get it, etc, etc. The problem with plugins (as with most gear) is that people get obsessed with getting the newest thing whether they need it or not and insist that if you don't have the new Mega Volume Pumper Plugin X, you suck.
I'm not immune from this disease either, but as a budget conscious studio owner I have to keep myself in check and really only buy what I think I need or would really justify itself by it's contribution to the sounds I'm creating. That said, the best plugin purchase I've made is also the cheapest. Over a year ago I got the Wave's Musicians Bundle II. Now I'd had experience with Waves from other studios I'd worked in, including the actual hardware version of the L1 (imagine that, actually using an outboard limiter!). I also use the Rennaisance Compressor, C4, and L1 as my default mastering chain. But I digress...
The Musicians Bundle II comes with about 5 plugs, honestly I don't remember them all. But for $150 I would be happy with just the RVox plugin. This is just a great tool and makes my job a ton easier, especially while tracking when speed and time are of the essence. It has only 3 control parameters: Gate, Compression, Gain. That's it. And really 90% of the time I only use the middle control. And it sounds great. Some people have said even better than the RComp, but to me they are just different. Anyway, I love it. Love it. I've probably used it in some capacity on every recording I've made in the past year. Not to say you can't make it sound bad. If you push it too much it introduces artifacts into the track that sound pretty horrible. And if you're into having intense control of attack, release, etc, this is certainly not the compressor for you. But to me, it's worth it's weight in gold.
Also included are some delay modules, 2-tap and 6-tap. I use the double tap with the analog preset (minus the direct sound) as my default vocal delay. I don't think I've even used the 6-tap more than twice. The RAxx compressor is not great. Now before I turn you off this plug, let me explain why I don't get much use out of it. Most of the recording I do is for corporate or commercial use and what not. That being the case, I need a lot of different guitar sounds so I'm a Line6 POD guy. I think it's a great tool. Some people don't like it, but for what I do, it's perfect. For that reason most of the guitar sounds I get are pretty controlled and don't require additional compression in the box. And my chain for recording acoustic guitar (which I do even more often than electric) includes compression so any additional compression added ITB is minimal at best. So I don't get much use out of RAxx and I haven't been impressed when I have used it.
So all in all, if you're looking for a nice, easy to use compressor for not a lot of money, get the Musicians Bundle II from Waves.

UPDATE: I just found out they are now including the Rennaissance Compressor with this bundle. Major bonus.

My next purchase, probably next week, will be the WizooVerb Convolution reverb. So I'm finally jumping on the convolution reverb bandwagon. I'll let you know how I do.

In the meantime, check out LaLa.com and trade some music with me. I love music.

Rock on.

Ben