Published 29/9/08
Waves welcome two new plug-ins
Plug-in giants Waves have added two new dynamics processors, MV2 and MV360, to their range of software tools for DAW users. They both work in a similar way, and are designed to give the user control over the perceived loudness of their signals.
MV2 is a simple-looking plug-in that has two faders that control ‘low level’ and ‘high level’ compressors, linked in series. Waves don’t publicly say a great deal about what these do from a technical point of view, but we can assume that the ‘low level’ compressor has a low threshold and low ratio, to raise the volume of the low-level material in the signal before it reaches the second compressor, which can in turn increase the perceived loudness of the signal. A master output control acts as the final stage in the process.
The MV360 carries out a similar process to the MV2, only it’s designed for use on surround material, and it gives the user a little more control over the parameters of the two stages of compression. Its GUI is split into two clusters: Threshold and Volume, each with six channel faders. Every channel has a control with two sliding faders in each cluster (take a look at the screenshot for a better idea of what we mean).
The MV360’s ‘low level’ control in the Volume cluster functions similarly to the MV2’s low level fader, bringing down the signal’s peaks by a small amount, while the MV360’s ‘high level’ control in the Threshold cluster functions similarly to the MV2’s high level fader, giving control over the perceived loudness. The extra functionality comes in the form of the other two controls: on the MV360, the ‘low level’ Volume control works in conjunction with the low level Threshold control whereas, on the MV2, the threshold is internally defined.
Different groups of channels can be grouped using nine different Link modes, meaning you don’t have to apply changes to each channel separately, and each Link group has a level meter and master cut/boost meters.
It all sounds very complex on paper, so we reckon the best thing to do is to try it out. Waves have a 30-day demo, which can be downloaded from their web site.
Sonic Distribution +44 (0)845 500 2500
www.sonic-distribution.com
www.waves.com
MV2 is a simple-looking plug-in that has two faders that control ‘low level’ and ‘high level’ compressors, linked in series. Waves don’t publicly say a great deal about what these do from a technical point of view, but we can assume that the ‘low level’ compressor has a low threshold and low ratio, to raise the volume of the low-level material in the signal before it reaches the second compressor, which can in turn increase the perceived loudness of the signal. A master output control acts as the final stage in the process.The MV360 carries out a similar process to the MV2, only it’s designed for use on surround material, and it gives the user a little more control over the parameters of the two stages of compression. Its GUI is split into two clusters: Threshold and Volume, each with six channel faders. Every channel has a control with two sliding faders in each cluster (take a look at the screenshot for a better idea of what we mean).
The MV360’s ‘low level’ control in the Volume cluster functions similarly to the MV2’s low level fader, bringing down the signal’s peaks by a small amount, while the MV360’s ‘high level’ control in the Threshold cluster functions similarly to the MV2’s high level fader, giving control over the perceived loudness. The extra functionality comes in the form of the other two controls: on the MV360, the ‘low level’ Volume control works in conjunction with the low level Threshold control whereas, on the MV2, the threshold is internally defined.
Different groups of channels can be grouped using nine different Link modes, meaning you don’t have to apply changes to each channel separately, and each Link group has a level meter and master cut/boost meters.
It all sounds very complex on paper, so we reckon the best thing to do is to try it out. Waves have a 30-day demo, which can be downloaded from their web site.
Sonic Distribution +44 (0)845 500 2500
www.sonic-distribution.com
www.waves.com
