The second collection from the Waves Audio’s ‘Signature Series’ explores the mindset and production genius that is Mr Eddie Kramer. Kramer, through his inspired engineering and production, helped sensationalise contemporary rock music in the 60′s adding the quality of sound that, until then, rock music had never been truly explored with or revealed by.
Kramer has worked and helped produce albums for Hendrix, Led Zeplin, Kiss, Santana, Bowie, Clapton and The Beatles to name a few, which has clearly earnt him the homage of a Waves Signature Series.
“As a producer/engineer, my main function is to interpret the artist’s vision, and give them the sonic palette to help realize their dreams. If I can make that happen, then I’ve done my job.” – Eddie Kramer
Built on a very similar looking platform and interface it is clear that Waves are definitely attempting to keep the collection consistent throughout and many aspects of this new Kramer Series mirror those from the Maserati Series. The Kramer Series offers 5 plug-ins for each area of a classic rock mix.
• Eddie Kramer Guitar Channel
• Eddie Kramer Drum Channel
• Eddie Kramer Effects Channel
• Eddie Kramer Bass Channel
• Eddie Kramer Vocal Channel
I would have to say that the simplicity in parameters renders this edition of the Signature Series very task specific and will mainly appeal to lovers of Kramer’s work or engineers attempting to recreate the earthy rock sounds of the 60s/70s. Whereas, Maserati’s Series, although still not greatly, offered slightly more diversity in sound (I know I’ll get ripped for that).
Anyway, this is a great tool, worth a try for any engineer experimenting with a rock band, check the Waves website for the finer details.
Infuriatingly priced at $800 means I’ve only had a go at the demo whilst looking for a good torr…. nevermind.
When it comes to sequencing drum tracks, there are a whole load of different plugins available, for free or otherwise. The first one we’re going to look at is a little home-grown number called MyDrumSet from Norwegian site Blue Noise. It’s a .vst plugin made from recordings of the producer’s Ludwig kit, with separate mic outputs from each drum, as well as a couple of overheads. No strange or fantastic sounds here, but a solid basic drumkit that you can drop in to your tracks.
If you’re unwilling to get your wallet out but you’re looking for something a little less basic, there are loads and loads of other free plugins listed over at the AudioMastermind database. It might take a little sifting, but you’re not going to spend any money.
Working on something with a more live feel? Fully sequenced drums not giving you the juice you need, or just unhappy with the sound you’re able to record? You can replace the drum tracks you’ve got with sounds from this plugin – Drumagog which uses the existing drum hits as triggers for the sounds in it’s databank (which contains 4 gig worth of samples), retaining the rhythm and feel of anything you’ve recorded but replacing the sound.
Next up is the number 2 application on the market, Toontrack’s Superior Drummer – this is the second version of their DFH Superior software, and they’ve made significant improvements to the graphic user interface, and the detailed control you have over your mix. Sound-On-Sound has this to say about it:
It’s difficult not to be impressed by what SD 2.0 has to offer. Toontrack have managed to strike a sensible balance between very detailed control of your drum mix and an interface that is relatively easy to use. And as the samples themselves sound excellent, the only limits to your creativity are your programming ability and your host computer — unless you have a reasonably well-endowed one.
Unfortunately there’s not a demo version for you to try out, and this product does have a pretty hefty price tag on it unless you’re of a piratical bent, which we certainly can’t condone.
If you’re considering spending $400 on a new plugin synth then you should also take a look at FXpansion’s BFD2. This is the Ferrari of plugins, offering you a vast battery of sounds, principally recorded at Hampstead’s phenomenal looking AIR studios, it’s also got a load of dedicated EQ’s filters and other gubbins built in. It’s getting massively good reviews all over, and there are some sample tracks mixed using the plugin on their product listing page that demonstrate what it can do.
Waves continue their domination of digital music production releasing the first product for their ‘Signature Series’, The Tony Maserati Collection. 
For the amateur producers / engineers that haven’t heard the name, Maserati is the ‘genius’ behind hundreds of hip/hop, RnB, pop chart toppers that include Britney Spears, Beyonce, MJB, David Bowie and Jay-Z. Crap tracks? Maybe. But even the most of ‘anti commerce in music’ must appreaciate the level of quality in mix and production of modern pop music. Maserati is hailed as being the principal archetect of the modern New York pop sound and widely respected as one of the worlds most clinical mixing engineers.
Maserati has worked closely with the guys at Waves Audio to front this collection of plug-ins in an attempt replicate his personal engineering, mixing and production styles.
Maserati says “I’ve been using Waves from the beginning. From dynamics and EQs to special effects, most of the tracks I’ve mixed have Waves on them. Waves did an amazing job turning my personal processing chains into custom plug-ins.”
The Collection includes:
Maserati VX1 Vocal Enhancer
• Maserati B72 Bass Phattener
• Maserati ACG Acoustic Guitar Designer
• Maserati GTi Guitar Toner
• Maserati DRM Drum Slammer
• Maserati HMX Harmonics Generator
Each advertised with high status names, check the waves website for specifics.
Definately worth a look for all kinds of RnB, Hip/hop producers out there and any body else who wants to create a clean, powerful sound.
The Tony Maserati Collection RRPs at around $800 US, but im sure, just like anything else you can torrent the software for free… ooops, did I say that?
