Don’t be fooled by Steve Aoki’s Instagram account with 10 million followers.

From the private jets and celebrity friends, to his signature cake throwing stage antics, it may look like his life’s a party, but he’s one of the hardest-working people in music.

As a producer, musician, record label owner and superstar DJ he has a tower of hats to balance every day and has spent the last 20 years developing a personal brand rooted in DIY ethics and an artistic output that never remains static.

“I don’t really care what people think about me on the internet,” he tells us from his Nevada home studio, the “Neon Future Cave”.

“I’m changing my game so much. I still have a lot to do. I think one of the most important things to do as a musician and as a creative artist, is that you always want to surprise people and change things up. You want to show them that you have more than four colours in your crayon set.”

Aoki’s colourful life in music really has been one of constant innovation, which can be seen in the evolution from his involvement in hardcore punk as a teenager to running independent label Dim Mak Records, which he started when he was a 19-year-old college student in California, to becoming a household name and one of the highest paid entertainers in the world.

The adoption of a “by any means necessary” ethos has seen him build Dim Mak into a successful entertainment and lifestyle empire, incorporating publishing, clothing lines and events, while the Dim Mak label itself has served as the launch pad for numerous notable acts across a range of genres, such as Bloc Party, The Bloody Beetroots and The Chainsmokers.

Once you get to that place where you have a good sensibility of the tools in front of you on whatever DAW you are working with, then it’s about harnessing your own interests in music and bringing that to life

– Steve Aoki

Aoki explains that he’s got “two different modes” when it comes to music producution. “My go-to mode is more of an insular way of thinking about production,” he says. “When I produce songs for my world, the EDM world, I’m producing it for my set and what’s going to be effective at my festival and club shows.”

The other mode, according to Aoki, is about broadening his output as a producer and “building bridges with other genres and crossing into different worlds”.

“It’s just to make music and expand as a producer,” he adds. “With concepts like the album Kolony, [it ’s about] being able to step outside of how I normally look at production.”

Creative Freedom

Having collaborated as a producer with so many different artists across so many genres, from Blink 182 and Fall Out Boy, to Lady Antebellum and former One Direction member Louis Tomlinson, the role of the producer in today’s music business, as far as Aoki is concerned , “is honestly about being free”.

“I’m really there to build the emotional landscape for [the artist] to be able to be 100% free,” he says. “My role is to give them that morale and to let them write the hooks. I need them to feel creative and to write whatever it is that they need to write. And give them guidance, a general vision, but just let them do their thing.”

Commenting on other producers, Aoki cites the likes of Max Martin as a “genius” and Hans Zimmer as the “G.O.A.T” (Greatest Of All Time).

“I know that there are producers who are there to cut hits,” he says. “The Max Martins for example. Everyone aspires to be a Max Martin. There’s also the Hans Zimmers, who are just like the G.O.A.T of G.O.A.TS, you know what I mean? They really know how to exemplify feeling and make you shed a tear from a few notes.”

On the note of renowned producer and film score composer Zimmer, Aoki talks of how he’s tried his hand at composing music to accompany visual art himself.

He says it’s a “bucket list goal” to be able to score a whole film. “I definitely dabbled in that world,” he says. “I haven’t full on done a score. I realise how much time is necessary to be involved in a large project like that. I haven’t had the bandwidth and time to be able to do that. It’s a completely different skill set than just making a song.

“When I remixed the Ghosts In The Shell theme song, I pretty much scored it to a scene that they sent me. They sent me the trailer of the film and I watched the scene hundreds of times.”

Production advice

Aoki warns that “production takes a long time,” when asked what advice he would give to aspiring producers. “It’s an endless, tireless skill set,” he continues.

“It’s something you have to love or else you will just get burnt out. It’s so meticulous. Practice makes perfect. You have to put in the time to get to where you want to go and you can’t beat yourself up if you’re not getting there either.”

The best way to get into electronic production and to hone your craft as a producer is by making as many of your own remixes as you can, suggests Aoki.

“You can remix anything that’s out there nowadays,” he says. “When I first started electronic production, I started with remixes. Before I even made my first original song I had probably remixed 40 or 50 songs and you know, it was like training wheels.

“You have the stems and you can learn your sound design, you can learn your drums. Build your sample library up, get as many different kicks and drum sounds and build your sample tank up. That way you can go to that and reference styles that you really like.”

Aoki explains that designing your own sounds should come much later and that using samples shouldn’t be looked down on. “You can build out a song with just samples. A lot of producers do that, just with existing samples. Plenty of big A-list producers do that. Maybe some people think that’s a bad thing to do, because you are not designing from scratch, but I mean, use your samples to help your creative outlet.”

“If you’re stuck, just get your sample library out and just toy around and experiment. I always say that all the in-the-box plugins are the best way to go, especially Ableton. It’s got incredible plugins that are already there that you can use. Everything you need is there. The same with Logic, Logic has got some great plugins already in there that you can use. “

True to the DIY ethics that have fueled much of Aoki’s career, he’s also an advocate for teaching yourself production techniques using videos online.

“YouTube tutorials are really good and really crucial,” he argues. “If you are stuck on something or want to learn how a certain sound is designed or how you want to try and emulate a sound, it’s up there on YouTube.

“Once you get to that place where you have a good sensibility of the tools in front of you on whatever DAW you are working with, then it’s about harnessing your own interests in music and bringing that to life,” he says.

Studio time

Aoki has two studios, with his Dim Mak studio in Los Angeles serving as a place to track vocals and “be completely in the box”.

“I have no outboard gear there,” he says. “All my stuff is in Vegas. I call it the Neon Future Cave because it’s in the bunker of my house and I wanted to enter into this room where I was transporting myself into the future,” he says.

“When I work, I work full blast, all lights on,” he continues. “I don’t dim the lights. I don’t mood it out. I only mood it out if an artist wants me to. Otherwise I want that shit lit. That way I can work 12 hours. I don’t want any clocks in the room. Like Vegas style, casino style.”

Aoki’s reasoning for his preferred method of working is that you’re “locked in, you’re there, ready to work your ass off and be totally energised by the room”.

“It works,” he adds. “You set your studio up in the way that you want your environment to be, and you know the way you think creatively is going to be part of the process.

“It’s not just about what plugins you’re using or how high-tech your gear is,” he concludes. “It’s about what’s in your head and how to get that out in a way where it makes sense and translates into your sets, or translates in a way that defines your sounds.”

Tech Talk

Steve Aoki has given Audio Media International an exclusive insight into the gear he uses to produce records in his impressive, futuristic-looking Nevada-based home studio, which is aptly named the Neon Future Cave. The studio is centred around a large workstation housing an “epic” Slate Raven Z3C digital mix rack and Focal SM9 monitors.

Mics
“There are a lot of mics that I used in the past but I have just got the microphone of all microphones, the Sony C800G. That’s the one I had been looking for and it’s been really difficult to get.

“But before I was using the Neumann TLM 103. I’ve worked with them a lot and they’ve sent me a bunch of mics. I’ve used that on most of my sessions in the past. All the Neon Future sessions were done with the Neumann TLM 103.

“All the new stuff was with the Sony C800G. That’s a vintage tube mic that sounds incredible. It’s definitely one of the highest-level mics in the game, there’s no doubt about that. And it looks sick. It’s just this dope, futuristic looking mic, which is perfect for my studio.”

Outboard
“For my interface, I’m using a Universal Audio Apollo 16 with a DSP Accelerator, which helps when I’m using my UAD plugins, and I use that for everything.

“As far as preamps and compressors go, I’ve got an Avalon VT-737SP in my Dim Mak studio. The Avalon gives me a warmer tone. In my home studio here in Las Vegas, I have a different set up. I have a Universal Audio UA 6176, which is a combo of the classic 610 preamp and the 1176 compressor/limiter.

“The UA 6176 has a really nice crisp sound to the unit and I run pretty much everything through it, including all my guitars and my bass. In a lot of my new productions I’m going back to my roots and adding guitars and bass and not just [working] in the box.

“I do a lot in the box as it is. A lot of my productions are in the box. I’m not really going too far out. But now that I have this sick studio, I’m definitely utilising other stuff.”

Plugins
“I have a good amount of Waves plugins, like the CLA Vocal and the JJP Vocals. I think that most people use those. These are all basically one vocal engine that includes compression, EQ Boost, Delays etc. Soundtoys is another plugin that I use, Echo Boys for delays, Crystalliser, which has some cool stuff with pitch shifting and reverse echo.

“Then I’m adding some inbox compression with the Universal Audio 1176LN compressor and the Teletronix LA-3A Classic Audio Leveler. The LA-3A helps keep levels at a good place, while still giving the vocals enough room for dynamics.

“I’m also running some de-essers like the Manny Marroquin Triple D to get rid of some of the unnecessary sounds. Then I’ll also slap an EQ in front of my chain, maybe one in the middle, one in the end. Obviously the chain changes depending on the vocals.”

Speakers
“For playback monitors, I have these massive Ocean Ways. They are taller than me actually. They’re huge club kind of speakers and they are custom made for the studio. They are a really cool company. They don’t make that many speakers, so having these is really cool.

“The colour scheme on the speaker matches the studio. For my mains I have Focal SM9s. They are great, really incredible monitors. I have a pretty big room here in Vegas, well it’s like a standard room, but my studio in LA is really small and it works in both small and bigger rooms.

“For reference, I have my Bang & Olufsen speakers in my car. That’s the first place I go outside my studio to test things. Everyone is either going to hear it in the car, or computer speakers, so you’ve got to give credit to those speakers too. Lastly, I check my mixes on my Avantone MixCubes, which emulate most laptop/computer speakers. You can really tell if a mix is level through those.”

The post In the studio with Steve Aoki “I don’t want any clocks in the room. Like Vegas” appeared first on Audio Media International.

How did you initially start out in this business?

After graduating from Huddersfield Uni, I got my first job at British Grove Studios in west London as a runner/assistant. A friend of mine called Rich Cooper, who has gone on to become a brilliant producer, worked there at the time and enabled me to get my foot in the door.

British Grove is a big studio but it has a family feel. You get thrown in the deep end quite quickly there and you’re not just waiting for someone to quit to get your big break, which may be the case at some of the other big studios and institutes. It was just me and Rich as the two assistants for the first couple of years so a lot of the work came straight to us. It’s definitely a great place to learn and the equipment there is amazing.

There’s also a lot of variety in the work, so it’s great for someone new who is unsure about what they want to specialise in as the opportunities come thick and fast. It was a great education for me to observe some of the top producers and engineers at work there.

So when did you receive your ‘big break’ and how do you think you have you managed to get so far at such a young age?

Getting my foot in the door at British Grove in the first place was great, but my big break came after I had been working there for five or six years when Ellie Goulding booked in. I ended up engineering the session and we’ve worked together ever since – I just happened to be the guy there on the day and it turned into a fantastic opportunity because I do production, mixing and sometimes even writing with her now.

I have British Grove to thank for getting me started in the industry but I have also been super determined and very career driven. I find I’m quite good at keeping in touch with clients and their management after a job. The networking side is sometimes overlooked I think by engineers and mixers – some people forget that it is still a human industry and that you need to keep good relationships going, as well as doing a good job.

You’ve worked with some big names in pop. Do you have any particular highlights?

I pretty much do pop music exclusively now. I like working with Ellie because she does things a little bit left of centre so it’s more experimental and interesting. I’ve also enjoyed doing a lot of mixing and vocal production for Little Mix and have worked with Hurts. I really enjoyed working with Kasabian on Velociraptor and 48:13 too.

Could you tell us about the setup at your own studio? 

Now I’m working freelance it’s up to me how much work I take on, which is great but it’s also quite daunting as you have to really keep yourself occupied and stay proactive. When you’re in-house there’s a list of things that need to be done for someone else. In that respect, it’s nice being part of a bigger team, but when you’ve got an idea it’s sometimes a bit nerve-wracking to show it to a group when it’s not yet fully realised.

My setup is very humble. It’s based around a Pro Tools HD system and is basically a small programming mix room. There’s some nice pres and a few bits of outboard here but I tend to not use those so much as the workflow’s 98% in the box for me. It all comes down to convenience because of how you need to be with recalls – when you’re on three or four projects at once and you need to be bouncing between mixes and productions, there isn’t time to be recalling stuff so having everything there in front of you makes the process much easier.

I use a [Avid] D-Command as a main control surface and for monitoring I use ProAc Studio 100s, which I really like. With regard to plug-ins, Soundtoys is my favourite in terms of making things sound fun. My go-to EQ for everything is the FabFilter Pro-Q 2 and the Valhalla reverb is a favourite of mine as well. I also like the Waves Andrew Scheps 1073 EQ. The top end on it is really good and it sounds really musical and smooth.

How important is it to be versatile in terms of the type of work you are able to take on?

I did some film scoring work while I was at British Grove but haven’t done much since leaving – the versatility in my CV as it were stems from there. Since going freelance I’ve specialised a lot more in the pop vocal work. I do enjoy being varied though because it keeps projects fresh and interesting. I’ve had a bit of free time to concentrate more on writing, which I really like doing, especially with people who have the same kind of ideas and who you can get on a level with. From a technical standpoint, I like all different aspects of the job and the whole process. For example I enjoy the solidarity of mixing alone without someone on your shoulder, when it’s just you and the music but equally I love being in a room with two or three other writers working on a new track. I try to keep my diary full with a variety of sessions to keep it interesting.

The post Interview: Joe Kearns. From Ellie Goulding to Little Mix and Hurts. appeared first on Audio Media International.

Sound Engineer and lecturer, Jon Burton, casts an expert eye over Waves Abbey Road RS124 Compressor…

What is it?
The latest collaboration between software designers Waves and Abbey Road Studios is another emulation of a hardware unit inextricably linked with the legendary studios and, of course, their most famous client. The RS124 valve compressor, they boldly announce, has been “central to a vast array of legendary recordings, having been used on every Beatles track ever recorded at Abbey Road Studios”. 

What’s great?
A thoughtful emulation of not just one, but several, of these rare and iconic compressors, that provides a distinctive and classy sound with a few modern twists.

What’s not?
This will not be to everyone’s taste but will find many converts to its unique sound.

The bottom line:
Another ‘character’ compressor with a top-notch pedigree. If you like your plug-ins to have a personality and a bit of history, then this will be well worth trying. 

The verdict:
We are all fairly used to the concept now of emulations of classic gear but Waves new collaboration, with Abbey Road studios, offers a plug-in version of a compressor that most of us have heard, but only a very small number have ever used. This is a recreation of the EMI  RS124 valve compressor, heralded for being “central to a vast array of legendary recordings” and having been used “on every Beatles track ever recorded at Abbey Road Studios”. 

It is interesting in the promotional video to hear Mirek Stiles, the head of Abbey Roads Studios Audio Products, talk with such passion and enthusiasm not just for the original units, but also this plug-in, that has been developed to capture their styles. 

Now you may wonder why I have dropped into the plural. Well, this is a unit that was purchased by EMI for their studios, but so heavily modified by them that the original makers, Altec, would probably not recognise the result, apart from the distinctive VU meter. The RS124 comes from a time when studios would test equipment and decide if it was up to their ‘house’ standard. The Altec’s were adapted, more controls added and eventually allowed into the workplace at their Abbey Road studio, where they soon found work in the various EMI studios for tracking, and also in the cutting rooms. 

Different versions, apparently dependant on their attack characteristics, were favoured in different applications and the plugin reflects the characteristics of the two most popular versions, offering ‘cutter’ or ‘studio’ models, switchable on the GUI. The two models provide distinctive flavours of the original Abbey Road RS124s. 

You may also be interested in:

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• REVIEW: Waves CLA Epic plugin
• Abbey Road Studios enters exclusive media partnership with Audio Media International 

With all plug-ins that emulate older gear, it helps to understand why they were popular, what they were predominantly used for. The two models offered by Waves reflect those different roles. ‘Cutter’ has slower attack and release times, these models would be found not just in the cutting rooms, sitting on the track, but in the studio for track bounces, where they would help smooth out transients. The ‘Studio’ version, with faster attack times, was a favourite of engineers like Geoff Emerick on track busses, but also instruments, especially the bass guitar. It is worth contextualising this as well, because we are talking about the mid-sixties, at the infancy of multitrack recording. Studios were not using as many channels as we do now, and any hardware was expected to perform to a very high standard and have multiple uses. It is a tribute to the RA124 that is still held in such high regard today, although until now you probably had to rent Abbey Road studios to get to use one!

A good deal of care has gone into the design of the plug-in. The interface has the usual high-quality ‘vintage’ look we expect from software designers these days. Any extras have either been incorporated into the front panel discretely or provided with the ‘expand’ switch. This opens below the plug-in and provides useful options not available in the original, such as a dry/compressed mix control and sidechain and linking options. These are all useful additions. The other major departures from the originals are the ‘super fuse’ and ‘auto-hold’ options available from the front panel. By clicking on what on the hardware version would be the fuse holder, the release and attack are matched giving a ‘supercharged’ compression. I must admit to having tried this almost immediately and was suitably impressed, it giving that instantly gratifying smashed-up sound on my drum bus. 

It was actually in ‘cutter’ mode that I gave the RA124 it’s first workout. Across some old mixes I was re-mastering it helped bring a bit of body, and punch, which was helpful. Using the mix control, I could dial in enough of the compressed sound to aid, rather than dominate, my mix. 

Moving to studio mode it worked great on bass, as I hoped, preserving the front-end attack but helping the track sit in the mix. I found that the fastest attack sounds were the most practical for the applications I tried, but with all these things experimentation is the key.

So, does it match the hype? Is this the ‘holy grail’ of compressors? I don’t believe there is such a thing as the ‘ultimate’ compressor and the hyperbole may put some off. ‘The most unique and important compressor in the history of recorded music and Waves have just nailed the sound’ claims Mirek Stiles. Maybe, it is certainly one that most of us have heard in use, but counterclaims can be made. However, the rhetoric shouldn’t detract from the fact that this is an important and distinctive unit. In the two ‘flavours’ offered by Waves, alongside the updated features, you get a workmanlike compressor with bags of character. I found it a joy to use, and on the right thing, in the right place, it sounded superb and achieved results I would struggle to accomplish with other single plug-ins. 

Will I buy it? Yes, I think I may well do. It has enough adaptability to fulfil several roles in a unique characterful way, and I think it has grown on me enough for me to miss it, and I can see it only becoming ever more useful.

Available now – RRP: $199 (currently subject to discount pricing at $39.99 that pricing may change on an ongoing basis due to sales and specials).

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The post REVIEW: Waves Abbey Road RS124 Compressor appeared first on Audio Media International.

Waves Audio and Ocean Way Nashville Studios have collaborated on a brand new plugin designed to emulate the revered acoustic environment fo the famous facility.

Ocean Way Nashville Studios were designed from the ground up by Ocean Way founder Allen Sides. Its control rooms are designed to provide an accurate acoustic response that translates seamlessly to other listening conditions. Supervised by Sides, the Waves Nx Ocean Way Nashville plugin is designed to deliver true representations of the control room’s finely tuned acoustics over any set of headphones.

Nx Ocean Way Nashville is powered by Waves’ Nx technology for immersive spatial audio. Waves’ Nx uses channel crosstalk, inter-aural delays (ITD), filters (ILD), early reflections, and head motion tracking to replicate the immersive experience of hearing audio in the real world. Developed by Waves in collaboration with Ocean Way Nashville Studios at Belmont University and with Ocean Way Audio, this plugin, the companies said in joint statement, ‘represents a technological breakthrough in accurate 3D spatial audio modeling of a real acoustic environment’.

Sides said of the new plugin: “With Ocean Way, it was always about the sound. In all the studios we built over the years, the single most important thing was the monitor systems. What this plugin gives you is the space to create a better mix. You can put on a set of headphones, and it sounds like you’re sitting in this amazing control room, with an amazing set of speakers in front of you. This is a phenomenally accurate reproduction of what we created at Ocean Way Nashville – a remarkable replication of what it sounds like to sit in my studio control room. I think it’s a valuable asset to anyone trying to define what a truly great mix is. It simply makes the mixing job easier.”

The Waves Nx Ocean Way Nashville plugin is now shipping.

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The post Waves and Ocean Way collaborate on new Nashville studio plugin appeared first on Audio Media International.

Sound Engineer and lecturer, Jon Burton, casts an expert eye over Waves CLA Epic Plugin, designed in collaboration with Grammy Award-winning producer Chris Lord-Alge.

What is it?
The latest collaboration between software designers Waves and legendary mix engineer Chris Lord-Alge, CLA Epic combines Lord-Alge’s favourite go-to delays and reverbs in one plugin, that lets you blend, layer and internally route the effects.

What’s great?
A novel workflow-based approach to blending multiple effects using console type faders to get that ‘epic’ sound.

What’s not?
Lacks the simplistic interface of other CLA plugins that may put off some users.

The bottom line:
If you like to combine reverbs and delays then this is the place to do it. 

The verdict:
I have to start by admitting that I have more than a passing interest in echo units, and indeed reverbs. The proud owner of over twenty hardware echo units, from tape machines to early analogue and digital machines, alongside countless plug-ins, I am a bit of a ‘dub delay’ obsessive. When I read that Chris Lord-Alge was producing a new plugin for his CLA range for Waves I was suitably excited. 

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with Chris Lord-Alge, he is a Grammy award-winning mix engineer, with a career that encompasses such giants as Green Day, Muse and Bruce Springsteen. However, for many software users, he is probably as well-known for his range of software plug-ins, the result of a very fruitful relationship with software designers Waves. His ‘signature series’ is a collection of all-in-one multi-effect processing chains which draw on Lord-Alge’s knowledge, experience and huge arsenal of outboard effects and processors. They have gained a very solid reputation amongst users and are often named as go-to units for many musicians and engineers. I, myself, can name several plugins from this range that are my first choice for many tasks, and the prospect of a new product from this union is always exciting.

Part of what makes the CLA signature series so useful, and popular, is its accessibility. Most plug-ins in the range have simple controls, usually a bank of six faders and a selector switch and some helpfully labelled buttons. This unified appearance has been dropped from the more recent plugins for practical reasons as the range has expanded, more recently with mix hub, a software recreation of Lord-Alges console and workflow, and his latest, Epic. 

Epic is by far the most ‘wordy’ of the CLA plugins. Its numeric display design is reminiscent of early digital units, such as the famous Lexicon Larc controller, often to be seen in pride of place on the console of many big studios. This plugin is an obvious nod to those classic reverbs, and other similar devices, not just in looks, but in the sound that it is capable of creating. Advertised as being four go-to delays and four go-to reverbs, based on Lord-Alge’s best studio gear, it is a creative assimilation rather than straight emulation of those sounds. This is what helps elevate Lord-Alge’s plugins above the rest. He knows what is needed. He knows what sounds each unit produces best, and how to use them. This artistic editing, an adaptation of the hardware sound in a very usable form, is the key to his success.

I found Epic initially somewhat daunting, it is a departure from the CLA range in terms of simplistic useability. However, it helps to understand the creative purpose that underlies this plugins design. Lord-Alge is adept at creating space and dimension in his work. Part of this is down to using a blend of different delays and reverbs to create an ‘epic’ depth to his sound. It is this combination of sounds, adding individual reverbs to the delay tails, blending with the other effects, that is the key to using this plugin. The choices are based on what Waves call modules. 

These are software recreations of favourite studio hardware, what they are based on I will leave you to guess, but to a certain extent it is unimportant, it is their effectiveness that is their key as there is no attempt at a faithful recreation of a device, rather a feel for it, what Lord-Alge probably considers the most purposeful sounds. These are presented as four delays, four reverbs that can be combined and blended easily and quickly.

My initial response was to delve into the screens, to get technical, but I believe I was missing the point. The fun here is blending the basic sounds to produce that combination of sounds that fit into the track. Once I had grasped the basic flavours I was soon at home crafting new combinations that had the right blend of delay and gentle tapering reverb tail. Only once I had got close to the sound I was looking for did I then delve into the individual units, switching between their screens to shorten a delay time here, lengthen a reverb tail there. 

In true Lord-Alge form, most of the work is done with the faders and the small high and low pass filters above them. Using the filters can help you tailor the highs and lows of the effects, deaden a delay to sit it more comfortably in a mix, or lighten the low end of a reverb to give a track space.

There is plenty to adjust and tweak but also there is often no need. The pre-sets have been designed by someone with an intimate understanding and knowledge of the sounds, as in other CLA plugins, they just sound good! Banks of pre-sets are provided from Lord-Alge, for drums, guitar, keys and vocal. These provide enough starting points for most sessions. There are also factory pre-sets, as well as a long series of artist pre-sets by other Waves users. I had to check out my colleague, Pooch’s, pre-sets, they weren’t bad. Very useable.

So where does this sit in the marketplace? It is undoubtedly a very powerful collection of reverbs and delays, many of which would hold their own against more sophisticated dedicated plug-ins. Epic’s strength lies in its ability to combine, blend, and cascade a series of complimentary effects to produce very useable sounds, in an innovative way. It can easily replace multiple plug-ins and in a more manageable way, that is both faster and more creative. Blending using the faders I found fun and easy and essentially a more creative process. Will I buy it when my demo expires? Probably yes, you can never have too many delays.

Included in the CLA Epic bundle is Echosphere. This stand-alone plugin contains just the slap and plate sections in a handy two fader unit! Almost worth the discount bundle price on its own!

Available now – RRP: $199 (currently subject to discount pricing at $29.99 that pricing may change on an ongoing basis due to sales and specials).

The post REVIEW: Waves CLA Epic Plugin appeared first on Audio Media International.

It’s that time of week again, when Audio Media International rounds up the Top 10 stories dominating the pro audio headlines.

Claiming this week’s top spot is our interview with Dean St Studios managing director Jasmin Lee and Dolby Atmos specialist Jan Stan Kybert, who took us inside the legendary facility’s relaunch and the brand new Dolby Atmos setup at the heart of its flagship Studio 1.

Meanwhile, our review of the new Cubase 11 software has proved particularly popular, as have our Next Generation Spotlights, in association with Genelec, in which we meet some of the most exciting emerging talent in the studio sector.

Other notable highlights this week came in the form of Stagehand’s prize draw to raise money for its Crew Relief Fund, in which people can win all manner of memorabilia such as signed instruments and lyric sheets from some of the biggest names in music, while our interview Georges Fornay, CEO of high res music platform Qobuz, continues to capture the market’s attention.

You can check out the Top 10 in full below.

1. Dean St MD Jasmin Lee and Dolby Atmos specialist Stan Kybert take AMI inside revamped studio

Audio Media International has spoken to Dean St Studios managing director Jasmin Lee and Dolby Atmos specialist Jan Stan Kybert about the legendary facility’s relaunch and its new Dolby Atmos set up.

2. REVIEW: Steinberg Cubase 11

Music technology author and lecturer Stephen Bennett casts an expert eye over Steinberg’s Cubase 11…

3. Next Generation Spotlight: Dean Glover 

Audio Media International, in association with Genelec, is proud to present our Next Generation Spotlight interview with Manchester-based record producer, Dean Glover…

4. Next Generation Spotlight: Alberto De Icaza 

Audio Media International, in association with Genelec, presents the latest in our series of Next Generation Spotlight interviews. Today, we chat to mixing and mastering engineer, Alberto de Icaza…

5. Stagehand campaign launches prize draw to raise funds for events staff

Live events industry charity Stagehand has launched #ILoveLive, a new prize draw to raise fund for production staff impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic…

6. ‘The market will return to quality and forget MP3, it’s just a matter of time’, says Qobuz CEO

Georges Fornay, deputy CEO at high-res audio music streaming platform Qobuz, has outlined his vision to “bring quality back to the music market” in a new interview with Audio Media International…

7. RØDE Microphones reveals all-in-one vlogger kit

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9. Waves CLA Epic plugin now shipping 

Waves Audio’s new CLA Epic plugin, designed by legendary Grammy Award-winning producer Chris Lord-Alge, is now shipping…

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The post ICYMI: Check out the Top 10 stories on AMI this week appeared first on Audio Media International.

Waves Audio’s new CLA Epic plugin, designed by legendary Grammy Award-winning producer Chris Lord-Alge, is now shipping.

The new plugin features Lord-Alge’s favourite delays (Slap, Throw, Tape, Crowd) and reverbs (Plate, Room, Hall, Space). Each module is based on his go-to studio items.

Meanwhile, the CLA Epic comes packed with 50 presets crafted by Lord-Alge for vocals, drums, guitars and keyboards, as well as over 300 presets by GRAMMY winners Greg Wells, Michael Brauer, and dozens of other producers and engineers. Owners of CLA Epic also receive the CLA EchoSphere slap delay and plate reverb plugin.

Lord-Alge commented: “CLA Epic gives you my way of mixing with depth. You can layer reverbs, you can layer delays, and you can mix them all together in one easy-to-use plugin. You can break new ground and create new dimension in your music that you didn’t think was possible.” 

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The post Waves CLA Epic plugin now shipping appeared first on Audio Media International.

The new version of plugins from Waves Audio has arrived.

By updating to V11, users can benefit from future-proofing their sessions, ensure continued compatibility with the latest DAWs and operating systems (including macOS 10.15 Catalina), enjoy plugin performance improvement and full technical support, receive new plugins added to premium bundles, and more.  

Also included are newly designed versions of the classic Waves Renaissance bundle featuring freshly designed interfaces with three skin choices (Light, Dark, and Legacy); real-time frequency analyzer added to the Renaissance Equalizer and Renaissance Channel plugins; a complete rehaul of the Renaissance Channel user interface for more intuitive usage of the channel strip plugin; and 700+ new presets by leading artists. Waves V11 also includes NKS support added to 43 Waves plugins, for compatibility with Native Instruments hardware.

V11 is installed via a new improved version of Waves Central, the application that lets you easily install and manage your Waves licenses across different devices.

V11 Features:

> Full ongoing compatibility with the latest major DAWs and operating systems (including macOS 10.15 Catalina).

> New updated version of all Renaissance plugins, including all-new interfaces and hundreds of new artist presets.

> Additional plugins added to selected premium bundles.

> Plugin CPU-usage improvements and fixes, plus access to all other plugin updates since V10.

> 1400+ artist presets added to plugins.

> NKS support added to 43 Waves plugins, for compatibility with Native Instruments hardware.

> V11 plugins supported in the new Waves SuperRack plugin rack and in eMotion LV1

Note: V11 plugins are not supported in MultiRack, SoundGrid Studio and StudioRack applications. 

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Plugins from Waves Audio were employed by live sound engineers for a variety of performers in diverse setups and consoles throughout Lollapalooza 2019.

Now one of the longest-running in the United States, the iconic festival brings in close to half a million people each year, taking place over four days in the heart of Chicago’s lakefront. The 2019 lineup featured some of the world’s biggest artists across hip-hop, electronic and every flavour of rock.

The sound engineers for festival headliners Childish Gambino, Twenty One Pilots and J Balvin, plus top-drawing acts like Janelle Monáe and Kacey Musgraves, have come to rely upon Waves plugins for their live mixing needs.

Mixing the sundown set on Friday night at Lollapalooza, Janelle Monáe’s right-hand woman, front-of-house engineer Amanda Davis, has been touring for over six years and has been a Waves user for “as long as I can remember.” Davis likes to keep it concise when it comes to effects processing, running the Waves MultiRack plugin host with a SoundGrid Impact Server-C through DMI cards on her DiGiCo SD10.

A 17-year veteran in the live sound business, Charles Izzo has been using Waves tools professionally for over a decade. Mixing monitors for Donald Glover a.k.a. Childish Gambino, Izzo is constantly optimising his effects chains, going for that solid dynamic sound that he feels only studio classics can deliver. “The Studio Classics Collection bundle, with the Waves SSL and API plugins, is used on pretty much any show that I mix. Having the colouring and responsiveness of those plugins makes a huge difference for me, whether it’s at FOH or monitors.”

FOH engineer Travis Bing, helming the boards for six-time Grammy-winning country singer/songwriter Kacey Musgraves’ show, talks about the vocal processing: “My chain is a Puigchild 660 into F6 into C6 into the NS1 Noise Suppressor, into parallel group compression, and finally into the PuigChild 660 compressor again,” he said. “PuigChild is a constant for me on vocals, and the F6 has become a strong go-to as well: it’s like the C6 on steroids – so versatile and can achieve so much so quickly. I use the PSE (Primary Source Expander) on my background vocal groups. I have five background singers, so I’ve got to do something to suppress those open mics whenever I can.”

The post Waves plugins power the sound of Lollapalooza 2019 appeared first on Audio Media International.

Waves Audio has introduced the Abbey Road Studio 3 plugin, created in collaboration with Abbey Road Studios and powered by Waves Nx immersive audio technology.

The Waves Abbey Road Studio 3 plugin brings the acoustics of the legendary Abbey Road Studio 3 Control Room to any set of headphones. With Waves’ Nx technology, the complete acoustic response of Abbey Road Studio 3, described as a ‘perfect music mixing room’, has been captured for immersive use on headphones.

From Radiohead, Amy Winehouse and Kanye West, to contemporary mixes of the Beatles and Pink Floyd, to number-one chart toppers by Frank Ocean, Brockhampton and Florence + the Machine: all were recorded, mixed and perfected at Abbey Road Studio 3. 

The Waves Abbey Road Studio 3 plugin brings the perfect acoustics of the Studio 3 control room into a users headphones in three-dimensional sound, powered by Waves’ Nx technology for immersive 3D audio. The plugin also delivers full 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound, modelled after the studio’s original surround setup.

Mirek Stiles, Head of Audio Products at Abbey Road said: “Abbey Road has historically been very protective of the acoustic properties of its studios for software emulations, and the Studio 3 control room is no exception. After speaking with Yoni Zlotkin (Waves Product Manager) and the Waves team at length over many months, I began to feel more confident these guys had some groundbreaking theories on how such a sensitive task could be realised. Not everything worked first time and we went back to the drawing board on a few occasions.

“Our breakthrough moment was when Giles Martin came into the Studio 3 control room with some Universal Music executives and we did a playback. The positive reaction from all in the room was immediate and confirmed our suspicions we had created something special and unique. This plugin was probably the most challenging yet and I’m extremely grateful to the Abbey Road engineers for their feedback and input, and to the talented, resilient and patient team at Waves Audio. I hope this plugin inspires music creators worldwide to realise their visions with more confidence than ever before.”

Abbey Road Studio 3 features:

• The acoustics of Abbey Road Studio 3 – in immersive 3D audio over any set of headphones
• Precision modelling of Abbey Road Studio 3’s stereo and surround soundstage
• Hear your music the way Pink Floyd, Amy Winehouse, Radiohead, Frank Ocean and Kanye West heard theirs
• Choose from Studio 3’s three sets of stereo speaker setups: near-field, mid-field, far-field
• Mix 5.1 and 7.1 surround reliably on your stereo headphones 
• High-precision head tracking for enhanced realism
• Personalised head anatomy calibration
• Headphone EQ calibration for popular headphone models
• SoundGrid-compatible; for SoundGrid-powered performance, you can offload the plugin’s processing to a SoundGrid server 

The post Waves and Abbey Road unveil the Abbey Road Studio 3 Plugin appeared first on Audio Media International.