Tony Maserati Collection

Long-term Waves user Tony Maserati is the
sort of big-name mix engineer that many
would like to emulate, with credits on releases
from artists such as Britney Spears, will.i.am,
Black Eyed Peas, Mary J Blige, Beyoncé and even
the UK’s own Craaaig David. It should therefore
come as no surprise that he and Waves have
joined forces to produce a bespoke set of
plug-ins. What’s a little more unexpected,
though, is that this is no trawl through Maserati’s
rack of classic analogue units (as was the recent
Jack Joseph Puig Collection), but actually a set
of entirely original application-speciic efects. In
theory, you choose the plug-in to match the
sound you’re processing, and – bang! – you’ve
got Tony’s tones in a lash.
The six plug-ins are GTi Guitar Toner, VX1
Vocal Enhancer, DRM Drum Slammer, B72 Bass
Phattener, ACG Acoustic Guitar Designer and
HMX Harmonics Generator. Each has its own
complement of EQ/dynamics manipulation, as
well as efects such as delay, reverb, chorus and
harmonic enhancement. As well as the usual
parameters, there’s a set of task-speciic radio
buttons, which typically alter the knob positions
– however, note that they’re not merely presets,
as they sometimes subtly alter the way the
plug-in itself sounds, too.
One control that’s common to all units
(except HMX in Bounce mode) is Input
Sensitivity, which controls the input level and
drives the internal dynamics processing,
including compression and expansion. Also
common to all is Output level and the rev
counter-style level meter. Across all plug-ins,
there’s no mention of parameter speciics
(frequencies and so on), and they’re often
presented simply as more/less controls. This
disguises, to some degree, precisely what’s
going on (annoyingly at times), but encourages
you to use your ears (which is generally a good
thing). Also worth noting is that, because some
of the plug-ins include stereo efects, they only
operate in stereo or mono-to-stereo formats.
Bass and beats
So, starting with the B72 unit for bass, things
look pretty simple. However, it operates in two
distinct modes: DI and Synth. Both of these
include bass and treble controls, but Synth
Waves 

The titular producer’s signature sound should be within reach of all
of us with this novel set of easy-to-use, instrument-speciic plug-ins
System requirements
PC Intel P4 2.8GHz/AMD Athlon 64,
1GB RAM (XP)/2GB RAM (Vista),
Windows XP SP3/Vista, VST/RTAS host
Mac G5 Dual 2GHz/
Intel Core Duo 1.83GHz, 1GB RAM,
OS X 10.4.11, AU/VST/RTAS host
Test system
Mac Apple Mac Pro Dual 3GHz,
3GB RAM, OS X 10.5.5, Logic 8
FX
Set the amount of signal sent to
the effects, then tweak to taste

AUDIO DEMOS
Hear each of the Tony
Maserati efects doing
its thing on the disc
SNAP
Slow attack/fast
release dynamics
underlie this
one-knob
additive processor
SENSITIVITY
Set input levels and drive
the internal compression
effect
BASS & TREBLE
All presets include
tailored cut and
boost EQ options
WAVESYSTEM
TOOLBAR
Save presets,
undo changes
and A/B settings
METER INPUT
/ OUTPUT
All plug-ins feature
a responsive meter,
switchable between
input and output
FX
Enable Synth mode,
then use the Tone
control to modify
the ‘buzz’ effect
THUMP
Boost, cut and
generally shape
your lower
frequencies here
SENSITIVITY LED
Changes green, amber or red to
indicate how much you’re
driving the dynamics circuit
CONTOUR
Select one of three
different vocal
processing styles
with the Contour
radio buttons
TYPE
Choose appropriately
for the task at hand!
BASS TYPE
Two distinct modes,
DI and synth, aimed
at bass guitar and
synth bass
94 /  / July 2009
> reviews
/ waves tony maserati collection
CMU140.rev_maserati 94 15/5/09 11:33:50 am