There are tons of presets to get you started, and individual modes for different drum channels, including bass drum, toms, overheads, snare, hi-hats, and room. The beauty of this plugin lies in its simplicity. Whether you want that dry, pillowy sound famous in 70s rock and alternative, massive Zeppelin-style sounds with atmosphere for days, or the squashed, heavily-compressed sounds of 60s rock and roll, the Eddie Kramer Drum Channel can get you where you need to go. If the Cobalt Saphira doesn't seem like the right choice for you, be sure to check out this comprehensive review of the best saturation and distortion plugins.īest Waves Plugin for Drums - Eddie Kramer Drum ChannelĮddie Kramer has some of the best drum tones in the industry, which is why we’re pretty lucky that he teamed up with Waves to develop a plugin that captures the essence of his tones.
Pros of the Waves Cobalt Saphira Saturation PluginĬons of the Waves Cobalt Saphira Saturation Plugin If you only want that slight bit of glue to make your mix sound cohesive without squashing the transients, Saphira is an excellent choice! You can get all of the harmonic goodness that you get from your standard saturation plugin without compressing it to death. While it can certainly be nice to have saturation plugins that emulate the inconsistencies and quirks of tapes or tubes, having the ability to balance even and odd harmonics, choose between different harmonic modes, or pick from five tape speeds to add flutter and wow modulation to your tracks is awesome.Īnother unique thing about Cobalt Saphira is that it allows you to control your harmonics with or without compression. The one thing that separates this plugin from many other saturation plugins is the level of unprecedented digital control you get. Plus, it works on just about any type of instrument or vocal you pair it with! This plugin delivers an unreal level of control and musicality, perfect for those who want an advanced harmonic-shaping tool that can give their tracks glue, depth, and warmth. There are many types of saturation plugins on the market, though none of them is quite as versatile as Cobalt Saphira. If the Waves SSL EV2 doesn't seem like the right choice for you, check out this review of the best channel strip plugins that includes channel strips from all designers.īest Waves Saturation Plugin - Cobalt Saphira Efficient all-in-one channel strip design.Another thing I love about the Waves SSL EV2 is that the plugin is also very easy on your CPU, meaning you can insert it on just about every channel in your mix to treat everything as if it were running through a console, unlike the UAD emulation.
There are over 600 presets to choose from, which come from some of the best producers and mix engineers in the industry. Of course, you also get that fat SSL compression that you’re used to! You’ll find rich, harmonic saturation, two options for EQ curves (including the Brown and Black versions found in the original hardware), and a “mic mode,” giving users the option to introduce more extreme gain to their signals. Waves recently renewed their original emulation of the SSL 4000E, and it’s incredible! The value is much better, and the sound is terrific. Luckily, Waves has an SSL 4000E emulation that is right alongside UAD’s in terms of sound and functionality. So, for the majority of producers, it’s not the best option.
The UAD SSL 4000E plugin is wildly expensive and requires the user has UAD hardware to run it. While I think UAD makes one of the best SSL 4000E emulations, the barrier to entry is quite high. But if the Scheps 73 isn't what you're looking for, though, check out my review of the best EQ VSTs. I often like to use the Scheps 73 as the main EQ in my mixing chain for every instrument, as it gives every instrument a similar, analog vibe, while I treat the mix as if it were coming through an analog console.
That alone is probably the main selling point of Scheps 73. Plus, you can boost frequencies at normally outlandish levels without it ever sounding harsh or unnatural. The limitations here force you to use your ears to get the sound you’re after, rather than using a fancy, real-time visualizer to make your decisions. You only get a single high-pass filter and three frequency bands, all of which were chosen for their utility. One great thing about the EQ section is that it is incredibly straightforward. It was and is famous for its EQ section, which provides a musical sound and buttery saturation that is difficult to capture anywhere else. The Neve 1073, for those who don’t know, is a legendary microphone preamp and equalizer. And the Scheps 73 by Waves is a beautiful emulation of one of the most iconic pieces of analog hardware around, the Neve 1073. You probably know that we’re massive fans of vintage hardware emulations if you’ve ever read any of the other articles on the site.