Common conversation between audio engineers usually have to do with the variables about the elements that you can change, modify and adjust on a daily basis to improve you mix. Example: “Hey that kick sounds huge, can I see the EQ on it?”, or “The mic on that female vocal wasn't working so I had to change the mic”. I still have those conversations with other engineers, but we live in a digital world and so the most common question I get these days from other engineers is “What plug-in are you using on that?” If you feel left behind when the water cooler conversations head into the plug-in realm have no fear. If you are mixing on an analog console or a digital console that does not support plug-ins internally, well you are in luck because Waves Soundgrid has a solution for you.
Waves Soundgrid is a dizzying number of plug-ins and related products, so let me give you a lay of the land, then I'll dive into my hands-on experiences with the company's Extreme Server. Waves Soundgrid gives you access to more than 130 plug-ins for your live mixes. If you are not familiar, Waves plug-ins offer solutions for any need you have be it EQ, compression, modulation, reverb, delay and more. Some of my favorite plug-ins include the Chris Lord-Alge Classic Compressor bundle, H-Comp, and GEQ which is a phase-coherent, 31-band graphic EQ. The way that you integrate these plug-ins into your console will vary depending on what you are mixing on, but keep in mind there is a solution for literally any console.
The components of a SoundGrid system will vary depending on your console situation, but there are essentially two routes. MultiRack Native is a piece of software that runs on your computer that allows you to access your Waves plug-in library. Because this is a Native system you will be limited by the processing power of your computer. The less processing power you have, the less plug-in instances you will be able to use at one time. For more processing power Waves has a number of SoundGrid Servers; external devices that offer various processing capabilities. Our review unit is the SoundGrid Extreme Server, which has an Intel i7 processor and 8 GB of RAM that allows up to 512 instances of the SSL Channel plug-in with only 0.83 ms of latency. It is the most powerful server option that Waves offers and has a street price of about $2,500. Let me tell you - this thing packs a punch.
For a number of digital consoles Waves has designed interface cards that are inserted directly into your digital console. These include Digico, Yamaha, and Allen & Heath. For SoundCraft, Studer and Midas digital consoles, you will use the appropriate Waves MGO or MGB I/O Madi interface. If you own a Presonus StudioLive, Mackie Onyx-i Series or Beringer X-32, a direct USB or Firewire connection to a laptop will suffice. If you are still in the analog world Waves has you covered as well. Using a Presonus interface with a laptop running MultiRack Native you'll be able to make physical inserts bringing plug-ins into your analog word. Almost regardless of your situation, Waves has you covered. There is virtually no reason why you can't have Waves plug-ins at your disposal come Sunday morning.
While writing this review I was working with an Extreme Server along with a Yamaha CL5 console. Making the appropriate system connections did not take long. First I installed the WSG-Y16 card for Yamaha consoles (this will work with any digital console Yamaha has). Next using Ethernet cables, I connected the Server One, the WSG-Y16 and my laptop running SoundGrid to a network switch. It's that simple. To insert plug-ins, simply turn on a given channel insert and select the appropriate channel.. Each WSG-Y16 card gives you 16 channels of inserts and you are only limited by the number of cards you have. You can stack as many plug-ins as you'd like on each channel you are only limited by the processing power of your system. The plug-ins look and operate the same familiar way as they do on an Avid console or on your favorite DAW [digital audio workstation]. So if you are coming from another plug-in experience, the working process will be familiar and you will have no problem transitioning to the Waves work-flow.
I've been mixing on Avid consoles for years, and that experience gave me initial access to the Waves plug-ins that I know and love. I've been mixing on Yamaha consoles for even longer, so I'm very comfortable with their layout and sound. The thing I love about the newer Yamaha CL5 is that everything is within reach so my moves are always fast. The experience of mixing on a CL5 with the SoundGrid Extreme Server was my favorite experience mixing thus far in my career. No kidding. I previously only associate having plug-ins with Avid consoles. SoundGrid blows the doors wide open. I'll never go back not traveling without a SoundGrid solution.
When I was using the SoundGrid Extreme Server I actually never found the end of its processing power. I'm not saying that it doesn't have and end because, just for fun, I did eventually open 30 instances of R-Verb (a processor heavy plug-in) and ran out of power. But as I reviewed the Waves SoundGrid Extreme Server in a series of real-world mixing environments, I just started mixing and added plug-ins as needed with no problems. After about 20 minutes of sound check with plug-ins inserted on everything from drums, to my main outputs I never maxed out the processing power of SoundGrid Extreme Server. So for my style of mixing (which I would not say is minimalist) the Extreme Server had more than enough power.
If you have yet to dive into the world of plug-ins I know it can be daunting. There are literally hundreds of plug-in options, but the same can be said about microphones, or outboard effects. Waves has made it easy to jump into a whole new world of possibilities. If you are a novice just starting out, you can invest in a MultiRack Native setup or a SoundGrid Compact server. If you have a large digital desk but have not had access to Waves plug-ins, then the Extreme Server will take your mix to the next level. The bottom line is that your console is no longer holding you back from improving your mixes. Adding the SoundGrid Extreme Server to your older digital console will give your console life for years to come. I highly recommend checking this out.
