Waves Audio
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Waves Audio Ltd. is a developer and supplier of professional audio signal processing technologies and audio effects, used in recording, mixing, mastering, post production, surround, live, and broadcast sound. Since the early 1990s, Waves processors have been available as plugins for most popular audio hosts and platforms, including Audio Units, TDM, DirectX, MAS, and VST.
Under its Maxx brand, Waves offers its technologies as DSP semiconductors and licensable algorithms for consumer electronics, and are currently used in products from companies including Sony, Sanyo, JVC, Toshiba, and Altec Lansing. Maxx technologies are used to enhance audio performance and improve sound in televisions, laptop computers, mobile phones, VoIP, multimedia speakers, and portable audio systems.
The company's corporate headquarters and development facilities are located in Tel Aviv, Israel, with additional offices in the United States in Knoxville, Tennessee and Shenzen, China.
[edit] History
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This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (September 2007) |
Founded in October 1992 by Gilad Keren and Meir Sha'ashua, Waves pioneered the use of software extension applications, or "plug-ins", for digital audio signal processing and manipulation. Waves' first plug-in was the Q10 Paragraphic Equalizer.1 The Q10 was innovative in three main ways. First, it was one of the earliest third-party plug-ins for the nascent Pro Tools platform, which has since become the industry standard. Second, its intuitive graphic user interface (GUI) provided easy access to and control over more parameters than had previously been possible. Finally, the Q10 offered sound quality equal to or better than its hardware counterparts.
Further stimulating Waves’ first decade of success was the development of the L1 Ultramaximizer Peak Limiter, which established a new benchmark for dynamic controls, and introduced the concept of "look-ahead" limiting, a term which is now in general use throughout the audio software industry. The L1 was the first in Waves L-Series, which now includes the L2, L3, L3-LL, and L3-16 Ultramaximizers and Multimaximizers.
[edit] Psycho-Acoustic Modeling
By analyzing and applying psychoacoustics (the way the human brain perceives sound), Waves developed proprietary modeling techniques used to re-create the sonic characteristics of the world's most desirable analog hardware. Their SSL 4000 Collection was developed in association with Solid State Logic, makers of the original SSL 4000 mixing consoles. The API Collection was created in conjunction with Automated Processes Inc. (makers of API components), while the V-Series is based on Rupert Neve console modules. Waves also offers a collection of modeled guitar amplifiers, speaker cabinets, and stomp effects called GTR, which includes software emulations of popular amps and cabs by Marshall, Fender, Mesa/Boogie, Vox, and others.
[edit] Audio Processors
Today, the Waves product line includes over 20 bundles comprised of over 90 processors and almost 300 component plug-ins. In addition to the 26 processors included in the GTR bundle, Waves currently offers 69 audio processor plug-ins:
| Processor Name | Function |
| API 550A | 3-Band Equalizer |
| API 550B | 4-Band Equalizer |
| API 560 | 10-Band Graphic Equalizer |
| API 2500 | Stereo Compressor |
| AudioTrack | Channel Strip with EQ, Gating, and Compression |
| C1 Parametric Compander | Dynamics Processor |
| C4 Multiband Compressor | Dynamics Processor |
| DeBreath | Breath Eliminator |
| DeEsser | Sibilance Attenuator |
| Doppler | Spatial Processor |
| Doubler | Double-Tracking Processor |
| Enigma | Modulation Effects |
| IR1 Parametric | Convolution Reverb |
| IR360 | Surround Parametric Convolution Reverb |
| IR-L | Parametric Convolution Reverb |
| L1 Ultramaximizer | Peak Limiter |
| L2 Ultramaximizer | Peak Limiter |
| L3 Multimaximizer | Multiband Peak Limiter |
| L3 Ultramaximizer | Peak Limiter |
| L3-16 Multimaximizer | 16-Band Peak Limiter |
| L3-LL Multimaximizer | Low Latency Multiband Peak Limiter |
| L3-LL Ultramaximizer | Low Latency Peak Limiter |
| Linear Phase EQ | Transparent Equalizer |
| Linear Phase Multiband | Transparent Dynamics Processor |
| MaxxBass® | Low Frequency Extension |
| MaxxVolume® | 4-Way Dynamics Processor |
| MetaFlanger | Modulation Effects |
| MondoMod | Modulation Effects |
| Morphoder | Vocoder Effects |
| PAZ Analyzer | Psycho-Acoustic Analyzer |
| PS22 Stereo Maker | Mono-to-Stereo Processor |
| Q-Clone | Hardware EQ Modeling |
| Q10 | Paragraphic Equalizer |
| Renaissance Axx | Dynamics Processor |
| Renaissance Bass | Low Frequency Extension |
| Renaissance Channel | Channel Strip |
| Renaissance Compressor | Dynamics Processor |
| Renaissance DeEsser | Sibilance Attenuator |
| Renaissance EQ | Paragraphic Equalizer |
| Renaissance Reverb | Spatial Processor |
| Renaissance Vox | Dynamics Processor |
| S1 Stereo Imager | Spatial Processor |
| SSL G-Master Buss Compressor | Dynamics Processor |
| SSL G-Equalizer | Parametric EQ |
| SSL E-Channel | Channel Strip |
| SoundShifter | Time and Pitch Transformation |
| SuperTap | Analog-Style Tap Delay |
| R360˚ Surround Reverb | Surround Spatial Processor |
| S360˚ Surround Panner | Surround Spatial Processor |
| S360˚ Surround Imager | Surround Spatial Processor |
| LFE360˚ Low Pass Filter | Surround Bass Processor |
| L360˚ Surround Limiter | Surround Dynamics Processor |
| C360˚ Surround Compressor | Surround Dynamics Processor |
| IDR360˚ Surround Bit Re-Quantizer | Surround Dithering Processor |
| M360˚ Surround Mixdown | Surround Spatial Processor |
| M360˚ Surround Manager | Surround Spatial Processor |
| Trans-X | Transient Shaper |
| TrueVerb | Spatial Processor |
| Waves Tune | Pitch Correction and Transformation |
| Waves Tune LT | Pitch Correction and Transformation |
| UltraPitch | Pitch Transformation |
| V-Comp | Vintage Dynamics Processing |
| V-EQ3 | Vintage Equalization |
| V-EQ4 | Vintage Equalization |
| X-Crackle | Noise Reduction |
| X-Hum | Noise Reduction |
| X-Noise | Noise Reduction |
| X-Click | Noise Reduction |
| Z-Noise | Advanced Dynamic Noise Reduction |
Additionally, Waves manufactures several hardware processors for live, studio, and broadcast applications, including MaxxBCL, which includes compression, bass extension, and limiting functions.
