To be fair to Waves, they do allow 1 and 2 star reviews. I usually just filter out the 5 star (and 1 star)  reviews on their site and in my experience the 2 up to 4 star reviews are pretty fair; even the 4 stars reviews not being totaly  uncritical.

Ive done a couple of those voluntary customer reviews on the Waves website. Did them because I genuinely had something good to say and so I did.

I own all the Waves plugins and use the Waves/Soundgrid hardware and I've never received an offer for free or discounted software because of a review or to get a review from me.

I don't think I'm the exception. If I am then that would put into question all the positive voluntary contributions in this forum. I mean Cakewalk is a company in the business of selling software too.

Constantly questioning people's motives is a bit of a pointless exercise. Not like you can know their motives let alone change anything.

bitflipper
Yes, they do. Not using paid employees, though, AFAIK. Instead, they recruit users to be "ambassadors" who get discounts in exchange for spreading positive reviews on forums and retailers' sites.

Discounts?.... how much more can they be taking off after the recent year ouch!

Did you click that link? It's another "Waves", in the beach life market.

Sanderxpander
Did you click that link? It's another "Waves", in the beach life market.

 lol
 

Ambassador Program
The Waves Ambassador Program is for the ultimate fan or adventurer. We are looking for people to use our products, take pictures and tell us your stories. We want your feedback so we can continue to improve our products. There is no cost to join the program and we only ask a few things in return. Click the Apply Now Button below if you are interested. We get a lot of requests so please allow a few days for us to get back to you.

What You Get

• Free & Discounted Gear
• Early Access To New Products
• Prototype Testing & Product Input

What We Ask

• Use & Test Our Products
• Send & Post Pictures Of Your Adventures
• Tell Your Friends

 

Busted
 
 
 

mudgel
Ive done a couple of those voluntary customer reviews on the Waves website. Did them because I genuinely had something good to say and so I did.

I own all the Waves plugins and use the Waves/Soundgrid hardware and I've never received an offer for free or discounted software because of a review or to get a review from me.

I don't think I'm the exception. If I am then that would put into question all the positive voluntary contributions in this forum. I mean Cakewalk is a company in the business of selling software too.

Constantly questioning people's motives is a bit of a pointless exercise. Not like you can know their motives let alone change anything.

+1
Well said.
I usually use the same filtering process as well as search reviews outside of the waves site as well, to form a decision on a purchase from waves.
I use quite a few waves plugins, and have mostly been satisfied beyond expectation with what I have purchased.

I wondered how long before somebody figured that out...answer: three weeks.  Those of you who take the time to include links in your posts, take note.
 
The Waves Street Ambassadors program is a real thing, though. They got a lot of flak for it when it was introduced (2012?), and may have since abandoned the program, or at least lowered its online visibility. The actual link to the street ambassadors page today just takes you to an advertisement.

Sure, we beleive you . . . nudge nudge wink wink
 
I can picture it now, old fozzie would have been tripping over himself, frothing at the mouth when he seen another opportunity to sink the boot in lol
 

His wife, does she ... ?

This is taken from Consumer Reports: “Watch What You Say When Posting Online Reviews”.  "In one case, the retail website KlearGear.com sent a Utah Couple a bill for $3,500 after they posted a negative review on RipoffReport.com, complaining about the company’s failure to deliver a desk toy and key chain costing less than $20.  A federal court ruled that the couple didn’t have to pay after the company failed to appear to answer a lawsuit the couple filed against it.  But by that time the couple’s credit had already taken a hit."
 
Free speech?
 
Any company that does not allow negative user reviews has something to hide and should be avoided.
 
I finally took the Waves plunge earlier this year and now own 4 plugins.  I couldn’t help but notice also that the reviews were glowing.  Are the products good?  Probably.  But all of the reviews had a sameness about them as if one person wrote them.  They were all very short, maybe averaging 3 sentences.  Aren’t there any Waves users that can articulate beyond that?  I personally write reviews on Tripadvisor.com and most of my reviews are multiple paragraphs.  They might be too long for some people, and I’m sure not read for their length.  But I know there are others looking for detail and that’s why I put a lot of thought into them.  I’d like to help out others when making decisions.
 
As far as magazine product reviews go, you can’t beat Tape Op.  They are what FM radio was to the airwaves back in the early 70’s.  AM DJ’s beat you over the head with slick talk and a playlist that would repeat every hour.  FM was free to be real with their listeners.  Tape Op has that feel with their readers.  The best part of their magazine is the gear review section.  Talk about multiple paragraphs!
 
If I buy a Waves (or anyone else’s) product because of glowing user reviews and find I have an honest problem with that product, I’m going to question buying any other product from them.  I remember a quote from Zig Ziglar, “If I catch you lying to me one time, I will put a question mark after everything you say going forward”.  Good advice.