Waves New EMI TG12345 Channel Strip $99 Intro Price

About $85 at the usual discounters -- Audio Deluxe, Plugin Discounts, Waves Universe.
 
Cheers,
Eddie
 

Hi Eddie, what's the difference between NLS, Scheps 73 and this?
Are they all as good?
Can these be used together?
Kind regards,
Fleer

For those of you who are into digital recreations of vintage gear, your latest object of desire is the newest addition to the Waves Abbey Road bundle -- a channel strip from the EMI TG12345 console which graced that studio back when they made things like Beatles and Pink Floyd records.  So if you want to sound like them, you'll have to buy this. 
 
A comparison to Waves' existing REDD plugin is obvious.  Well, unlike REDD, this one has a compressor / limiter section.  Boy, does it ever.  Some serious smackage can be had with this -- it's got a punch that will blow your ears off if you aren't careful.  Fortunately, there's a wet/dry control so you can tame the wild beast.  Seriously, I don't think I've heard such an aggressive compressor from Waves.  Very cool!  It's worth trying just for this feature alone -- the controls are a bit unconventional, so it's worth watching a tutorial or reading the manual before twisting the knobs.  That'll help you get the most out of this thing.
 
The EQ section is a little more flexible than REDD's, with a parametric midband control in addition to the bass and treble shelves.  The overall inherent tonal balance isn't quite the same, which is understandable as the TG12345 is a solid-state model, whereas the REDD used tubes.  I had to tweak REDD's high shelf to match the sound of the relatively modern-sounding TG123456789- whoops, got carried away there.  Anyway, both EQs sound pretty good, but that's not the primary strength of these plugs.  The built-in modeled sound of these strips is the main attraction, and both do an excellent job of imparting a particular flavor onto tracks.  Which one sounds "better" will be dependent on source and taste, but so far I've been preferring the sound of the TG12345 on most things.  It seems to have a fuller, thicker, and weightier character that I really dig.
 
Both strips include a Drive control, but they're very different.  REDD's version does the clipping growl, while the TG12345 can go much further, from wild to psychedelic freakout within a few degrees of the knob's rotation. 
 
Other than that, these two plugins are pretty similar.  Very colorful, very good sounding, very fun, very CPU-intensive, and nice to look at.  But the TG12345 is the winner in my book.  It's worth trying out just for the compressor, which is something different from most run-of-the-mill comps I've heard.
 
As with all the plugins in Waves' Abbey Road line, if you dig "that vintage sound," you'll definitely enjoy Waves' newest baby.  Have fun, plugaholics!
 
 
Cheers,
Eddie
 

Most of the popular channel strip plugins try to reproduce a single channel's worth of circuitry from a console -- typically this includes preamps, some sort of EQ, and dynamics, which can be compression, limiting, gating, expanding, or any combination thereof.  The ubiquitous SSL channel plugins (Waves' version is an example) are emulations of what's used in the big studios -- pros like the familiar control layout and response, and hobbyists like to think they're just like the big boys. 
 
HOWEVER, there are no rules, so feel free to use whatever sounds good to you.  Mixing and matching can yield good results -- NLS with Scheps certainly might be a great combination, even though I haven't tried it.  But the NLS Nevo mode is modeled on a Neve console, and the Scheps is also a Neve derivative, so it sounds like a perfect fit to me!  This omits any sort of dynamics processing like compression, but there's no limit to the number of plugins that can handle that.  Doesn't have to be a Neve compressor or anything.  Go crazy and break all the rules, bud.  And, have fun!
 
Cheers,
Eddie
 
 
 

Thanks a million, Eddie, I'm starting to get a grip. A bold new world !

Eddie, I read the following about NLS: "They are saturation plugins really, nothing new. They add "glue" to your mix. In other words really slight compression and harmonics that all tracks can have in common."
Would this mean that NLS indeed functions as a kind of compressor?

Thanks, Eddie, for this prompt and clear response. I'll also start experimenting with Klanghelm DC1A and the Plug&Mix bundle I bought.
Meanwhile, I have to say I love this learning curve, because of guys like you helping me out.
Waited too many years before starting this journey, but at 52 now I'm loving every part of it.
As for the EMI TG12345, I guess I'd better wait for a sale price on the Abbey Road bundle that would include this plug-in, together with J37, REDD, RS56 and The King’s Microphones, as I read in the UAD-forum that you consider NLS, Scheps 73 and the Abbey Road Bundle to be good Waves plug-ins. Got NLS and Scheps already thanks to your recommendation.
Cheers,
Fleer

Will do. Thanks for the heads up!
Fleer