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Warning, stay away from Waves

I only bought a few plugins for v10 and realized I was too deep. I don't think I even managed to get all my plugins working from previous because some were v10, and installing both was so buggy that I gave up and made my peace with the other v10 plugins.

I honestly only use 2-3 waves plugins - so it's really quite lucky on my part. I think I've considered investigating the voucher situation - but i'd want to know the stipulations.

Does the WUP update 100% come with the voucher for the price of the update?? and can that be used on items that are already on sale?
 
My current Waves Horror Story:

I already hated the upgrade requirements, since if you own a lot of plugins, you're paying hundreds of dollars to update them.....

Anyway, I knew I was going to regret this, but I ended up buying into their pay-to-own subscription plan, and for some reason received a notice last month that my payment failed and they would try 5 more times over the next five days, and if it did not complete payment, my subscription would be automatically canceled. I checked my card, and every other payment on that card was fine, and there was no reason for why it failed with waves. I literally paid for other services within in that 5 day period. Still, there is no option within waves' webpage to confirm payment or reattempt payment, you just have to wait. So it gets to the 5th day, and I receive an email that my subscription was canceled, and if I wanted to, I could buy it again and contact them to have my previous paid amount applied to the new one. Since I knew I was going to regret dealing with waves and it had only been three months, I thought "f$ck waves; I want nothing to do with them"...

Fast forward three days, and I notice my credit card is charged for another month of the subscription. I email support to find out why I'm still paying for a subscription they said was canceled.

Their reply:
"Hi,
Thanks for letting us know. You can disregard our last email.
Looks like your renewal payment went through successfully today and the license is Active in your account again.
Let us know if you’ll need any further assistance.
Best regards,"


So now I'm just...back on the plan? No explanation, no nothing. So then I start loading up my daw, and now suddenly all of my 10.0 Waveshells are failing, and are getting blacklisted by my DAW. Coincidence? I don't know, because I emailed Waves about it, and they still have not responded. So I'm paying for a subscription that was canceled and "reinstated" mysteriously, but that is now inaccessible to me because my wave shells are seemingly no longer valid no matter how many times I try to reinstall/reactivate.

f$ck you waves

I regret ever getting involved with you.
 
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I still can't believe that drm is "worth it" when they a) pay for it directly to the drm service, and b) pay for it indirectly with people warning others to stay away from them. If they didn't do this shit I can almost guarantuee I would have picked up something from them over the years, but instead I wouldn't even want their free stuff on my system.


I honestly only use 2-3 waves plugins - so it's really quite lucky on my part.

Can't you replace those with plugins from other manufacturers that have less dumb drm and update schemes?
 
My current Waves Horror Story:

I already hated the upgrade requirements, since if you own a lot of plugins, you're paying hundreds of dollars to update them.....

Anyway, I knew I was going to regret this, but I ended up buying into their pay-to-own subscription plan, and for some reason received a notice last month that my payment failed and they would try 5 more times over the next five days, and if it did not complete payment, my subscription would be automatically canceled. I checked my card, and every other payment on that card was fine, and there was no reason for why it failed with waves. I literally paid for other services within in that 5 day period. Still, there is no option within waves' webpage to confirm payment or reattempt payment, you just have to wait. So it gets to the 5th day, and I receive an email that my subscription was canceled, and if I wanted to, I could buy it again and contact them to have my previous paid amount applied to the new one. Since I knew I was going to regret dealing with waves and it had only been three months, I thought "f$ck waves; I want nothing to do with them"...

Fast forward three days, and I notice my credit card is charged for another month of the subscription. I email support to find out why I'm still paying for a subscription they said was canceled.

Their reply:
"Hi,
Thanks for letting us know. You can disregard our last email.
Looks like your renewal payment went through successfully today and the license is Active in your account again.
Let us know if you’ll need any further assistance.
Best regards,"


So now I'm just...back on the plan? No explanation, no nothing. So then I start loading up my daw, and now suddenly all of my 10.0 Waveshells are failing, and are getting blacklisted by my DAW. Coincidence? I don't know, because I emailed Waves about it, and they still have not responded. So I'm paying for a subscription that was canceled and "reinstated" mysteriously, but that is now inaccessible to me because my wave shells are seemingly no longer valid no matter how many times I try to reinstall/reactivate.

f$ck you waves

I regret ever getting involved with you.
no Vaseline and all too!
 
I still can't believe that drm is "worth it" when they a) pay for it directly to the drm service, and b) pay for it indirectly with people warning others to stay away from them. If they didn't do this shit I can almost guarantuee I would have picked up something from them over the years, but instead I wouldn't even want their free stuff on my system.




Can't you replace those with plugins from other manufacturers that have less dumb drm and update schemes?

I use LoAir(I like what it does more than the alternatives) And I like NLS (more than the alternatives)

I also like S1 because it's simply useful and clean. This is the one most likely to be replaced. If fabfilter created a stereo tool it would like 99% replace it. However as it stands - S1 stereo has multiple useful stereo image controls visually laid out - and in 1 resource friendly place.

Occassionally I like Kramer tape - but basically everything else is kind of fluff. Sometimes OneKnob plugins when I'm really lazy - but generally speaking if I never touched again those I'd probably never notice it.

I use a handful of reverbs - and Fabfilter Tools.
 
I also like S1 because it's simply useful and clean. This is the one most likely to be replaced. If fabfilter created a stereo tool it would like 99% replace it. However as it stands - S1 stereo has multiple useful stereo image controls visually laid out - and in 1 resource friendly place.

Not quite the same, but this would be worth a try:

I use v1 on almost every project. Haven't updated to v2 yet.
 
Not sure what type of music yawl do but i certainly would like to know which waves you trust using, the UAD plugs seem to sound better, FabFilter EQs are great, Modley Delay is a goto for dub electronic and reggae type beats, anything, the eventide stuff on IOS is also very good, as good as the OSX stuff...i appreciate you sharing info abut the plugs you use and why., thanx
 
Not quite the same, but this would be worth a try:

I use v1 on almost every project. Haven't updated to v2 yet.

I have panagement, but it's not even remotely the same. I don't think it's a good idea to use panagement on anything except mono sources - and I use S1 to adjust the stereo properties of stereo sources. Panagement is more like a psychoacoustic binaural panner.

S1 for instance, I can narrow a tree mic, or widen it. Or I can simply shift the entire signal to the left or right. Or I can adjust the left/right levels, and adjust the panning of the left and right channels.

Typically speaking - I only really play with orchestral samples these days, hence only a need for the fabfilter stuff + a few choice reverbs + some stereo tools. Aside from that, it's just different forms of harmonic distortion/vibey stuff generally to color a signal.
 
they should be paying me for how they're violating me. they won't get another dime. Canceled my subscription.
Any software which includes the word "subscription" has me not walking, but running in the other direction. I will never get why anyone would want to keep paying over and over for software (unless it's a try-it-for-cheap monthly thing). It's an app, not a house.

Never used Waves anything but hear very mixed opinions. That also has me thinking I'm fine with what I have. :)
 
Any software which includes the word "subscription" has me not walking, but running in the other direction. I will never get why anyone would want to keep paying over and over for software (unless it's a try-it-for-cheap monthly thing). It's an app, not a house.

Never used Waves anything but hear very mixed opinions. That also has me thinking I'm fine with what I have. :)

I've had no problems with standard subscription models that are not pay-to-own. To call it a subscription is dishonest anyway. What waves have is a payment plan. one that becomes automatically canceled when their system screws up. Even worse it's far more expensive than a subscription. You pay for it all, or you walk away with none of it. I knew it was a dumb idea, but oh well. Lesson learned. I have little to worry about because the Plugin Alliance subscription covers all the stuff I want from waves anyways.
 
There are a handful of Waves plugins that I still use, and I really like them. I have not yet found replacements for them. These are primarily sound design type tools, and if I had to I suppose I could get by without them (said with a huge dramatic flair<G>!)

And I too have had debates with Waves Support. If you own the license for an older plugin they are on the hook to support it, and you. They can try any trick they like to persuade you to stay current, but that's all it is, a trick.

Which is a shame, because WUP in and of itself is not such a bad idea. Way back (When these plugins were much more expensive, and updated regularly) it made good sense if you were using them regularly. Now, with the constant sales I'm not sure. In fact I am pretty sure it would make more sense to purchase during a sale, and disregard WUP entirely.

But the concept of annual support is nothing new, and in many ways it makes more sense than any other plan for recurring revenue for both Waves and us. They just have to find the balance between price and benefit.

I've been using Waves since it was first ported to native processing - it was even called the Native Power Pack (I & II) and it used (I kid you not) the parallel port for the dongle, and if you had multiple licenses you needed multiple dongles! They did fix that, eventually.

They were, at the time, absolute cutting edge. They still have some fantastic tools, especially in the sound design realm.

Their conventional processors are really good too, but I hesitate to commit to them since I have others that get me there or nearly there without the hassles. I am not impressed with their emulations, but the C series compressors and Q series equalizers remain at the top of their class.

Too bad they are still struggling to find a way to support the business.
 
I use LoAir(I like what it does more than the alternatives) And I like NLS (more than the alternatives)

I also like S1 because it's simply useful and clean. This is the one most likely to be replaced. If fabfilter created a stereo tool it would like 99% replace it. However as it stands - S1 stereo has multiple useful stereo image controls visually laid out - and in 1 resource friendly place.

Occassionally I like Kramer tape - but basically everything else is kind of fluff. Sometimes OneKnob plugins when I'm really lazy - but generally speaking if I never touched again those I'd probably never notice it.

I use a handful of reverbs - and Fabfilter Tools.

Bass Enhancement vs. Subsonic Generators
https://www.denise.io/blog/2018/12/...nutes-with-pro-mixing-tips-and-audio-examples

A Loair replacement would be Refuse Software Lowender.
 
I have panagement, but it's not even remotely the same. I don't think it's a good idea to use panagement on anything except mono sources - and I use S1 to adjust the stereo properties of stereo sources. Panagement is more like a psychoacoustic binaural panner.

S1 for instance, I can narrow a tree mic, or widen it.

I'm not claiming it to be the same, but I use panagement all the time to widen or narrow stereo mics. I never use it as a binaural panner. If I recall correctly, the free ozone Imager can do that as well. The proper ozone imager can do it with multiple bands if needed, but you probably know that already.

For the other things that you mention (panning individual stereo channels etc.) I think there are (clunky) alternatives in reaper.


This is really also the only plugin that keeps me with waves. I hate them though. I have lowender. It’s great but not the same exactly. They are the same type of process but their effects sound slightly different.

I don't have any real need for that, but my ghetto DIY method for that is using a send effect with a pitch shifter in reaper and using lowpass filters before and after.
 
I simply don't understand why I should accept the idea of WUP when every other plugin I buy does not have that limitation. Sure all my plugins still work (with a lot of hassle) but a Windows update could change that in a minute.

They sell ALL of them (ultimately) for $29 or less, but say that the actual price is reduced from $69 or $99 or $199 or $599 or whatever. This seems ridiculous until you want to sell one of them and can't do it without losing money.

I am not an engineer. I can get everything I need to mix from companies like Fabfilter, Sonible, iZotope, IK Multimedia, Eventide, Soundtoys, Melda, NI, Melodyne, etc.

Somehow I will find a way to live my life without being able to mix my recordings exactly the way they would sound at Abbey Road. I say this fully understanding that this means my music won't sound like The Beatles. :crying:
 
I simply don't understand why I should accept the idea of WUP when every other plugin I buy does not have that limitation.

Don't all the plugins you mention (sans Sonible & Melda) have similar upgrade fees when a new version is released? I think so.

Anyway no-one forces you to purchase the WUP, you still own the plugin & they will continue to work after the upgrade subscription is over (unlike other subscription models where you are renting the plugin/ license & they stop working after they run out)
 
To each their own!

There are quite a few Waves plug-ins that I use frequently - more than I expected in fact. These are all effects, not processors, but I really would not like to try to replace them!
  • Brauer Motion
  • Doppler
  • Doubler
  • Enigma
  • MetaFilter
  • MetaFlanger
  • MondoMod
  • Morphoder
  • S1 Stereo Imager
  • SoundShifter
  • SuperTap
  • UltraPitch
I also use the Durrough meters on every project, perhaps the only Waves emulation I count on.

I also use C1, C4, Q10, and even L1 from time to time. They are, for the most part, a different take on the processes. These could be replaced, I've tried demos from FabFilter and others, but really, for my purposes, it would be a replacement, not a step up/forward, so why bother?

Q-Clone and F6 are both interesting plug-ins. I suspect that if I took the time I'd find the to be unique, and quite useful. I have not done so yet.

A dozen plugins I use frequently, and when it is time to upgrade I'll have to pay the WUP. I'm ok with that.
 
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