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Adyssey Beats « A classic limiter, but outdated »
Published on 06/28/12 at 15:52There were no compatibility or installation issues getting Waves' L1 Ultramaximizer up and running. Although outdated today, the L1 was the original adaptive limiter released by Waves and is certainly an effective way of boosting your signal without blowing up/distorting the mix. The display is fairly simple and the parameters (input, output ceiling, threshold, release, etc.) are largely self-explanatory. Although I have never required its assistance, I'm sure the manual for the L1, as with all of the other Waves plug-ins I have used, is well indexed and helpful.
SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE
Running in Ableton Live 8 on my MacBook Pro with a 2.7Ghz Intel Core i7 processor and 4GBs of RAM, Waves' L1 Ultramaximizer is as smooth as clockwork, but worry not Windows users as this plug-in is cross compatible. Being fairly light with regards to overall CPU usage, it is stable and reliable even in situations where many other effects and VSTs are operating simultaneously. As far as performance is concerned, I just through the L1 on either an individual track, my sends, or my master, and set the parameters to boost the mix without clipping. I've had the L1 Ultramaximizer for almost four months now and although it has been far surpassed by the L2, L3, MaxxVolume et. al, I certainly don't regret my purchase.
OVERALL OPINION
Overall you can definitely pick up something in the Waves series that is a much better plug-in for loudness, but you will be hard pressed to find something more classic. Though limited compared to today's standards, I still use the L1 as a temporary device if I need a brick-wall limiter to keep a production in the works from clipping before it is mastered. My recommendation is to get something more recent, but if you are a true aficionado, you can pick the L1 up in its Native version, or in the Mercury bundle deal. Although I wouldn't endorse it, the Native version which was originally $150, it is now on sale for $64 on the Waves website. Not that bad deal I guess, but probably still more bang for your buck if you get the Mercury bundle deal and upgrade to something much better. Then at least you have it if you wanna try it.
SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE
Running in Ableton Live 8 on my MacBook Pro with a 2.7Ghz Intel Core i7 processor and 4GBs of RAM, Waves' L1 Ultramaximizer is as smooth as clockwork, but worry not Windows users as this plug-in is cross compatible. Being fairly light with regards to overall CPU usage, it is stable and reliable even in situations where many other effects and VSTs are operating simultaneously. As far as performance is concerned, I just through the L1 on either an individual track, my sends, or my master, and set the parameters to boost the mix without clipping. I've had the L1 Ultramaximizer for almost four months now and although it has been far surpassed by the L2, L3, MaxxVolume et. al, I certainly don't regret my purchase.
OVERALL OPINION
Overall you can definitely pick up something in the Waves series that is a much better plug-in for loudness, but you will be hard pressed to find something more classic. Though limited compared to today's standards, I still use the L1 as a temporary device if I need a brick-wall limiter to keep a production in the works from clipping before it is mastered. My recommendation is to get something more recent, but if you are a true aficionado, you can pick the L1 up in its Native version, or in the Mercury bundle deal. Although I wouldn't endorse it, the Native version which was originally $150, it is now on sale for $64 on the Waves website. Not that bad deal I guess, but probably still more bang for your buck if you get the Mercury bundle deal and upgrade to something much better. Then at least you have it if you wanna try it.