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Waves CLA Bass
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Waves CLA Bass

Software channel strip from Waves belonging to the CLA series

Hatsubai Hatsubai

« Good bass mastering program »

Published on 06/26/11 at 04:54
CLA Bass is part of the CLA bundle that Waves has to offer. These are plugins that were created by/for Chris Lord-Alge, the famous mixer who's done everything from Rocky IV to Slipknot. This plugin is meant for those wanting to add some proper bass compression and mastering to the mix. The plugin itself is pretty easy to use. It has a slider for input, bass, treble, compress, sub, distortion, pitch and output. There are also buttons at the top of each slider to adjust the type of frequency you want to adjust. To use this, you simply enable it on your bass buss and start adjusting. I didn't experience any compatibility issues, so I can't comment on that. I never read the manual, but I don't think it's really necessary for these plugins. It's very easy and simple to use, so no issues there.

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

Waves plugins have always been some of the most stable plugins I've experienced. They're cross platform compatible, so they'll work with both PCs and Macs. As a Mac user, that's a huge advantage for someone like me. They run in 32 bit mode, but Logic uses a wrapper-like application that runs so you don't interfere with your 64 bit interface. I've tried this on various different buses, and it seems to work on anything with ease. It even works nicely on MIDI, which I found a bit surprising. There are no performance issues at all, and that's a huge plus when working in a DAW filled with all kinds of synths and tracks running tons of plugins. These plugins came with my Mercury package, and I've had that for a few months now.

OVERALL OPINION

If you're looking for a good bass buss master plugin, this will work fairly nicely. It sounds great, and it's easy to use. I think Waves tries to push this as a simple solution to do any bass mastering, but it really depends on the mix. The best weapons you'll always have when it comes to getting bass to fit the mix will be high pass and low pass filters. Learn to master those, and it'll make your life so much easier when it comes to getting just the right amount of bass.