Waves 14 Plugins Best

| Plugin | Best For | Why | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | MondoMod | Psychedelic, EDM, lo-fi | One plugin does chorus, flanger, phaser, tremolo, and panning. Automate the LFO shape/speed for evolving textures. | | H-Delay (again) | Chorus & doubling | Set delay to 15–25 ms, 0% feedback, and modulate the delay time. Better than many dedicated chorus plugins. | | Enigma | Resonant FX, dub siren | A forgotten gem. Creates harmonic shifting, pitch bending, and vowel-like filters. Use on synth stabs. |

The "Beatles console." This EQ curves the audio in a way that modern EQs cannot replicate. The presence boost (5kHz) sounds like honey. Best for: Making digital synths sound like 1969.

Small speakers? No problem. RBass adds harmonics above the fundamental bass frequency, tricking your brain into hearing deep sub-bass on laptop speakers or earbuds. It’s black magic, but it works. Best for: Kick drum, 808s, bass guitar. waves 14 plugins best

| Plugin | Best For | Key Feature | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | SSL G-Master Buss Compressor | Mix bus / Drum bus | The classic "glue" compressor. V14 version has true stereo, sidechain HPF, and auto-release. Essential for pop, rock, hip-hop. | | CLA-76 (Black or Bluey) | Vocals, snare, bass | Aggressive FET compression. Bluey is Chris Lord-Alge’s modded 1176 – faster, punchier. Use with 4:1 or 8:1 ratio. | | RVox | Vocals (live or studio) | Ridiculously simple: 1 fader (compression amount), 1 fader (gain). Smooth, musical leveling without pumping. Andrew Scheps uses it on every vocal. | | API 2500 | Drums, aggressive buses | Thrust filter + variable tone (loud/normal/thrust). Punchy, forward compression that doesn’t lose low-end. |

Pro tip: Chain RVox → CLA-76 for rock vocals. RVox evens dynamics, CLA-76 adds bite. | Plugin | Best For | Why |

Realistic slap bass is notoriously difficult to program via MIDI. Waves analyzed thousands of samples from a real bass player to create this engine.

The "best" plugin is often the one that saves you the most time. Waves has mastered the "one-knob" utility concept without sacrificing audio fidelity. The "Beatles console

The L3 series has been the "secret sauce" for loudness wars for two decades. In Waves 14, the L3-16 remains the king of bus processing. It combines a 16-band linear-phase EQ with a peak limiter. Unlike standard limiters, the L3-16 allows you to push your mix to competitive loudness (-8 LUFS or higher) without pumping or distortion. If you buy only one mastering plugin, make it this one.

Static EQs ruin modern mixes. The F6 is a dynamic EQ that reacts to input volume. For example, you can set it to reduce harsh 3kHz frequencies only when the vocalist sings loud. With six fully adjustable bands, sidechain filtering, and real-time spectrum analysis, the F6 is arguably the most flexible plugin Waves has ever made. In version 14, the GUI response time is instantaneous.