Waves Audio Abbey Road Chambers User Guide

Abbey Road Chambers Reverb/Delay

User Guide

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Contents

Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 3

Quick Start .................................................................................................................................................. 5

Signal Flow .................................................................................................................................................. 6

Components ................................................................................................................................................ 8

Interface .................................................................................................................................................... 10

Controls ..................................................................................................................................................... 11

Input Section ............................................................................................................................................................................. 11

STEED Section ......................................................................................................................................................................... 11

Filters to Chamber Section ........................................................................................................................................................ 13

Chamber Controls ..................................................................................................................................................................... 14

Mix Section................................................................................................................................................................................ 16

Output Section .......................................................................................................................................................................... 17

Abbey Road Chambers / User Guide

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Introduction

Thanks for choosing Waves. To get the most out of your Abbey Road Chambers plugin, please take a few minutes to

read this user guide. Visit our website and log in to your Waves account to register your new products and activate

them, to check for upgrades, and manage your account. If you don’t already have a Waves account, click Create

Account in the top right corner of the Waves home page.

We suggest that you visit Waves Support, where you’ll find an extensive answer base, system and host

requirements, troubleshooting guides, and much more.

About Abbey Road Chambers

Abbey Road Chambers is a delay and reverb plugin that delivers very rich, complex, and spacious reverb effects. It’s

been meticulously crafted to replicate the STEED tape delay and echo chamber setup (Send Tape Echo Echo

Delay) that was developed at Abbey Road Studios.

This unique reverb/delay combination consists of tape recorders, a tape delay, a feedback loop, and an echo

chamber with changeable and moveable speakers and mics. It produced a great-sounding reverb with the option to

extend the reverb tail using repeated feedback loops. It yielded a unique sound that’s heard in many classic

recordings from the ‘60s and ‘70s and beyond. Once you know what to listen for, it’s easy to spot the Chambers

effect. Working in close collaboration with Abbey Road, Waves developed a plugin that accurately recreates this

process. We modeled some of the original Abbey Road hardware that was used to create the setup, accurately

captured echo chamber acoustics using impulse responses, and exactingly recreated the signal path. The result is

an easy-to-use plugin that delivers the sonic characteristics of this Abbey Road classic.

Abbey Road Chambers / User Guide

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A Very Brief History of the Tape Echo Process

Musicians began using loops of tape to create echo effects in the 1950s. Tape echo pioneers took advantage of the
separation between a tape machine’s record and repro heads to create a slapback sound. The tape speed and the
distance between the heads determined the delay time. Ambitious musicians and engineers were stringing tape
between two or more tape machines to create longer and more ornate loop sounds. Unavoidable inconsistencies
added to the perceived magic of the procedure. With its unique tape sound and wide possibilities, tape echo was
enthusiastically adopted in jazz, rock and roll, and experimental music. Engineers and producers developed ever
more complex techniques to exploit this process.

Enter the STEED Process

One of the most intricate and interesting implementations of tape delay was developed by Abbey Road Studios. The
process results in a reverb effect that’s longer beyond the physical limitations of the echo chamber. The effect starts
with a tape delay and feedback loop. This is the STEED process. The signal then goes to an echo chamber, where
the reverb sound is created. The tape feedback loop serves to prolong the tail of the chamber sound without creating
a noticeable delay effect. Extending the tail with these “feedback building blocks” makes for a tail sound that’s
particular to STEED. The character of the reverb is influenced by the positions of speakers and mics in the chamber
as well as the composition of the chamber’s walls.

This effect has been used on countless recordings, but it’s most famously linked with The Beatles. Listen to George
Harrison’s voice on “Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby,” Paul McCartney’s piano on “Birthday,” the pauses in
“Paperback Writer,” or the sound collage in “Revolution 9,” and you’ll recognize the effect. The Waves/Abbey Road
Chambers plugin lets you recreate these unique, historic sounds.

Abbey Road Chambers / User Guide

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Quick Start

This quick start teaches you how to create the basic Abbey Road Chambers effect. To learn more about controlling
the plugin and to fine tune its sound, read the “Interface and Controls” section later in this user guide. To help you
get to know the plugin, we suggest that you refer to the signal flow diagram on the next page.

1. Experiment with the Chamber settings:

• Mic Type and Position:

Close to wall: Produces more transients, which results in a brighter STEED effect.

Facing Room: Produces much more direct sound in the chamber reverb.

Mic Type sets the mic that is used to pick up the sound in the chamber.

• Speaker Type: B&W802 or Altec 605.

B&W: Provides a modern sound with a wide frequency range.

Altec: Emphasizes mid-to high/mid. Low frequencies are reduced.

• Chamber Types:

Chamber 2: Classic Abbey Road Studio 2 chamber; half-tiled.

Mirrored Room: A very bright, reflective room sound (Abbey Road Mirror room).

Stone Room: A dark variant of a small room.

2. Set the input level. Use the Input meter to leave some headroom for processing and make sure that there are
no clip indications.

3. In the STEED section, set the Delay time. This is the tape machine delay time between the record and playback
heads when the tape is running at 30 ips. There are separate left and right settings on the stereo component.

4. Increase the Feedback amount until you hear the signal oscillating. Slightly decrease the feedback control to a
point where you don’t hear the delay taps, but rather a lengthening of the chamber reverb tail.

5. Filter the feedback signal using the three controls on the left side of the panel. Top Cut and Bass Cut have
fixed gain with adjustable frequency. Mid has a fixed frequency of 3.5 kHz with variable gain.

6. Use the “Filters to Chamber” section to adjust the signal entering the echo chamber.

7. Use the Mix section to adjust the balance between the chamber reverb and the STEED tape delay section.

8. Finally, adjust the output level of the plugin in the Output section.

Abbey Road Chambers / User Guide

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Signal Flow

the system.

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Waves/Abbey Road Chambers combines several processes to create its unique sound:

• Input filtering that optimizes the signal for processing.

• An adjustable delay with analogue tape emulation.

• A feedback path that creates complex delays and effectively lengthens the reverb tail.

• Impulse responses of physical echo chambers provide accurate emulation.

Input

Main path

Sets the plugin’s input level. The input signal is split into two paths: A direct signal is sent to

output mixer. The Chambers processing signal is sent through a buffer amplifier and then into

The signal goes to the delay and tape effect processor and is then split: one signal goes straight

to the echo chamber through a set of filters. This is the Main path.

Abbey Road Chambers / User Guide