Waves Audio Abbey Road TG Mastering Chain User Guide
Abbey Road TG Mastering Chain | User Guide
CONTENTS
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................. 3
About the Abbey Road TG Mastering Chain Plugin ................................................................................................. 3
Quick Start .................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Components ................................................................................................................................................................. 6
The WaveSystem Toolbar ........................................................................................................................................... 6
Interface ........................................................................................................................................................................ 7
Modules and Controls ................................................................................................................................................. 8
Controls Available in All Modules .......................................................................................................................... 8
TG12411 Input Module ......................................................................................................................................... 10
TG12412 Tone Module ........................................................................................................................................... 13
TG12413 Limiter Module ....................................................................................................................................... 15
TG12414 Filter Module ........................................................................................................................................... 19
TG12416 Output Module ....................................................................................................................................... 21
Abbey Road TG Meter Bridge .................................................................................................................................... 23
Abbey Road TG Mastering Chain | User Guide
INTRODUCTION
Thanks for choosing Waves. To get the most out of your Abbey Road TG Mastering Chain plugin, please take a few
minutes to read this user guide.
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About the Abbey Road TG Mastering Chain Plugin
Abbey Road TG Mastering Chain is a modular plugin for mastering and mixing, modeled after the original EMI
TG12410 Transfer Console used in all Abbey Road Studios’ mastering suites from the early ‘70s to this day.
The plugin can be used for both mastering and mixing – on the master bus, on groups or on individual tracks – to
lend them the distinct sound of the original console, as heard on albums from Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon to
Radiohead’s OK Computer and beyond.
Like the original EMI TG12410 console, the Abbey Road TG Mastering Chain plugin consists of the following modules:
1. TG12411 Input Module – handles all input tasks (phase, L/R balance, etc.)
2. TG12412 Tone Module – a musical, versatile 4-band EQ with 5 lter types per band
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Abbey Road TG Mastering Chain | User Guide
3. TG12413 Limiter Module – includes three compressor/limiter types:
Aggressive and ‘dirty’, precision-modeled after the unit’s original Zener diode limiterOriginal
Modern
Pristine-sounding, with higher levels of perceived loudness; an original Waves and
Abbey Road design
Limit
Based on the limiter mode of the console’s original Zener diode. The knee is much
harder compared to the “Original” compressor [“Original”]
4. TG12414 Filter Module – includes low-pass & high-pass lters and a presence bell
5. TG12416 Output Module – complete with a spreader (stereo spread enhancer)
The individual modules can be re-ordered (except for the Input and Output modules which remain at the start and
end of the chain) and switched on/o, letting you create dierently ordered chains and a modular, customizable
processing ow.
The Abbey Road TG Mastering Chain plugin also comes with the Abbey Road TG Meter Bridge component (a
separate plugin), which is based on the original set of PPM, VU and phase correlation meters used by Abbey Road’s
engineers in conjunction with the EMI TG12410 Transfer Console.
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Abbey Road TG Mastering Chain | User Guide
QUICK START
This quick start guide suggests the basics of how to use the Abbey Road TG Mastering Chain plugin when mastering
a track. To learn more about controlling the plugin and how to ne-tune its sound, in mixing as well as mastering
sessions, read the “Interface and Controls” section later in this user guide.
1. Insert the plugin on the master channel. (If you are using the plugin to mix rather than master, you can of course
insert it on any individual channel or group.)
2. Use the TG12411 Input module to adjust input gain or to handle phase and balance issues (for more on how to do
this, see the TG12411 Input Module section later in this user guide). You may also want to use the module’s Tape
Equalizer control for its unique sonic color.
3. Open the TG Meter Bridge on any channel.
4. Set the Meter bridge to read the instance you are working on.
5. Adjust the input level to get a good 0VU input reading on the meter bridge. This will assure enough headroom.
6. Experiment with the TG12412 Tone module to get a good frequency balance.
7. When mastering a track to meet modern mastering requirements, we recommend you use the Modern mode of
the TG12413 Limiter module, which is best suited for today’s mastering requirements.
8. In the TG12413 Limiter module, experiment with the Recovery control to get the best time-constant results for
the song you are working on. 3, 4 and 5 are the ones we’ve found most suitable for mastering: 3 for more upbeat
songs, 5 for slower ones.
9. The key to getting a good compression sound is playing with the TG12413 Limiter module’s Ratio and Mix controls,
in order to achieve the best compression balance. Try somewhere around Ratio = 30–40 and Mix = 40–50.
10. In the Limiter’s expanded view, turn on the high-pass lter and nd a good-sounding point anywhere between 120–
200 Hz. This will make the compression better correlated to the music (as sub frequencies will tend to suocate the
compression).
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Abbey Road TG Mastering Chain | User Guide
11. Use the TG12414 Filter module to clean unwanted frequency ranges and add some presence if needed.
12. A/B between the unprocessed and processed signal, using the bypass control. Make sure you adjust the overall
level of processed signal to match the unprocessed level, so the A/B comparison does not introduce gain changes
which might easily throw you o.
COMPONENTS
The Abbey Road TG Mastering Chain plugin has four components:
> Mono
> Stereo
> Live Mono
> Live Stereo
The Live components are optimized for live use, where extremely low latency and minimal CPU usage are required.
The non-Live components have up-sampling at lower sample rates; the Live components remove the up-sampling
in order to reduce latency. The non-Live components use very sharp linear phase FIR sidechain lters that introduce
latency; the Live components use non-linear phase IIR sidechain lters to minimize both latency and CPU usage.
THE WAVESYSTEM TOOLBAR
The WaveSystem toolbar, located at the top of the plugin, takes care of most of the administrative functions you will
encounter while working with your Waves software, including Undo and Redo, loading and saving presets, and more.
The features of the WaveSystem toolbar are the same on practically all Waves plugins. For more information on how
to use it, see the WaveSystem User Guide.
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Abbey Road TG Mastering Chain | User Guide
INTERFACE
Please note: This is the default order of the plugin’s ve modules, from left to right: Input, Tone, Limiter,
Filter, Output. To create your own customized chain, you can easily change the order of the Tone, Limiter
and Filter modules by dragging each to the desired location within the chain.
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Abbey Road TG Mastering Chain | User Guide
MODULES AND CONTROLS
Controls Available in All Modules
The following controls appear at the top of each module (except Output):
On/O
Each of the plugin’s modules can be turned on or o by pressing this button. While o, the module does not consume
any CPU power. All modules are rst turned o by default. To turn each on, click on the individual module’s on/o
control. (Please note that in the plugin’s Live components, turning a module o will not change CPU consumption.)
Expand/Collapse
Expands/collapses the module.
ST/DUO/MS (Stereo component only)
In the plugin’s stereo component, within each module, you can choose between three modes of processing a stereo
signal: Stereo (ST), Duo, and Mid-Sides (MS).
Regardless of a module’s stereo mode – ST, DUO, or MS – its output is always stereo. If needed, it will be converted into
MS at the input of the next module in the chain. This allows re-ordering of the modules on the y with no impact on the
stereo processing.
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Abbey Road TG Mastering Chain | User Guide
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