Waves Audio Bass Rider User Guide
WAVES
BASS RIDER
USER GUIDE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1 – Introduction....................................................................................................3
1.1 Welcome..................................................................................................................3
1.2 Product Overview....................................................................................................3
1.3 Concepts and Terminology......................................................................................4
1.4 Compon
Chapter 2 – Quick Start Guide
ents............................................................................................................5
..........................................................................................6
Chapter 3 – Interface and Controls...................................................................................7
3.1 Interface
...................................................................................................................7
3.2 Controls...................................................................................................................8
Chapter 4 – The WaveSystem........................................................................................11
4.1 The WaveSystem T
oolbar.....................................................................................11
4.2 Preset Handling.....................................................................................................11
4.3 Interface
4.4 Waves Preferences (Pro Tools
Controls..................................................................................................14
only).....................................................................16
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Chapter 1 – Introduction
1.1 Welcome
Thank you for choosing Waves! In order to get the most out of your Waves processor,
please take the time to read through this manual.
In conjunction, we also suggest you become familiar with www.wavesupport.net
you will find an extensive Answer Base, the latest Tech Specs, detailed Installation
guides, new Software Updates, and current information on Authorization and
Registration.
By signing up at www.wavesupport.net
your registered products, reminders when updates are available, and information on
your authorization status.
, you will receive personalized information on
. There
1.2 Product Overview
Bass Rider is an innovative, easy-to-use plugin that rides bass levels automatically. A
companion to our popular Vocal Rider plugin, Bass Rider delivers perfect bass levels,
without changing the natural sound of your bass. Optimized especially for the frequency
range and envelope characteristics of bass instruments, Bass Rider covers all the
basses: DI, amplified, acoustic, synth, upright—you name it.
A real timesaver with dedicated studio and live components, Bass Rider keeps bass
levels in check and so
note by note, without disturbing their inner dynamics, so they sustain and decay
naturally. Best of all, since Bass Rider keeps your levels steady with automatic gain
adjustment, now you can focus on the feel and flow of your bass—and use compression
to add color and character.
With Bass Rider, you’ll never mix bass the same way again.
lid throughout your mix. Unlike a compressor, Bass Rider works
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1.3 Concepts and Terminology
In contemporary music, the bass usually helps form the foundation of a mix. However,
bass is also
regarded as one of the hardest parts of the mix to “get right.” Taming bass
levels can be tricky, as they are naturally very dynamic. Therefore, some sort of bass
leveling is often required. Bass frequencies often vary in the power they produce, and
behave in ways that may seem counter-intuitive. For example, a C1 note will generate
much more energy than a C3, even though the C3 is perceived as louder. The most
common way to compensate for different bass levels is to heavily compress the signal.
However, heavy compression reduces the overall dynamic range of the bass, since
louder notes are “squashed,” while quieter notes are compressed less, and note attacks
may “smear,” while note sustains can “swell.”
So, we studied how contemporary mixers keep their bass levels steady, and found that
many first prepare their bass tracks
by manually adjusting overly quiet or loud notes in
order to avoid the artifacts of over-compression. However, this is a very time-consuming
approach. Bass Rider offers a quicker way to deal with the dynamic range of bass
instruments, by detecting notes and their envelopes, and automatically adjusting the
gain of each note to a specified level.
Target
The Target Fader is used to set the desired bass level range. To achieve the most
transparent
results, we r
ecommend setting it to around the average level of your bass
input. Higher Target values will result in more added gain and higher overall loudness.
It’s also important to keep in mind that gain applied to quiet notes also boosts any noise
accompanying the note. Use the Output Fader to adjust the overall output level for mix
positioning.
Note Detection
Note Detection is the process by which Bass Rider detects note attack, sustain, and
release in order to determine the appropriate gain leveling fo
Waves Bass Rider
User Guide
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default settings are generally effective on a wide variety of material. In cases when finetuning is necessary, use the note detection Sensitivity and Response controls located
under the Target fader.
Artifacts
In this plugin, Artifacts is the term we use to describe parts of the signal that trigger
detection, but are not in
part of the note we want to ride. Artifacts may include string
buzz, amp crackles, transient noises, squeaks, and even modulation within individual
notes.
Spill
When riding mic’d sources, some spill from other instruments may make its way into the
bass signal.
This spill may be detected as notes, and its gain increased. Use the Ignore
Spill control to help avoid the detection of spill signal.
1.4 Components
WaveShell technology enables us to split Waves processors into smaller plugins, which
we call components. Having a choice of components for a particular processor gives
you the flexibility to choose the configuration best suited to your material.
Waves Bass Rider includes two components each in 2 channel configurations:
• Bass Rider, Mono and Stereo
• Bass Rider Live, Mono and Stereo
Mono and Stereo Components have a latency of 42ms and have a round, transparent
sound; Live Mono and Stereo components have only a 5ms latency and add a little
punch to note start events.
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