Waves Audio L3-16 Multimaximizer User Guide
L3-16 Multimaximizer™
User Manual
L3-16 User Guide
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L3-16 User Guide
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................................................4
1.1 WELCOME.................................................................................................................................................................4
1.2 PRODUCT OVERVIEW................................................................................................................................................5
1.3 CONCEPTS AND TERMINOLOGY .................................................................................................................................6
The Peak Limiting Mixer™.......................................................................................................................................6
Limiter bands vs. Paragraphic-EQ bands ...............................................................................................................6
Separation .................................................................................................................................................................6
The L3-16 Release Character System....................................................................................................................7
1.4 COMPONENTS ...........................................................................................................................................................7
CHAPTER 2 – QUICKSTART GUIDE ............................................................................................................................8
CHAPTER 3 – CONTROLS AND INTERFACE.............................................................................................................9
3.1 GLOBAL LIMITER SECTION ........................................................................................................................................9
3.2 PARAGRAPHIC EQ/PRIORITY DISPLAY AND CONTROLS SECTION............................................................................11
Main Display............................................................................................................................................................12
Paragraphic EQ/Priority Controls ..........................................................................................................................13
3.3 IDR SECTION.......................................................................................................................................................15
CHAPTER 4 – THE WAVESYSTEM ............................................................................................................................16
4.1 THE WAVESYSTEM TOOLBAR .................................................................................................................................16
Toolbar Functions...................................................................................................................................................16
4.2 PRESET HANDLING..................................................................................................................................................16
Preset Types...........................................................................................................................................................16
Loading Presets and Setups..................................................................................................................................17
Saving Presets and Setups....................................................................................................................................17
Deleting Presets......................................................................................................................................................17
A/B Comparison and Copying ...............................................................................................................................18
4.3 INTERFACE CONTROLS............................................................................................................................................18
Toggle Buttons........................................................................................................................................................18
Value Window Buttons ...........................................................................................................................................18
Faders......................................................................................................................................................................19
Band Markers..........................................................................................................................................................19
Multiple Selection of Controls ................................................................................................................................19
TAB Functions.........................................................................................................................................................19
APPENDIX A – CONTROLS LIST................................................................................................................................21
APPENDIX B - IDR IN DEPTH ..................................................................................................................................22
Dithering and Noise Shaping .................................................................................................................................22
IDR Dither Options ..............................................................................................................................................22
IDR Noise Shaping Options................................................................................................................................23
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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 that you become familiar with www.wavesupport.net. There 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 wavesupport.net, you will receive personalized information on your registered
products, reminders when updates are available, and information on your authorization status.
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1.2 Product Overview
The Waves L3-16 Multimaximizer is a 16-band auto-summing peak limiter, the fourth processor in
Waves’ acclaimed L-Series of Ultramaximizers and Multimaximizers.
Powered by an advanced version of the Waves PLMixer Peak Limiting Mixer engine, the L3-16 offers
Gain and Priority controls arranged in a 6 band EQ-style interface with familiar parameters like
frequency, Q, and filter-type. The L3-16 features a linear phase crossover network to deliver results that
are free of phase distortion.
Similar to the Profiles used by its predecessor the L3, the L3-16 offers a wide variety of sonic flavors
known as Release Characters, ranging from analog warm to digital cool. Release Characters affect the
behavior of the L3-16’s ARC Automatic Release Control across the split-band spectrum.
Finally, the L3-16 features Waves IDR Increased Digital Resolution double precision bit requantization and 9th-order noise shaping system, for enhanced audio resolution at any setting.
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1.3 Concepts and Terminology
The Peak Limiting Mixer™
A traditional multiband limiter consists of a given number of limiters operating independently of each
other, each set to a particular frequency range. The key to the L3-16’s power is its patent-pending Peak
Limiting Mixer™ (PLMixer™) engine, which uses a single peak limiter to control all of its bands.
Dividing the audio spectrum into 16 bands using linear phase crossover filters, the PLMixer™ uses
psychoacoustic criteria to intelligently decide how much attenuation to apply to each band, using all
available headroom. The PLMixer™ incorporates superimposed Gain and Priority curves that allow the
user to set gain (which functions exactly like placing
section) and priority (relative limiting) across the audio spectrum. The result is that inter-modulation
distortion is minimized and overall loudness is maximized, while retaining the simplicity of a single
master threshold control.
Unlike traditional multiband limiters, the PLMixer™ does not require a wide band peak limiter to catch
overshoots generated by individual band adjustments; it automatically controls the gain relationship
between bands while maintaining brickwall limiting.
a linear phase EQ before the L3-16’s limiting
Limiter bands vs. Paragraphic-EQ bands
The L3-16’s Gain/EQ and Priority curves make for a very powerful mastering tool, enabling both
paragraphic equalization and multiband limiting. Controlled by a 6-band Paragraphic EQthese curves are implemented by a 16-band linear phase crossover engine. The Equalization (Gain)
and Priority curves are essentially overlaid on top of the 16 bands, in the way you would overlay a
frequency-response curve on a graphic EQ’s sliders.
style interface,
Separation
The L3-16 linear phase crossover allows control over the amount of Separation between its 16 bands.
Separation is basically the cutoff slope (or Q) between the bands. At low Separation settings, crossover
slopes between bands are moderate, creating more overlap between the bands. At higher Separation
settings, the crossover slopes are steeper, resulting in less overlap between the bands.
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The L3-16 Release Character System
The L3-16 offers a wide range of sound qualities which are controlled using the release settings across
its 16 bands.
Like its predecessor the L3, the L3-16’s band release times are determined by Waves ARC™ Auto
Release Control, which dynamically chooses the optimal release value for a wide range of inputs. The
ARC system, like the human ear, analyzes and reacts to RMS and peak transients differently, resulting
in increased RMS level with greater clarity.
Since ARC™ allows independent release values for each band, a wide range of sound colors are
possible. We consolidated these settings into Release Character presets, since the control of so many
parameters is a potentially cumbersome task.
For example, a Release Character could consist of relatively fast release values for the low frequency
bands, with gradually slower release values for the higher frequencies. Accordingly, this character
would apply more attenuation to the higher frequency range.
The L3-16’s Release Character system is further controlled by the Release fader, which proportionately
shortens or lengthens each band’s release values.
The L3-16 offers a wide range of preset Release Characters, and we highly suggest that you
experiment with its various parameters in order to discover the wide range of sonic flavors the L3-16
can achieve.
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1.4 Components
WaveShell technology enables us to split Waves processors into smaller plug-ins, which we call
components. Having a choice of components for a particular processor gives you the flexibility to
choose a configuration suitable for your material.
The L3-16 has two component processors:
Stereo - A stereo channel processor.
Mono – A mono channel processor.
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