Waves Audio Q-Clone User Guide

Waves Q-Clone

EQ Sampling System

Waves Q-Clone Manual

1

Introduction

You own a great sounding hardware EQ. It sounds great. It feels good. You know
just how to “tweak” the knobs to get the sound that you are looking for. But
perhaps you can’t afford to buy 97 more hardware EQs for every one of the 98
tracks in your current mix! Even if you could, wouldn’t it be like a dream come
true if you could digitally save the various settings of your hardware EQs on all of
the different tracks of your mix?

Now you can. With the Q-Clone you can “clone” your favorite hardware EQ and
use it on an unlimited number of tracks, “tweak” the EQ in real time using the
familiar hardware EQ knobs, create a library of the cloned presets, and then
change them at any given time.

B

ASIC CONCEPT

The Waves Q-clone is an EQ-device cloning system. It captures the EQ curve of
a single mono analog EQ and uses it to process any given track. This process
can be repeated on several tracks, cloning different EQ-settings from the same
device to each track.

The Q-Clone also comes with a great library of sampled EQ curves from classic,
acclaimed and vintage hardware equalizers. The presets can be used without
having your own hardware EQ to sample.

The Q-Clone can be opened on any given track. After a simple procedure is
followed, the Q-Clone will create the image of the EQ hardware device that is
connected to your DAW.

THE Q-CLONE PRODUCT

The Q-Clone clones the linear part of any system that it is connected to. It will not
replicate distortions, noise, or other non-linear properties. However, it will
perfectly replicate the sound of the filters and their phase responses.

The Q-Capture is a mono-only component so it will capture only mono devices.
However, you can open a stereo Q-Clone component on a stereo track and it will
apply the same EQ settings to both channels. This will be a perfectly matched
stereo clone of the analog device.

The system is comprised of 2 plug-in components: The Q-Clone and the Q­Capture. This manual will go into more depth on the Q-Clone and the Q-Capture
in “The Plug-ins components” section.

Waves Q-Clone Manual

2

B

EHIND THE SCENES

The Q-Capture component sends a continuous test signal (routed to the audio
card output) to the input of the EQ-device that is being cloned. Only a fraction of
a second later, the output of that device (routed to the audio card input) is
returned to the input of the Q-Capture component.

Diagram 1

Waves Q-Clone Manual

3

Once the test-signal returns from the device, it is analyzed and loaded into the Q­Clone component as an impulse-response. This happens several times per
second so that the EQ-settings of the device are well tracked by the cloned EQ.

As long as the Q-Clone is in ‘Capture’ mode, it keeps on tracking the EQ-settings
of the device. When the Q-Clone enters 'Hold' mode (accomplished by clicking
the Hold button) the very last settings are frozen.

All EQ settings are stored within sessions and can be stored as presets. The
presets can be shared across different sessions or different tracks within the
same session.

WHICH EQ HARDWARE DEVICES ARE SUPPORTED TO WORK WITH THE Q­C

LONE?

1. Any “working condition” EQ device with analog/digital I/O.

2. Any analog channels strip with EQ section built in.

3. Not a combination of EQ with compressor or any other non linear
processor.

The plug-in components

Waves Q-Clone Manual

4

Q-Capture Component

The Q-capture sends a test signal from its output that is intended to be fed back
into its own input through the EQ-device. It should be opened on a live I/O. This
can be a Mono Auxiliary track or an Audio Track, depending on your Audio host.

Only a single instance of Q-Capture can work at a time.

THE TRANSMITTING SECTION - The Q-Capture plug-in shows the Transmitting
section in the bottom part. The Transmitting section transmits the Q-Capture
signal to the track on which it is inserted. The track's output should go directly to
an analog output of the Workstation’s I/O (as shown in Diagram # 1).

A graphic representation that indicates that signal is being transmitted will be
displayed.

THE RECEIVING SECTION – The Q-Capture plug-in shows the Receiving section in
the top part. This section takes the live track input from the sampled EQ output
and displays a mode status: “Waiting” or “Receiving”.
When the status indicates “Receiving”, this means that a signal is being received
and that the system is ready for work.
When the word “Waiting” shows up, the loop (described in the set up section) is
not completed and the cloning signal is not returning to the Q-Capture.

Waves Q-Clone Manual

5

The Receiving section also shows an input meter to indicate the signal level
returning from your EQ device, back into the channel.

ALIBRATION SECTION – The Headroom slider and the In and Out meters are on

C

the right side of the Q-Capture. These not only indicate that signal is being
received, but can also help to adjust the Headroom fader of the Transmitting
section. This is to insure optimal dynamic range and to avoid clipping in the
analog device. Please see the Calibrating section on page 11 for more
information.

If you find that you are not getting a signal, there can be multiple reasons for this.
All reasons are fairly straightforward and are related to routing and live input
monitoring. Please follow the set-up step by step directions on page 13, then
consult our Troubleshooting section or EQ sampling loop checklist and diagram if
you encounter problems.

Waves Q-Clone Manual

6

Q-Clone Component

The Q-Clone plug-in has 2 main controls - Gain and Mode. It also has a Scale
control for the frequency response graph.

The Mode control shows: Capture, Hold and Add.

CAPTURE – Capture sets the plug-in to adapt its filter purely to the settings in the
cloned EQ device. This mode can only work when the Q-Capture component is
active. When hidden, the plug-in will automatically assume Hold mode. At any
time you can open the GUI (Graphic User Interface) of the instance that you wish
to set.

H

OLD – In Hold mode the plug-in is processing with the filter currently sampled.

Thus it is not receiving further changes until it is changed to the Capture or Add
settings.

A

DD – Add allows the plug-in to receive updates on top of the currently cloned

EQ. If you want to make a change to the current setting then you can put the
plug-in into this mode. The settings you make with your EQ will be cloned and
added to the current filter. This is exactly like adding another instance of the Q-

Waves Q-Clone Manual

7

Clone, except that the overall EQ will be shown in a single graph and the CPU
usage will be that of only a single instance.

Please note that to switch from Capture to Add Mode, or vice-versa, you must
first go through Hold mode.

F

REQUENCY RESPONSE GRAPH

The larger part of the Q-Clone GUI shows a frequency response graph.
It has a logarithmic frequency scale in the horizontal showing 25 Hz to 16 kHz
and Gain in the vertical axis showing +/- 16dB or +/- 30dB.

GRAPH SCALE CONTROL – The Graph Scale Control allows you to choose either
+/-16 gain or +/-30dB gain as the scale of measurement for vertical axis of the Q­Clone component.

AIN FADER - The Gain control is a continuous fader going from -48dB to +12dB.

G

The default setting is 0dB.
To the right of the EQ graph display there is output metering.

Waves Q-Clone Manual

8

When a Q-Clone instance is launched it will load in Hold mode with a flat EQ
response. When you switch to the Capture or Add modes it will check for a port
to receive the EQ filter transmission. If it does not find such a port it will show a
text message stating – “No Transmission!”
If the Transmission signal is too low for sampling an EQ preset, it will show a text
message stating – “No Transmission!”

TRIM

This Control shows the margin in dB between the peak of the program material
and the full digital scale. Clicking on the Trim control automatically trims the
specified margin by applying the specified value to the gain control.

Although trimming generally implies a decrease of volume, it is possible to “trim”
upwards up to a maximum of +12dB. Trimming (downward) is the most important
application for eliminating clipping. We recommend using Trim whenever the clip
lights are on.

The current value in the Trim window will be applied to the Gain Fader.
There is little point in using the Trim many times throughout a piece of audio, as
you would do better with a steady gain for the whole passage. The
recommended practice is to let the whole passage play, find just the loudest
passage, and then apply Trim.

Repeat this until the program plays all the way through, no clipping is indicated
and the Trim window shows 0.0.

If you do wish to “ride” the gain, it is best done very smoothly, rather then in
sudden jumps in gain. Be aware of this if you are automating your mix.

THE PRESET MENU

The Q-Clone plug-in is loaded with factory presets made for specific applications
with some world class analog EQ’s.

The preset menu has 2 load options: Load and Add.

Waves Q-Clone Manual

9

LOAD will replace any existing sampled EQ with the one in the preset.
ADD will load the preset on top of the current EQ settings.

Since the Q-Clone's preset files include the complete EQ filter, and there is no
need for external media files, it is very easy to share EQ settings.

Now, if you have a favorite EQ in your home studio in Atlanta, but you are doing
a mixing session in London, you can take a bunch of setup files of your EQ with
you on CD or even e-mail them to yourself, and use your EQ settings in the
overseas session.

Below is a step by step guide for successful creation of the set-up for various
host applications.

USING THE Q-CLONE SYSTEM

Using this system is possible after meeting the following technical requirements:

-You have a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) that allows for live output and
input. In many host applications this may require you to arm the input track for
recording and sometimes to initiate playback. You will need to dedicate one input
and one output of your audio card in order to create your sampling loop plus your
main monitoring output.

-You have a hardware equalizer that you wish to replicate by sampling.

-You successfully achieve the Transmitter/Receiver feedback system so that the
receiver plug-in shows the message – “Receiving” and “Transmitting”.

Once these conditions are met, you can open a Q-Clone plug-in on any track that
you wish to EQ, initiate Capture Mode and start setting your new EQ.

Waves Q-Clone Manual

10

CALIBRATING:

In this section we will learn how to calibrate the Q-Clone with our Hardware EQ in
order to achieve the best cloning results.

First, we should explain “Headroom”.
Every electronic channel, digital or analog, has a maximum signal level that it can

pass. Attempting to exceed this typically results in hard clipping, where the
waveform is leveled off flat when it reaches the limit. The maximum level is much
more difficult to define for analog tape machines than in digital recording. In
analog machines, a higher recording level can be obtained by accepting some
distortion on signal peaks. This is possible because it is low-order distortion,
generating mostly third order harmonics. Hard clipping such as that which occurs
in electronic circuitry or digital storage generates lots of high-order harmonics
which are far more obtrusive. Hard clipping is not normally detectable if it is very
brief (about 1 millisecond) but if sustained it sounds very unpleasant. Both in
recording and in live music, the level of signals arriving is not entirely predictable.
It is optimal to have some margin of safety between the "usual" operating level
and the point where clipping occurs.

In calibrating the Q-Clone we want to achieve a nominal output level
(Transmitting signal) and input level (Receiving signal) into your EQ hardware.

To calibrate the Q-Clone you first need to set up your hardware EQ with the plug­in in your Audio host application (as explained in your host application set-up
chapter, below).

When the connection is right (and everything is set as explained in the
instructions) you should see the word “Receiving” in the top part of the Q­Capture and the word “Transmitting” at the bottom part of it.

or

Waves Q-Clone Manual

11