Waves V-Series vs API Collection vs SSL 4000 Collection -- I can only afford one

[Tux]

Hi.

How many instatiations of the SSL you get on a iMac with Logic? I am waiting for my new one (iMac 2.66/2GB ; I use Logic 8.02) in a couple of days and I am considering this bundle.

BTW: What counts as 1 instantiation for Waves?
I've been demo'ing the Waves Eddie Kramer plugins for about 6 days now on my Powerbook. I have not used more than 30 instantiations as far as I now. But then, this "Eddie Kramer Drums" trial period has expired! I wonder what counts as I instantiation for Waves? If I bypass and turn the plugin on again is it a second instantiation? If I close the project and reopen it is it another one?

Thanks.

[everythinglouder]

Originally Posted by Tux

Hi.

How many instatiations of the SSL you get on a iMac with Logic? I am waiting for my new one (iMac 2.66/2GB ; I use Logic 8.02) in a couple of days and I am considering this bundle.

BTW: What counts as 1 instantiation for Waves?
I've been demo'ing the Waves Eddie Kramer plugins for about 6 days now on my Powerbook. I have not used more than 30 instantiations as far as I now. But then, this "Eddie Kramer Drums" trial period has expired! I wonder what counts as I instantiation for Waves? If I bypass and turn the plugin on again is it a second instantiation? If I close the project and reopen it is it another one?

Thanks.

Hi Tux, I'll try to answer your questions.
Talking about stereo instantiations, on my iMac 2.4 Core 2 Duo 4Gb RAM
SSL EQ: 161
SSL Comp: 125
SSL Channel: 132
SSL G Channel : 133

Now regarding the Waves 30 instantiations demo rule... here's how it worked for me.

I loaded up a project, took a waves demo I know I'd never buy, and tested out instantiating it on a 30 tracks. Then bypassing them all, then un-bypassing them. All was still working. Then I saved and closed session, and repeated the same bypass thing... still working. Thought to myself, OK, maybe the instantiation thing is BS.

Then one day when I was playing around with the V-Series demo, I had to restart my core audio within logic after changing some buffer settings. After doing that, some of my V-Series product demos had expired. I closed and opened a few more sessions and soon enough they were all expired.

I took this to mean: You can load up a session and use the SSL or whatever Bundle in it. You can instantiate however SSL's many you want within that session. But if you close that session, and create a new session and start placing some SSL's in that, it will count as TWO instantiations. If you need to restart your core audio within a session, the Waves iLok demo will count that as loading up a new session with SSL's in it... that's an instantiation right there.

So you get to load up 30 projects and put SSL's in them. On the 31st load-up your SSL demo would expire. Not that you get to use these 30 projects infinitely till the 30 days are up. You could reach the instantiation limit by creating one project with each SSL plugin in it, and closing and opening that project 30 times in one day. Again, on the 31st load-up, your demo will expire.


Hope that helps...

[Tux]

Hi,

Thanks for that! So I guess I won't be having performance problems, since I plan to use like half of what you get (though I may need to upgrade my RAM).

This whole instantiation rules are very confusing. I also did that of placing one plugin I don't want in a session. Bypassed it + 30 times. No problem. Closed and opened the session + 30 times, no problem. So I quite don't get it.

For example. Say I want to mix 10 tracks. I thought I could place 3 of the same kind plugins in each session and I was ok for 30 days. But then, it's not how it works, write.

Did I get it right that you can put as many of the same plugins in one session and it's gonna be 1 instantiation? So, everytime I quit Logic and it needs to reload the Core Audio it will be another instantiation? So, for example, if I want to demo this for 30 days, I'd be better off never quiting Logic and then I will be able to put those plugins in 10 different projects and only be getting 10 instantiations?

Sorry if I sound confused, but I AM!!! :-)
Thanks for the patience!

Originally Posted by everythinglouder

Hi Tux, I'll try to answer your questions.
Talking about stereo instantiations, on my iMac 2.4 Core 2 Duo 4Gb RAM
SSL EQ: 161
SSL Comp: 125
SSL Channel: 132
SSL G Channel : 133

Now regarding the Waves 30 instantiations demo rule... here's how it worked for me.

I loaded up a project, took a waves demo I know I'd never buy, and tested out instantiating it on a 30 tracks. Then bypassing them all, then un-bypassing them. All was still working. Then I saved and closed session, and repeated the same bypass thing... still working. Thought to myself, OK, maybe the instantiation thing is BS.

Then one day when I was playing around with the V-Series demo, I had to restart my core audio within logic after changing some buffer settings. After doing that, some of my V-Series product demos had expired. I closed and opened a few more sessions and soon enough they were all expired.

I took this to mean: You can load up a session and use the SSL or whatever Bundle in it. You can instantiate however SSL's many you want within that session. But if you close that session, and create a new session and start placing some SSL's in that, it will count as TWO instantiations. If you need to restart your core audio within a session, the Waves iLok demo will count that as loading up a new session with SSL's in it... that's an instantiation right there.

So you get to load up 30 projects and put SSL's in them. On the 31st load-up your SSL demo would expire. Not that you get to use these 30 projects infinitely till the 30 days are up. You could reach the instantiation limit by creating one project with each SSL plugin in it, and closing and opening that project 30 times in one day. Again, on the 31st load-up, your demo will expire.


Hope that helps...

[everythinglouder]

Originally Posted by Tux

Did I get it right that you can put as many of the same plugins in one session and it's gonna be 1 instantiation? So, everytime I quit Logic and it needs to reload the Core Audio it will be another instantiation? So, for example, if I want to demo this for 30 days, I'd be better off never quiting Logic and then I will be able to put those plugins in 10 different projects and only be getting 10 instantiations?

Sorry if I sound confused, but I AM!!! :-)
Thanks for the patience!

Hmm... I'm not sure if the Waves iLok super-secret detection scheme only looks at core audio launches.

But yes, you can put as many of the same plugin in one session and its gonna be 1 instantiation.

BUT, I believe, every time you open that session, it counts as an instantiation.

Also note that you can not get around this by having more than one logic session open at a time, because when you switch between open sessions, Logic really treats this as if you are re-opening the now-selected session.

So under the Waves Demo rules as I understand them, any time you open a project, select a project from a pool of already-opened projects, or re-initialize core audio within a logic project, you get hit for an instantiation. Basically you get 30 "open-projects" of sessions that contain a Waves plugin you are demoing.

[everythinglouder]

Originally Posted by Tux

Hi,

Thanks for that! So I guess I won't be having performance problems, since I plan to use like half of what you get

If you're gonna be mixing a song with 80 SSL EQ's, 60 SSL Comps, 65 SSL Channels and 65 SSL G Channels... rock on!

[Tux]

Originally Posted by everythinglouder

If you're gonna be mixing a song with 80 SSL EQ's, 60 SSL Comps, 65 SSL Channels and 65 SSL G Channels... rock on!

LOL! I wouldn't. I meant 60 EQ and Compression instances altogether, being that 30 of each.

Thanks for the help!

[mdf25]

I had a quick demo of the API collection the other day. Loving the EQ's on it, as I find that the step modes is in a way limiting but also in a way creative, as you only have a limited number of choices but you can then easily find the best of them and work with that, I find that great for workflow and I can get the sound I am looking for much faster. I tried the EQ on a heavy metal drum kit, and loved the results I got out of it, even though the kit wasn't well recorded. Using those EQ's you can go nuts and when you find the boost or cut frequency you like, put it at a point where it is just slightly too much, then take off 2dB and you are sorted.

I only tried it on drums though but love the eq sound on it. I'm more of a cutting person but I tend to boost in the higher end sometimes. Wonder what it's like for the rest of the band... I am definitely planning to purchase this though, and try out SSL next.