Waves NLS Non-Linear Summer

Analog consoles are known for richness, depth, and harmonic complexity—not because they’re perfect, but because they aren’t. This is why pro engineers revere how analog summing colors audio. And now, Waves has spared no effort to capture the sound of 3 superlative analog consoles.

Whether you prefer the solid-state console that launched thousands of hits, the tone of vintage British tubes, or even the console used to record The Dark Side of the Moon—NLS brings them to your DAW, modeled from the consoles of master mixers and producers Mark “Spike” Stent (Paul McCartney), Mike Hedges (The Cure), and Yoad Nevo (Sia).

For an Analog Whole—Sum the Parts

Analog consoles didn’t see mixing as a math problem, but as the fusing of sonic pathways into a cohesive whole. Analog circuitry gives each pathway slight differences that when added together, breathe new life into a mix.

Channels Modeled Individually for Accurate Console Sound

We analyzed and modeled 32 individual channels for each console (yes, it did take forever), so each channel could have the slight differences needed for the historically accurate analog summing sound.

Channel and Bus Components

NLS includes two components—channels to model the channel preamps, and buses to model the bus amplifiers. Combining these two is the secret to NLS’s hyper-realistic sound, feel, and exceptional flexibility.

Combine the Three Consoles Flexibly

Physical consoles can’t swap channels and summing amps, but NLS can. Pick and choose any of the three console colorations, for any channel, and any bus. It’s just like having three consoles in one.

Complete Console Control

NLS’s interface can combine channels into 8 different groups. Maybe you want one console for drum mics, and another for guitars. Assign them to the same group—then control group parameters at once, with a single control.

All this, and VCA Channels

NLS uses automatable VCA channels to control the 8 groups—so if your DAW doesn’t have VCA channels, it does now. Simply choose the channels you want to place under VCA control, and automate as desired.

Consoles Maintained by Master Mixers

Modeled plugins are only as good as the original gear. Spike Stent, Mike Hedges and Yoad Nevo mixed and produced countless hits on the consoles we emulated—and made sure that each console was perfectly maintained to deliver its very best results.

Features:

1. Models how the summing bus and channel preamps interact
2. Mix and match different consoles on different channels
3. Add (or don’t add) a whisper of accurately modeled preamp hiss
4. For global tweaks, the logical interface groups controls
5. Models 96 channels including every input and summing bus amp
6. Control harmonic distortion with Drive control
7. Choose the “line in” for clarity, or crush the mic preamp-based input
8. VCA groups control NLS, and can serve as standard VCA channels

Requirements:

• mac
  • cpu:Intel or Silicon Architecture
  • ram:8
  • disk:16
  • version:macOS Catalina 10.15, Big Sur 11, Monterey 12, Ventura 13, Sonoma 14
  • additional_requirements:Minimum: 1024x768
    Recommended: 1280x1024 / 1600x1024
    USB displays are not supported as the primary display.
• windows
  • cpu:X64 compatible Intel or AMD CPU
  • ram:8
  • disk:16
  • version:Windows 10 64 bit and Windows 11
  • additional_requirements:Minimum: 1024x768
    Recommended: 1280x1024 / 1600x1024

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