" Someday business schools will use Waves as a case study on how destroy your company by disrespecting your customers. "
Byron Dickens
BIAB. CbB. Mixbus 32C 8 HP Envy. Intel core i7. 16GB RAM W10. Focusrite Scarlett 18i 20. Various instruments played with varying degrees of proficiency.
I have a bunch of their plug-ins, and they're great.
That said, as the previous poster indicated, their customer service leaves a whole lot to be desired. Lots of hidden upcharges, almost impossible to transfer your licenses if you get a new computer, etc.
So far I haven't encountered any nightmare scenarios myself, but I've talked to enough people who have to be aware they exist. But as I said, they are great plug-ins as far as the functionality and doing what they say they'll do. Quite a few of them are "go-to" plugins for me.
If so, which ones and what do you specifically like about them?
Their SSL G-Masterbus compressor lives on my master bus.
No serious compression, just a 2/1 ratio and a high threshold, 2db of compression at most, never more and almost inaudible. But it does something with the low-end that I like.
And even when it's called a 'Masterbus compressor', I use it here and there for vocals.
No idea how it compares to more expensive versions of the same compressor, but I got it (almost) for free and like what it does.
I own a couple of the Waves plugins. The one I use the most is Vocal Rider. Which works just like someone riding the fader up and down on the vocal track. I also have the Bass Rider but don't use it at all. The Vocal Rider can be had for under $30 on sale. If I remember right I had to pay for a upgrade to a newer OS at one point which I am sure you will find plenty of negative comments from waves users.
BIAB 2026 Ultrapack- Fender Studio Pro 8, Windows 11, Mac Mini M4 with Logic Pro 11, Melodyne Studio, Luna Pro
Tom Adams got me into them years ago. The ones I use most often:
CLA Drums CLA Unplugged CLA Vocals Bass Rider Linear Phase Multi-band compressor Torque Magma Tubes
And I own about a dozen more
Bud
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Their products are good, and I use a number of them.
But... their sales tactics leave a lot to be desired.
Waves is well know for having running non-stop "sales", with "lowest price ever" meaning it's the same "lowest price ever" that it was last time.
They also constantly push their upgrade plans. This is mostly an issue for Mac users, since Windows often has excellent backwards compatibility between versions. Mac users, not so much. So you either buy into the upgrade plan, or re-purchase the products when an upgrade breaks the old plugins.
A couple of months back Waves announced without warning they were switching to a subscription-only model.
Glossing over many, many details, this did not go well.
Waves eventually backpedaled, but many users thought the way that Waves chose to do this showed a willingness to throw many long-time users under the bus simply to maximize profits.
That said, they have many excellent plugins. For example, they just announced a neural network based de-reverberation.
Waves plugs don,t work in real band! I know i tried rob!
Correct - Waves uses a "shell" plugin, which is one single DLL file that masquerades itself as multiple different plugins, and quite a few programs don't support that. Band-in-a-Box does, however RealBand and PowerTracks do not.
As for Waves plugins themself, I quite like the Renaissance Compressor, though I typically use it for expansion rather than compression.
Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Windows Special Offers End Tomorrow (January 15th, 2026) at 11:59 PM PST!
Time really is running out! Save up to 50% on Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® upgrades and receive a FREE Bonus PAK—only when you order by 11:59 PM PST on Thursday, January 15, 2026!
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Another exciting new addition is the new AI-Notes feature, which can transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI. You can view the results in notation or play them back as MIDI, and choose whether to process an entire track or focus on specific parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.
There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
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Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® Special Offers Extended Until January 15, 2026!
Good news! You still have time to upgrade to the latest version of Band-in-a-Box® for Windows® and save. Our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® special now runs through January 15, 2025!
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There are over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.
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Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: The Newly Designed Piano Roll Window
In this video, we explore the updated Piano Roll, complete with a modernized look and exciting new features. You’ll see new filtering options that make it easy to focus on specific note groups, smoother and more intuitive note entry and editing, and enhanced options for zooming, looping, and more.
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: AI Stems & Notes - split polyphonic audio into instruments and transcribe
This video demonstrates how to use the new AI-Notes feature together with the AI-Stems splitter, allowing you to select an audio file and have it separated into individual stems while transcribing each one to its own MIDI track. AI-Notes converts polyphonic audio—either full mixes or individual instruments—into MIDI that you can view in notation or play back instantly.
Bonus PAK and 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®
With your version 2026 for Windows Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons for FREE! Or upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
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MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
Playable RealTracks Set 5
RealDrums Stems Set 9: Cool Brushes
SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
Android Band-in-a-Box® App (included)
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyle.
FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
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