Drawing his use of plug-ins when working live FOH for Crosby, Stills & Nash for his studio work, Kevin Madigan is using Waves tools to record and mix Graham Nash’s new album at Village Studios in Los Angeles.
‘My experience using Waves plug-ins on the road has given me in-depth knowledge of them,’ he says. ‘It’s kind of like how in years past I would get used to my favourite hardware pieces and know exactly what they could do. Now, with Waves, I can consistently have great versions of them available everywhere I work.
‘My needs in the studio aren’t always that different from what I do live. The process that helps me create a great live mix can translate very well to the studio, where I often go for the same plug-ins. When I know from my live experience what I want something to do sonically, I’ll already have a good idea of how to use it in the studio as well.
‘Now that I’m in the studio, I’ve discovered more of the Waves Abbey Road Collection,’ he adds. ‘Reel ADT, Redd, TG12345 and J37 – they’re all fantastic. The RS56 had already been getting good use on the road. I’ve also been using the recently released Waves dbx 160 – thanks to Waves for that.
‘Crosby, Stills & Nash play live with a spectacular collection of guitars, and we’re blessed to have some very special players, great acoustic guitars and fantastic guitar techs who know how to set them up well, with the best-sounding pickup systems I’ve ever heard. The guitar tone is deep, rich and crisp before I do anything to it – even more so in the studio when recorded with a U67 and C12. If there’s any dynamic control necessary, a Waves CLA-2A Compressor/Limiter does the job. For these studio sessions with Graham, my favourite Waves plug-ins are the Waves CLA-2A Compressor/Limiter on vocals and acoustic guitars, the PuigTec EQP-1A on vocals, the PuigChild Compressor on bass, the Waves SSL G-Master Buss Compressor on the drum group, and last but not least, the Waves X-Noise, a sonic problem-solver par excellence.’
See also:
No Deja Vu for Crosby, Stills & Nash US tour
More: www.waves.com
