Waves NLS - How to Set Up NLS

[@eranddroory9987]

Did you know that you in the channel strips can load 32 different channels of the consoles? Just click the load button.

[@Unders]

Thats something i forgot to mention actually thank you. Also that when set up in bulk like this they automatically use various channels.

[@jimmygrant3151]

make a video and show us how.

[@KingYahuchanon]

Can you show us how?

[@OnlyZips]

Great Tutorial really helped give me an understanding of how this plugin works. Thank you.

[@Unders]

Glad it helped!

[@mctapia12]

But, for what I see, you are placing the channel plugins on top of your chain, that means to be the first processor on it. The manual says to place it last on the chain in order to work as a direct "console" channel output that will hit the signal to the Buss plugin on the master channel, giving place to the so called "analog" summing. When you place the channel plugin first on the chain, the signal will be also sent to the Buss plugin and that summing will happen, but taking in consideration only the signal before all the channel processes, call it compression, EQ, modulation, etc. The problem here is that the Summing will not grab the colour and dynamics and whatever the process you did in your chain, it will only grab the dry signal (perhaps after the coloration added by the NLS channel plugin, which the manual states it will act as the modeled channel preamp). So the summing is not working at its most and you could possibly have small phasing issues. You can decide, of course, to work this way based on thorough considerations. And if thats the case here, I'd love to read those considerations. Cheers!

[@Unders]

Covered this in other comments previously. You completely ignored this " To simulate console preamp coloration: The NLS Channel is placed on the first insert of your DAW audio tracks, and the NLS Buss can then be inserted at any point on the buss or master track" Regardless of what the manual says If you have effects going into the NLS its a nightmare to balance everything as adding it post chain changes the track mix.

[@mctapia12]

@@Unders Well, I just read your original post, so I didn't make it to that reply you mention. Anyway, it's true what you say about losing the balance of the mix if you add the plugins post chain. But, you can still avoid that by starting a mix with the plugins already inserted at the end of the strip before anything else. This way, you can start making mixing choices based on the colour already added by the console "summing". I think it's just a matter of knowing all possibilities, not to contradict any of them. Manuals can help in this regard, just that. Best!

[@JR-bn3ev]

@@mctapia12 You're absolutely right! The logic of the plugin at the end of the chain is to react to mixing decisions, just like it does on a real console. 👍🏻🇧🇷

[@Unders]

The irony that after 4 years. Despite me directly quoting the manual, an stating why I ordered it this way. this is still in discussion 🙃

[@playmode3976]

just used this plugin .. man the sound is so damn good

[@Unders]

secret sauce!

[@DocKaosBeats]

I'm still trying to learn it lol I mix on FL Studio which might be my main problem probably need to mix on Reaper instead

[@Unders]

You can get amazing mixes in any DAW. persistence and work prevail 🤜🤛

[@DocKaosBeats]

@@Unders Yeah I feel you but it seems like my music sounds better on Reaper for some reason not sure why lol maybe it's just me

[@Unders]

I mix better in Logic. Nature of the beast. That’s why I do 90% of my work in Logic now days. But it’s just that I gel with that workflow nothing goofy about it being better.

[@glinediscgolf2860]

Subbed because of the quality and very great tutorial! Thanks from San Diego ✌🏽

[@Unders]

Thank you 🙏 greatly appreciate your support

[@92jprod99]

Straight to point! Great tutorial

[@metalfather8139]

thanks i always wondered about the bus plugin part of nls

[@proverbalizer]

it's a bit confusing, and CPU intensive when they say you should stick the thing on EVERY DAMN CHANNEL, (and the worst is, you lose the ability to Freeze your tracks if they have NLS otherwise the nothing you do on the VCA channels of the NLS bus will have the intended effect. But I used it in my first mix today...and I must say it's fun, and I'm pretty sure it got my mix sounding on another level of goodness (I'll have to sleep on it and take time to objectively compare it to my other mixes). The confusing this is how the VCA routing interacts with you normal routing including group Bus Aux channels and Reverb sends, etc within Logic

[@largepoodle6036]

this is like something you do right before you're about ready to export a track. when you have your track completely done, you want to start creating bus groups. i.e., all vox sent to one bus. all percussion, drums to one bus. just put one on the bass, leaving the bass to its own channel or route it to another group as you please. keyboards/guitars/anything melodic, midrange timbres, route to one bus group. use one of these on each group, and finally one as the very last insert on your master track within your DAW. from there, I would either hit export and then begin mastering that wav file, or I would record the entire track straight off the master track using any daw sampler/recorder, I guess, if you want to try and work around the DAW's exports to retain more of the emulation's effects. and you could then start a new project, load that summed wav file, and then load up your mastering chain, add a final instance of NSL on the master track and the channel which the wav file is on, and then use the daw's native recorder to record that version of it, and you've essentially bypassed the DAW's export function which from what I understand is the action of digital summing, which is the opposite of what we're going for here lol

[@MattCollisMusic]

Brilliantly straightforward lesson..thanks

[@Unders]

Super glad it was helpful for you 👍 happy music making.

[@oviqru]

Thanks for posting this video! I have noticed that you have inserted the NLS Channel as the first plug-in. The Waves manual says that this would be set up just for "console preamp coloration". If one wants to use the summing configuration, then the manual says: "The NLS Channel is inserted on the last insert of the DAW audio tracks, like a direct out routed to an analog console. The NLS Buss is placed on the first insert of the master track (or any other buss), just as the stereo return would be routed from the analog console back to the DAW." Your thoughts?

[@Unders]

I think if you want to emulate a true analog signal path and you want to perhaps limit yourself to only dedicated emulations and play around with fake routing to “out board” but with plugins. Yeah sure, but personally I cannot see a benefit in this other than a creative exercise.

[@oviqru]

@@Unders Thanks.

[@joshguitarreiru]

There is a reason for putting the NLS channel as the last insert for summing purposes: if you are going to be using the VCA faders or the Drive control of the NLS Buss plugin to control the relative levels of the different grups then this is going to affect the input to any compressor placed after the NLS channel inserts of the individual tracks.

[@oviqru]

@@joshguitarreiru This is what I raised in my original post.

[@joshguitarreiru]

@@oviqru Sorry I misunderstood you then. I though you were asking on why such recomendation is made on waves manual so I was triying to explain a potential reason.

[@Mikas_Emil]

Thanks! I tend to use only the channel and this gives more possibilities.

[@Unders]

You’re totally welcome. Happy creating

[@bstiggs]

What song was used I wanna listen to it lol it sounded like some good drum and bass

[@Unders]

Appreciated. Pretty sure that became this tune distrokid.com/hyperfollow/unders/summer-nights-feat-tg

Always super helpful. Which is better, the NLS or SSL channel. Like if you had to choose, which would you pick? Do they have similar functions? Thanks in advance.

[@Unders]

Both! NLS just gives you the summing but over multiple channels. the SSL is a versatile tool with character.

@@Unders awesome, thanks for responding!

[@prodbyjshep]

i can see why youd use it for drums or for one vca group, but i swear because the nls buss only has the option to vca group 1, adding other groups wouldnt work right? or is there a solution, thanks for the vid btw man good stuff

[@alfieholloway]

I don't get what the vca group knob is for in the bus plug in. is it just for monitoring and not controlling? it's very confusing

[@Unders]

VCA controls multiple others via just the 1.

[@1ad7solo]

Ok. So, lets say I have 4 drum tracks. I put the NLS channel on all four then I create a main drum bus for the NLS bus?

[@Unders]

If you want to sum them, Sure.

[@contraspower6302]

Can we use this as a send? So that with one nls i can use on all tracks to save some cpu?

[@Unders]

You have the bus module. But using 1 instead will give a different result.

[@payso1382]

Great video! Will you still use the NLS summer plugin, even though you have the abbey roads saturator🤔??

[@Unders]

Yes. I use this on my drums most of the time.

[@tri-unetrl3966]

What if you have multiple busses do you add the "bus version" to each bus or just one to the main mix bus?

[@Unders]

Depends what you want. If you’re after having the drums feel like one desk and the vocals another then on each. Or the whole mix. In the end there’s no rules. Do what works and sounds best to you.

[@tri-unetrl3966]

@@Unders K thanks bruh I appreciate you ❤✊🏽

[@falwinzzqx]

Hi! Quick question.. I’m using Ableton. So if i put NLS on all my tracks, i then put the NLS BUSS on my master track? And then i can route like let’s say the drums into VCA group 1 and then Vocal to group 2 and etc, and i can control all those NLS plugins through the master NLS Buss? Thanks in advance!

[@Unders]

Yeah for the most part. Like i mention in the video the buss changes are relative to any individual channel changes.

[@falwinzzqx]

Unders Thanks man!

[@emanuelwhitehead6039]

I love this song where can I find it

[@Unders]

Thanks. Pretty sure it’s this one - distrokid.com/hyperfollow/unders/summer-nights-feat-tg

[@emanuelwhitehead6039]

Thanks bro I just bought it from iTunes

[@Unders]

@@emanuelwhitehead6039 hugely appreciate the support 🙏

[@tri-unetrl3966]

Yo Unders, can you use this Waves NLS along with the SSL native essential bundle? And if so... how would use them together?

[@Unders]

Im gunna be lame a shit an say. There’s no rules. Do what sounds good. However the SSL does already emulate the SSL channel. But NLS does more of them.

[@tri-unetrl3966]

@@Unders Ok... but how would you use them together if you did? Thanks for the quick reply by the way...

[@pvampman]

What's the difference between this and the ssl E/G channel strip? Or the CLA mix hub?

[@Unders]

This doesn’t have EQ/Gate/compressor just the sound.

[@danpeters4182]

The only thing I'm confused about is how the NLS Bus seems to be controlled by whatever VCA group its set to. I don't have any issues setting it to none, but if I set it to any active VCA group, the volume will change to that of whatever the the respective group output trim is set to. Would you be able to explain what's going on when the NLS Bus VCA group is not set to none? I'm not understanding why you would want to set it to a group since that seems to affect independent control of the NLS Bus' Drive and Trim controls.

[@Unders]

It’s not affecting the individual control but it’s is in addition too. So say it’s +3db on a channel and +6db on another. If you adjust the bus by +3db they become 6 and 9

[@albinalm1996]

This is because you also can use multiple instances of the NLS Bus plugin! See explanation below :) Whenever you turn the VCA Knob on a NLS Bus plugin to a number that bus plugin vill be "remote controlled" by the main master bus plugin (that which has the VCA knob set to none). This means that you can use 1. The NLS channel plugin on all your mix channels (group these on VCA 1-7; drums, vocals, bass, etc) 2. The NLS Bus on every bus for summing of each instrument group (set the VCA knob to 8 on all these) 3. The NLS Bus on your Mixbus with the VCA knob set to none (which gives you the possibility of pressing bypass and noise) Citing the Waves NLS Manual page 8: "Advanced VCA Group Usage  Set all NLS Channel instances on drum tracks (for example) to VCA 1.  Set all NLS Channel instances on guitar tracks (for example) to VCA 2.  Set all NLS Channel instances on vocal tracks (for example) to VCA 3, and so on.  Set all NLS Buss instances to VCA 8.  Open the VCA Groups Console.  Using the VCA Tab, rename the groups according to their assignments by double-clicking on the text field, typing the new name, and clicking Enter: Grp1 renamed to Drums (for example), Grp 2 renamed to Guitars (for example), etc.  Open the VCA Groups Console in the Master track NLS instance, and turn on Auto, enabling VCA write/read automation.  Use the VCA Groups Console as your main stem control." Thus, you can do a "three-level summing" thing with the NLS system :)

[@norfsyq9660]

Am I tripping or did they take the NLS buss off of Waves? I can’t find it.

[@anthonyrhodes840]

I got it through the emp page Morgan bundle

[@norfsyq9660]

I found it lol

[@anthonyrhodes840]

@@norfsyq9660 bet ✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾 what type of music you do tho? Just wondering

[@norfsyq9660]

@@anthonyrhodes840 Im actually a recording artist I do hip-hop, rnb, neo soul, and house as well! Wbu?

[@anthonyrhodes840]

@@norfsyq9660 dope I do mostly RandB and hip/hop

[@dulmin_]

Thanks!

[@Unders]

No problem!

[@thesuncollective1475]

Thanks - I watched a waves video on it and felt like I was decrypting enigma..their tutorials are sh*t..all of them..sorry Waves but you need to sort it out..its a real put off.

[@Unders]

❤️ hopefully I can make some breakdowns for them in the future

[@bstiggs]

I’m not the only one lol

[@bxddhatech]

nevo = neve?

[@Unders]

Yes and no. it's a customised Neve according to various places. Not a VRL for example

[@bxddhatech]

@@Unders Thank you. 🙏🏻

[@36amrbm1619]

Why doesn't the nsl on the channel vu meters not moving? Just the bus nsl vu meters moving.

[@heanz]

bro you look like ginger johnny sins did anyone tell you?

[@Unders]

I’m his stunt double

[@jimmygrant3151]

doesn't work...complicated tutorial skips steps...examples not clear. FAIL.

[@Unders]

Thanks for the feedback. Seems based on all the other comments you are in the minority maybe the waves video will suit you better.

[@jimmygrant3151]

@@Unders Actually, what you missed was how to add to individual tracks and then assign Master as #1, and all the Channels as 2-whatever. That was the crucial part that took me an hour to figure out. No tutorial explained how to initially set it up - only how to use it once it's set up... But anyhow, no love lost. We learn and we grow.

[@Unders]

@@jimmygrant3151 lol no love lost 😂 none shown either. All the best 👋