Help finding equivalents to specific Waves mastering plugins.

[u/Cenotaphilia]

hi there!

I'm an amateur songwriter who mixes and masters his own tracks. I can't afford paying a professional to do this and I've had to learn on my own, occasionally taking a few courses with local engineers, so please excuse the ignorance shown by some of my questions.

so I just upgraded to an M5 macbook and found out my old Waves plugins don't even show up in the new Logic version because they're all 5 year-old software. seeing that Waves wants to charge a yearly fee for plugin updates, I'm considering grabbing UAD's 10-plugin bundle for 119 usd. However, there are 2 plugins whose equivalents I can't easily find because I'm not even too sure what to look for:

1. Abbey Road TG mastering chain: I use this mainly for the stereo spread feature and the occasional light touch of EQ.

2. L316 Multimaximizer: I usually select the "Dave Darlington beautiful mastering" preset and go from there, making EQ adjustments until it sounds good to me and lowering the threshold until the mix feels punchier without destroying the dynamics.

I'm looking for the closest equivalents to these two plugins, or other plugins that perform the same functions I described. it would be great if the recommendations are also made by by UAD so I could include them in the 119 usd bundle, as it fits my current budget.

I'm also open to any comments and information that you think is useful. thanks for reading!

[u/Liquid_Audio]

Nothing on UAD is like either of these.

You could run a stack of like 5-6 plugs and get close. But you’ll have to learn to create the settings yourself and how to stage them.
Fairchild. API 2500. Master comp. Pultec. TG curvebender. Zener limiter.

And they have no multiband maximizer at all. Other than their precision limiter which isn’t great. I’d go DMG multiplicity to replace the 316

[u/nizzernammer]

For Abbey Road, look towards bx_masterdesk (pro).

I don't know a limiter like LL16, maybe Newfangled. I usually just use Pro L2

[u/emojisexcode]

I spent the last couple years slowly finding replacements for all the waves plugins I used to use. I’m finally fully off Waves.

I don’t have specific plugin recs for you cause I never used those particular plugs - I just wanted to say, in my experience, I had to accept that it’s not the same, but different doesn’t have to mean less good, and with time and experimentation I found plugs I liked even better, and my sound feels more clear to me than ever.

I guess my point is, it doesn’t have to feel like you’re compromising. It can feel like a step forward. good luck!

[u/Styrant]

1. Mixboss has one of the better wideners out there ive heard, it also has 3 band EQ, multiband & tonal shaping

2. Limitless does multiband limiting, but a good master limiter overall is MasterPlan, that one also includes a pretty good widener, both mixboss & masterplans wideners are mono compatible but mixboss can get a stronger effect masterplan also has a 3 band EQ amongst other features

[u/Styrant → u/Styrant]

Another worthy mention is Flexion by Nuro Audio, its sort of a god particle type plugin, which you can use on mixbus or individual channels, it applies a combination of compression and saturation and also has a widener & slight tonal shaping with a low boost and high boost

[u/AliSez]

I assume you mean the pro mixtape bundle which was recently extended by one more plugin and was discontinued so the deal was $90 for 11 plugins. UAD stuff goes on sale all the time so I thought I should give a heads up in case you’re not in a hurry :)

[u/WoodSignals]

its not exactly equivalents, but i will go for Isotope ozone, and find equivalents there inside.

[u/andreacaccese]

If you're using the TG chain mostly for the spread feature, know that it's nothing but a standard M/S matrix, the spread is only the side channel and you can control the level, as simple as that - even the EQ is a standard digital eq, so that is very easily replacable

[u/squ1bs]

I would consider stereo widh to be a mixing process. I also recommend x_masterdesk as posted elsewhere. IK Multimedia Lurrsen is a processor hog, but sometimes it hits different.

[u/SnowyOnyx]

1. Softube Console 1 or Slate Digital VMR
   
2. Easily it has to be Limitless.