Waves Abbey Road TG Mastering Chain - Short Review

Product Overview: Waves Abbey Road TG Mastering Chain

The Waves Abbey Road TG Mastering Chain is a sophisticated, modular mastering plugin developed in collaboration with Abbey Road Studios. This plugin emulates the legendary EMI TG12410 Transfer Console, a solid-state transistor-based mastering console that has been a cornerstone of Abbey Road’s mastering suites since the early 1970s.

Key Features

Modular Design

The TG Mastering Chain plugin is composed of several modules, each modeled after the corresponding sections of the original EMI TG12410 console. These modules include:

• TG12411 Input Module: Allows for adjustments such as balance, channel swapping, historic tape EQs, phase flipping, and phase correction.
• TG12412 Tone Module (EQ): Features a modern EQ design based on the TG topology, offering four bands of EQ with carefully curated frequencies for maximum musical impact. Each band can be set to low shelf, high shelf, or three bell shapes (wide, medium, or narrow).

Compression and Limiting

The plugin includes both the original Zener diode-based compressor and limiter functions, as well as a modern VCA-style compressor designed jointly by Waves and Abbey Road. This modern compressor is tailored to meet today’s mastering requirements, with modified VCA curve and attack/release circuits.

Filter Module

Supplementing the Tone module, the Filter module offers three gentle, tone-shaping filters: High Pass (4 frequencies), Low Pass (5 frequencies), and Presence (8 frequencies with medium bell).

Output and Stereo Spread

The Output/Stereo Spread section allows for precision control over the stereo image, including widening or narrowing the master’s stereo spread, modeled on the spreader from Abbey Road’s original EMI TG12416 unit. Additionally, it offers various monitoring modes such as Stereo, Mono, Left, Right, Mid, and Sides.

Metering

The plugin comes with the TG Meter Bridge, a separate component that provides a comprehensive metering solution. This allows for clear readings of VU, PPM, Phase, and Peak levels across all instances of the TG Mastering Chain in a session, ensuring you stay focused on the music.

Processing and Monitoring Modes

The TG Mastering Chain supports various processing modes (Stereo/Duo/MS) and monitoring modes, making it versatile for use in both studio and live sound environments. The plugin also includes a dedicated Live component.

Customization and Presets

Users can create custom processing chains by re-ordering the modules (except for the input and output sections). The plugin includes 170 presets crafted by top mixing and mastering engineers such as Jacquire King, Joe Barresi, and Dave Pensado, providing excellent starting points for your mastering tasks.

Functionality

• Flexible Workflow: The modular design allows for flexible chain configurations, enabling you to use the TG magic on the master bus, individual tracks, or groups within a mixing session.
• Modern Touches: While maintaining the original TG sound, the plugin incorporates modern features such as linear-phase sidechain filters and modified VCA curves to suit contemporary mastering needs.
• Integration: The plugin is included in the Waves Abbey Road Collection bundle and can be seamlessly integrated into various DAWs, enhancing your productions with the distinctive sonic flavor of Abbey Road Studios.

The Waves Abbey Road TG Mastering Chain plugin is an extremely versatile and powerful tool, bringing the legendary sound of Abbey Road Studios directly into your production environment. Whether you are mastering albums or fine-tuning individual tracks, this plugin offers the magic and precision that have defined some of the most iconic recordings in music history.