Why didn't I do this sooner? Moved Waves plugins to a separate folder

[joeyluck]

I'm sure this workflow has been mentioned before, but for whatever reason, I didn't think to do it until just now.

When Reason is launched, if you have Waves plugins, it takes time to scan the WavesShells every time. And I don't always use Waves plugins.

So instead of dealing with enabling and disabling individual plugins in the Manage Plugins window, I moved all of the WavesShells into their own folder and then added that folder under Reason's Preferences.

Now I can easily select and deselect the Waves folder if I plan to use them. Of course it requires a restart, so it works similarly to choosing a theme. But the time saved with how much quicker Reason launches without having to scan the WavesShells seems worth it. And then if I decide I need a Waves plugin or an existing project uses something from Waves, I'll select the folder and relaunch. I'll see how it goes, but for now, it's much better

Waves plugins folder.png (143.62 KiB) Viewed 621 times

[Rising Night Wave]

[kuhliloach]

I also wish I moved Waves sooner (to the trash!)

[selig]

I also wish I moved Waves sooner (to the trash!)

I did and never looked back - and this after being a Waves fan from day one. I used to tell folks: get Pro Tools, get Waves. Now I say neither!
Reminds me of the time Waves would crash if loaded after other plugins, so I discovered I needed to put their channels first in the Pro Tools mixer. Usually I would start with the drums then bass etc (analog tape style) as my track layout, but found it equally useful to reverse the mixer and put FX returns first, then master fader, then vocals etc and finally drums. Maybe it was because I had no other choice, but I actually liked working that way - thanks Waves!

[joeyluck]

There's still Waves plugins I get great use out of, such as the Abbey Road Collection (particularly Reel ADT and Chambers). That series is pretty great overall. I've also got some use out of Abbey Road Studio 3 (for headphone mixing). That's not a part of the collection though.

I also use Vocal Rider a good amount—mostly for film stuff. And then I like the other creative plugins they make, like Berzerk. So I like them enough to keep them around. I just don't want to watch the WavesShells scan every time I load Reason.

And then of course I have projects that use them, so deleting isn't an option. It would be cool if Reason could have a preference to first scan the project for missing plugins before scanning plugin folders...and then scan those additional folders when necessary. Or even better—have the ability to scan VSTs during a session without having to restart. But for now, this is working for me.

[kuhliloach]

I also wish I moved Waves sooner (to the trash!)

I did and never looked back - and this after being a Waves fan from day one. I used to tell folks: get Pro Tools, get Waves. Now I say neither!
Reminds me of the time Waves would crash if loaded after other plugins, so I discovered I needed to put their channels first in the Pro Tools mixer. Usually I would start with the drums then bass etc (analog tape style) as my track layout, but found it equally useful to reverse the mixer and put FX returns first, then master fader, then vocals etc and finally drums. Maybe it was because I had no other choice, but I actually liked working that way - thanks Waves!

It's funny but I first discovered Waves because of a Reason promotion! And even those plugins broke due to the well known scammy update issues with Waves.

[joeyluck]

I did and never looked back - and this after being a Waves fan from day one. I used to tell folks: get Pro Tools, get Waves. Now I say neither!
Reminds me of the time Waves would crash if loaded after other plugins, so I discovered I needed to put their channels first in the Pro Tools mixer. Usually I would start with the drums then bass etc (analog tape style) as my track layout, but found it equally useful to reverse the mixer and put FX returns first, then master fader, then vocals etc and finally drums. Maybe it was because I had no other choice, but I actually liked working that way - thanks Waves!

It's funny but I first discovered Waves because of a Reason promotion! And even those plugins broke due to the well known scammy update issues with Waves.

Are you on macOS or Windows? What version? I haven't had any issues with any of my Waves plugins. Of the Waves plugins, I have V10 - V14 and they continue to work. I'm on macOS Catalina, so maybe that's part of it? Maybe if I update macOS some plugins will stop working? I know they say that a certain version is required to run on a certain OS, but I feel like when I updated to Mojave and then to Catalina, that was supposed to mean some weren't supported. But all seems good. I'd have to look to see what those requirements say.

[kuhliloach]

It's funny but I first discovered Waves because of a Reason promotion! And even those plugins broke due to the well known scammy update issues with Waves.

Are you on macOS or Windows? What version? I haven't had any issues with any of my Waves plugins. Of the Waves plugins, I have V10 - V14 and they continue to work. I'm on macOS Catalina, so maybe that's part of it? Maybe if I update macOS some plugins will stop working? I know they say that a certain version is required to run on a certain OS, but I feel like when I updated to Mojave and then to Catalina, that was supposed to mean some weren't supported. But all seems good. I'd have to look to see what those requirements say.

I'm not talking about functionality after being scammed to pay for the upgrades. I'm sure they work fine!

[joeyluck]

Are you on macOS or Windows? What version? I haven't had any issues with any of my Waves plugins. Of the Waves plugins, I have V10 - V14 and they continue to work. I'm on macOS Catalina, so maybe that's part of it? Maybe if I update macOS some plugins will stop working? I know they say that a certain version is required to run on a certain OS, but I feel like when I updated to Mojave and then to Catalina, that was supposed to mean some weren't supported. But all seems good. I'd have to look to see what those requirements say.

I'm not talking about functionality after being scammed to pay for the upgrades. I'm sure they work fine!

Ok. I thought you said they had broke.

I really don't like the WavesShells or the update plan. But I suppose I can understand that a company that has hundreds of plugins has to find some feasible way to continue to support them and update them all. If you want to maintain support for all of them, including ones that people lose interest in buying, there has to be something in place. Keeping in mind that they don't have a separate product like a DAW for people to buy and upgrade every year or two.

And I think they had the update plan in place before their subscription plan? So I think it might've been their first way of exploring another mode of revenue to sustain themselves? I don't know much about their business. Maybe someday the subscription plan revenue could replace the necessity for the update plan? I mean, I get that the chances of them turning down any extra way of getting money is slim, but sometimes the simplification of things works for the better.

[dvdrtldg]

I don't like Waves' business model at all, but all this faff about how the update plan is a "scam" puzzles me. Everybody knows about the WUP, it comes up in every single thread about Waves plugins on every single forum. It's also on their website, clearly explained

Don't like the WUP? Fine, don't buy Waves plugins

Bought Waves plugins and didn't know about the WUP? Fine, learn the lesson and do your research next time

It's not a "scam" when you make a mistake because you didn't read the easy-to-find and endlessly-talked-about terms & conditions

[Loque]

I also wish I moved Waves sooner (to the trash!)

Yea, moved to the bin. Problem solved