Waves’ newest is a suite of Chris Lord-Alge’s eight go-to reverbs and delays, emulating the gear used by the rock mixing legend to add depth to his mixes.
November tends to be a busy month for Waves and this year is no exception. After releasing the free CLA Echosphere for Black Friday, they have now rolled out CLA Epic as part of their Cyber Monday campaign.
It is no surprise that Waves have once again chosen to partner with Lord-Alge, whose CLA Signature Series remains one of Waves’ most popular (and well-reviewed) collection of effects processors despite the fact that they were released all the way back in 2011.
Having been one of the pioneers of the sound of modern rock records, Lord-Alge is well-known for his more straightforward approach. This is likely the reason why CLA plug-ins emulate his processes, instead of the hardware itself. CLA Epic holds true to the same concept, specifically recreating his method of blending effects and running delays through reverbs to create a fuller-sounding mix.
The GUI is in the shape of a console with four channels each for delay and reverb. The delay types featured are Tape, Slap, Throw and Crowd Delay. Throw Delay is specifically designed to be applied to a specific note, word or sound and its inputs can be triggered manually or with automation. Crowd Delay creates a lush feedback with longer delays.
The reverbs on selection are Plate, Hall, Room and Space Reverb, with the latter having a Depth control that allows for increased control over the length of the reverb tail.
All of the effects are also armed with a modulator knob that adds motion to the signal. At low values it adds width, while higher values produce warbling effects.
The plugin’s unique selling proposition is no doubt the fact that it offers the choice to send any delay to any reverb, in addition to the option of running the effects both in series or in parallel. Waves also claim that it “saves hours” compared to how long it would take to set up the same variety of sends and returns in a DAW.
CLA Epic is available now for an introductory price of $69.99.
Head to Waves for more information.