Software-based mixers have come a long way in the last five years. The release of the iPad served to solidify what a lot of us knew was an inevitable trend in digital mixing: “surfaceless” mixing consoles. While writing this review and working with the Waves eMotion LV1, I reminisced about the first time I saw someone using Lake Contour with a wireless tablet, and I also thought about discussions I had with other audio engineers about touch screen mixing in the early 2000’s.
In many ways, the technology has come forward in leaps and bounds. In other ways, I still feel like tablets and touch screens make a better supplement to a physical surface, rather than a full-blown surface replacement. If you examine the current market for touch screen- and tablet-based consoles, you’ll see that most of them target the lower end of the price spectrum in the sub-$5,000 category.
On the other hand, Waves is targeting a slightly higher-end customer with the LV1, and the company has some high profile engineers and artists touting the LV1 as a suitable physical console replacement.
The eMotion LV1 System
The eMotion LV1 consists of several pre-existing Waves hardware products coupled with the newly developed LV1 software. My LV1 demo system consisted of the following products:
• Software: Waves eMotion LV1 application
• DSP: Waves SoundGrid Extreme Server
• I/O: DiGiGrid IOX single-racke I/O Frame
• Networking: Soundgrid-compatible network switch
• Control: Dell computer to run the LV1 software and two Dell Multi-touch displays.
I have used SoundGrid servers extensively with other manufacturer’s consoles with great success, and as a longtime Waves plug-in user, virtually every part of the LV1 system felt instantly familiar to me.
Three versions of the LV1 software are available for either Mac or PC users. The most expensive version has 64 channels, and both 32- and 16-channel versions are also offered. Aside from the number of channels, there are differences in the number of buses for each version of the software, as shown below.
Additionally, each software version supports up to four multi-touch screens and eight SoundGrid-compatible plug-ins can run on each channel.
The Soundgrid Server
A Soundgrid Server is the brains of any LV1 system. There are three models of SoundGrid Servers that offer varying price points and corresponding DSP power. Standard on all are 32-bit, floating-point audio processing at up to 96k Hz, which takes place on the server; these are essentially plug and play with little configuration required. A second SoundGrid Server can be added to a LV1 system for redundancy, and Waves offers benchmarking information on how many plug-ins can be run on each of the three servers if you need help choosing which one is right for your LV1 system.
After using the LV1 for a few weeks, my take was that all but the smallest shows would want to have an Extreme server (the highest end model). Anyone who uses a SoundGrid Server with another manufacturer’s console should take note of the fact that, in a third-party console environment (say, you’re using SoundGrid with a DiGiCo console), the SoundGrid Server provides additional DSP beyond what your console already has. In the case of LV1, the SoundGrid server is your console’s DSP, so the DSP headroom will be diminished more quickly when you start stacking four plug-ins per channel.
DiGiGrid IO
Waves offers a range of I/O options for LV1, pulling from its existing collection of DiGiGrid interfaces. DiGiGrid was developed as a partnership between Waves and DiGiCo, and while the IOX that came with my system sounded amazing, there were some hardware features that I felt needed improvement for use in a live sound environment. The single-rackspace IOX has 12 analog mic/line inputs with fantastic sounding preamps, but one of the first things I noticed as I connected my demo unit was the fact that the six line outputs are TRS connectors. On one hand, this helps maintain the unit’s diminutive 1RU form factor, which is great for highly mobile setups. On the other hand, I really don’t want my output buses on TRS connectors. Note: according to Waves, live-specific SoundGrid I/Os are in the works —ed.
Additionally, it doesn’t seem like SoundGrid offers a truly redundant secondary network connection. The DiGiGrid hardware does have dual network ports, but it seems that these are an internal gigabit switch, as opposed to a primary/secondary configuration like you’d have with other audio networking protocols. As I examined the entire DiGiGrid range of I/Os, it struck me that the line seems geared more towards a studio environment than a live one. It would be great to see Waves release a 2RU DiGiGrid box with 12 analog mic/line inputs, eight analog line outputs and a pair of AES outputs on XLR, and fully redundant networking on Ethercon connectors.
The LV1 Software
Not surprisingly, the best part about the eMotion LV1 is the software. There are so many reasons I can give for why the software is great, the first of which being that it was developed from the ground up with large touch surfaces in mind. While other manufacturers have struggled to shoehorn Multi-touch into their existing console software, Waves clearly designed LV1 with Multi-touch as the target user interface.
The most striking realization for me was the fact that the console “surface” is completely configurable. With no surface hardware that Waves is beholden to, the potential for future LV1 upgrades and improvements is virtually limitless.
That being said, I found the LV1 software to already be very well developed. Most of the mixing functions that I would use with any high-end digital desk were already present in the LV1 software.
The Plug-ins
What can I possibly say here? Waves is to plug-ins like Kleenex is to tissues. There is no shortage of amazing plug-ins that can be added to an LV1 system. This is worth noting for those of you who thought that LV1 was going to come with the Waves Mercury or Pro Show bundle. The LV1 comes stock with a limited set of plug-ins primarily intended for input (channel strip) processing, although any previously owned Waves (or Flux/Plugin Alliance) plug-ins can be used with LV1 as well.
The stock LV1 plug-in arsenal includes Waves’ eMo D5 Dynamics, eMo F2 Filter, eMo Generator and the eMo Q4 Equalizer.
Additional plug-ins can be added later, and we all know that buying Waves plug-ins can become an expensive (and awesome) habit. This is definitely something to keep in mind when pricing out an LV1 system. Build the cost of plug-ins you want into the overall price of the system.
Final Thoughts
If you’re an existing Waves user and you’re in the market for a highly portable, next-generation digital mixer, the eMotion LV1 is worthy of consideration. While the system doesn’t come cheap, there is a lot of added value with things like Waves Trackslive recording integration, and the possibility to add a physical surface if you must have the actual faders. Another plus comes from the fact that any plug-in presets and chains saved in eMotion LV1 can be shared with the Waves MultiRack and StudioRack plug-in hosts, allowing for a seamless move from the live to a studio environment for post-show mixing.
Waves is really pushing the envelope of what is possible with software-based digital consoles. Like any new technology, it’s going to take some time for the market to acclimate to mixing without a physical surface and a system like the Waves eMotion LV1 takes giant leap forward in taking the industry to the next step in console evolution.
At a Glance
Surfaceless Digital Mixing
Waves redefines the concept of the virtual digital console with the flexibility, power and high-end audio performance of its eMotion LV1 system.
Waves eMotion LV1
PROS:
- Superb audio performance at up to 96 kHz
- Huge palette of top-notch available plug-ins
- Worksurface expandable by adding additional Multi-touch screens
- Flexible I/O configuration
- Waves Trackslive recording integration
CONS
- IOX uses TRS (rather than XLR) jacks on line outputs
- System only includes four plug-ins
- Screens subject to glare under certain lighting conditions
STATS
- Configuration: 16 to 64 mono/stereo inputs
- Sampling Rate: 96 kHz
- Software Retail Pricing: eMotion LV1 16, $749; eMotion LV1 32, $949; eMotion LV1 64, $1,149. (SoundGrid Extreme Server, I/O options, network switch, Mac or PC computer, and Multi-touch displays additional.)
- Manufacturer: Waves
- More Info: www.waves.com
