LOS ANGELES — FOH and monitor engineers on the tour featuring Enrique Iglesias, Pitbull and J Balvin are using the SSL G-Master Buss Compressor and other Waves Audio plugins to enhance their live mixes for the shows. Pictured here are, from left, Eddie “El Brujo” Caipo and Brad Divens, monitor engineer and FOH engineer, respectively, for Enrique Iglesias.
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Brad Divens, FOH engineer for Enrique Iglesias (his other credits include Garbage, Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band, Jane’s Addiction and HIM), states, “On this tour, my two must-have Waves plugins are the NLS Non-Linear Summer and the SSL G-Master Buss Compressor. I use the Waves NLS on the drum group, bass, guitar and vocal channels. It adds warmth and depth to whatever I use it on. It also gives the mix an analog vibe and helps to make it sound more musical. I use the Waves SSL G-Master Buss Compressor on my master buss to help tighten up the mix and also to give it some punch. I also use it on both of my drum groups for parallel compression.”
Eddie “El Brujo” Caipo, monitor engineer for Iglesias (and also for Tears for Fears, Kings of Chaos, Smash Mouth, Taio Cruz and others), notes, “I use the Waves SSL G-Master Buss Compressor on Enrique Iglesias’ vocal. I like to have it on a fast attack setting and a mid release at a 4:1 ratio, and it works great. I really like the way his vocal sounds with that on, and so does he. I use the Waves C6 Multiband Compressor on our lead guitar player when he switches to rhythm. That way I can just compress the muddiness out of it, and it still keeps the nylon guitar sounding smooth in the low-mid section around 180–250 Hz. Using Waves plugins allows me to deliver live the same high-quality sound that my artists are used to having in the studio. Hands down, Waves plugins are the best.”
J Balvin’s FOH engineer John Buitrago (other credits include Jon Secada, Andres Cepeda and Fanny Lu), adds, “With J Balvin, my favorite Waves plugins are the NLS Non-Linear Summer and the SSL G-Master Buss Compressor. The first thing I do is insert the Waves NLS in each of my console groups and the NLS Buss in my stereo main channels, then choose one of the three options of analog consoles, looking for the best color and proper character for the group. For example, I prefer the NEVO on drums, the SPIKE on vocals and the MIKE on guitars etc. When I open the NLS Buss I have the VCA groups console, which allows me to take full control of all the NLS channel instances assigned to the plugin’s VCA groups. It’s awesome. Once I go through this process, the SSL G-Master Buss Compressor takes control of my mix, its smoothness and dynamics allowing me to control the audience level without hurting anyone’s ears and especially without losing the headroom in the mix. I really love it.”
German A. Tarazona Llano, J Balvin’s monitor engineer (other credits include Jarabe De Palo and Alex Campos), notes, “On monitors, the most important thing is to have a very clean mix. On the tour we have a huge runway, and J Balvin sings half of the show there rather than on the regular stage, so the Waves C6 Multiband Compressor is an invaluable plugin for my mix. It is a powerful tool for controlling all the dynamics of the lead vocal, and the compression works amazingly. I’ve found an incredible way to control my low end on the ears of the whole band: I use the Waves C6 on my bass channel with a sidechain key source from the Kick-In channel. I also use the SSL G-Master Buss Compressor on each stereo output of my mixes, so when I insert the buss compressor, I find the perfect finish for my 12 mixes!”
Will “Chilly Willy” Madera, FOH engineer for Pitbull (other credits include Obie Bermudez and Papayo), notes, “On this tour, my two must-have plugins are the Waves Renaissance Vox and the Waves API 2500. I use the Renaissance Vox on all my vocals, and believe it or not, on all the congas and bongos. This plugin brings them out in the mix and gives them that snap. Our percussionist just loves it. I use the API 2500 on my Master mix to glue the whole mix and get that nice punch and analog warmth.”
