WAVES BB Tubes Tube Saturator User Guide
- June 10, 2024
- WAVES
Table of Contents
WAVES BB Tubes Tube Saturator
Introduction
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BB Tubes is a dual-stage tube saturator from Waves. It provides an authentic,
warm, classic tube sound that can subtly give a track more life or deliver a
mean and aggressive saturated sound. There are two independent saturators and
a tone section that give you precise saturation control in a simple box.
Waves is a world leader in analog component modeling. Our modeling of classic
EQs and compressors are famous for their sonic elegance and fidelity to the
hardware originals. Waves True Valve Modeling technology—the process used to
model the tubes that make up this plugin—provides an even more faithful
recreation of the classic tube circuits.
BB Tubes has a simple interface—there are very few controls, so it’s easy to
use. The two main controls are Beauty and Beast. Signal flow is from the
Beauty control to the Beast, but there aren’t any firm rules about how to use
the plugin. Just remember that Beauty is about, well, beauty; Beast is about
attitude. The rest is up to you.
Interface
1
| Beauty| Adds subtle tube saturation (mostly the even harmonics). It
introduces slight harmonic distortion, which makes the sound warmer and
bigger. Range: 0 to10
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2
| Beast| Adds a distinctive saturation color to the signal (mostly odd
harmonics). Like the Beauty saturator, it can produce gentle harmonic
distortion, but it’s used primarily for aggressive saturation. Hence, “The
Beast.” Range: 0 to 10
BB Tubes creates a small amount of tube compression and harmonic distortion,
even when the Beauty and Beast controls are set to their minimums. Turn off
the Transformer switch to completely remove the effect.
3
| Sensitivity| Controls the input gain, which influences the behavior of the
saturators. These adjustments are compensated at the end of the chain, so
output gain remains the same. For best results, use the loudest section of
source (or highest peak) to set the sensitivity. Range: -12 dB to +12 dB
A LED above the Sensitivity control indicates the adjusted input level:
D above the Sensitivity control indicates the adjusted input level: LED off:
very low signal or none Green: safe, conservative input level Yellow: ideal
input level Red: very hot input signal (A hot level is not necessarily a
problem. It may be just what you want. Experiment.)
4
| Bass Relief| Controls the amount of bass that is excluded from the tube engine (with a shelf filter set to 350 Hz, compensated at the end of the chain). By reducing some low-frequency information from the tube input signal, the bass can appear more articulate, and at times even stronger. Range: 0 to 100
5
| Transformer| The transformer adds a small amount of harmonic distortion and saturation to the signal, which provides a pleasing analog effect. This is an important part of the BB Tubes sound, but you can switch it off for an effect that is cleaner and less colored. Range: On or Off
6
| Tube Type| Selects the tube type for the Beast section, each type representing a different harmonic structure. Range: Type A or Type B
7
| Tone Pre| A 10 kHz shelf EQ to increase or decrease HF before the tube engine. Range: -9 dB to +9 dB
8
| Tone Post| A 10 kHz shelf EQ to increase or decrease HF after the tube engine. Range: -9 dB to +9 dB
9
| Wet/Dry Mix| Controls the mix of the dry input signal with the wet processed signal. Range: 0% to 100%
10
| Out| Controls the output gain of the plugin. Range: -18 dB to +18 dB
11
| THD Meter| Displays the total amount of distortion (Beauty and Beast together) added to the clean source.
WAVESYSTEM TOOLBAR
Use the toolbar at the top of the plugin to save and load presets, compare settings, undo and redo steps, and resize the plugin. To learn more, click the icon at the upper-right corner of the window and open the Wave System Guide.
Up Sampling Menu (on the Wave System Toolbar) (on the Wave System Toolbar)
The sample rate of processing within the plugin can be multiplied by a factor of up to 8, depending on the sample rate of the original signal. Up sampling can yield greater definition but will result in higher latency and CPU load.