Simple Minds bassist Andy Gillespie has been relying on Waves DSP plug-ins for the 2002 band release Cry and last year’s Our Secrets Are the Same.
“I like to use Waves as my main processing core because the plug-ins are intuitive to edit and because I’m so accustomed to the interface,” remarked Gillespie. “Once you know one of the plug-ins, the others are instantly familiar, and they cover most of the effects needed for even the most varied requirements. Sometimes, because I’m not an engineer, all I want to do is tweak something and listen to it. The Waves interface lets you do this instantly. You can change all these parameters simultaneously, which allows you more time to listen to what’s happening rather than thinking about it. I can remember spending hours with vintage harmonizers, compressors and EQs, programming multiple delays or pitches, and feeling afterward like I had just run a marathon. Now, programming the same thing on some of the Waves Renaissance plug-ins takes me minutes.
“When we worked on our last studio album Cry, it was recorded and mixed entirely in Pro Tools,” he continued. “There was no outboard gear used on the mixes and we used Waves plug-ins. Also, when I process guitar parts, I’m a bit of an effects freak, so I love playing around with the Enigma, Supertap and Ultrapitch plug-ins. Using Enigma, I find it especially easy to create an ambience that is very understated. I like to tweak the parameters, especially when I’m using Ultrapitch or Supertap, because the beauty of these processors is they have multiple functions that to explore properly, you have to invent a scenario in your head and then tweak it to get close to what you want.”
For more information about the Waves’ plug-ins, visit www.waves.com. For more information about Simple Minds, visit their Website at www.simpleminds.com.
