ROAD
TEST
Waves Scheps Omni Channel
Plug-In
By Adam Gallant
J
ust in time for The 2018 NAMM Show,
Waves released its most versatile chan-
nel strip to date. Developed alongside
renowned mix engineer, producer,
and educator Andrew Scheps (Adele,
Metallica, Jay Z) the Scheps Omni Channel is
highly intuitive, colourful in all the right ways,
and perhaps the most useful plug-in I have
ever put to work.
The Scheps Omni Channel encapsulates the
best of both analog modeling and digital flex-
ibility. The plug-in contains five modules of treat-
ment, an insert point where any Waves plug-in
can be placed, as well as comprehensive moni-
toring and a built-in limiter. Each module (and
the Waves plug-in insert point) can be shuffled
to any position on the strip.
Most impressive is that each module can be
treated in mono, stereo, dual mono, or mid/side
mode, completely independent of the other
modules – a totally innovative and brain-melt-
ingly flexible approach. This plug-in is incredibly
powerful, colourful (when desired), and operates
at zero latency. I’ll break this review down into
the plug-in’s modules, then give a more broad
overview of why I think this is Waves’ best work
to date.
Pre
The Pre module refers to a preamp, and this
section contains a saturation knob with
selectable colours for harmonic saturation:
Odd, Even, and Heavy. On stereo material, use
the Heavy option to crunch up your centre
channel and leave your side channels warm
with a touch of Odd harmonic saturation – all
independently controlled and beautifully cali-
brated to give consistent gain when swapping
between saturation types. The Pre section also
contains a high pass filter, low pass filter, and
an additional resonance option called Thump,
which is perfect for adding weight to drum
transients.
EQ
The equalization section is versatile, distinct,
and intuitive, boasting four bands of equaliza-
tion per channel with fully parametric curves,
as well as very musical sounding high and low
W W W. C A N A D I A N M U S I C I A N . CO M
shelves with or without
resonance curves. Get-
ting a kick drum’s low
end to ring in the most
satisfying way is at your
fingertips in this module.
DS Squared
The DS Squared is a
de-esser on crack. I
would say it is more of a
multiband compressor
on crack with a layout
that forced me to use my ears and make better
decisions. Two de-essers per channel with
independent EQ curves, thresholds, and fre-
quencies along with the ability to work in mid/
side makes this a perfect plug-in for taming
cymbals on a drum buss, or high end harsh-
ness on a vocal buss.
Comp
The compression module is where I spent
the majority of my time when testing out this
plug-in. There are three colours available –
VCA, FET, and OPT – with perfectly consistent
volumes when you swap between. The side
chain is highly sculptable and can be moni-
tored directly. The compressor also has a mix
knob for parallel compression, which is a staple
in Andrew Scheps’ mixes.
Gate
The Gate is musical and has flexible side chain
controls that can be monitored. It will operate
as a gate, expander, and as a simple solution
for controlling the noise floor. The layout is
clean and easy to navigate. I found myself
getting settings for kicks and snares much
faster than with my old, go-to plug-in for this
task. The final stage of treatment on the Omni
Channel is a lovely sounding limiter with a
simple threshold knob. This is the icing on the
cake when you need a quick solution for spikey
material.
Overview
The Scheps Omni Channel is a complete tool-
kit designed with one of the most respected
names in the music mixing world, Andrew
Scheps. The plug-in is very well laid out, be-
yond versatile, and somehow not overwhelm-
ing in the least. I can get results from this single
plug-in comparable to what could otherwise
take six or more. Oh, and remember – zero
latency.
A huge benefit to working within the Omni
Channel is that it’s very comfortable to test a va-
riety of different settings and options without
mucking up the overall gain structure of the
downstream signal path. This is a huge hurdle
when it comes to juggling several different plug-
ins on a strip.
For readers taking this plug-in for a demo
spin, I suggest starting with presets as there
are many solid ones to choose from. Presets are
sculpted from some of the best in the business,
including Jaquire King, Billy Bush, and Tony Vis-
conti, to name a few. There is also a “Focus” mode,
which highlights go-to controls best suited for
the preset. Also, worth noting is the Expand
mode, which expands the window size of the
selected module, making it much easier for touch
screens or mixers with low-resolution monitors.
A huge thank you to the folks at Waves and
Andrew Scheps for their dedicated work on this
tool. It will certainly be saving me hours of time
and piles of CPU power.
Adam Gallant has worked in all facets of digital
audio production, from music composition to
location and post audio for television and film. He
currently owns and operates The Hill Sound
Studio in Charlottetown, PE.
C A N A D I A N M U S I C I A N • 23