WAVES GOES AROUND THE BEND
By Graeme Hague
12 June 2013
Waves have once again plundered the dusty cupboards at Abbey Road for some classic audio inspiration. Recognised as a passive equaliser with powerful sound-shaping capabilities, the RS56 Universal Tone Control was originally introduced in the early 1950s and used in Abbey Road Studios to prepare recordings for the record-lathe, as part of the process we now know as mastering. Later, Abbey Road’s pop engineers began using the RS56 for studio recordings because of its abilities to dramatically manipulate sound – unlike the basic treble and bass EQs found on the mixing consoles of the time. This earned it the nickname “The Curve Bender.” Waves and Abbey Road Studios have faithfully recreated the RS56 using advanced circuit modeling techniques based on the original schematics. Like its hardware predecessor, the Waves: Abbey Road RS56 passive EQ plug-in features three bands with four selectable centre frequencies for each and six different filter types, plus independent or linked control over the left and right channels. The promised result is an equaliser that is as effective today as it was when it was created over half a century ago. Introductory prices of $99 for Native and $149 for the SoundGrid versions are available (normally $200 and $300 respectively). The RS56 is not currently available in any Waves bundles. Go to www.waves.com for more info.
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