Waves Live - Plugins and Audio Software for Live Sound

Home > Waves Live Wire > Vol. 1

C4 Multiband Compressor / The Ultimate Dynamics Processor

Phil Strong

"Using C4 I've been able to gain more control and clarity in my mixes and maximize the use of all our sound systems. It’s quickly become my favorite plugin."

Phil Strong
FOH engineer
KanYe West, Common, Q-Tip, A Tribe Called Quest

Direct from the Desk

C4

C4 is Available separately and in Gold, Platinum, Diamond, and Mercury.

C4 is Available separately and in Gold, Platinum, Diamond, and Mercury.

The C4 is a very powerful tool for controlling vocals, acoustic guitars, and more.

It allows each of them to stay tight and clear within the mix, regardless of the singer’s or player's dynamic range. Simply set the Crossover points to the frequencies that work best for your vocalist, set the range for maximum compression or expansion per band, and you're good to go. The C4 offers additional controls per band such as independent attack and release, plus other controls that affect all bands, including Knee setting, manual or ARC Release behavior, and compression Behavior selection (Electro or Opto-coupled).

Setting the C4 to your source's sweet range is easy: Its solo and bypass options for each band let you listen to each band separately, and tune your dynamics processing accordingly. Just align the crossover points to the frequency range that you want to bring up or bring down, solo that band, then set its compression or expansion you see fit. The compression/expansion range expresses the maximal attenuation or gain boost that can be applied to a band.

Production Notes

Here’s how you can use the C4 to achieve a sweet, well-behaved female vocal sound: Once you insert it on the vocalist’s channel:

  • Set the C4's lowest crosspoint to 150 Hz.
  • Take the first band’s gain down to -2.0 dB.
  • Compress the low frequency range using the default setting.
  • Set the midrange crosspoint to 2.5 kHz.
  • Use a gentle compression setting, and leave the second band at 0 dB gain.
  • Set the highest crossover point to 8 kHz.
  • Tune the compression range to -10 dB with a very fast attack.
  • So far, you get the functionality of a wide de-esser, operating in the 2.5-8 kHz range.
  • Finally, set the C4’s highest band to +3dB, again with some easy compression, for a nice boost with added brightness.