Lawo and Waves Audio have jointly announced ‘a major advancement’ in their ongoing partnership: enabling engineers to use Waves’ legendary processing tools in immersive audio environments with their Lawo mc² production consoles for live and broadcast productions, using Waves SuperRack V15.
The latest Waves release introduces comprehensive immersive mixing support, offering configurations such as 5.1.4, 7.1.4, and 9.1.4. At the heart of this update is the new Waves Immersive Wrapper plug-in – a solution that turns any mono Waves plug-in into a multi-channel processor for immersive formats. By loading a mono plug-in into the Immersive Wrapper, engineers can now apply their trusted Waves dynamics, EQ, and creative effects seamlessly across all channels of an immersive mix.
This multi-mono approach not only delivers precise control but also offers flexible linking of parameters across channels and shared sidechain functionality for mix-wide processing – an essential feature for creating coherent and natural immersive soundscapes in live environments.
As with previous Waves integrations, the new immersive functionality is fully compatible with Lawo’s current range of mc² consoles, allowing operators to integrate Waves SuperRack directly into the console surface. Parameters can be adjusted intuitively, and settings are stored with Lawo’s snapshot system, ensuring consistent recall during complex productions. The automatic Rack-follows-Console-Access functionality guarantees speedy and confident operation, important in situations that require quick action.
This integration is available for both Waves SuperRack SoundGrid and Waves SuperRack Performer, letting users choose which platform is most suitable for them, no matter if they want to use SoundGrid or VST3 plug-ins.
‘The future of live production is immersive, and this integration is a bold step toward that reality,’ says Noam Raz, General Manager, Live Division at Waves. ‘By connecting SuperRack V15 with Lawo consoles, we are giving engineers unlimited creative freedom in 3D audio spaces, while keeping the trusted precision of Waves plug-ins at their fingertips.’
‘The integration between Waves and Lawo has been key for many productions, ever since its first introduction based on Waves MultiRack SG,’ adds Lawo Senior Director Workflow and Integration, CTO Office, Lucas Zwicker. ‘Waves has always been pushing improvement, and with SuperRack V15 and the Immersive Wrapper, mc² users now have an intuitive workflow for using Waves plug-ins in immersive sound formats right from their console, pushing the boundaries of live and broadcast mixing.’
This announcement builds on the successful integration of Waves SuperRack LiveBox into the mc² platform last year, as well as previous integrations of the SuperRack SoundGrid platform before. Now, with SuperRack V15, Lawo and Waves take the next step in future-ready production, combining Lawo’s precision audio mixing with Waves’ unmatched plug-in catalog – fully optimized for immersive sound design in live concerts, streamed events, and broadcast applications.
More: www.lawo.com