8 Often Overlooked Waves Plugins You’ll Wish You Tried Sooner

Published Sep 14, 2025

Discover 8 overlooked Waves plugins included in Waves Creative Access Ultimate. Unlock hidden gems like VoiceCentric, NLS, Torque, and more to transform your mixes.

8 Often Overlooked Waves Plugins You’ll Wish You Tried Sooner

With hundreds of plugins available in Waves Creative Access Ultimate, it’s easy to get comfortable with your go-to tools and forget about the rest. Everyone knows the popular plugins like SSL G-Master Buss Compressor, CLA Compressors, or L2 Ultramaximizer. But what about the hidden treasures buried in the vast Waves catalog?

Beyond the classics, there are plugins that may not always get the spotlight but can add serious magic to your mixes if you give them a chance. These are the overlooked workhorses and creative wildcards—plugins that can save time, inspire fresh ideas, and deliver pro-level mix polish.

This list is all about those overlooked gems. Whether you want new inspiration for vocals, drums, mix buses, or mastering chains, these plugins deserve a place in your session. And here’s the best bit: if you’re a Waves Creative Access Ultimate user, you already have them installed and ready to play with. No extra cost. No extra downloads. Just fire up your DAW and start exploring.

Greg Wells VoiceCentric

Greg Wells VoiceCentric Plugin

What is Greg Wells VoiceCentric?

First on the list is an all-in-one vocal processing unit designed by renowned producer and mix engineer Greg Wells. Drawing from his extensive experience working with artists such as Dua Lipa, Adele, and Ariana Grande, Wells distilled the core elements of his signature vocal chains into a streamlined, easy-to-use interface. VoiceCentric provides a powerful yet intuitive solution for achieving polished, professional vocal sounds with minimal effort, making it a valuable tool for producers at any skill level.

What’s so good about Greg Wells VoiceCentric?

The best thing about VoiceCentric is that it combines carefully curated EQ and dynamics processing into one ‘Intensity’ knob. You then have simplistic yet deep sounding Delay, Reverb and Doubler controls featured to the right of the main panel. Additionally, the plugin features an Input and Output volume fader for precise gain-staging. Simply put, this thing can apply a range of industry-grade, professional processing FX in a matter of seconds, with easy control parameters and minimal CPU usage.

Where to try Greg Wells VoiceCentric

Not a Waves Creative Access user? Learn more and try Greg Wells VoiceCentric here.

NLS (Non-Linear Summer)

Waves NLS plugins

What is NLS?

NLS (Non-Linear Summer) is a standout example of high-quality analog emulation, one that you may keep overlooking. Designed to capture the warmth and character of classic analog summing consoles, this plugin recreates the subtle harmonic coloration and dynamic interaction of channel preamps and summing buses. With three distinct console models to choose from, NLS allows users to shape their mix with authentic analog-inspired depth and richness, all with just a few simple adjustments.

What’s so good about NLS?

Analog equipment is fundamental in music technology history. Even though it can be stated that a lot of the harmonic and distortion character that these traditional units apply to our audio is actually unintentional, the sound they introduce gives them a treasured, creative edge. In short, different analog equipment and the unique sounds they apply to incoming audio signals are highly sought after. With NLS, you can apply some of those signature sounds to your tracks without breaking the bank.

Where to try NLS

NLS is available part of Waves Ultimate, you can also find more out about it from the plugin’s dedicated web page.

Torque

Waves Torque plugin

What is Torque?

Torque is perhaps one of the most overlooked plugins on this list and once you understand how it works and what it does, it’s extremely easy to use. Essentially, Torque has the power to change the pitch of baked in elements such as snare and kicks from within drum samples.

What’s so good about Torque?

Torque comes with a minimalist design. You have a visual frequency analyzer with a slidable control to identify and select the fundamental frequency of your drum hit. It will inform you what musical tone the percussion is currently pitched at. You can then adjust the Threshold control until the light is blinking a solid yellow (Torque is programmed to auto-communicate the optimal Threshold based on the light’s color). Then, feel free to alter the pitch using the primary Torque knob in the center interface. Simple!

Where to try Torque

Torque can be accessed here. Alternatively, it’s included as part of Waves Ultimate.

CLA Effects

Waves CLA Effects plugin

What is CLA Effects?

Chris Lord-Alge has been a cherished collaborator of Waves for a long time. Together, we’ve contributed a swathe of top-shelf mixing tools to the marketplace. CLA Effects is a prime example of one of the most powerful tools we’ve released with Chris. However, we seem to think about it more often than many producers do, and we think it’s worth a closer look. Basically, CLA Effects is an all-in-one FX processing chain, giving you the Grammy-award-winning processing power implemented by the legendary CLA himself.

What’s so good about CLA Effects?

A primary benefit of using CLA Effects is that it’ll save you some CPU processing power, as you’ll be adding a range of effects just from the one plugin instance. Aside from that, each of the FX modules – all controllable with a simple fader control – are of very high quality. You’ll have an internal EQ/Filter, Distortion, Reverb, Short Delay, Long Delay and Pitch effect to adjust to your heart’s content. Plus, each module comes with three switchable presets. You also get an Input and Output volume control for gain staging.

Where to try CLA Effects

CLA Effects, along with many other plugins, is available on the Waves store. It’s also featured as part of Waves Ultimate.

Scheps Parallel Particles

Scheps Parallel Particles

What is Scheps Parallel Particles?

The first thing to get out of the way when introducing you to this plugin is that, once you start using it, it’s likely to become a staple in your audio engineering diet. Grammy-award-winning engineer Andrew Scheps has been so kind as to essentially compact his entire professional parallel processing mixing chain into a simplified yet powerful plugin. You can slap this thing across a mix, or group bus and gain a swathe of mighty shaping possibilities that make any good sounding mix sound great.

What’s so good about Scheps Parallel Particles?

Basically, under the hood, this plugin is applying a mixture of different processing effects at each of its simplified macro parameter controls (Air, Thick, Bite and Sub). It was designed so you can apply some pro-grade character to a bus track without needing to do all the fine-tuning yourself. Even if applied as a complementary tonal tool to your personal FX chain, this thing gives you some sweet further coloration to different aspects of your audio that you’re unlikely to find elsewhere.

Where to try Scheps Parallel Particles

You can check out Scheps Parallel Particles here. Or, add it to your library as part of Waves Ultimate.

Manny Marroquin Tone Shaper

Manny Marroquin Tone Shaper plugin

What is Manny Marroquin Tone Shaper?

Here we have a unique approach to multiband compression, extremely useful for gaining some simplified, concentrated control over the dynamics of a track. This tool was designed by the master mix engineer Manny Marroquin himself, in collaboration with Waves. What makes it unique is, it’s intended to be applied as a parallel multiband compressor, with a simplified interface for quick tonal shaping. This sets it apart from traditional multiband units.

What’s so good about Manny Marroquin Tone Shaper?

The best thing about the Manny Marroquin Tone Shaper is its ease of use and quick application. It’s not meant to be used for traditional multiband purposes. Rather, the idea is to whack it on a parallel track – let’s say for your drums – and quickly shape the dynamic character of each band with ease and efficiency. The beautiful thing about it is the interface has been stripped of all the overwhelming controls usually featured on a multiband unit, and left with simplistic, minimalist parameters that anyone of any skill level can harness.

Where to try Manny Marroquin Tone Shaper

Manny Marroquin Tone Shaper is up for grabs from its Waves store page. It’s also featured alongside the entire Waves collection as part of Waves Ultimate.

Center

Waves Center plugin

What is Center?

Center is a nimble tool equipped for one niche task: regaining control over a ready-mixed audio track’s stereo and center image.

What’s so good about Center?

Let’s say you’re a mastering engineer, working with an amateur client who sends you a pre-master mix. But, there’s an issue: the stereo imaging is off. The low end is too wide, and the high end too narrow. Whack an instance of Center across this and gain instant access to the low, mid and high frequency bands with mid and side balancing controls for each. Problem solved.

Where to try Center

Learn more about Center’s on the Waves store. You can also find it in the Waves Ultimate subscription.

Linear Phase Multiband

Linear Phase Multiband plugin

What is Linear Phase Multiband?

On the surface, it might seem that Linear Phase Multiband can achieve the same thing as any other regular multiband compressor. However, that’s not quite the case. This artfully engineered plugin was designed with the sole intention of processing your dynamic bands without adding any artificial coloration or phase smearing.

What’s so good about Linear Phase Multiband?

So, why don’t all multibands come with this feature? Simply put, most multiband compressors are good enough for tight dynamic control throughout mixing processes. However, where Linear Phase Multiband shines the most is in a mastering chain. When we master our tracks, we want as much transparency as possible for extremely precise, incremental alterations. That’s what’s so good about Linear Phase Multiband. Not to mention it has five bands to use.

Where to try Linear Phase Multiband

Linear Phase Multiband is just one of many plugins included in Waves Ultimate. Alternatively, you can buy it as an individual plugin here.

Try them all with Waves Ultimate

Anyone subscribed to Waves Ultimate already has access to all these hidden gems and can experience them in their DAW today. To get access to all Waves plugins for a monthly fee, check out Waves subscription plans.

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