No Hype: 7 Ways AI is Improving How You Produce Music

Published Jul 31, 2025

It’s hard to separate AI innovation from AI hype, but in this article, we’ll take you through all the benefits that artificial intelligence has brought to music makers.

No Hype: 7 Ways AI is Improving How You Produce Music

We all know how powerful AI can be but with so much noise and promises surrounding it, it can be difficult to separate what’s actually useful from what’s just marketing buzz. This article focuses on the real improvements AI has brought to music production with examples you can try yourself using plugins and tools found in the Waves catalog.

These aren’t experiments or half-baked features. These are fully fledged AI solutions that are improving studio workflows, enhancing creativity and removing technical barriers in music production today.

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1. Denoising Audio That Just Works

Noising audio recording

Removing noise from a recording used to be a trade-off. You either lost fidelity or spent hours tweaking settings only to still suffer some form degradation in the results. AI changed that. Our Clarity Vx plugins enable you to reduce noise with a single dial, giving clean results instantly with no artifacts.

Clarity Vx

It’s trained using neural networks that understand the difference between clean voice recordings and voice with unwanted noise, making it more effective than traditional gates or multiband noise reducers. For deeper control, Clarity Vx Pro and Clarity Vx DeReverb Pro give surgical precision over more complex tasks.

Clarity Vx Pro and DeReverb Pro audio restoration plugins

These tools allow producers to rescue problematic recordings that might otherwise be unusable, offering professional-grade repair on the fly. Whether you're cleaning up podcasts, vocal takes, or field recordings, the Clarity Vx range gives you full creative control without the technical headache.

2. Sample Browsing is Smarter

Digging through sample folders across multiple hard drives or searching through tag based libraries used to be a real time sink. COSMOS by Waves does away with that. It uses AI to analyze and categorize your entire sample collection, grouping similar sounds into intuitive clusters. You can find variations of a kick or discover something totally fresh in seconds.

COSMOS categorizes all your samples in one creative place

Originally designed to work alongside CR8 Creative Sample, COSMOS now works independently, bringing fast, intelligent sample discovery to any production workflow.

It eliminates the guesswork and frustration felt when producing with samples and turns browsing into a fun and engaging creative processing in of itself. Instead of settling for the first half-decent sound you find, COSMOS encourages deeper exploration and smarter choices with less friction and more fun.

3. AI and the Rise of Lyric Assistance

Writing lyrics to songs

Of course, this next example isn’t part of the Waves catalog, but it’s a growing trend that’s worth mentioning. Large Language Models like ChatGPT are increasingly being used to assist in lyric writing. Whether you’re stuck on a verse, need help rewording a chorus or just want a spark of inspiration, AI tools can offer surprisingly creative suggestions.

AI assisting songwriting

It’s not about replacing a songwriter or real genuine talent. It’s about giving music creators a helpful companion when ideas run dry. For beatmakers or instrumental producers who don’t always have lyric writing skills in their wheelhouse, these tools offer a quick way to experiment with themes and phrasing without getting bogged down in a writing process they’re not totally familiar with.

4. Create Original Samples from Text

Bespoke samples created from your prompts

ILLUGEN by Waves goes well beyond sample browsing, which as we mentioned earlier, is far easier than it was thanks to COSMOS. ILLUGEN instead generates entirely new, never-before-heard audio based on text prompts. Describe a mood, an idea, or even a scene and ILLUGEN will provide three custom samples ready to experiment with in your DAW.

This is a huge step forward from traditional sample search tools. ILLUGEN doesn’t find existing samples—it creates new ones tailored to your input.

Whether you're scoring, designing textures, or building beats, ILLUGEN is a versatile creative companion that puts an endless palette of new sonic possibilities right at your fingertips.

You can Try ILLUGEN with 30 free credits when logged into your Waves account.

5. Mastering is More Accessible

Mastering music

AI mastering has been around for quite some time and has matured a lot over the last decade, and the latest 2025 update to Waves Online Mastering represents a major leap forward in this field. Built on cutting-edge AI and trained with insights from top mastering engineers, Waves Online Mastering delivers consistent, release-ready results tailored to the demands of today’s genres and streaming platforms.

waves-online-mastering-ai

The process is simple: upload your stereo mix, make a few decisions in terms of mastering style and within minutes you’ll receive a professionally mastered track that has loudness, spectral balance, dynamic range and vibe all sorted for you. No presets, no guesswork, just clear sonic polish guided by intelligent processing.

AI-based online mastering isn’t about replacing human engineers, but about giving producers a fast, reliable and cost-effective option when deadlines are tight or budgets are limited. It’s ideal for finishing tracks quickly without compromising quality, whether you’re working on demos, or releases for indie or major labels.

6. EQ That Listens and Works With Your Content

EQ on a mix

EQ has always been one of the most important tools in music production but it can also be one of the most misunderstood. Knowing what to cut or boost, where to do it, and how much to use can at times be a guessing game, especially when your monitoring isn’t perfect or your ears are fatigued. Identifying problematic resonances, shaping tone and maintaining clarity across a mix are all essential, but rarely straightforward.

Curves AQ

That’s where Curves AQ comes in. This AI-powered EQ doesn’t start with you manually sweeping frequencies. Instead, it listens to your signal first, after which is analyzes the audio and suggests five tailored EQ profiles, each based on a deep-learning model trained on professionally mixed material. You then choose the most appropriate one and dial in your preferred blend of static and dynamic EQ from there.

By shifting the starting point from trial-and-error to informed suggestion, Curves AQ makes EQ work faster, more intuitive and more musical. You’re still in control, but now you’re working from a head start, letting the AI do the heavy lifting so you can focus on shaping the sound to match your creative intent.

7. AI-Driven Plugin Chain Search in StudioVerse

Searching plugin and track chain presets

StudioVerse Audio Effects lets you explore full plugin mix chains shared by other producers from around the world via the cloud. But, if you’re not sure what to search for, its built-in AI search feature can help. Instead of typing keywords or scrolling through endless lists, the AI can listen to your track and do the searching for you.

Just press the AI button next to the keyword search bar, play a section of your track (such as a piano part or vocal) and StudioVerse will automatically detect the track type and match it with relevant mixing chains designed specifically for that source.

This saves time, removes guesswork and helps you discover new creative directions without breaking your flow. Whether you’re producing vocals, synths, guitars, drums or full mixes, AI-powered chain search gives you smart starting points tailored to what’s actually in your session.

Try Out Today’s Innovations with Waves Ultimate

Waves AI music production solutions

Waves Creative Access gives you instant access to the full collection of cutting-edge Waves plugins, including all the AI plugins featured in this article. From powerful mixing chains and intelligent EQs to real-time noise reduction, everything is ready to go when you are.

Plus, Creative Access Ultimate users get free monthly credits for Waves Online Mastering, with even more credits available for annual plan users. And if you’re curious to try ILLUGEN, simply sign into your Waves account to get started with 30 free credits and begin generating your own custom samples straight from text prompts.

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