Waves Bass Rider

Waves Bass Rider - Automatic Bass Level Control Plugin | The Invisible Hand of Mixing, Keeping Your Bass Rock-Solid

In any modern piece of music, the bass is undoubtedly the soul of the foundation. However, perfectly mixing bass is an extremely challenging task. The physical properties of low frequencies make them difficult to reproduce and hear accurately across different playback systems. Even minor volume changes can cause the bass to disappear or become too prominent in the mix. Many engineers resort to heavy compression to solve this problem, but this often sacrifices the note's attack, tone, and sustain, making the sound flat and lifeless. Manually drawing volume automation can preserve dynamics, but it is extremely time-consuming and difficult to achieve perfect precision.

Now, you have a smarter, more efficient choice. Waves Bass Rider is a revolutionary mixing plugin that automatically controls the gain of your bass, keeping it stable at your set target level for consistent volume from start to finish. This tool is not a traditional dynamic compressor; it doesn't process the audio's dynamics, thus fully preserving the bass's original, pure sound quality and dynamic details. Whether you're working with live performance recordings or studio productions, Bass Rider provides perfect bass volume automation, achieving unprecedented level balance and making your mix's foundation as solid as a rock.

Core Advantages & Use Cases

Create a Balanced Bass for a Better Mix
Even subtle volume fluctuations can make the bass lose its presence in a complex mix. Bass Rider continuously monitors your bass track and instantly, automatically raises or lowers its volume to keep it consistently at your specified target level. This means listeners will experience a stable and clear low-end foundation on any device.

Automatically Achieve the Perfect "Touch" of a Pro Musician
Not all bass players have the precise, stable "touch" of a professional, which can lead to inconsistent volume from note to note in a recording. Bass Rider effectively compensates for this by automatically balancing the level of each individual note, making the overall bass sound smoother and more even, allowing it to sit better in the mix.

Preserve Bass Dynamics, Say Goodbye to Over-Compression
Mixing engineers often rely on compressors or limiters to solve bass volume issues, but this type of processing tends to crush valuable musical dynamics. With Bass Rider handling the heavy lifting of level balancing, you can use compressors more subtly—purely for their unique tonal character rather than as a volume correction tool, all while fully preserving the dynamic range of the bass performance.

Not Just for Bass, Tame All Low-Frequency Elements
Bass Rider is meticulously optimized to perfectly handle all types of bass—whether it's electric, acoustic, synth, or upright bass. Moreover, its applications extend far beyond that. It performs exceptionally well for stabilizing the volume of a kick drum or for conditioning a guitar signal before it enters an amp simulator to ensure a consistent input level.

Advanced Optimization & Intelligent Control
Bass Rider features an intelligent ignore function, allowing you to set it to disregard sounds you don't want processed, such as string friction or noise. Additionally, when working with live recordings of a miked amp or upright bass, you can configure Bass Rider to suppress spillover and leakage from other instruments, ensuring precise processing.

Tech Specs

• Plugin Formats: VST, VST3, AU, AAX Native, AudioSuite
• Supported Sample Rates: 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 88.2 kHz, 96 kHz, 176.4 kHz, 192 kHz
• Channel Processing: Mono-to-Mono, Stereo-to-Stereo
• Latency: Varies depending on the host application's settings and sample rate; some processing latency exists due to the lookahead feature.
• System Requirements (Mac): macOS Catalina 10.15, Big Sur 11, Monterey 12, Ventura 13, Sonoma 14 (Supports Intel & Apple Silicon)
• System Requirements (PC): Windows 10 (64-bit), Windows 11
• CPU: Intel Core i5 / AMD Quad-Core or higher
• Memory (RAM): 8 GB RAM or more recommended
• Screen Resolution: 1280x768 or higher recommended
• Authorization: Online activation via Waves Central or transfer to a USB flash drive