New Music Gear Monday: Waves CLA Epic Delay/Reverb Plugin

One of the reasons why mixers prefer to use aux sends and return channels is the ability to send effects into one another. This gives your overall effects sound a thickness that you just can’t get from a single standalone effects plugin. Until now, thanks to the release of the Waves CLA Epic delay and reverb plugin.

The brainchild of uber-mixer Chris Lord Alge (hence the CLA moniker), CLA Epic incorporates 4 delays and 4 reverbs based on Chris’s personal hardware favorites. Not only does each one sound great in it’s own right, but the ability to cross-send makes this one of the most versatile effects plugins currently available.

A Lot Packed Into One Plugin

Epic is based around 4 specific delays – Slap, Throw, Tape and Crowd. The Crowd delay creates a series of increasingly longer delays that diminish over time to make the source richer and lusher. The Tape module provides two separate effects (Tap 1 and Tap 2) each with different time, sync, feedback and offset controls. The Slap delay features 3 EQ slopes that emulate the different standard analog tape speeds of 7.5, 15 and 30ips, while the Throw delay has similar controls to Tape, but its tap inputs can be triggered manually or with automation.

The 4 reverbs include the Plate, which is based on Chris’s go-to lead vocal reverb, with control over pre-delay, reverb time and low/high-frequency damping (RT). The Hall reverb is a classic effect, with the same controls as the plate but with a different EQ curve. CLA’s Room reverb sound is the result of several different reverb units sent together to the same bus, with pre-delay, reverb time and damping controls. Finally, Space is a non-linear reverb, with decay from 0.04 to 3.5 ms.

The Epic console features fader level controls giving you the ability to blend any or all of these effects together in a preferred balance. Each effect also has a Mute and Solo selector, as well as variable high and low-pass filters. On the left input side of the console there’s also a master mute section, which allow you to easily mute any of the 8 effects as needed.

Each delay as the ability to be used independently or routed into any of the reverbs. Each effect also has the ability to control the major parameters (delay, feedback, decay time, pre-delay) as well as some additional goodies that a specific effect might require.

Finally, there’s also the ability to add modulation to any of the effects, something that can improve the realism of the effect great if used in moderation, or completely over the top if needed.

And There’s More

CLA Epic also comes with a slimmed-down version called CLA EchoSphere which features only the Slap delay and Plate sounds from Epic.

The plugin comes with 50 presets from Chris himself, plus over 300 more by Greg Wells, Michael Brauer, and dozens of other top producers and engineers. It’s available for both Mac and PC and in just about any plugin format you can think of.

The Waves CLA Epic plugin is normally $199, but is now available for just $39, which is a major bargain. Find out more details on the dedicated Waves page or watch the video below.

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