Waves Parametric Convolution ReverbIR-

1, IR-L and IR-360

User’s Guide

Waves IR-1 software guide page 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................... 3
Overview .......................................................................................................................................................... 3
Managing Presets and IRs: The WaveSystem Toolbar.................................................................................... 6
Sampled Acoustics V2 ............................................................................................................................. 7
Virtual Acoustics - Devices and Synthetic .............................................................................................. 7
Import Impulse Response from File… .................................................................................................... 7
Import Sweep Response from File…....................................................................................................... 7
About the IR-360 ........................................................................................................................................... 11
IR-Series Controls and Displays .................................................................................................................... 15
About the IR-L ........................................................................................................................................... 15
IR-1 and IR-360 Controls and Displays..................................................................................................... 19

Waves IR-1 software guide page 2

Introduction
The Waves IR-1, IR-L, and IR-360 plugins create extremely high-quality replicas of
acoustical spaces and synthetic reverbs. They also allow the user to alter many aspects of
the sound of these reverbs.

For the purpose of this Manual, when discussing attributes shared by the Waves IR-1, IR-L
and IR-360 Parametric Convolution Reverb plugins, we will simply refer to them all as the IR-
series.

Overview
The Waves IR-series are convolution-based reverb processors. They give the user total
control of a reverb's properties. Impulse Response Convolution is the process of forcing a
certain acoustic signature on any incoming audio signal. An Impulse Response (IR) is
created by feeding a very short pulse (Impulse) into a linear system and measuring the
resultant output (Response).

Synthetic Digital Reverberation

Historically, most digital reverberation processors have used a synthetic reverberation engine
for high efficiency. This would usually consist of two reverberation generators:

• The Early Reflections Generator. This generator is based on a short Finite

Impulse Response (FIR) filter with less than 100 reflections. A short stage of
convolution is performed with this FIR.

• The Reverberation Tail Generator. This is based on a recursive Infinite Impulse

Response (IIR) filter. The IIR comprises a feedback loop with a decay factor andinner
dispersion filters. It makes the reverb more complex, less resonant, and more rich and
natural sounding.

The tail generator is efficient. It can generate a one-second reverberation time or a five-
second reverberation time using the same amount of processing power. Such reverbs usually
allow a great deal of control over the reverberation properties. These controls have become
classics. They include Reverb Time (RT), Predelay, Size, High and Low Frequency Damping,
and Diffusion.

Typically, the goal for using a reverb is to emulate the acoustics of natural spaces such as
rooms or halls, or to add "wet" reflections to "dry" sources for creative and aesthetic reasons.
Examples of these reverb processors include the Waves TrueVerb and Renaissance
Reverb.

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Sampled-Acoustics Convolution Reverberation

In math, the term convolution means an integral which expresses the amount of overlap
of one function x as it is shifted over another function y. In the literal sense, it means to
“roll together” or to “fold together”. A convolution reverb blends together an input signal
with another type of audio signal called an impulse response.

Sampled-acoustics convolution processors are a different type of digital reverb than the
digital reverbs that preceded them. They are much more calculation-intensive, but they
offer the ability to faithfully convolve any given impulse response with any input signal.

The Impulse Response (IR) of a certain reverb hardware setup or the acoustics of a real
space can be captured and imported into the sampled acoustics reverb. It will use the
Impulse Response as a filter consisting of thousands of reflections. The longer the IR,
the more intensive the calculation, and thus the more processing power that will be
required.

The result is that running a dry signal through a typical sampled acoustics reverb will
sound much like running it through the original device with the same settings, or like
recording the signal in the sampled space with a microphone setup similar to the one
used for capturing the acoustics. These reverbs usually offer very little control of the
reverberation properties and are essentially designed to faithfully super-impose the
sampled acoustics.

The Perfect Hybrid

The Waves IR-series plugins are designed to bridge the gap between synthetic digital
reverberation and sampled acoustics convolution reverberation. They provide a
convolution-based reverb processor with total control of the reverb parameters. The IR-
series uses the impulse response as raw material. This allows the user to process the
impulse response with controls that are similar to those offered in classic digital reverbs.

The process is power intensive. However, the manipulations performed on the impulse
response are calculated offline so that they don’t consume all of the CPU’s power.
Then they are applied by way of straightforward convolution.

The result is that you have the natural and high-quality sound of sampled space
acoustics as well as the controls to shape the sound to your needs. These manipulations
go beyond those offered in regular digital reverbs.

Waves IR-1 software guide page 4

The Impulse Responses

Another major part of the IR-series is the Impulse Response (IR) Library. The library
offers a set of high-definition IRs. Waves paid special attention to this part of the
product because it is the basic reverb sound of the IR-series reverbs. We established a
special recording setup and method specifically for IR recording. This method provides
exceptional signal-to-noise ratio, very low harmonic distortion, and a wide frequency
bandwidth (20Hz-32kHz). Thus, it offers optimal sonic depth and dimension.

This method for taking acoustical measurements was developed by Waves in

collaboration with Professor Angelo Farina of the University of Parma in Italy. The basis
of the acoustic capture method was documented and presented in the AES (Audio
Engineering Society) paper Recording Concert Hall Acoustics for Posterity. To see this
article, please check out the following link:
http://www.waves.com/objects/pdf/general/article_farina05.pdf

IR Library

The included IR library provides a comprehensive assortment of IRs and presets. The IR
library is very large (around 5GB), so it is not included with the plugin. Instead, you can
download it from the Waves web site.
To install the IR library, follow these steps:
1. Go to https://www.waves.com/downloads/ir-convolution-reverb-library
2. Click "Download Now" and select a download location.
3. Extract the downloaded zipped folder.
4. When the download is finished, click "follow these steps to install the library."
(https://www.waves.com/support/how-to-install-ir-reverb-preset-library)
5. Follow the steps to install the impulse files and the virtual acoustics files.
6. Start your DAW.

Waves IR-1 software guide page 5

Managing Presets and IRs: The WaveSystem Toolbar

Use the bar at the top of the plugin to save and load presets, compare settings, undo and redo
steps, and resize the plugin. To learn more, click the icon at the upper-right corner of the
window and open the WaveSystem Guide.

Loading Presets and IRs

To access the Presets menu, click on the down arrow in the middle of the Toolbar. The
menu is divided into several sections. Please refer to the WaveSystem User Guide to
learn more about managing presets.

Preset Menu

Preset Filing
Copy, Paste, Save as a User Preset, and Set current
preset as the Default Preset

Load a User preset

Factory Presets
Basic presets and IRs that are supplied with the
plugin. You can load and modify Factory presets, but
you cannot save them. "Save As" instead.

Import IR From File

Navigate to a file for import
Sampled Acoustics V2
Custom IRs of concert halls, opera houses,
cathedrals, studios and more
Virtual Acoustics - Devices
IRs from classic reference reverb hardware
Virtual Acoustics – Synthetic
Synthetically generated or pre-processed IRs
User Presets
A library of presets you created or imported.
Show User Presets Folder
Use this to edit your user presets

Preset Menu Details

Factory Presets
Factory presets reside in the folder "IR1Impulses V2."
Windows: C:\Program Files (x86)\Waves\Data\IR1Impulses V2
Mac: System HD > Applications > Waves > Data > IR1Impulses V2

Waves IR-1 software guide page 6

Sampled Acoustics V2
The presets in this section are based on samples of real places. You can add or delete
folders from this directory. Each time upon loading, the Plugin will scan the directory and
dynamically build its preset menu according to the folder hierarchy.

Virtual Acoustics - Devices and Synthetic

The Virtual Acoustics-Synthetic presets are synthetically generated and processed IRs. You
can copy the Devices and/or Synthetic folders into the IR1Impulses folder, and the plugin will
scan them upon loading.

Import Impulse Response from File…

The IR-series allows you to import your own IRs. You can sample them yourself,
download them from the Internet, or find them elsewhere.

Import Sweep Response from File…

The IR-1 and IR-360 allow you to import the Sweep Response that you record in an
acoustical space or hardware device. The plugin will then process that Sweep Response
into a new IR.

You can download a sweep here: https://www.waves.com/downloads/ir-convolution-

reverb-sweep-file

Follow these instructions to make your own IR:

- Play your sweep file supplied from the Waves website (a 15 second sweep followed
by 10 seconds of silence) through speakers in the room to be captured.
- Record the result with 1 or more microphones to 1 or more tracks.
- Create a new folder (We'll name it "My Sweeps") inside your "IR1Impulses V2".
folder, where the plugin searches for new IRs.
- Put your recorded sweep files inside your new "My Sweeps" folder.
- Load the IR-1 or IR-360; Press Import Sweep Response From File…
- Guide the browser to the "My Sweeps" folder.
- Load the .wav files one by one as you are prompted by the plugin.
- After some calculations, an Impulse Response .wir file will be automatically
saved next to your sweep files in the "My Sweeps" folder.
- To save this new IR as a preset, press Save, then select Save to New File.
- Navigate to the "My Sweeps" folder.
- Reload the IR-1 or IR-360; The new preset will appear in the load menu.
- Congratulations! You have created a new IR! You may now optionally delete the
recorded sweep files from the "My Sweeps" folder.

Waves IR-1 software guide page 7

Tips for Sampling an Acoustic Space
When sampling an acoustic space, a typical setup includes a multi-track recorder, an
amplifier and speaker to play the sweep signal into the space, and one or more
microphones (and mic preamplifier(s), if needed) to capture the sound.

Ideally, the speaker, amplifier, microphone(s), and microphone preamplifier(s) used should
be as transparent as possible, having flat frequency responses. A microphone of any polar
pattern will work, although we recommend cardioid or omni-directional microphones for
optimal results.

In most venues, the speaker that plays the sweep tone should be placed where the
performers would be; on stage in a concert hall, for example. The microphone should be
placed somewhere in audience area; naturally, a microphone placed closer to the stage will
capture more direct sound and less reverberation than a microphone placed in the last row.
Keep in mind that the presence of a full audience, as well as musicians or musical
equipment on the stage, will absorb sound and dramatically change the reverberation
quality of the acoustic space.

MEASURING VINTAGE PLATES, SPRING REVERBS OR ANY REVERB UNIT

The measuring procedure is quite similar to a normal voice processing (via the plate or the
spring unit). The difference is that we do not use an aux send. Instead we connect the output
of our sweep playback device directly to the plate or spring reverb device.
SET UP:
Connect the output of your source (Pro-Tools HD card, etc…) directly to the input of the
measured unit. As for the output of the measured unit, connect it directly to the recording
device (HD card, etc…)

Output source (HD card, etc.) ➝ Input of the plate.

Output of the Plate ➝ Input of the recording device (HD card, etc…).
SESSION:
Create two different channels. The first channel will be the sine sweep channel. We use a
simple sweep signal, which is a pure tone whose frequency is changed continuously from low
to high frequency. The second channel should record the wet signal, which we receive from
the plate reverb. If there is more than one setting on the unit please measure them all. For
instance, reverb settings (1-5), mono-to-mono, mono to stereo, and stereo to stereo.

Waves IR-1 software guide page 8

MEASURING HALLS, ROOMS

The measuring procedure of a venue is slightly different than that of measuring devices.
Measuring venues requires a larger setup, which includes a playback device, a microphone
and a loudspeaker. We can use the same session we were using for the device recordings,
only instead, we connect the output of our playback device to a speaker, and a microphone
should be assigned to the input of our recording device.

SET-UP:
Connect the output of your source (HD card etc…) directly to or through the mixing console
to the loudspeaker. For the input, connect the microphone cable directly to or through the
microphone pre amp to the recording device.

Output source (HD card etc…) ➝ Input of the speaker.

Microphone cable ➝ Input of the recording device (HD card etc…).

You can use a microphone of any kind, with any polar patterns. We recommend a cardiod or
omni-directional microphone. After deciding which microphone to use, set up the microphone
with the speaker located in front of the microphones, to achieve the best results.

MONO SESSION:
To make a Mono IR, create two different channels. The first channel will be the sine sweep
channel and should be assigned to the loudspeaker. The second channel should record
the microphone signal.

MONO TO STEREO SESSION:

Simultaneously record one speaker (Center) with the Left and Right mics.

FULL STEREO SESSION:

To create a 4 convolution IR, Record your Left speaker with the Left mic (LL) and Right mic
(LR). Then record the Right speaker with the Left mic (RL) and the Right mic (RR).

IR-SERIES PLUGIN CHANNEL COMPONENTS

The IR-series is available in several channel configurations as follows:

Mono to Mono: 1 convolution

Mono Mono
Convolution Output
Input

Waves IR-1 software guide page 9

Mono to Stereo: 2 convolutions: 1 left, 1 right.

Convolution Left
Mono Output
Input
Convolution Right
Outpu

Efficient Stereo: 2 convolutions: Left in to Left out and Right In to Right Out. This
component does multi-mono processing.

• With Efficient Stereo, the added control for input channel Crosstalk can keep the
channels separate, or sum the wet path input. This component is very practical for
stereo-to-stereo reverberation. It provides beautiful reverberation with all the depth
and dimension that you might need on an auxiliary stereo reverb.

Full Stereo to Stereo: 4 convolutions, Left Channel to Stereo, and Right Channel to Stereo.
This component presents a more purist approach to Stereo Reverberation than Efficient
Stereo, but will use twice the CPU.

Convolution Left
Output
Left Input

Convolution

Right Input Convolution

Outpu
Convolution Right
= Summing

Waves IR-1 software guide page 10

About the IR-360
The IR-360 is the surround sound version of the IR-1. IR-360 owners will also receive an
IR-1 included in the purchase.

Supported channel configurations of the IR-360:

Channel Configuration # of Convolutions

Mono to 5 Channel Discrete Surround processor 4 or 5

Efficient Stereo to 5 Channel Discrete Surround processor 4 or 5

Mono to 5 Channel Sound Field 3

Efficient Stereo to 5 Channel Sound Field 3
Full Stereo to 5 Channel Sound Field 6
Sound Field Surround to Surround 6
Efficient Discrete Surround to Surround 4 or 5

Diagrams of these channel configurations are shown below:

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Waves IR-1 software guide page 12
Waves IR-1 software guide page 13
Waves IR-1 software guide page 14
IR-Series Controls and Displays
The IR-series has a large main window with controls similar to those of a standard digital
reverb. Most of the values are displayed as a ratio of the nominal value of the original IR.
The IR-360 has the most adjustable parameters, followed by the IR-1 and then the IR-L.

About the IR-L

The IR-L is essentially an IR-1 with fewer adjustable parameters. It has the same high sound
quality as the IR-1. The IR-L can be upgraded at any time to an IR-1 or IR-360.

IR-1 and IR-360 users can skip to the following section labeled
“R-1 and IR-360 Controls and Displays.”

IR-L Graph

The IR graph shows dB level on the vertical axis and time on the horizontal axis. The
range of the IR display is from 0dB at the top to –90dB at the bottom.

The scroll bar on the bottom allows you to zoom in and out horizontally as well as scroll back
and forth. Note that while IRs are limited to six seconds in length, the window itself has a
maximum length of ten seconds.

Waves IR-1 software guide page 15

Reverb Time

The Reverb Time section includes these 4 parameters:

CONVOLUTION START: Range: 0 TO 1 second; Default: 0 seconds

The Convolution Start determines the starting point of the convolution process. It
enables you to remove unwanted pre-delay at the beginning of an IR.

CONVOLUTION LENGTH: Range: 0 seconds to 6 seconds; Default: Full

This control sets the length of the process filter. By default it is set to Full, which means that
the IR-L will convolve the input with the whole Impulse Response. However, if the IR is
longer than 6 seconds then it will be cut to 6 seconds. This will be indicated in the IR
Properties display. You can also set the Convolution length manually to be shorter than the
RT60 Reverb time which will save some CPU. This will make the Impulse Response stop at
some point down the slope, creating a “Gated” reverb sound. The default Full setting will only
use the amount of CPU it needs for the loaded IR, so there is nothing to gain by manually
setting it to 2 seconds for a 2 second IR.

RATIO: Range: 0.25 to 1.00; Default: 1.00

The Reverb Time Fader controls the Reverb Time Ratio. The resulting reverb time will be
the original RT60 multiplied by the ratio.

RT60: RT60 (Reverb Time, 60dB) is defined as the time it takes the sound pressure level of a
sound to drop by 60dB in gain once the source has been shut off. It is actually a slope factor.
RT60 is a term that is commonly used in building construction and architecture to describe a
room’s acoustic properties.

This field shows the reverb’s current RT60. It is the original RT60 multiplied by the Reverb
Time Ratio. To determine what the original RT60 is, set the Ratio to 1.00. The original RT60 is
calculated by analysis of the loaded IR.
The RT60 display is active only when RT60 may be computed on the IR. There is a
minimum IR length (about 100 ms) for computing RT60 as well as for activating the reverb
time ratio.

Waves IR-1 software guide page 16

DRY/WET CONTROL: Range: 0 to 100% wet; Default: 100% wet

This control sets the balance between the “Dry” signal and the convolved signal. A 50% Wet
setting is the “natural” balance point.
The IR-series lets you work either with the recorded Direct signal, or with the Dry signal (that
is, the unprocessed input to IR-1). When the Direct signal is turned off, and Dry/Wet is set to
50%, the Dry signal will have the same level and relative delay as the recorded Direct signal,
so the Dry will replace the Direct. This is useful if you do not want any coloration of the Dry
signal. When working with the Dry signal, it is generally recommended to turn off the Direct.

DIRECT: Range: ON/OFF; Default: Off This switches the direct signal on or off.
PRE-DELAY: Range: 0-500ms; Default: 0
This controls the amount of time that the entire IR is delayed.

LATENCY:

The IR-series does not declare any inherent latency. The reason for this is that the Dry path
goes to the output without any actual latency. The process, however, does have some
latency: 11.6 ms at 44.1, 10.6 ms at 48kHz, and 5.3 ms at 88.2 to 96kHz.

Since reverbs are commonly used in an aux send configuration and since most host
applications cannot compensate for the delay for plugin latency on auxiliary
sends/returns, the Wet path latency is shown within the plugin and regarded as a nominal
pre-delay.

Waves IR-1 software guide page 17

DRY: Range: 0-30ms; Default: 0ms

When working as an insert, the Dry latency control can be used to align the dry signal to the
wet signal or even to advance it ahead.

CPU MODE: Range: Full CPU or Low CPU. Default: Full CPU

This control allows you to select between Full CPU (Central Processing Unit) or Low CPU.
Low CPU presents an option to slightly compromise the resolution of the convolution
process while saving up to 45% of the CPU cycles (depending on the IR length and
Sample rate). The average savings is about 20%.

OFFLINE CALCULATION INDICATOR

Manipulating the impulse response to reflect new controls settings requires recalculation
of the whole impulse response. This calculation process can take up to several seconds.
While the impulse response calculation is taking place, the Reverb IR graph displays
“Calculating…” and the audio is muted. After the calculations are performed, the graph
updates and the audio un-mutes.

OUTPUT GAIN: Range: 0dB to –50dB; Default: 0dB

This controls the overall output level of the IR-1.

CROSSTALK : Range: 0.0 to 100.0; Default: 0.0

This control is only available in the Efficient Stereo component.

It controls how much Crosstalk is allowed between the IR-series’ input channels. When the
Crosstalk is 0.0 the process is multi-mono, convolving left to left and right to right.

When crosstalk is 100.0, the plugin will convolve a summed stereo input. The dry signal
is not affected, so the reverb will have elements from the left channel in the reverb of the
right channel and vice versa.

Waves IR-1 software guide page 18

IR-1 and IR-360 Controls and Displays
(IR-L users can skip this section.)

THE IR GRAPH

The IR graph shows dB level on the vertical axis and time on the horizontal axis. The
range of the IR display is from 0dB at the top to –90dB at the bottom. The display
incorporates an envelope curve (in orange). The scaling of the envelope curve is different:
its flat bypass point is two-thirds of the graph’s height and its range is from
+30dB to –60dB.

The scroll bar on the bottom allows you to zoom in and out horizontally as well as scroll back
and forth. There’s a Reset button on the right of the scroll bar that sets the window to its
maximum length. Note that while IRs are limited to six seconds in length, the window itself
has a maximum length of ten seconds.

Above the IR window are buttons for bypassing and clearing the envelope curve. Clearing
the envelope curve resets it to its flat point of 0dB (two-thirds of the graph’s height). To
the left and above the IR window is the Reverse button which flips the IR front-to-back.

Waves IR-1 software guide page 19

Reverb Time

The Reverb Time section includes these 4 parameters:

CONVOLUTION START: Range: 0 to 1 second; Default: 0 seconds

The Convolution Start control determines the starting point of the convolution process. It
enables you to remove unwanted pre-delay at the beginning of an IR.

CONVOLUTION LENGTH: Range: 0 seconds to 6 seconds; Default: Full

This control sets the length of the process filter. By default it is set to Full, which means that
the IR-series will convolve the input with the whole Impulse Response. However, if the IR is
longer than 6 seconds then it will be cut to 6 seconds. This will be indicated in the IR
Properties display. You can also set the Convolution length manually to be shorter than the
RT60 Reverb time in order to save some CPU. This makes the Impulse Response stop at
some point down the slope, creating a “gated” reverb sound. This gating effect can be
avoided by using the Envelope to make the IR fade out earlier. The default Full setting will
only use the amount of CPU it needs for the loaded IR, so there’s nothing to gain by
manually setting it to 2 seconds for a 2 second IR. RATIO: Range: 0.25 to 4.00; Default: 1.00

The Reverb Time Fader controls the Reverb Time Ratio. The resulting reverb time will be
the original RT60 multiplied by the ratio.

RT60: (Reverb Time, 60dB) is defined as the time it takes the sound pressure level of a
sound to drop by 60dB in gain once the source has been shut off. It is actually a slope factor.
RT60 is a term that is commonly used in building construction and architecture to describe a
room’s acoustic properties.

This field shows the reverb’s current RT60. It is the original RT60 multiplied by the Reverb
Time Ratio. To determine what the original RT60 is, set the Ratio to 1.00. The original RT60 is
calculated by analysis of the loaded IR.

Waves IR-1 software guide page 20

The RT60 display is active only when RT60 may be computed on the IR. There is a
minimum IR length (about 100 ms) for computing RT60 as well as for activating the reverb
time ratio.

Reverb Control Parameters

SIZE: Range: 0.25 to 4.00; Default: 1.00

The Size is a ratio of the original IR, and controls the dimensions and volume of the actual
room. This defines the traveling time of sound between reflections. The Size value will be
indicated in the IR Properties display.

REVERB DENSITY: Range: 0.25 to 4.00; Default: 1.00

The Density control is a ratio of the density in the original IR. Reducing density will usually
result in a more grainy sound; increasing density will usually create a thicker and smoother
sound. The outcome will vary according to the nature of the reflections in the original
reverb.

REVERB RESONANCE: Range: 0.25 to 4.00; Default: 1.00

Resonance extends or reduces any existing resonances in the original IR.

DECORRELATION CONTROL: Range: 0 to 100%. Default = 0%

The Decorr control increases spaciousness by increasing the Decorrelation between

channels.

You can use this control to make a stereo output out of a mono-recorded IR. To
achieve this, load a single-channel IR into a stereo or mono ‫ ד‬stereo plugin component.
Then, cancel the "import” dialog when the plugin asks for the second channel.

Waves IR-1 software guide page 21

DRY/WET CONTROL: Range: 0 to 100% Wet; Default: 100% Wet

This sets the balance between the “Dry” signal and the convolved signal. 50% Wet
setting is the “natural” balance point.

The IR-series lets you work either with the recorded Direct signal, or with the Dry signal (that
is, the unprocessed input to IR-1). When the Direct signal is turned off, and Dry/Wet is set to
50%, the Dry signal will have the same level and relative delay as the recorded Direct signal,
so the Dry signal will replace the Direct signal. This is useful if you do not want any coloration
of the Dry signal. When working with the Dry signal, it is generally recommended to turn off
the Direct.

Wet Properties

The Wet Properties section has separate on/off, gain and delay controls.

The IR-1 engine analyzes the impulse response loaded into it, and separates from it the
'Direct', 'Early Reflections', and 'Reverb Tail' portions. Each part has its own Gain and
Predelay value. All of these parts make up the original loaded IR. So, in order to use the
original IR in its pure state, all parts should be On and the Dry/Wet control should be at 100%
Wet. To use a specific IR as a reverb, it is recommended to turn off the Direct signal and use
the Wet/Dry control to reach the desired balance between source and reverb. In aux send
configurations, the IR-1 is best used with the Direct Off and 100% Wet (the default status).

Waves IR-1 software guide page 22

DIRECT SIGNAL

Please Note: The Direct signal is not the dry signal! The dry signal is the input signal to the
plugin.

The Direct signal is the direct arrival of the sound source to the listener, traveling the shortest
straight-line path between them. The Direct signal is the signal that was directly emitted from
the speaker and recorded by the microphone. It is the input signal convolved with the first
reflection in the IR. The direct signal differs from the Dry signal (that is, the unprocessed
input to the IR-1) since it includes the effects of air damping in the original room and the
transfer function of speakers and microphones used. For purist simulation of the sampled
acoustics, you should turn the Direct On, and set the Wet control to fully wet.

Since most of the time you will be using it as a reverb, the default setting of the IR- series
has the Direct signal Off. The idea is that in a reverb, it is more likely to use the Dry signal
rather than the Direct, especially when working in send mode. The Direct is not the Reverb
and therefore it is Off by default.

Note that IRs that are sampled from Reverb devices at 100% wet do not have a direct
signal. The IR-series is programmed to auto detect if a direct signal is available or not. If the
imported IR has no direct signal, then the direct signal On/Off control will be disabled.

In some cases, when importing an IR that doesn’t have a direct signal, the IR-1 may mistake
the first Early Reflection as a direct signal. In this event, the direct On/Off will be enabled
and should be turned On. Otherwise, you may loose the first Early Reflection of your IR.

If you reduce the “Direct Gain” to “Off”, it will only attenuate that parameter of the IR.
However, if you switch the Direct to “Off” by using its “On/Off” button, the Direct will be
completely cut from the beginning of the IR and the whole IR will be shortened and re-
aligned so that the wet signal is aligned with the latency (the IR will start with the true direct
arrival time). This enables the user to delete any unnatural pre-delay caused by the pre-roll
of the impulse response.

EARLY REFLECTIONS
The early reflections start at the first reflection after the Direct, and extend several tens of
milliseconds. They maintain their discrete echo sound. The IR-1 separates them by analysis
of the IR and you can still move the ER/Tail separation point using the ER/TR- X control.
Early reflections are mostly responsible for a natural-sounding room and the perception of
localization and distance.

Waves IR-1 software guide page 23

Sometimes shutting off the ERs or reducing their level vs. the tail level will leave a lot of
reverb but will sound less distant so that the signal sounds close and wet.

You can also apply different Predelay values to the ERs and Tail. Note that the division is
implemented by crossfade, so sliding the ER Predelay only slightly will produce some comb
filtering in the part that overlaps with the tail reflections. Turning the ERs off will result in the
reverb going straight to the Tail part, which will give less of the perception of a room sound.
This will sound less true-to-life, but that may be just what you are looking for.

REVERB TAIL

The reverb Tail is everything after the early reflections.

The Tail is the most diffused part of the reverb. The reflections are totally dispersed, and
the sound is like a smooth smearing of the input. It is the longest and most significant part
of the reverb and its decay. The Reverb Tail has a spectral damping signature that is
unique to each IR. The Tail can be used without Early reflections and you can also apply
negative Predelay to have it closer in time to the source.

DIRECT: Range: ON/OFF; Default: Off This

switches the direct signal on or off.

DIRECT GAIN: Range: 0.0dB to Off; Default: 0.0dB Direct

Gain controls the level of the direct signal. DIRECT PREDELAY:

Range: 0ms to 500ms; Default: 0ms

This controls the amount of time that the direct signal is delayed. Direct delay is bound by the
ER delay and cannot exceed it. When you apply separate gains or pre-delays to different parts
of the IR, automatic cross-fades are used by the plugin when needed.

ER: Range: On/Off; Default: On

This switches the Early Reflections On or Off.

ER GAIN: Range: 0.0dB to Off; Default: 0.0dB

ER Gain controls the level of the early reflections.

ER PREDELAY: Range: 0ms to 500ms; Default: 0ms

This controls the amount that the early reflections are delayed.

Waves IR-1 software guide page 24

TAIL: Range: On/Off; Default: On Tail
switches the reverb tail on or off.

Tail Gain: Range: 0.0dB To Off; Default 0.0dB Tail

Gain controls the level of the reverb tail.

TAIL PREDELAY: Range: -100ms to 500ms; Default: 0.0ms This

controls the amount of time that the reverb tail is delayed.

The Tail Predelay can be used to make the reverb Predelay longer but it is always in addition
to the inherent process latency and to any Predelay embedded into the original IR file.

In non-reverse mode you can take the tail backwards in time to overlap the ER. Shifting the
tail to negative Predelay values does not increase latency. Also, link mode must be off to shift
the ER tail backwards.

LINK: Range: On/Off; Default: Off

All elements have link controls so that all gains can move together as if in multi- selection.
When an offset is made, re-linking will preserve the offset and limit the range to the extreme
denominator.

LATENCY:

The IR-1 Plugin does not declare any inherent latency. The reason for this is that the Dry
path goes to the output without any actual latency. The process, however, does have some
latency: 11.6 ms at 44.1 to 48kHz and 5.3 ms at 88.2 to 96kHz.

Since reverbs are commonly used in an aux send configuration and since not all host
applications cannot compensate for the delay for plugin latency on auxiliary sends/returns,
we show the Wet path latency within the plugin and regard it as a nominal predelay.

When working as an insert, the Dry Latency control can be used to align the dry signal to the
wet signal or even advance it ahead up to 30ms.

Waves IR-1 software guide page 25

CPU MODE: Range: Full CPU or Low CPU; Default: Full CPU

This control allows you to select between Full CPU and Low CPU. Low CPU presents an
option to slightly compromise the resolution of the convolution process and saves up to 45%
of the CPU cycles depending on the IR length and Sample rate. The Average savings is
about 20%.

REVERSE: Range: ON/OFF; Default: Off.

This will simply reverse the convolution filter to create true reverse reverbs. All Predelays
become negative but continue to display and function normally. In Reverse Mode, you can
adjust the Convolution control to align the reversed IR with the dry signal. This is useful for
avoiding a slow ramp up of the IR resulting from the reversed slow delay of the original IR.

REVERB ENVELOPE

This control allows you to change the nature of the IR to achieve non-linear responses, such
as faster or slower decay, gated response or special creative gain manipulations.

The control has a gain line representing Time on the X-axis and Gain on the Y-axis. The line
can be edited to change over time. Double clicking adds and deletes points and dragging
them to a time and gain coordinate will create a curve that will alter the gain of the original IR.
The lines between points are always decaying exponentially and are indicated as a straight
line because the vertical scale is in dB.

Double Clicking an existing point will delete it. This is useful because some hosts will not
work well with the Delete button and will either delete items in the host or just ignore and not
pass the event to the IR-1 Plugin.

If you bypass the Reverb Envelope, you can make several adjustments without having to
wait for each change to calculate. When you enable the Reverb Envelope, it will calculate all
of the changes at once.

Waves IR-1 software guide page 26

Offline Calculation Indicator

Manipulating the impulse response to reflect the controls settings requires recalculation of
the whole impulse response. This calculation process can take up to several seconds. While
the impulse response calculation is taking place, the reverb envelope graph displays
“Calculating…” and the audio is muted. After the calculations are performed, the graphs are
updated and the audio un-mutes.

ENVELOPE BYPASS: Range: ON/OFF. Default: Off.

This control bypasses all Envelope manipulations and allows you to audition the IR without
Gain Envelope manipulations. This does not bypass any of the IR manipulations such as
size or density; only the Gain Envelope is bypassed.

CLEAR ENVELOPE

This control deletes all envelope points and resets the envelope to its default unity gain.

REVERB DAMPING

This section controls the relative reverb time of the high and low frequencies.
The Reverb Damping controls allow you to modify the Low and Hi Frequency decay times
of the IR relative to its overall Reverb Time.

The controls are grouped together in a line, immediately above the Frequency Response
graph. From left to right you’ll see the low frequency ratio and frequency value (Hz), then
the high frequency ratio, and frequency value (Hz). This arrangement allows for easy
modification of both Ratios at the same time, by shift-clicking them and dragging to change
values.

Please Note: The Ratios are relative to the spectral properties of the original IR. For
example, an IR (remember: it is the measured response of a real space) may have a long
low-frequency decay time, but the low-frequency ratio would indicate the number “1”. This is
different from synthetic digital reverbs which use these types of controls to define the
frequency response of a room’s reverberation. With a synthetic reverb, the low frequency
ratio would have to be greater than “1”.

Waves IR-1 software guide page 27

LOW FREQUENCY DAMPING RATIO: Range: 0.10 to 2.00; Default: 1.00

This control defines the ratio by which the frequencies below the Low Damping Frequency
will decay in relation to IRs general Reverb Time. Values of less than 1.00 are shorter than
the IRs Reverb Time, and values greater than 1.00 are longer than the IRs Reverb Time.

LOW DAMPING FREQUENCY: Range: 16Hz to 1600Hz; Default: 600Hz

This defines the frequency below which the Reverb time is controlled by the Low
Damping Ratio Control.

HI FREQUENCY DAMPING RATIO: Range: 0.10 to 2.00; Default: 1.00

This defines the ratio by which the frequencies above the Hi Damp Frequency will decay in
relation to the IRs Reverb Time. Values of less than 1.00 are shorter than the IRs Reverb
Time, and values greater than 1.00 are longer.

HI DAMPING FREQUENCY: Range: 1000Hz to 21000Hz; Default: 2500Hz

This defines the frequency above which the Reverb time is controlled by the Hi
Damping Ratio Control.

MORE ABOUT REVERB DAMPING

Damping is the frequency response of a room’s reverberation. This information is captured

in the Impulse Response. The total decay time of a room might be 2 seconds, but high
frequencies might have a decay time of 1 second. In this case, the high frequencies would
have one-half the total time. This can be expressed as a Ratio. For this example, the HF
ratio would be 0.5 (that is, 2 seconds multiplied by 0.5 = 1 second). A room with hard,
reflective walls, such as a bathroom with tiles, can have a HF ratio greater than 1, giving
longer decay times (and a very bright sound).

HF damping is the reduction of reverberation time at high frequencies due to absorption

of high frequencies by the air and absorption in the walls. Generally speaking, this high
frequency reduction in reverberation time is necessary to avoid a very splashy or sibilant
sound. The degree of HF damping actually changes in real rooms according to
furnishings, audience size, air temperature and humidity.

• Typical HF damping frequencies may be between 4 and 7 kHz.

• Very dry air increases HF damping. Stone walls, such as in many churches, give lessHF
damping than do wooden or furnished rooms.

Waves IR-1 software guide page 28

LF damping is the reduction of reverberation time at low frequencies, due to low frequency
transmission in the walls. Most rooms with solid walls have little low frequency damping. In
general, the reason for this is that a wall with more LF transmission has a greater level of
“noise nuisance” caused by bass sounds leaking out of the room and outside bass sounds
leaking into the room. If noise nuisance isn’t a problem, (and it won’t be in a virtual room!)
then LF damping increases the clarity of sounds, giving a clearer bass, especially on speech
and orchestral music.

• Many rooms actually have a longer reverberation time in the bass than at middle
frequencies. If you want some extra warmth, set the LF damping at slightly greater than
1.00x.

Reverb EQ

The IR-1 has a 4-band Paragraphic EQ section with a Low Shelf filter, 2 Bell-Shaped filters
and a High Shelf filter. All 4 bands have a variable Q that controls bell bandwidth as well as
overshoot resonance for the shelves.

The EQ section operates on the Wet signal only.

LOW SHELF FILTER

• Gain: Range: –24dB to +12dB; Default: 0
• Frequency: Range: 16Hz to 1600Hz; Default: 100Hz
• Q: Range: 0.71 to 1.41 Default: 1

LOW BELL-SHAPED FILTER

• Gain: Range: –24dB to +12dB; Default: 0
• Frequency: Range: 16Hz to 1600Hz; Default: 301 Hz
• Q: Range : 0.26 to 6.50; Default: 1.28

HIGH BELL-SHAPED FILTER

• Gain: –24dB to +12dB; Default: 0
• Frequency: Range: 1000Hz to 21000kHz; Default: 1200 Hz
• Q: Range : 0.26 to 6.50; Default: 1.64

Waves IR-1 software guide page 29

HIGH SHELF FILTER
• Gain: Range –24dB to +12dB; Default: 0
• Frequency Range: 1000Hz to 21000Hz; Default: 5006 Hz
• Q: Range: 0.71 to 1.41; Default: 1

OUTPUT GAIN: 0dB to –50dB; Default: 0dB

The Output Gain controls the overall output level of the IR-1.

ER BUILDUP: Range: 0 to 150ms; Default: 0ms

The Early Reflections Buildup allows control of the buildup slope of the early reflections. It
determines a transient (abrupt) or smooth attack for the early reflections. The control is
effective only when the Direct control is set to Off.

ER/TR-X CROSSOVER: Range ±100ms; Default: 0ms

This control allows you to modify the time reference point that splits the Tail Reflections (TR)
from the Early Reflections (ER).

When using the IR library, this control will get its nominal value from the IR properties.
When importing a user IR, the IR-series will attempt to define the crossover point
automatically.

When you load an IR, the plugin attempts to locate the Direct signal, Early Reflections (ER),
and Tail Reflections (TR) automatically, so that they can be manipulated separately.

Waves IR-1 software guide page 30

In natural IRs, there is no distinct delineation between ER and TR; the definition of where
the best ER/TR-X crossover point is subjective. The user is allowed to modify the
automatic decision of the plugin by using the ER/TR-X control, in milliseconds, relative to
the automatic crossover point.

In IRs where the direct signal is not found, the Direct Gain and Predelay become
disabled.

If the direct signal has already been removed by the user before importing an IR, or if the
source of the IR is not acoustically natural, and the direct path is not a part of it, then the
plugin may detect the first early-reflection as direct.

In that case, the user should make sure that the Direct On/Off button is On. In some cases,
if the IR is too short or if its behavior is not acoustically natural, the plugin may fail to detect
the Direct, ER, or Tail as separate parts.

This is typical of small rooms or spaces with a reflective floor. The direct signal and the ER
cannot be separated, theoretically, since the first ER arrives before the direct path response
terminates. They appear as mixed in the IR. In such cases the plugin presents the best
separation, possible, but the direct would appear to include some reflections.

CROSSTALK : Range: 0.0 to 100.0; Default 0.0

This control is only available in the "Efficient" components.

This controls how much Crosstalk is allowed between the IR-series’ input channels. When
the Crosstalk is 0.0 the process is multi-mono, convolving left to left and right to right.

When Crosstalk is at 100.0, the plugin will convolve a summed stereo input. The dry signal
is not affected, so the reverb will have elements from the left channel in the reverb of the
right channel and vice versa.

Waves IR-1 software guide page 31

IR-360 Controls:

These Controls are exclusive to the IR-360:

FRONT/REAR BALANCE: Range: Front to Rear; Default 50.0

The Front/Rear Balance control determines how much of the reverb is going to the front vs.
the rear speakers. For instance, if the control is set to 65, then 65% of the Reverb will be put
in the front speakers and 35% will be put in the rear speakers.

PRE-DELAY OFFSET: Range: 0 to 80ms; Default: 0

This control adds a time delay to the reverb on the rear speakers. It can create an
effect similar to that of a digital delay plugin.

OUTPUT METERS VIEW: Range: -30 to 0 dB

These meters show how much total signal (combined wet and dry) is going into each surround
channel.

Waves IR-1 software guide page 32

LOADING AND MANAGING IMPULSE RESPONSES

Loading Impulse Responses

The IR-1 presets menu is the same menu used in all Waves plugins. Use
“Open preset file…” to load a Waves setup file *.xps. Use “Import Impulse Response from
WAV...” to import IRs either from standard .wav files or from Waves Impulse Response (.wir)
files.

Under “Factory Presets” you can select “IR-1 Full Reset…” to load the default IR, “Hall - 1”,
by choosing “Impulse Response and Reset”. This loads the IR and resets all plugin settings
to the factory defaults. You can also choose to load just the default IR by choosing “Impulse
Response”. This leaves all other parameters unchanged.

Full Reset sets the plugin to a flat setting that allows for auditioning the original Impulse
Response, with two exceptions:
• The Direct On/Off switch will be set to “Off”. To audition pure convolution, youwill
need to set it to On, unless the control is disabled.
• The Wet/Dry slider is untouched by the Full Reset factory preset. To auditionpure
convolution, make sure it is set to 100% Wet.

Note that for most studio work, you should use the IR with auto-removal of its acoustic
direct portion (set Direct to Off) and with the dry signal replacing the acoustic direct.

The next three factory presets: Room – 1, Studio – 1, and Plate – 1 are from the Waves basic
IR library. This IR Library is available with any install of the IR-1 plugin.

Most Factory Presets offer two load options:

• Impulse Response and Reset

• Impulse Response

The first option will load the IR and reset all parameters to their default state. The latter will
load the selected preset’s IR into the current setup, automatically applying the current
parameters to the newly loaded IR.

Again, you can audition the pure convolution using the original impulse response by loading
the “IR-1 Full reset" factory-preset (or the "Impulse Response and Reset" option in each IR
sub-menu), and setting Wet/Dry to 100% wet and Direct On/Off to On.

The Impulse Responses supplied with the IR-series include the product’s basic IR set and
two downloadable IR Libraries. This gives you more than a Gigabyte of Impulse
Responses with 32-bit 96kHz quality.

The IR library is installed into the Waves Plugins folder in a sub-folder called IR1Impulses.
The Impulse files are stored in a proprietary Waves format and use the extension .wir (Waves
Impulse Response). The .wir files cannot be opened in normal Audio Editors, but they can be
imported into the IR-1.

Waves IR-1 software guide page 33

Saving Impulse Responses

The Save operation will always save all data: Control Settings, IR properties and a
pointer to the IR file. This is true whether saving to a new file or to a user preset.

The impulse response data is stored in a .wir file, separate from the IR-1 .xps preset file.
The .xps preset file contains the file name of the relevant .wir file. A complete preset is
valid only if the related .WIR file is found. In the event that the .wir file specified in the
preset is not found, a dialog box saying: “Please locate: Filename” opens. You can
browse and navigate to the file, point to a different file, or cancel.

Canceling returns to the plugin without loading a setup and will show a message “IR was
not loaded”. Pointing to a different file will load that file in place of the one saved with the
preset, and a note on the IR Graph “Different IR loaded to preset” will be displayed.

Importing Impulse Responses

You can import IRs in .wav and .wir formats (supported bit-depths: 16, 24 and 32- floating
point, with sample rates between 44.1kHz and192kHz). The plugin will automatically sample-
rate convert the IR to the sample rate you are working in (session sample rate is 96kHz
maximum).

Note: an imported .wav is not saved. If you want to move your session to another system,
you will need to include in your backup any IRs and .wav(s) you need for the session.

When importing IRs the IR-series will normalize loud peaks to –12dB. If the imported IRs
peak is lower than –12, then no normalization will take place, and the IR will be imported as
is. The –12dB norm is applied in order to allow some headroom for the expected peak
growth and clipping that will occur when convolving a hot signal with a hot IR. This may still
prove to be too high, especially when importing IRs that do not have a Direct signal. In this
case, it is recommended to scale the IR level using the Direct/ER/Tail gains. A
recommended approach is to try to reach the point where the perceived loudness of the
fully wet signal is similar to that of the fully dry signal.

Depending upon the channel component of the plugin, IR-series will expect a certain number
of channels to be imported. If you select an IR with fewer channels than expected, for
example loading a stereo file to the IR-series Full Stereo (4 convolutions), the result will be
another dialog box saying, “IR requires 2 more channels. Please select a file.” You can
create some wild sound effects by loading in completely different impulse files.

If the user chooses to cancel rather than open more files, the IR-series will use what it has
and multiply it for the missing channels. The IR-1’s graph screen will show the following
message: “IR was loaded using fewer files”.

Waves IR-1 software guide page 34

IR Info and Properties

IR Properties are stored in the IR-1 presets and are loaded along with the IR. Some of the
properties are fixed and are shown in the top left pane (IR info) of the display.
Properties that can be modified using the Plugin’s controls are displayed beneath the fixed
properties section (IR properties).

The IR info pane shows:

• Name – Name of the location.
• Type – Location type i.e. Concert Hall, Theatre, Opera House, etc.
• Date – Date the location was measured.
• SR – Sample rate of the IR and the sample rate of session you are working in.
• Country – Country of the sampled location.
• City – City of the sampled location.
• Emitter type – Playback loudspeaker used in the measurement of the location.
• Receiver Type – Microphone used in the measurement of the location.
• Source Location – Where the emitter was placed in the location (i.e. Stage.)
• Mic Location – Where the microphone was recording i.e. 5th row, seat 24.
• Dimensions – The dimensions of the location in meters.
• Full Path – Shows the full path to the loaded IR file of the current setup.

The IR properties pane shows Original and Current (manipulated) values for:
• Convolution – length of the convolution filter for the current IR. The output lengthmay
differ from the input length due to one of the following reasons:
1. Convolution user control gating (i.e. lowering the Convolution control shortens
the length of the IR, thus “gating” it and saving CPU resources)
2. Sample rate conversion upon import
3. The imported IR is longer than 6 seconds
4. IR manipulations (reverb-time, resonances, size, etc.).
• RT60 – the decay time value in seconds according to the RT60 standard
• Channels – the number of convolution used vs. the number channels of
convolution provided in the IR file
• Size – the size of the location in cubic meters
• Distance – the distance of the source from the receiver in meters
For imported IRs, the IR properties (Distance, Size, and RT60) will remain blank if the information is
not available, and will display "NA" when the value is not applicable.

Waves IR-1 software guide page 35

 NOTES ON “FLAT POINTS” OR UNITY GAIN SETTINGS FOR CONTROLS

• For Reverb controls having a ratio scale of 0.25 to 4 (Reverb Time, Density,
Resonance, Size) the flat point is 1.
• For Reverb controls having a percentage scale of 0% to 100% (Decorrelation,
Crosstalk, Dry/Wet), the flat point is 0%.
• Predelay reverb controls (Direct Predelay, ER Predelay, Tail Predelay, ER/TR-X,
Dry latency) have a flat point of 0
• Flat point for Direct/ER/Tail gains and switches is 0dB with all switches “On”.
• For Full-CPU/Low-CPU, the flat point is Full-CPU.
• In the Gain-Envelope graph, the flat point is obtained by using the Gain
Envelope
• Bypass control or by using the Gain Envelope Clear control.
• In the Damping Filters section, set the ratios to 1 for the flat point.
• In the EQ filters section, the flat point is obtained by setting all bands to Off, orby
setting all the gains to 0dB.
• You can set the flat point of any control by option-clicking (Mac) or alt-clicking(PC)
on that control. The only exception is the Wet/Dry control. Opt or alt- clicking the
Wet/Dry control sets it to 100% (but the flat point is 0%).

NOTES CPU ABOUT OPTIMIZATION

Here are a few points to use in order to increase performance, sorted by priority:

BUFFER SIZE: This doesn't compromise any aspect of audio quality. Thus it is the first
place the user should try to optimize system performance. A buffer of 512 is optimal.
Lower buffer sizes will increase the peak CPU consumption. Higher Buffer sizes may
reduce the average CPU consumption, but the peaks will be similar.

Beware that not all hosts have friendly default buffer settings. In fact, ASIO host users use
small buffers for lower latency, as do people who use virtual instruments.

Waves IR-1 software guide page 36

CPU MODE SWITCH

The CPU Mode switch at the top left allows switching to low CPU mode. This can cut peak
consumption by a third. This mode gives excellent results, and the quality difference will be
negligible for most applications. It is not the purist path, but it is a fine way to convolve the
original sample with good accuracy.

COMPONENTS

Efficient Stereo consumes the same amount of resources as the Mono to Stereo, and about
half of what the Full Stereo consumes. While it presents a compromise on the purist natural
reverb, the overall sound quality isn't compromised in any way, and it is often a more
practical choice. You may like Efficient Stereo as much as the Full Stereo in most cases.

CONVOLUTION LENGTH

You can set the convolution control to a shorter time. While the compromise is obvious
(shortening the Reverb Tail decay time or gating it at a certain level where it would naturally
continue to decay), please note that the noise floor in IR-1 is around –92dB to
-106dB, and there is no compromise in sound quality.
The original convolution length shows in the IR properties display. Sometimes shortening by
a bit presents negligible compromise on sound and meaningful savings in CPU, but the
savings is in steps.
In other words, while not every millisecond will free some CPU, every 100ms should. You
can get great results by using a shortened convolution length and using the envelope to
smooth the slope so that it doesn't sound gated. On continuous material it
sounds like the rich reverb that it is, and it is a “mix-friendly” optimization. It is important to
distinguish between Reverb Time RT60 and Convolution length. The ear is more sensitive to
the slope at the higher gains, so while shortening RT60 will sound like a smaller reverb,
shortening the Convolution length will simply sound less linear at the lower IR gains.

Waves IR-1 software guide page 37