{"product_id":"crestwave","title":"Crestwave","description":"\u003cp style=\"font-size:1.15em;line-height:1.55\"\u003eA saturator you can trust. Three types, WARM, GRIT and CLIP, each running from inaudible to obvious on one DRIVE knob, with a live reading of how much it is adding to your track and a mark where colour turns into distortion.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 style=\"margin:2.2em 0 .6em\"\u003eColour you can measure\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eCrestwave adds harmonics: the extra tones above each note that make a sound feel denser, warmer or more present. Choose a TYPE, WARM, GRIT or CLIP, and turn DRIVE. Each type covers its whole range on that one knob: at the bottom you can't hear it, at the top there's no mistaking it, and in between it stays one character getting stronger rather than turning into a different sound halfway up.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA lot of saturation colours a sound before you've asked for colour, and gets louder as you turn it up, so more always seems better for the first few seconds. Crestwave opens clean, holds the loudness steady while you turn DRIVE, and shows you, as a number, how much it is adding and where that colour turns into distortion. That is where it starts, not where it stops: every type goes all the way to obvious, deliberate distortion when a part calls for it. The name is the job: a sound's crest factor is the distance between its peaks and its average level, and saturation narrows it, which is how a track gets denser without its peaks getting louder.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 style=\"margin:2.2em 0 .6em\"\u003eHighlights\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"border-top:1px solid #ddd;padding:.7em 0 .2em\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThree types, one knob each\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"opacity:.8\"\u003eWARM is tube-style and rounded, GRIT is transistor-style bite, CLIP is a clipper whose corner sharpens as you drive it. Each runs from inaudible to obvious on DRIVE.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"border-top:1px solid #ddd;padding:.7em 0 .2em\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eOpens clean\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"opacity:.8\"\u003eAt DRIVE 0 what comes out is exactly what went in, bit for bit. It opens at 12%, the setting you put on a mix bus and feel rather than hear.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"border-top:1px solid #ddd;padding:.7em 0 .2em\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eADDING, as a number\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"opacity:.8\"\u003eA live reading of how much harmonic content is reaching your track, with MIX counted: a copy driven hard and blended low adds far less, and the number says so.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"border-top:1px solid #ddd;padding:.7em 0 .2em\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eA mark where distortion starts\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"opacity:.8\"\u003eA red tick on DRIVE marks where the type you're on crosses from colour into distortion, at the line set by ear for each type: WARM 1%, GRIT 0.75%, CLIP 0.6%.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"border-top:1px solid #ddd;padding:.7em 0 .2em\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHOT, on purpose\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"opacity:.8\"\u003eHOT sets how far DRIVE reaches. Off, a full turn covers a little over half of each type's range; at 100% the same turn goes all the way. Reaching further is a decision.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"border-top:1px solid #ddd;padding:.7em 0 .2em\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFLOOR\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"opacity:.8\"\u003eKeeps the low end out of the saturation without removing any of it, from Off up to 500 Hz. Only what's above it is shaped; the lows rejoin untouched.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"border-top:1px solid #ddd;padding:.7em 0 .2em\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eJudge the tone, not the volume\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"opacity:.8\"\u003eAUTO GAIN takes the level rise back out as you turn DRIVE, so switching POWER compares colour, not loudness. It's right the moment you move the knob.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"border-top:1px solid #ddd;padding:.7em 0 .2em\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThe same setting on every track\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"opacity:.8\"\u003eCALIBRATE brings any track to one working level before the saturation and back after it, so a DRIVE you like on a quiet bass means the same on a loud drum bus.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"border-top:1px solid #ddd;padding:.7em 0 .2em\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e30 presets in six groups\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"opacity:.8\"\u003eMix Bus, Drums, Bass, Vocals, Guitars \u0026amp; Keys and Creative, each marked by where it sits: colour, or past the line.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003ch3 style=\"margin:2.2em 0 .6em\"\u003eThree kinds of saturation, one knob each\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eSaturation is what happens when a sound is pushed into a curve that bends: its peaks are rounded, and the bending adds harmonics, new tones above each note, that make a sound denser, warmer or more present. How the curve bends decides which harmonics you get, and that is what a type is. Each is voiced so that turning DRIVE from the bottom to the top sounds like one character getting stronger, not several sounds glued end to end.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4 style=\"margin:1.5em 0 .3em\"\u003eWARM \u003cspan style=\"font-weight:400;opacity:.6\"\u003e— Tube-style body and warmth\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/udidsp.com\/images\/crestwave\/type-warm.png\" alt=\"WARM: one cycle of a sine at DRIVE 30, 60 and 100%, and its harmonics at 3% added, the 2nd leading\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;border-radius:6px;margin:0.5em 0 1em\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt the gentle end it adds mostly the 2nd harmonic, the tone an octave above each note, which blends in as body rather than being heard as an effect. Pushed harder, the odd harmonics catch up and it thickens into a driven stage.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor low end, mix buses, and anything that should feel fuller without sounding processed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4 style=\"margin:1.5em 0 .3em\"\u003eGRIT \u003cspan style=\"font-weight:400;opacity:.6\"\u003e— Transistor-style edge and presence\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/udidsp.com\/images\/crestwave\/type-grit.png\" alt=\"GRIT: one cycle of a sine at DRIVE 30, 60 and 100%, and its harmonics at 3% added, the 2nd and 3rd together\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;border-radius:6px;margin:0.5em 0 1em\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIts curve reaches its ceiling more slowly, so the 3rd harmonic comes through as strongly as the 2nd, with more above them than WARM gives. It reads as edge and bite rather than warmth.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor parts that need to cut through: vocals, guitars, snares, the attack of a bass.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4 style=\"margin:1.5em 0 .3em\"\u003eCLIP \u003cspan style=\"font-weight:400;opacity:.6\"\u003e— A clipper that arrives gradually\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/udidsp.com\/images\/crestwave\/type-clip.png\" alt=\"CLIP: one cycle of a sine at DRIVE 30, 60 and 100%, flattening at the top, and its harmonics at 3% added, the odd series reaching high\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;border-radius:6px;margin:0.5em 0 1em\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIts corner sharpens as you drive it: rounded at the bottom of the knob, a hard edge at the top, so clipping arrives gradually instead of switching on at a threshold. Driven, it runs the odd series, the 3rd, 5th and 7th, up high.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor transients and loudness: shaving peaks, an 808's growl, a master pushed hard.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe top of each picture shows one cycle of a sine at DRIVE 30, 60 and 100%, HOT at 100%, each line coloured by what that setting adds, as the panel colours it; the dashed line is the input. The bottom shows the harmonics each type adds, in dB under the note, with all three adding the same amount, 3%, so the bars compare character rather than quantity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEach type has its own warning line, set by ear, where colour becomes distortion: WARM at 1% of added harmonics, GRIT at 0.75%, CLIP at 0.6%. Each carries a few dB of gentle compression as part of its character, linked across both channels so the stereo image stays put.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 style=\"margin:2.2em 0 .6em\"\u003eIts starting point is a sound you can't hear it on\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt DRIVE 0 Crestwave isn't there: the input, bit for bit, delayed only by the oversampling's latency, which your host makes up for. The 12% it opens at is colour you feel more than hear, and HOT keeps the whole turn of the knob in the gentler part of each type until you choose otherwise.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThree things on the panel answer how much you're adding, and they come from one measurement, so they can't disagree: the ADDING number, the red tick on DRIVE, and the heat scope, which colours your signal by what each moment adds to it. Below the line is colour; past it, distortion. Neither is wrong, and plenty of the best uses of a saturator are past the line, but you always know which side you're on.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/udidsp.com\/images\/crestwave\/panel-default.png\" alt=\"Crestwave as it opens, on a drum loop, the waveform steel and amber and ADDING well under the line\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;border-radius:6px;margin:0.5em 0 1em\"\u003e\u003ch3 style=\"margin:2.2em 0 .6em\"\u003eOne DRIVE setting, any track\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eA saturator reacts to how loud the signal is, so the same DRIVE on a quiet bass DI and a loud drum bus would normally be two very different amounts. CALIBRATE measures the track's level over a couple of seconds, brings it to one fixed working level before the saturation and undoes that exactly afterwards. It never changes how loud Crestwave is, only where the signal sits on the curve, and it holds its level through the pauses in a track rather than driving the next phrase harder.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe picture is measured: one drum loop played as mixed, 10 dB down and 20 dB down, through WARM at DRIVE 40%. With CALIBRATE off, the quieter the track, the less it is saturated: a tenth as much 20 dB down. With it on, the three stay together, between 1.2% and 1.6%. The figure under CALIBRATE on the panel shows the lift or cut it is applying now; it lifts by up to 18 dB and leaves silence alone.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAUTO GAIN works out the level change the saturation will make from the input rather than chasing the output, so there's no dip or swell while it catches up, and switching POWER compares colour, not loudness. The MIX knob's dry side is delayed to match the saturated side to the sample, so a parallel blend lines up and doesn't comb.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/udidsp.com\/images\/crestwave\/calibrate.png\" alt=\"ADDING for one drum loop at three levels, WARM at DRIVE 40 percent, with CALIBRATE off and on\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;border-radius:6px;margin:0.5em 0 1em\"\u003e\u003ch3 style=\"margin:2.2em 0 .6em\"\u003eHarmonics that stay harmonics\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eSaturation adds harmonics, and a hard curve adds them far above the audible range. Inside a plugin running at your session's rate, nothing above half that rate can exist: it folds back down as aliasing, tones no longer related to the note, heard as a grainy, metallic harshness. Oversampling runs the saturation at a multiple of the session's rate, so those harmonics have room to exist, and filters them away cleanly before the signal comes back down.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChoose Off, 2×, 4×, 8× or 16× in the menu. The default is 4×: it keeps even CLIP at full DRIVE and HOT, the hardest case there is, 73 dB clear of aliasing. 2× gets to 47 dB, 16× to 102 dB, and Off, with no latency at all, suits gentle settings, where there is little to fold back. With no audio playing, every setting costs almost nothing.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe menu holds two settings: PLAYING, what runs while you play and mix, and EXPORTING, what an offline export runs at — Same as Playing by default, or any setting, higher or lower. Play at 2× and export at 16× to mix light and render at the highest quality. The latency doesn't move when it switches, so the export lines up with what you heard.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLatency is set by this choice alone (with Exporting set apart from Playing, by the larger of the two), never by a knob, a TYPE or a preset, and reported to your host in whole samples, so its delay compensation lines everything up exactly: 49 samples at 2×, 61 at 4×, 59 at 16×, none with oversampling Off. The choice is saved with your session; a new Crestwave always opens at 4×.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe picture is that hardest case, measured: a 7 kHz tone through CLIP at full DRIVE and HOT. Every red line is an alias, a harmonic folded back to a frequency unrelated to the note.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/udidsp.com\/images\/crestwave\/oversampling.png\" alt=\"The spectrum of a 7 kHz tone through CLIP at full DRIVE, with oversampling Off and at 4x, aliases marked in red\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;border-radius:6px;margin:0.5em 0 1em\"\u003e\u003ch3 style=\"margin:2.2em 0 .6em\"\u003eA display that shows the heat\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe heat scope shows your signal as the saturation sees it, scrolling in from the right, with each thin slice coloured by what that moment adds to your track: steel where nothing is added, amber for colour, red past the type's line, white-hot at the very top. The peaks glow first, because that's where a curve does its work, and dashed lines mark the peak level at which this setting reaches the line.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBeside it are the ADDING gauge, the same number as a bar with the line marked on it; CORR, a mono-safety meter read on what leaves the plugin; and CURVE, the shape this setting pushes the signal through, drawn with the same maths the audio uses, with the last fraction of a second of peaks marked where they landed on it. Hide the display from the header and the panel gets shorter; nothing else moves.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 style=\"margin:2.2em 0 .6em\"\u003eWhich part is saturated, and what hits and time do to it\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe ADVANCED button swaps the CHARACTER card for four more, and everything on them starts off or centred, so opening the page changes nothing until you turn something. The display and OUTPUT stay where they are.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 style=\"margin:2.2em 0 .6em\"\u003eM\/S and TILT\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eM\/S saturates the whole signal, only its middle or only its sides, with the other part passed through untouched: measured, it matches the input to 145 dB below the signal, which is rounding. So you can put warmth on the centre of a mix without its width moving, or edge on the sides alone. TILT, ±12 dB about 1 kHz, decides whether the lows or the highs reach the curve first, and is undone afterwards, so it moves where the harmonics come from rather than the tone.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 style=\"margin:2.2em 0 .6em\"\u003eEVEN\/ODD and ENVELOPE\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eEVEN\/ODD leans the type toward the even harmonics, which read as fullness, or away from them; toward ODD the sound mostly gets cleaner. ENVELOPE makes each hit bloom for a moment, warmer and a little harder, then settle back, while a sustained sound is left alone.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 style=\"margin:2.2em 0 .6em\"\u003eDUCKING and PULSE\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eDUCKING takes DRIVE back while a hit plays, listening to the track itself or to a sidechain, so a kick's attack stays clean while its tail is saturated. PULSE moves DRIVE in time with your song, from 1\/32 to 8 bars or free in Hz, on a sine or a triangle. Both only ever take DRIVE away, so the knob and its red tick keep their meaning.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 style=\"margin:2.2em 0 .6em\"\u003eSpecifications\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"border-top:1px solid #ddd;padding:.6em 0 .2em\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eTypes\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"opacity:.8\"\u003eWARM (tube-style), GRIT (transistor-style) and CLIP (a clipper whose knee sharpens with DRIVE), plus a warning line for each, set by ear\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"border-top:1px solid #ddd;padding:.6em 0 .2em\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eOversampling and latency\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"opacity:.8\"\u003eOff, 2×, 4× (default), 8× or 16×, in the menu; set separately for playing and for exporting (Same as Playing by default); 61 samples at the default, 0 with oversampling Off. No knob or preset moves it\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"border-top:1px solid #ddd;padding:.6em 0 .2em\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSidechain\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"opacity:.8\"\u003eOptional, mono or stereo; keys DUCKING when its SOURCE is SIDECHAIN\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"border-top:1px solid #ddd;padding:.6em 0 .2em\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eOutput\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"opacity:.8\"\u003eMIX against the dry signal, with a padlock that holds MIX, IN and OUT through preset changes; IN and OUT trims, ±24 dB\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"border-top:1px solid #ddd;padding:.6em 0 .2em\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eParameters and presets\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"opacity:.8\"\u003e21 parameters, all automatable; 30 factory presets in six categories, plus Default\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"border-top:1px solid #ddd;padding:.6em 0 .2em\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLicensing\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"opacity:.8\"\u003eFree UDI DSP account, one-time online activation — no subscription, works offline for a week between checks\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003ch3 style=\"margin:2.2em 0 .6em\"\u003eCompatibility\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWindows: Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit. Plugin formats: VST3 and AAX.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003emacOS: macOS 11 (Big Sur) or later, on Apple silicon (M1 or later). Plugin formats: AU, VST3 and AAX.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eInternet needed once, briefly, to activate (a short browser sign-in). Day-to-day use after that works offline for up to a week between checks.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eValidated in Cubase Pro, Avid Pro Tools, Apple Logic Pro, Reaper, Waveform and FL Studio.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"UDi DSP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67728663675194,"sku":"crestwave","price":35.4,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0806\/2078\/1882\/files\/panel-main_20f53494-e91b-420a-9a3d-f461a2ffeede.png?v=1792391926","url":"https:\/\/udiaudio.com\/products\/crestwave","provider":"UDi Audio","version":"1.0","type":"link"}