How many mastering plugins is too many? Certainly not thirteen, the number of different plugins included in the new Waves Grand Masters collection. Each of these plugins is unique and special, and I love them all equally, just like Aston Barrett loves his 54 children.

The original Waves Masters collection features three of their best mastering-focused plugs:

• L2 Ultramaximizer
• Linear Phase Equalizer
• Linear Phase Multiband Compressor

To that, the Grand Masters collection adds ten more plugs:

• MaxxVolume (A quick maximizing tool)
• PuigTec EQP-1A (Based on John Joseph Puig's PulTec unit)
• PuigTec MEQ-5 (ditto the above)
• Waves Dorrough Meters - Stereo Edition
• Waves Center (a center channel / side channel tool)
• L3-16 Multimaximizer
• L3 Ultramaximizer
• L3 Multimaximizer
• L3-LL Ultramaximizer
• L3-LL Multimaximizer

The "LL on the last two plus stands for "Low Latency," as those two procecssors are intended for use on individual instrument tracks, in the mixing phase. Not really mastering tools, per se, but still useful.

The Waves Grand Masters collection is available in TDM ($4,200 US) and Native ($2,200 US) versions. Owners of the Waves Masters collection are entitled to a discounted upgrade.