Complete software
Waves Dave Clarke EMP Toolbox is a plugin toolbox designed to produce, mix, and master high-energy techno and electronic music tracks. The goal is clear: work quickly, sculpt with precision, and achieve a powerful sound that holds up on powerful systems (clubs, festivals, studio monitoring), while maintaining a reliable reading of the spectrum and dynamics.
The bundle covers the key needs of a modern mix: reinforcing the low end foundation, adding character through tape-type saturation, controlling tone with musical equalizers, enhancing presence without harshness, and adding, if necessary, a creative effect dimension for tension and movement. It is suitable for individual tracks (kick, bass, synths, percussion) as well as the master bus, depending on the desired approach.
For styles where the low end is a groove pillar, the EMP Toolbox includes LoAir, a subharmonic generator designed to thicken the infra and the sense of weight. It allows reinforcing a bassline or kick without necessarily increasing the overall level, useful for preserving headroom before the limiter and keeping the low end clearer.
The bundle combines two complementary philosophies. On one side, the Scheps 73 offers vintage-character EQ, ideal for giving a tonal signature, thickening the mids, or adding air musically. On the other, the API 560 Graphic EQ favors quick and straightforward corrections: perfect for energetic EQ moves, tight adjustments on percussion, or color variations that need to remain immediate and reproducible.
Kramer Master Tape is designed to provide a sense of glue, density, and grain, useful for making a mix more solid and "finished." In techno, a touch of tape saturation can help stabilize level perception and create continuity between rhythmic elements and textures without overcompressing.
To highlight details (hat attacks, synth clarity, presence of a top kick), the EMP Toolbox includes the Aphex Aural Exciter, a classic solution to enrich high frequencies and add definition. Used judiciously, it improves clarity and the sense of "front" in the mix while avoiding simply boosting highs with EQ.
The Dorrough Stereo Meter serves as a "reality check" during mixing and mastering. It helps monitor level and stereo behavior, essential when aiming for a consistent sound on large systems and more modest listening setups. It is a decision-making tool: verifying what you are doing rather than mixing solely by ear in a single environment.
Techno also lives through modulation and evolution. MetaFlanger provides flanging effects capable of transforming a loop, widening a texture, creating transitions, and increasing the sense of build-up. On synth buses, percussion, or FX, it can become both a sound design tool and a mixing effect.
The EMP Toolbox includes artist presets and factory presets that serve as quick starting points. They are especially useful when chaining decisions in a remix workflow, preparing DJ edits, or finalizing alternative versions while maintaining sonic coherence.