Waves IR-1 VST

Have a home studio. Amateur songwriter, do it all myself.
Before now, did all hardware. But I've checked out vst's for about 5 years to keep up with what's going on.
Been recording/multitracking for 20 years.
Got an Athlon AMD 3000Ghz with 2GB RAM.
I record on hardware and import the wav files for finishing to the PC.
Interested mostly in reverbs, but for the price of an IR versus a bundle, I got the bundle.

It's easy to use. Not easy to install. Well, authorize. The software installs, but you got to do either hardware or Ilok install (a dongle basically UPS) The advantage of the Ilok is that you have authorization that you can take between computers. If you lose your Ilok, your screwed. But you can buy 30 dollars a year Ilok insurance. If you use it for your home computer and never move, you probably won't need it. If you go around to many computers, the Waves costs is in the 100's so 30 a year won't kill you. As to the WUP, it's basically an upgrade option. You have 1 year, and must purchase the WUP to keep getting new upgrades. It's a little less than 150 a year to do this. If you don't want to upgrade, you just keep what you got. You CAN transfer your license to other hardware. It's a slight hassle, but you can. Email Waves Support if you have questions. The other person here giving low marks on the WUP is overdoing it a bit.
Look, if you buy Windows, maybe you get upgrades for free, sure. But think of upgrades to this software after a year as a new OS, like XP to Vista. So you pay an upgrade fee. Not ideal, but other reverbs upgrade for a while, then STOP upgrading and make a new product. Waves KEEPS their product and makes you pay for upgrades. Take your pick. Don't pay, keep your's as it is, what's the whining all about?
I give the 8 for ease of use only for authorization. You gotta READ and follow the steps, or else you'll be emailing support to finish up. It could be a little less confusing, yes. But the Ilok is the only way to make them money. Don't blame the Software Company. Blame the Crackers who rip and distribute this software, and the people who use that software and NEVER pay the company for it's continued use. It's like blaming the city for Red Lights cause people don't wait paitiently at an intersection all by themselves. It's a necessary compromise. (no, I don't work for Waves)

There ARE Reverbs that sound a little more realistic IF you buy the IR-1 by itself. There is Audio Ease's product. And the IK Classik. BUT, with Waves, you can buy the IR.x as a bundle and save lots of money and get lots of plug-ins. If you're looking JUST for Reverb ONLY, then check around. BUT if you want MANY plug-ins AND want a top notch reverb, then look into the IR by Waves. Do you need the IR-1? Well, if you bought this by itself, and will NEVER buy anything else, look around. IF you bought this as a bundle with it's simpler version the IR-L (for Light) that has less variables to change, but is the same engine for Reverb, then you can upgrade to the IR-1 IF you really need the variability. Then it's a bargain, cause you got the Bundle with lots of other stuff. 9 other plugins for say the Native Power Pack. So it can be a bargain. And it sounds WAY professional to me. You wouldn't actually think comparing this to other plugins of the same cost that this is terrible. Only that it's different. REAL mixers/masterers of music use multiple plug-ins/Reverbs anyway. I didn't find this disappointing at all. Why? Cause I checked it OUT before I bought it. Imagine doing your homework before griping about a product?

By itself, it's not worth the price UNLESS you really need the ability to control room dimensions etc that the IR-1 has over the IR-L. But the IR-1 does give you control other Reverbs don't if you do get it. I recommend getting the IR-L with a Bundle. THEN upgrading when it's on sale to upgrade.
Also, try out the Demo. Read the reviews. Try it out A/Bing it against others (I'm sure new plugins will come out after my review)
I like that you can get new Impulses (settings of reverbs, usable to any type of similar reverb) that can mimic any room or hall on earth. Each instance of the plug-in uses 7-10 percent of your CPU on my computers configuration (see above). So use it as a side-chain. Not on EVERY track.

I have been a performing musician for about 20 years now, and have had some form of home studio for about 15. The last 5 years has been computer based.
I run Sonar for tracking/mixing, Sound Forge for Mastering, and have many 3rd party effect plugins: Waves Platinum bundle, Waves IR1, PSP Vintage Warmer, BBE, Sonitus, etc...
Waves software has been the least "bang for buck" software with the poorest customer support, and they actually charge you fees to continue using thier software.

Warning: Many pro users are BOYCOTTING Waves. Please read the following to ensure you don't get screwed by this unethical company.
The real deal breaker is: the WUP (Waves update program) !! Check this out. When you first purchase Waves software at it's outrageous price... You don't actually own it. If your harddrive crashes one year later, and your WUP has run out, you can not re-authorized your hard disk (Waves copywrite protection). Now they don't even support disk authorization, and you have to purchase an ILoc key... Nevertheless Wave's won't even talk to you if your WUP has run out. You will have to pay a WUP fee (mine was over $300) to get your already purchased software to work.
If anything happens to your ILoc key, and your WUP has run out, you're screwed. You have to pay the WUP fee again to get a new key authorized. Even if you have your original sales receipt, and have paid several other WUP fees.
This is just unethical. BOYCOTT WAVES !!!

Not bad, but there are many other impulse reverbs that are just as good or better. After paying for the over-hyped, over-priced Waves software, I found out about many other softwares that performed better, with better customer support, at a fraction of the price.

If the good Lord would allow me to go back in time, I would not waste my money on Waves software, only purchase from vendors like the ones listed above, and spend my several thousand dollars savings on packaging, website enhancements, dog food, anything but mediocre software from a dishonorable company like Waves.