WaveBandsA free inspector plug-in for Ableton Live and other VST3 hosts. Drop it on the tracks you want to compare, pick one as the reference from inside the other, and WaveBands shows you phase, frequency overlap, stereo placement, loudness and key, tells you whether the low end is adding up or cancelling, then lets you solo, boost or cut the exact bands you are hearing.
WaveBands is built around the questions you actually ask at the desk, and it answers each one in words as well as in meters.
Space plots every bit of energy by frequency and stereo position. With other instances on the spectrum and the crowd map on, the cells where two tracks collide glow, and the free runs are named.
Look at: Space with Crowd on, the Others chips, the linked cursor from the spectrum.
Put WaveBands on both, pick one from inside the other, and the low-end meter says whether they add up or cancel below 150 Hz, in dB and in words.
Look at: The Phase card: Main to Kick correlation and the low-end sum.
Snapshot the records you like, tick them all, and the spectrum draws the corridor between them. The verdict names the zones you stick out of and by how much; the Loudness card does the same as ranges.
Look at: Compare, All references; the envelope and the Depth strip.
Click any screen for full size. All at 1180 by 980, the default window; every panel can fill the window on its own.
Other tracks, saved references, and the whole set at once.
Where the energy is, where it sits, and where it fights.
Solo, boost and cut the exact bands you are hearing.
Loudness, phase, key and depth, each with a verdict in words.
The small things that make it live on every track.
Add WaveBands to both tracks. Name each one in the app bar so the other can find it.
On the bass, open Compare and choose Kick. The Phase card reads the low end of both and says whether they add or cancel.
Turn Crowd on in Space. Orange cells are fights; the free runs are named. Wheel to zoom in on them.
Play a finished record through WaveBands, press Snapshot, name it. Do it for a handful of records.
Under Compare choose All references. The spectrum draws the corridor and tells you where you stick out.
Light a trouble spot, flip Boost to Cut, keep Level match on so the comparison stays honest.
Version 0.8.0, released 10 September 2026. Install over the previous version; settings, names and snapshots are kept.
