This article on using WavTool Bridge with Martinic plugins was written for the blog at Martinic. I repost it here with permission, and encourage you to check out Martinic’s awesome plugins! Also – notification: I sometimes use affiliate links. Some purchases may earn me a commission! 🙂
If you haven’t heard of WavTool yet, pause here and bookmark their site. WavTool isn’t the first browser-based DAW, but it sure is a cool entry into that growing area. The main thrust of WavTool is AI-assisted composing, audio generation, stem separation, audio-to-MIDI, and other generative AI tools designed to assist you rather than replace you. But WavTool also has one particularly cool feature that we wanted to point out.
With WavTool Bridge, you can use your plugins right in the WavTool workstation – and that’s a pretty big game changer.
So we thought we’d put together a short tutorial on how you can use Martinic plugins like Kee Bass, Lem Echo Music, or Scanner Vibrato right in WavTool’s online DAW – for free!
To experiment with this, I opted to start with the AX73 analog synth, because it’s 80s retro gold.
Getting Started with WavTool
First up, you need to get up to speed with WavTool, which should be a cakewalk (no pun intended) if you’re used to pretty much any DAW. WavTool comes in three subscription tiers, and the basic one is free, so it’s easy to get started. Just navigate to WavTool and click sign up to create a free account. You can use your Google account to log in for the quickest path.
Then hit the “studio” button on the top right of the browser or navigate to app.wavtool.com and you’re into the DAW.
You’ll see a DAW much like any other professional DAW. It’s a track-based system, and it’s easy to get started by hitting “add instrument track”. To learn the basics quickly, just follow along with WavTool’s “making your first beat” tutorial (also embedded right in the DAW screen, top right):
Getting the WavTool Bridge
WaveTool Bridge is an app provided for free by WavTool. It lets you include any VST or AU plugin in your WavTool projects, right in the browser DAW. The first thing to do is download WavTool Bridge. You can also get 5 free VST plugins while you’re at it!
Install the app and that’s pretty much all you have to do with it. When you run the app, it will just run in the background. If you install plugins in non-standard folders, you should find the app on the system tray/menu bar and click to edit your plugin search paths. If you just use the default path when you install plugins you can probably skip this step.
If you plan to use it regularly, you should add it to your startup process, since it doesn’t do that automatically.
Using Your Plugins WavTool
Once WavTool Bridge is running on your machine, you’ll have access to all your computer’s plugins in WavTool. Just make sure it’s running before you start WavTool. That means if you started by exploring WavTool first, you’ll have to exit, start WavTool Bridge, and come back.
Once the bridge is running, the library Window in WavTool should have a section called “Plugins and Devices”->VST & AU Plugins.
Before you can use the plugins, like any DAW, you’ll need to scan for new plugins. That option should appear right in that section. You only have to do that once unless you install new plugins.
If you’re having trouble finding the library, the easiest way is to click “add instrument track” (left window), and that will bring up the library. “Plugins & Devices” should be on a short list on the left side of that pane.
To add a soft synth such as the AX73, just double-click on it and a new track will be created, ready to go!
If you already have an audio or MIDI track and want to add a processing plugin like Colorsound Tremolo, just bring up the library by selecting your track (click next to the name) and clicking “browse instruments” at the bottom of the track pane – or hit “devices” on the right side of the chain editor (bottom pane).
Navigate to Plugins & Devices and double-click the plugin. The DAW will insert it into the audio chain. You can see and manipulate the audio chain in the bottom pane, very similar to how you would in Ableton.
Now Create!
That’s it! That’s all it takes to use your Martinic plugins in WavTool. It took me all of five minutes to get up and running to build a bitchin bassline and beat using AX73’s retro sounds.
Of course, you’ll still be limited by your computer’s resources and your internet connection when it comes to how many tracks and plugins you can deal with at once. But even so, having a cloud-based DAW that lets you open projects from any machine and use your plugin library is game-changing, to say the least.
So, get to work, and let’s hear what you create using Martinic plugins and WavTool Bridge!
I’m a producer and artist who loves all things production, writes for many trades, and can’t get enough of AX73, Kee Bass, and Scanner Vibrato. Talk to me about it all on social media @RecordingLikeMacGyver!
AND if you want to instantly improve your tracks without buying anything new, grab the 10x Your Tracks eBook!