Only for Black Friday Weekend! 🔥
My real-world test on drums and vocals
Yo Plugheads! Sheen here.
For this Black Friday weekend, Waves is giving away the Magma StressBox for FREE — so of course I downloaded it immediately and tested it inside a real session. In this article, I’ll walk you through what it does and how it performs specifically on drums and vocals, the two sources I personally tried it on.
⭐ What is the Waves StressBox?
The Waves StressBox is a one-knob dynamic shaper, super fast and easy to use:
- Turn left → EXPANDER
More transients, more movement, more openness. - Turn right → COMPRESSOR
More punch, more density, more Magma-style saturation.
It’s designed for speed, color, and instant results.
🥁 TEST — Drum Bus (personally tested)
The first thing I threw at the StressBox was my drum bus, and honestly, this plugin impressed me right away.
👉 Compression (knob to the right)
Instantly I heard:
- more punch
- more weight
- a fuller, modern low-end
Your drums become more aggressive and centered — perfect for trap, hip-hop, EDM, and any style where the drums need to dominate.
👉 Expansion (knob to the left)
With the expander, the drums opened up beautifully:
- sharper transients
- more breathing room
- improved groove and movement
It brings life back into loops and drum machines without sounding over-processed.
Final verdict on drums: plug it in, turn the knob, and it just works.
🎤 TEST — Vocals (personally tested)
Next, I ran the StressBox on vocals, and this is where its character really shows.
👉 Compression
On vocals, it’s aggressive, but in a useful way:
- more presence
- more attitude
- a gritty, in-your-face tone
It’s killer for rap ad-libs, hype layers, doubles, or any vocal that needs to cut through a busy beat.
👉 Use the Mix knob wisely
If you want something more subtle:
- keep the Mix low (20–30%)
- or run it in parallel
You get the attitude without over-coloring the track.
Final verdict on vocals: not transparent, but great when you want personality.
🎧 Final Thoughts
The Waves StressBox is fast, dirty, punchy, and absolutely made for modern production.
On drums and vocals, it gives you exactly the kind of character that helps a mix stand out.
✔ Punch on drums
✔ Presence on vocals
✔ Zero-thinking workflow
✔ And it’s FREE (but only this weekend!)
⚡ Download it now — Free for Black Friday only!
If you want to try it out, grab it now while it’s free.
I’ll update this article with the direct download link as soon as Waves releases it.
Happy mixing Plugheads —
Sheen 🎛️🔥
