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.
Happy mixing Plugheads —
Sheen 🎛️🔥