StressBox from the Magma series shapes musical tension with a single knob – compression to the right, expansion to the left.

When a track still feels flat despite EQ, compression and saturation, StressBox works on the emotion. Turned right, aggressive compression pulls the room sound forward for urgency and energy; turned left, expansion enhances transients, shortens reverb tails and creates a tighter, controlled feel. Automation lets you shape energy and contrast between verses and choruses, and like the whole Magma series, StressBox brings analogue colour.

Features

• Controls the tension and feel of any musical source
• One knob: compression to the right, expansion to the left
• Expansion for intimacy and tightness
• Compression for punch, urgency and size
• A musical tool with no technical skills required

Technical details

• Operating systems: Windows, macOS
• Plug-in formats: VST3, Audio Unit (macOS only), AAX
• Architecture: 64 bit
• Licensing: licence key, machine-bound or USB flash drive (via Waves Central)

System requirements

• macOS 14 Sonoma, 15 Sequoia, 26 Tahoe or 27 Golden Gate (Apple silicon or Intel)
• Windows 10 64-bit (version 22H2) or Windows 11 (Intel or AMD, x64)
• 16 GB RAM
• 30 GB free disk space on the system drive

The licence is registered with the manufacturer at https://www.waves.com/downloads/central. You will receive your serial number and the download link by e-mail immediately after purchase.