I'n just the short period of time I've had The WOW Thing, it's made it onto just about every guitar or keyboard track in my work.

I'm still experimenting with different ways to use it, and actually find that I really like some of the phase tricks that can be done with it for effect when in parallel.

But what does it really do? Heck, I'm not really sure. I watched the promotional videos, and while I do understand what it's doing technically, I can't quite put into words what it's doing audibly. It's widening, but nothing like my other widening options. It's almost exciting the sound, but it's also not anything like any other exciter I use. It just adds some magic in all the best ways.

The WOW Thing seems to create width (without losing depth), and most importantly, whatever I slap it on seems to stand out more without being more up front, and without needing to raise levels. It really is perfect for guitars for this reason. We often need to make guitars louder than we'd like to keep our mixes rich and full, but sometimes it comes at the cost of losing some drum nuances in the ambient mics. With The WOW Thing, I'm more easily getting to have both.

I haven't used it on vocals yet, but will experiment on some backing vocals soon. I have however added it to aux tracks like EDM style drum layers in hybrid rock/electronic parts (think Linkin Park), and it really makes it easier to move the elements I add it to into their own spaces, so there's less sonic fighting for the limited real estate.

Who says you can't have your cake and eat it too?

PS: Years ago I worked at the Machine Shop in NJ while apprenticing with Machine (The Producer) and Will Putney, and I met Dan on two brief occasions. His attention to detail and his passion for fully understanding what he's working with lead me to try out some of these plugins. So far I am extremely pleased with my purchases. Puff Puff mixPass is stellar and has made it's way onto my current mix/master as well.