ILLUGEN: Frequently Asked Questions
Learn how to create the best sounds from your text prompts, and get info about setup, data privacy, your credits and subscription, and more. For more in-depth info, see the ILLUGEN user guide.
Sound Creation & Prompting
There’s no single “right” way to write prompts-but a little creativity goes a long way. Every model works in different ways, but in general for better results, put intention in your text, make it yours.
If you’re looking to level up your prompt game or spark some fresh ideas, check out our Prompt Writing Tips. It’s packed with inspiration, examples, and guidance to help you get the most out of ILLUGEN.
ILLUGEN currently works in a 4/4 time signature only—requests for odd meters will likely still generate 4/4 loops.
ILLUGEN delivers sounds as 16-bit, 44.1kHz WAV files—standard quality for most music production and sound design workflows.
You can explore our Prompt Writing Tips to refine your phrasing, and if something really misses the mark, you can report it in-app to help us improve. You can do this directly from the app by clicking the three-dot menu next to the sample and selecting Send Feedback.
Not just yet. At the moment, ILLUGEN doesn’t support reworking or tweaking existing sounds through follow-up prompts. But we know how powerful that could be- so it’s definitely on our radar for future updates.
Nope- ILLUGEN is designed to keep things fresh. Even if you use the exact same prompt, the results will always be slightly different. You might get something similar, but never an identical sound.
If by chance you do get a near-exact repeat, it’s likely a rare glitch. Looking for more variety? Try rephrasing your prompt or adding a creative twist to spark new directions.
Not at this stage. Credits are used each time you submit a prompt. But once it’s processed, you’ll receive unique variations based on your input—automatically downloaded to your computer and ready to use however you like.
Yes, there are specific restrictions on the types of prompts you can submit to ILLUGEN. To maintain a safe and respectful environment, the following types of content are prohibited:
- Child Safety Violations: Any content that threatens the safety of children, including exploitation or abuse, is strictly forbidden.
- Illegal Activities: Prompts that promote or facilitate illegal behavior, such as drug trafficking or unauthorized surveillance, are not allowed.
- Violent or Hateful Content: Generating material that promotes violence, discrimination, or harassment against individuals or groups is not permitted.
- Harmful, Deceptive Practices or Political Manipulation: Using the service to deceive, impersonate others without consent, or engage in fraudulent activities is prohibited. Creating content intended to mislead voters or disrupt electoral processes is restricted.
These guidelines are in place to ensure that the platform is used responsibly and ethically. For a comprehensive understanding of these restrictions, please refer to our Terms of Use.
Prompts can be up to 150 characters long- no matter what language you’re using.
Yes, ILLUGEN supports multiple languages, though results may vary depending on the phrasing and clarity of the prompt.
Not really. ILLUGEN focuses on the meaning of the words, so punctuation and casing won’t usually change the outcome.
Not at this time. ILLUGEN is currently designed for generating sounds from text prompts only.
ILLUGEN does not currently support MIDI input or DAW sync. It’s a standalone tool focused on inspiration and audio creation. However, when generating loops, you can set the BPM to match your session tempo.
- We have added a new studio-grade sample creation engine that is far more accurate and has superb hi-fi quality
- Key lock – you can now add the musical key of your session and get samples in-tune
- Loop Length Control – you can now decide on the length of the loops generated
- Stereo Control – you can set the generated samples stereo width from mono to super wide
- Many more small features and minor adjustments
ILLUGEN Subscription & Credits
ILLUGEN is a subscription-based service that includes a set number of credits each month (depending on the precise plan you choose), with the option to purchase more credits if needed, whenever you want. (Note that you need to have an active ILLUGEN subscription in order to use your credits: see the following questions for more details.)
ILLUGEN prompts use 1-7 credits each, depending on the length of the sounds you want to generate and the model you choose.
Absolutely! All credits roll over from one month to the next.
Note that credits can be used only with an active ILLUGEN subscription. Your credits do not expire as long as you are subscribed to ILLUGEN, and even remain in your account 12 months after you unsubscribe.
Not necessarily! If you have an active ILLUGEN subscription, you can grab a one-time credit pack anytime. The extra credits will be added to your balance and stay there until you’ve used them (they will also roll over from one month to the next, just like the original credits that came with your ILLUGEN plan).
You can add any one-time credit pack to any ILLUGEN subscription plan. For example: if you have the BASIC subscription plan, worth 150 credits per month, you are not limited to the one-time 150-credit pack; you can add 150, or 300, or 600 extra credits, as you prefer. You can also get multiple extra credit packs at a time if you wish.
Credits do not expire as long as you are subscribed to ILLUGEN, and remain valid 12 months after you unsubscribe.
Note that if you have credits in your account but do not have an active ILLUGEN subscription, you will not be able to generate new sounds.
If your ILLUGEN subscription stays inactive for over 12 months, any unused credits will be permanently deleted.
Until then, your credits remain in your account. Just reactivate your subscription at any point within a year, and your credits will be ready and waiting.
Access to ILLUGEN is available only during an active ILLUGEN subscription. If you cancel your ILLUGEN subscription, your credits will remain valid for 12 months after cancelation. If you return within that time and renew your subscription, you’ll regain access to your full balance. After a year of inactivity, unused credits will expire.
Sure! The sounds you’ve generated are automatically downloaded to your computer and are yours to keep, regardless of your subscription status.
Credits are tied to your ILLUGEN account and can’t be transferred, sold, or shared with other users. They’re yours to use, and only accessible through your personal ILLUGEN subscription.
ILLUGEN relies on server-based processing, which requires consistent resources to stay up and running. A subscription model ensures we can maintain reliable performance and keep the engine available for you whenever you need it.
Yes. Waves Creative Access subscriptions (Ultimate, Essential) are plugin subscriptions, providing the most comprehensive collection of Waves plugins. Online services such as ILLUGEN and Waves Online Mastering are offered separately.
New ILLUGEN subscribers receive 1 month free when signing up. This offer is available for first-time subscribers only. If you’ve subscribed in the past and already received the previous welcome bonus in credits, you won’t be eligible for the free month again.
Ownership & Data Privacy
You own the rights to use the samples you generate with ILLUGEN in your own creative work—such as music, sound design, games, or films.
However, these rights are for usage, not for resale. You may not repackage or resell the samples as standalone sound libraries, nor use them to train other AI models.
For further info see all service terms.
No, you cannot sell ILLUGEN-generated samples as standalone products (e.g., sample packs, sound libraries, or stock sound effects).
You are free to use them within your own original works—such as music tracks, film scores, or game audio—but direct resale or redistribution of the raw audio files is not permitted.
Yes! You’re free to use the sounds you generate in commercial music, games, films, and more—just not for resale as standalone samples.
No, ILLUGEN does not collect personal or system-level data from your device. However, we do anonymously collect prompts and their results to help us improve the engine and better understand how it performs across different use cases.
Not automatically. But we do use prompts and results—especially when paired with user feedback (anonymously)—to guide improvements over time.
If you come across a sound you love (or don’t), sending feedback directly through the app helps us understand what’s working, what’s not, and how to make ILLUGEN even better.
Yes. Your prompts and sounds are stored in the cloud for six months, and you can access them anytime from the History tab—even if you’ve decided not to save them on your local machine. If you’d like to delete them, just head to the History tab, click the trash icon, and select what you want to remove. You can also “Select All” to remove all History.
Important: Once deleted, your files are permanently removed from our servers and can’t be recovered—so be sure before you hit delete.
Yes. Your prompts and generated sounds are stored securely and anonymously. You can delete them anytime through the History tab.
No personal information is tracked or shared. Only prompt data and results are collected (anonymously) to improve the engine.
If you come across any inappropriate or unexpected content, please report it. You can do this directly from the app by clicking the three dots menu next to the sample and selecting Send Feedback. You can also contact our tech support team, and they’ll pass your report to our developers.
Maintaining a creative and respectful environment is a priority for us—your reports help keep ILLUGEN a space for everyone to create freely and safely.
ILLUGEN’s model was trained exclusively on documented, legally owned material. Ethical AI development is a top priority for us at Waves Audio—we are committed to respecting creators’ rights and ensuring our training sources are properly licensed and documented.
Setup & Technical Details
ILLUGEN has the same system requirements as the latest version of Waves plugins. For full details and compatibility information, check our official System Requirements page.
All your sounds are saved locally in the ILLUGEN folder by default—but you can change that location anytime in the app’s settings.
We also keep a cloud backup of your sounds for six months, so you can revisit or re-download anything from the History tab. If you want to keep them forever, just back them up or download them locally before they’re cleared from the cloud.
Not at the moment. ILLUGEN needs an internet connection to run, since the sound engine lives on our servers. We also use your online session to manage your account and keep track of your credit balance.
Not right now. The model behind ILLUGEN is pretty resource-heavy—it needs serious power that most local machines can’t handle. For now, the only way to access it is through the ILLUGEN app, where everything runs smoothly on our servers.
ILLUGEN is currently a standalone desktop app, designed to run alongside your DAW. This gives you the freedom to create and drag in sounds from anywhere—without being tied to a single track or session.
Yes! You can use your ILLUGEN account on multiple computers. Just log in with the same account credentials. Please note that simultaneous use on multiple devices is not currently supported—you’ll need to be logged into one device at a time.