WaveShell acts as a single container or "wrapper" for all your installed Waves plugins.
This is the standard. VST3 is the third generation of Virtual Studio Technology developed by Steinberg. Why Use the VST3 Version? Vst Plugin Waveshell-vst3 9.91-x64 -vst3-
If you look in your VST plugins folder, you might see a file named WaveShell-VST3 9.91_x64.vst3 . When you load this in your DAW, it acts as a gateway. Inside this single file, Waves houses the code for dozens or hundreds of their individual plugins. Instead of having a separate file for every single compressor or EQ, they are packed inside this "Shell." WaveShell acts as a single container or "wrapper"
If your DAW cannot find your Waves plugins, it is likely because it cannot find the WaveShell-VST3.vst3 file. Why Use the VST3 Version
By building on the VST3 framework, it ensures plugins consume CPU processing power only when audio data passes through them.
Your DAW takes an unusually long time to start up and seems to hang while scanning "WaveShell-VST3 9.91_x64.vst3".