Vocal Compressor Plugin

[JD01]

OK, off the back of my previous thread I was thinking about getting myself a nice compressor plugin specifically for vocals.

In the past I tried the Antress modern plugins - I really liked the sound and simplicity of them but I could never get them to run in a stable way on my computers. Something to do with 32/64 bit compatibility I think.

I've ended up almost only using the Focusrite RED3 compressor and RED2 EQ. They're fine, there's nothing "wrong" with them exactly. They just don't add anything so I always end up adding a bit of extra saturation or other things to "warm" up my vocals. Was wondering if anyone has recommendations for a nice compressor to use on vocals that works nicely.

My usual vocal chain is: Hi pass with ReaEQ>Compress hard with RED3>EQ with RED2>Some form of overdrive>Delay if necessary.

[Lt. Bob]

I'm curious about this too.

I see the LA 2A plug ins and a lot of stuff like that which claim to have that sound.

I think I'd like to have that sound although I'm not sure what it is.
So do any of these actually do it.

And stupid bob ....... I had a real one of those ....... didn't know what to do with it and gave it away.

[Greg_L]

I hate to say it but I think the mic really matters with vocals. It matters with vocals probably more than it does with most other things. Maybe you can fudge it with EQ and compression but the mic is where the goodness happens with vocals IMO.

[JD01]

I hate to say it but I think the mic really matters with vocals. It matters with vocals probably more than it does with most other things. Maybe you can fudge it with EQ and compression but the mic is where the goodness happens with vocals IMO.

Yeah, I'm happy with my mic. I finally stumped up a bit of cash (by home recording standards for someone not called Tadpui) and bought a R0DE NT1. Made a huge difference.

[Lt. Bob]

I hate to say it but I think the mic really matters with vocals. It matters with vocals probably more than it does with most other things. Maybe you can fudge it with EQ and compression but the mic is where the goodness happens with vocals IMO.

What do you use?

Yeah, I'm happy with my mic. I finally stumped up a bit of cash (by home recording standards for someone not called Tadpui) and bought a R0DE NT1. Made a huge difference.

I have one of those ..... I like it.
I have 3 or 4 MXLs of various models and I just bought a cheap ribbon mic ( $47 bucks on sale at Monoprice) which I may be in love with.
It sounds very good on my sax so that's reason enough to like it but I'm thinking it may be good for vocals too . we'll see.

[Greg_L]

What do you use?

I use an AT4047.

The thing is I've used all of the usual budget mics, I've used the medium budget mics, high budget mics, and even gold standard unobtanium mics in pro studios. The better mics do sound better for vocals. They just do. I'm not a mic snob at all. I generally couldn't care less for drums and guitars. But for vocals the better mics do sound better.

[JD01]

I use an AT4047.

That's "pricy" but I wouldn't call that completely out of range for someone that's really into their home studio.
My R0DE was about £250.

[Greg_L]

That's "pricy" but I wouldn't call that completely out of range for someone that's really into their home studio.
My R0DE was about £250.

I bought mine used from a guy I know for I think about 200. Might have been 300. I can't remember. It was cheap though for what it is.

[JD01]

Oh, wow. That is good.

[CrowsofFritz]

I'm curious about this too.

I see the LA 2A plug ins and a lot of stuff like that which claim to have that sound.

I think I'd like to have that sound although I'm not sure what it is.
So do any of these actually do it.

And stupid bob ....... I had a real one of those ....... didn't know what to do with it and gave it away.

Look up Analog Obsession. He’s an independent plug-in designer that is giving them out for free. And they really do sound good. I’ve given him a donation here and there whenever I get one.

[Lt. Bob]

I'm curious about this too.

I see the LA 2A plug ins and a lot of stuff like that which claim to have that sound.

I think I'd like to have that sound although I'm not sure what it is.
So do any of these actually do it.

And stupid bob ....... I had a real one of those ....... didn't know what to do with it and gave it away.

Look up Analog Obsession. He’s an independent plug-in designer that is giving them out for free. And they really do sound good. I’ve given him a donation here and there whenever I get one.

I will do that tonight!!
And I'll give him some money

[JD01]

Look up Analog Obsession. He’s an independent plug-in designer that is giving them out for free.

Slightly ironic name for a plug-in designer, but I'm taking a look now.

Jesus... I'm looking through his Patreon site. It all looks a bit clever for me. I think I'll have to keep scrolling back to find something a bit more basic.

The CHANNEV looks like it could be the one VST I'd need on a vocal track. Haven't downloaded anything yet though. I can't quite work out what all the knobs on the EQ do from looking at the graphic.

Can someone explain how the EQ on this works.

CHANNEV.PNG

I get the mic pre with the hi/low pass.
Don't really care about the de-esser.
Its the EQ I don't understand the controls for.

I think the top left knob is the hi-pass, that's fine.
Bottom left looks like shelving, and you probably enable it by pressing the button to the left.
I can't work out what the middle four knobs do.
The three on the right is probably low pass and shelving, much like the 3 knobs on the left.

[CrowsofFritz]

The middle four knobs: top left is the frequency you can move the band around. Type right knob is the gain for the band. Bottom left is the same thing but a lower level frequency band. Bottom right is the gain for THAT band. I think the band width is fixed, so not too much control in that regard.

[JD01]

Makes sense. And obvious now you mention it. I'll have to just experiment to work out what the buttons do.
If I get chance I'll try and install this later today. I also want to install the Ozone mastering thing. I'll be fun to do some A/B using that mastering thing with my current approach and using this EQ with my current approach as this EQ seems to be all the things I do but in one plugin.

[CrowsofFritz]

Makes sense. And obvious now you mention it. I'll have to just experiment to work out what the buttons do.
If I get chance I'll try and install this later today. I also want to install the Ozone mastering thing. I'll be fun to do some A/B using that mastering thing with my current approach and using this EQ with my current approach as this EQ seems to be all the things I do but in one plugin.

Do you know what that EQ is modeling? He tends to model from vintage gear like an LA2A, Pultec, etc.

[JD01]

Makes sense. And obvious now you mention it. I'll have to just experiment to work out what the buttons do.
If I get chance I'll try and install this later today. I also want to install the Ozone mastering thing. I'll be fun to do some A/B using that mastering thing with my current approach and using this EQ with my current approach as this EQ seems to be all the things I do but in one plugin.

Do you know what that EQ is modeling? He tends to model from vintage gear like an LA2A, Pultec, etc.

No idea... and to a certain extent I don't give a shit what he's actually modeling, just how it sounds.

[CrowsofFritz]

Do you know what that EQ is modeling? He tends to model from vintage gear like an LA2A, Pultec, etc.

No idea... and to a certain extent I don't give a shit what he's actually modeling, just how it sounds.

If I had to guess what the one in the image is modeling, it’s probably a Neve, given the similarities in design.

[JD01]

No idea... and to a certain extent I don't give a shit what he's actually modeling, just how it sounds.

If I had to guess what the one in the image is modeling, it’s probably a Neve, given the similarities in design.

Yeah, that's what it looks like. I'm gonna give it a go anyway, as it looks like one VST that does pretty much everything.

[Greg_L]

Look up Analog Obsession. He’s an independent plug-in designer that is giving them out for free.

Slightly ironic name for a plug-in designer, but I'm taking a look now.

Jesus... I'm looking through his Patreon site. It all looks a bit clever for me. I think I'll have to keep scrolling back to find something a bit more basic.

The CHANNEV looks like it could be the one VST I'd need on a vocal track. Haven't downloaded anything yet though. I can't quite work out what all the knobs on the EQ do from looking at the graphic.

Can someone explain how the EQ on this works.
CHANNEV.PNG
I get the mic pre with the hi/low pass.
Don't really care about the de-esser.
Its the EQ I don't understand the controls for.

I think the top left knob is the hi-pass, that's fine.
Bottom left looks like shelving, and you probably enable it by pressing the button to the left.
I can't work out what the middle four knobs do.
The three on the right is probably low pass and shelving, much like the 3 knobs on the left.

I DL'd it to try it out. It's got a lot of settings. I find it sounds decent but it's pretty subtle compared to heavier EQ/compressors out there.

[JD01]

Slightly ironic name for a plug-in designer, but I'm taking a look now.

Jesus... I'm looking through his Patreon site. It all looks a bit clever for me. I think I'll have to keep scrolling back to find something a bit more basic.

The CHANNEV looks like it could be the one VST I'd need on a vocal track. Haven't downloaded anything yet though. I can't quite work out what all the knobs on the EQ do from looking at the graphic.

Can someone explain how the EQ on this works.
CHANNEV.PNG
I get the mic pre with the hi/low pass.
Don't really care about the de-esser.
Its the EQ I don't understand the controls for.

I think the top left knob is the hi-pass, that's fine.
Bottom left looks like shelving, and you probably enable it by pressing the button to the left.
I can't work out what the middle four knobs do.
The three on the right is probably low pass and shelving, much like the 3 knobs on the left.

I DL'd it to try it out. It's got a lot of settings. I find it sounds decent but it's pretty subtle compared to heavier EQ/compressors out there.

Cheers, I'll have a go myself in a bit. Did you wiggle the "drive" knob? What do you use anyway? One of the Modern Plugins?

I'm sure you know the sound I'm after - that very 90s warm compressed sound. I found the Modern compressors good for that but they just weren't stable on my machine.