What's the best DP/AU plug-in for vocal compression

blockbottom · Post by **blockbottom** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 11:13 am

New DP user getting ready for my 1st mixdown session i don't have any 3rd party plug-ins just stock DP & Apple's AU plug-ins. Need some advice on the best compressors to use for vocals (Dynamics, MW Compressor, PreAmp-1, AUDynamics Processor, AUMultiband Compressor, etc,) also any good presets. Thanks inadvance for any support.

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 5:35 pm

The best bundled compressor in general inside DP is MW. Using the three-band MW comp is very nice. With carefully placed x-overs, you can really sculpt the dynamics of the voice across the entire range.

The thing that determines what works best depends heavily on the type of vocals. Some things work better in some situations, other things work better in other situations. It's also very easy to dismiss a plugin when it doesn't work in one situation. I've done this before and decided that I hated a plugin-- only to find later that there were better uses for it.

Presets? They're only benchmarks, but they are good starts. You gotta tweak!!

In truth, I got to the point quickly where I knew I needed something beyond the realm of DP's starter effects, but even after picking up some third-party plugs, I still find the MW Comp is no slouch.

chamelion · Post by **chamelion** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 5:53 pm

This sucker is hard to beat!
http://www.waves.com/content.asp?id=124

Cheers,

Geoff

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 7:01 pm

chamelion wrote:This sucker is hard to beat!
http://www.waves.com/content.asp?id=124

Cheers,

Geoff

Oh, well if you wanna talk about third-party plugins, sure! Waves Ren is fantastic!

HCMarkus · Post by **HCMarkus** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 7:48 pm

If it doesn't crash DP, Waves Ren IS very nice. I am running sans Waves for awhile, as the crashing was driving me nuts! When it's time to mix, I will probably go loony,'cause I will NEED my Waves. I am seriously hoping MOTU and Waves get their act together sooner rather than later or never.

chamelion · Post by **chamelion** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 8:27 pm

HCMarkus wrote:If it doesn't crash DP, Waves Ren IS very nice. I am running sans Waves for awhile, as the crashing was driving me nuts!

Wow! That's strange. I've been using Ren Vox and Ren Comp for years, and never once have I had a problem. Anyone else had probs with them?

Cheers,

Geoff

Tritonemusic · Post by **Tritonemusic** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 9:11 pm

chamelion wrote:
HCMarkus wrote:If it doesn't crash DP, Waves Ren IS very nice. I am running sans Waves for awhile, as the crashing was driving me nuts!
Wow! That's strange. I've been using Ren Vox and Ren Comp for years, and never once have I had a problem. Anyone else had probs with them?

I've never had a problem, either. It's always worked perfectly for me.

Splinter · Post by **Splinter** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 9:16 pm

RenVox is an absolute monster for vocal compression. Hands down the best and crazy easy to use. RenVox is included in the Musicians II Bundle that you can pick up for like $150 dollars. It includes some staple plugs that blow DP's away. No problems here, but I'm running DP 4.61 with panther. There are known bugs, though, that Waves refuses to fix with DP but they never crash for me.

stickwolf · Post by **stickwolf** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 9:37 pm

The original question the fellow asked was what to use out of the stock plugins, not what to buy. Don't hijack this thread into a Waves discussion! Maybe FREE stuff would be suggested if you think there's a free plug as good or better than DP or Apple stock plugs. But c'mon, be respectful of the original question.

tommymandel · Post by **tommymandel** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 9:44 pm

i've gotten some cool effects using the 3 band limiter preset on the DP MW compressor plug-in. It's extreme but cool. . . if you look at the 3 graphs, they're all horizontal lines! Maybe duplicate the track and put this on one of them, and just blend it in to taste, to accentuate the enunciation. (clarity of the lyrics.)

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 10:25 pm

stickwolf wrote:The original question the fellow asked was what to use out of the stock plugins, not what to buy. Don't hijack this thread into a Waves discussion! Maybe FREE stuff would be suggested if you think there's a free plug as good or better than DP or Apple stock plugs. But c'mon, be respectful of the original question.

Understood, but c'mon-- MW is about as good as it gets in the box. AU comp is usable, but *best*? I hesitate to say. There's really not much more to choose from worth mentioning.

A quick glance at the DP forum would show the free plugins thread stickied. I'm just not sure that there is much there that is better than MW.

There is a free demo of Metric Halo's Channel Strip-- if it allows for saving, it's probably good for at least 2 weeks, which would be plenty of time to do several mixes.

http://www.mhlabs.com/metric_halo/produ ... nnelstrip/

Splinter · Post by **Splinter** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 10:38 pm

stickwolf wrote:The original question the fellow asked was what to use out of the stock plugins, not what to buy. Don't hijack this thread into a Waves discussion! Maybe FREE stuff would be suggested if you think there's a free plug as good or better than DP or Apple stock plugs. But c'mon, be respectful of the original question.

Actually, he never said he wasn't able or willing to buy new plugs, rather he wanted to know what was the best plug to use on vocals and after listing some of the stock plugs included an "etc..." which would indicate to me he is open to other options. I wasn't trying to "rob" a thread. I thought I was answering his question.

Resonant Alien · Post by **Resonant Alien** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 2:58 am

Of stock plugs, I'm with Frodo that MW Compressor is the best and most useful (not just for vox, but for anything). Don't like DP's other comps too much. Never tried the Apple stuff, but have heard it a'int bad.

Once you go 3rd party, then you got options, and then it depends on what sound you are going for. Certainly the UAD 1176 is top of the list for rock vox. LA2A and Fairchild are good for certain styles. I like the Sonalksis Comp for certain things.

chrispick · Post by **chrispick** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 3:07 am

Yeah, MW Comp is the best of the native jobbers. But you could do a lot better.

If your purchase ceiling is low, you might want to check out WaveArts TrackPlug or PSP MixPack. Both are pretty good and easy to use. You can test drive to see if you like them. I have a number of options at my disposal and still use these from time to time.

Resonant Alien · Post by **Resonant Alien** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 3:10 am

chrispick wrote:Yeah, MW Comp is the best of the native jobbers. But you could do a lot better.

If your purchase ceiling is low, you might want to check out WaveArts TrackPlug or PSP MixPack. Both are pretty good and easy to use. I have a number of options at my disposal and still use these from time to time.

Yeah, I forgot about TrackPlug - it is freakin' awesome, especially for $185 (audiomidi.com). Another great one for not much money is Metric Halo Channel Strip - $250 at audiomidi.com. PSP VintageWarmer is good on Vox also. I haven't tried MixPack.