#Using waves vocal rider pro#
#Using waves vocal rider professional#
#Using waves vocal rider free#

If thereвЂ™s an optimal way to set up this plug-in for noisy environments, we havenвЂ™t found it.

The end results are inconsistent levels that jump up and down unpredictably. Background noise simply requires too much fine-tuning and adjustment, and Vocal Rider Live often falls short of distinguishing between background noise and desired vocals. We donвЂ™t recommend using this plug-in as it just doesnвЂ™t work very well overall. Waves offers a variation of Vocal Rider aimed for use scenarios with considerable background noise. It works poorly, so we recommend avoiding this plug-in. Vocal Rider Live adds вЂњSpill ControlвЂќ to filter out background noise. There may be occasions where increasing the sensitivity is necessary, such as for very soft talkers, but most of the time you can leave this knob at the default 12 oвЂ™clock setting. YouвЂ™ll also notice the vocal sensitivity setting available to adjust how quickly output gain reacts the incoming vocals.

#Using waves vocal rider free#

In most cases, the slow setting sounds best, but feel free to use the fast setting if the levels are changing quickly and unpredictably. YouвЂ™ll see other options on the plug-in interface like the fast-slow toggle switch to adjust how quickly the plug-in adjusts the gain. WeвЂ™ve tried adjusting settings beyond this, but for well-recorded audio, itвЂ™s just about perfect once you set the target level. The red LED indicator lets you know if youвЂ™re clipping, so reduce the output gain if any clipping occurs. Move the center of the вЂњtargetвЂќ slider to the average incoming level, then adjust the output slider to add additional gain or to prevent clipping. We recommend using this plug-in at its default startup settings, only changing the input threshold вЂњtargetвЂќ and output sliders. Vocal Rider really works as though a sound technician were carefully listening for changes in audio level, and gently turning up and down the volume to keep the level consistent over time.

#Using waves vocal rider pro#

For those of you using Apple Logic Pro X, see our post about setting up the optimal compressor settings, then insert Vocal Rider after the compressor. Vocal Rider doesnвЂ™t replace a traditional compressor, unfortunately, but used in addition to a compressor results in remarkably smooth and present vocal recordings.

#Using waves vocal rider professional#

WeвЂ™ll be discussing it in Logic Pro X, but the same concepts apply using it in any other professional DAW, like Avid Pro Tools, Adobe Audition, or Apple Garage Band. Vocal Rider is available in various formats, including AU, VST3, and AAX, making it compatible with a variety of DAWs and video editing software. Your mileage may vary with vocal recordings in noisy environments, especially those with intermittent loud spikes and transients. Unfortunately, bleed from ambient sound may cause the output gain to rise and fall unpredictably. That said, we find that it also works well with vocals that contain low to moderate background noise, such as a recording through a lavaliere, a recording on location or in well-controlled live music scenario. Vocal Rider works flawlessly with vocals recording in a quiet studio environment with little to no background noise. Vocal Rider includes more variables specifically suited to vocal recording, that raise and lower the gain smoothly while preventing the noise floor from creeping up when the person stops speaking. By comparison, traditional compressors use simple binary logic to either raise or lower gain when the signal level exceeds a user-defined threshold. As a result, it doesnвЂ™t raise the gain during the natural pauses between words and sentences. Even better, it automatically resets to a neutral position when the incoming signal drops below a predetermined threshold.

The algorithm detects patterns for average loudness over time, and cleverly increases and decreases audio levels only as needed. The Waves Vocal Rider plug-in mimics someone moving fader moving gently up and down to compensate for changes in audio level. Its simple interface makes it easy to use and fits in with our ethos for creating great audio in the shortest amount of time.

We typically donвЂ™t recommend third-party plug-ins, but this particular plug-in is a workhorse and performs excellently for spoken and sung vocals.

One of our favorite tools for vocal postproduction is the Waves Vocal Rider plug-in.