So far I have tried a number of fx chains in via ProChannel and have been very impressed in (1) what they do and (2) how easy it was to use them. Also, it was great to see that feedback is given for chains that referenced (1) non-existing (on my PC and/or in my scan path) and (2) problematic plug-ins.
Guitar Rig 4 does not trigger the Missing Plug-in placeholder dialog box. Thank's to scook's very handy VST Inventory program, I located Guitar Rig 4 and 5 (3 was already scanned and registered) and copied the dlls to an existing folder in a scan path. That was followed by a manual plug-in scan (w/o a reset). FX chains referencing Guitar Rig 4 worked. I still need to find my activation codes and do proper installations though, to get them out of demo mode (if I want that).
Cakewalk Boost 11 Vst Plug In
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To alleviate confusion, go through the plugins one-by-one and just delete the FX Chain presets (there is a folder with them) that reference missing plugins. Without the reference plugins, they aren't of much use, since it is very hard to replace the plugins if you don't have a reference installation with the original plugins included.
What makes this more confusing is that the FX Chain will load, and the project will play, as if everything is okay. You don't realize the FX Chain is broken until you either open it and see the (Missing Plugin) or try to open that plugin to adjust parameters.
ALso, it's hard to build many FX Chains from the included plugins, because they don't ship much beyond basic plugins with the DAW (Sonitus:FX, 2 Channel Strips, a Tube Leveler, a Limiter and some ProChannel Modules). SONAR Platinum would have shipped with like 25+ Plugins (or so).
VX-64 Vocal Strip, which is a "swiss army knife" multi-processor oriented toward vocals that includes a de-esser, a doubler, a compressor/expander, a tube eq with saturation, a delay (with filter), and tube saturation on the input and output stages. The 5 modules can be routed in any order. Obviously these tools may be used on many sounds other than vocals. This is a very useful plug-in.
This will give you a list, in the middle pane, of enabled VST2 plug-ins. That's fine, but we are not interested in that for now. Down below, under Manage Exclusion List, click the button next to Show Excluded. This will change the list to show excluded VST2 plug-ins.
There is history behind the "excluded" plug-ins. This was discussed some time ago when the subject originally came up. The "4 hidden treasures" are dlls that provide the functionality for the Style Dials. There is no guarantee the full versions of the old Boutique Suite plug-ins will be used in the future. Given there status, if one uses them outside of their intended design, it might be a good idea to bounce the tracks that use them so there is no project dependency that may fail some time in the future.
Another great thing about LoudMax is that it still receives updates on a fairly regular basis. The updates often include performance optimizations and improvements to the limiting algorithm. It will work in any digital audio workstation that hosts VST or AU plugins and you can even use it as a real-time effect in WinAmp.
W1 Limiter by George Yohng is a freeware emulation of the L1 Ultramaximizer ($49) by Waves. Even though it is one of the oldest plugins on the list (released around 2010), W1 Limiter is still under development and is expected to include real-time metering features in the final version.
Both plugins consume barely any CPU resources and are highly recommended for tracking and less demanding limiting tasks. Unlike LoudMax, W1 Limiter offers direct control over the release time parameter, which might be beneficial in some situations. An adaptive release switch is also included for setting the plugin to fully automatic mode.
However, mixing vocals can feel like a chore, especially if you don't have the right plugins. Of course, if you're on a tight budget, you may not be able to afford the vocal plugins you see all of your favorite mixing engineers using.
Ignite Amps PTeq-X is an emulation of one of the most iconic vintage passive program equalizers of all time. With this free vocal EQ plugin, you get all of the renowned characteristics found on the original piece of hardware with all of the benefits of working in the box.
The top-end sounds absolutely phenomenal, allowing you to boost hard and get serious air without your vocal ever sounding harsh. You can also cut in the mid-range with very musical curves, gently scooping out boxy or unnecessary frequencies.
Analog Obsession recently updated the plugin for a sleeker look, though they also gave it improved "circuitry," an input gain control, and an input and output link feature. Plus, it's far less intense for your CPU, allowing you to put it on multiple vocal tracks without bogging down your session!
While DDMF's Colour EQ might look like your average parametric EQ, there are a few things underneath the hood that make this EQ a serious workhorse. Beyond the parameters you would expect to find on a standard EQ plugin, you get an additional Q parameter that provides unique filter shapes.
You can choose between Type A, which scales the bandwidth, or Type B, which creates resonant peaks to give you the formant filter effect. Trying to dial in these types of filters with your everyday parametric EQ plugin would take a bit of work. However, with Colour EQ, it's built-in for you.
The GUI is excellent and super easy to scale to size. Simply click and drag the bottom-right corner to make it bigger or smaller. It's strange to us that this kind of flexibility isn't standard on all plugins, but maybe DDMF Colour EQ will lead the pack into new horizons!
The Klanghelm DC1A might just be one of our favorite free compressor plugins for vocals and everything else. You can use this on anything to add tone and dynamic control. It's one of the most effortless analog-style compressors we've had the pleasure of using.
While the signal path in Kotelnikov is oversampled, the transparency is unmatched. You can seriously reduce your dynamic range without losing any of the punch or tone of the dry signal, which is hard to say for most compressor plugins. This kind of characteristic is great for pop, rock, or EDM vocals, which often require heavy compression.
What's unique about this compressor compared to most other compressor plugins for vocals you find on "Top X Lists" is that it is a proudly digital compressor. It doesn't behave like a non-linear analog plugin, which is why you get such squeaky a clean vocal sound.
While EQing a vocal to get some additional brightness can help them sit nicely in the mix while giving them that radio-ready shimmer, doing so will often accentuate sibilant consonants like "s" and "z." This is where plugins like the Tonmann De-Esser come into play.
Tonmann carefully designed this compressor in such a way that it suppresses artifacts that often appear with other de-essing plugins. It's super easy to use too, as there are only a few controls, including Bandwidth, Center Frequency, Threshold, Attenuation, Lookahead and Release.
Sleepy Time DSP offers one of the best de-esser plugins for vocals on the market today. Lisp provides level-independent sibilance processing and automatic sibilance detection to make the process of getting rid of harsh, unwanted sibilance easier than ever before.
Klanghelm developed what we believe to be one of the best saturation plugins on the market today, free or not. As with many of Klanghelm's other free plugins, this saturation plugin uses the same algorithm as its older brother, the SDRR.
For a free plugin, this thing is surprisingly versatile, offering aggressive saturation that is great for sound design and analog-style saturation that is great for warming otherwise lifeless and sterile vocals up. No matter what scenario you choose to use IVGI in, it'll sound good.
The plugin is incredibly easy to set up, giving you quality saturation from the instant you turn it on. Once on, you can adjust the characteristics of your saturation by adjusting the drive amount, symmetry, and frequency response.
The 1566 plugin from Shattered Glass Audio is a high-performance tube preamp emulation that delivers the unique saturation characteristics found in vintage tube microphone preamps. You'll find a two-band Baxandall equalizer onboard and two 12AX7 tube amp stages to run your signal through.
What's really wild about the SGA 1566 is how authentic it sounds. If you like the sound of tube amplifiers, you'll love how well it captures the distinct tonal and distortion characteristics. If you record vocals at home, this plugin can take your cold, digital recordings and give them the analog warmth they need to stand out in a mix.
One of the downsides to this plugin is that it eats up a fair amount of CPU. Luckily, the SGA 1566 comes with two separate CPU modes, the lower of which reduces the overall sound quality, though gives you stability, which is important in larger or plugin-heavy sessions.
You've likely seen producers around the Internet talking about this one-knob saturation plugin. Softube's Saturation Knob is great for those looking to get realistic analog saturation while speeding up their workflow.
Open the interface and you'll find the width and Stereoizing parameters that you can use to spread your vocal out to the edges of the speakers or squeeze multiple vocals down to mono. The technology found in Ozone Imager is the same technology found in the company's renowned mastering plugin suite.
PanCake 2 is a unique stereo widening plugin in that it also gives you the ability to introduce flexible panning modulations. You can use hard or soft control points to produce sharp or gentle stereo manipulation.
Cableguys added a bit of visual feedback with the precise GUI display, allowing you to see each move you make in real-time. If you're looking for an interesting way to elevate your vocal processing, then this is a solid plugin! 2ff7e9595c
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