A noise gate is analogous to the singer’s lips, opening and closing.

A de-esser modifies the effect of the singer’s tongue and teeth.In general, I like my signal chain to reflect this path, by placing each effect in the same order as the physical property it adjusts. Limiter: W1 Building The ChainĪ vocal performance starts in the singer’s diaphragm, travels through her throat and mouth, to the air, the microphone, then the speakers, and finally the listener’s ears. Tape Saturation: JS Magneto Īlso consider Saturator and Voxengo tube amp Īlthough I haven’t included them the example below, the following plugins are also suitable for a vocal effects chain:Ĭhorus: Kjaerhus Classic Compressor ĭelay: Bionic Delay and Kjaerhus Classic I’ve compiled a list of the best plugins for a killer free vocal chain, along with a sample of the plugins at work on one of my vocal tracks.Īlso consider Kjaerhus Classic EQ and Paris EQ Ĭompressor: Kjaerhus Classic Compressor Īlso consider MJCompressor and blockfish Īlso consider Glaceverb, Ambience, and Kjaerhus Classic In a pro studio, most of this treatment is handled by expensive hardware and plugins (like those from Waves and UAD.) But you don’t have to break the bank to polish up your vocal tracks thanks to the many libraries of free plugins found on the Internet, most available for any DAW that supports the VST standard. Frequently, engineers also add effects like chorus, delay, tape saturation (unless recording to tape, of course,) and reverb, to enhance the sound. Vocal recording and effects chains include, depending on the performance, a de-esser, a noise gate, an equalizer, and a compressor.

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