Avid Pro Audio Community

Avid Pro Audio Community

How to Join & Post  •  Community Terms of Use  •  Help Us Help You

Knowledge Base Search  •  Community Search  •  Learn & Support


Avid Home Page

Go Back   Avid Pro Audio Community > Pro Mixing > Avid Pro Mixing General Discussion

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1  
Old 02-19-2020, 06:17 AM
DonaldM's Avatar
DonaldM DonaldM is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Indiana
Posts: 4,588
Default Preferred Compressor for Vocals

I'm not asking what is the "best" compressor for vocals...that's a non-starter. I'm asking you guys which compressor you prefer for vocals and why? I've been trying different ones and can hear subtle differences, even with settings pretty close to the same. It made wonder what you pros like to use, or what is your go to compressor for vocals. Thanks.
__________________
"Never believe anything you hear in a song." Tyrion Lannister, Game of Thrones
Owner: Dragon Rock Productions LLC


Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 02-19-2020, 07:23 AM
reichman's Avatar
reichman reichman is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: New York
Posts: 2,411
Default Re: Preferred Compressor for Vocals

Almost every dialog and/or sung vocal chain I have has the Waves RenVox on it. Really easy to add body and control with that. But I use it lightly. Usually earlier in the chain I have the under-appreciated Avid Channelstrip compressor, and then later in the chain Avid Pro Multiband Dynamics. I am looking for another plug-in that does upward compression with more control than my old Waves MV2. If you find something, let me know.

But I'm not that interested in compressors that add color. For opinions on that, you may want to post the same question in a more music-centered forum. Maybe GS.
__________________
Nathaniel Reichman
Producer/Re-recording Mixer - New York
Nathaniel Reichman | IMDB | LinkedIn
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 02-19-2020, 09:39 AM
EGS's Avatar
EGS EGS is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Chicago
Posts: 3,689
Default Re: Preferred Compressor for Vocals

Waves Ren Comp. Low latency. Low CPU usage. I like the precise controls and the user interface. Not a "character" compressor.
__________________
Desktop build: PT 2020.5 / Win 11 / i9-11900K @ 5.1GHz / 64GB / 4TB NVMe PCIe 4 / Gigabyte Z590 Vision D / PreSonus 2626
Laptop: PT 2020.5 / Win 11 / i5-12500H / 16GB / 1TB NVMe / Lenovo IdeaPad 5i Pro / U-PHORIA UMC1820
Ancient/Legacy (still works!): PT 5 & 6 / OS9 & OSX / Mac G4 / DIGI 001
Click for audio/video demo
Click for resume
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 02-19-2020, 10:40 AM
Southsidemusic's Avatar
Southsidemusic Southsidemusic is offline
Moderator
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Stockholm - Sweden
Posts: 13,767
Default Re: Preferred Compressor for Vocals

Hardware LA2-A and 1176 and we also use LA-610mk2 Signature Edition which was only made in 500 units but the normal mk2 is also great. If we talk plugins we are not the right studio to comment as compressors are one of the things that doesn’t sound as good as hardware.
__________________
Best Regards
Christopher

#thestruggleisreal
—————————————
South Side Music Group
WEBHOME
—————————————
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 02-19-2020, 02:17 PM
amagras amagras is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Ottawa, ON
Posts: 3,399
Default Re: Preferred Compressor for Vocals

CLA-2A most of the time because it sounds good with my USB interface, I also like dbx-160 on auto-tune vocals and RVox for clean compression. I've been using the new Pulsar Smasher surprisingly often, I don't know if it's still free.

Sent from my SM-N975W using Tapatalk
__________________
Dell XPS 8700. Intel Core i7-4770 CPU @ 3.40GHz. RAM: 16GB. Windows 10 Home x64. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 645. NI Komplete Audio 6. Pro Tools Software 2019
amagrasmusic.com
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 02-19-2020, 04:33 PM
DonaldM's Avatar
DonaldM DonaldM is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Indiana
Posts: 4,588
Default Re: Preferred Compressor for Vocals

I have the R-Vox, and have used it often. I agree it does sound very clean. I found the Pro Compressor from Avid seemed to color the sound in some way.



I don't have the CLA -2A I have the IK Multimedia White 2A, which is quite similar. Not sure how they compare soundwise.



I know there's no one answer, but I did wonder what you guys use. Its good to know what you find most useful.
__________________
"Never believe anything you hear in a song." Tyrion Lannister, Game of Thrones
Owner: Dragon Rock Productions LLC


Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 02-19-2020, 04:34 PM
DonaldM's Avatar
DonaldM DonaldM is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Indiana
Posts: 4,588
Default Re: Preferred Compressor for Vocals

Quote:
Originally Posted by Southsidemusic View Post
Hardware LA2-A and 1176 and we also use LA-610mk2 Signature Edition which was only made in 500 units but the normal mk2 is also great. If we talk plugins we are not the right studio to comment as compressors are one of the things that doesn’t sound as good as hardware.

Yeah, I was speaking of plugins rather than hardware externals.
__________________
"Never believe anything you hear in a song." Tyrion Lannister, Game of Thrones
Owner: Dragon Rock Productions LLC


Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 02-19-2020, 04:37 PM
DonaldM's Avatar
DonaldM DonaldM is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Indiana
Posts: 4,588
Default Re: Preferred Compressor for Vocals

Quote:
Originally Posted by reichman View Post
I am looking for another plug-in that does upward compression with more control than my old Waves MV2. If you find something, let me know.

Don't think I can be of much help there. The only upward compressor I'm aware of is Maximus (I think that's what its called) that comes with FL Studios. I don't use FL but I've seen the Maximus mentioned as a good tool for upward compression.
__________________
"Never believe anything you hear in a song." Tyrion Lannister, Game of Thrones
Owner: Dragon Rock Productions LLC


Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 02-19-2020, 05:27 PM
amagras amagras is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Ottawa, ON
Posts: 3,399
Default Re: Preferred Compressor for Vocals

Quote:
Originally Posted by DonaldM View Post
Don't think I can be of much help there. The only upward compressor I'm aware of is Maximus (I think that's what its called) that comes with FL Studios. I don't use FL but I've seen the Maximus mentioned as a good tool for upward compression.
Blue Cat Dynamics and Waves C1.
__________________
Dell XPS 8700. Intel Core i7-4770 CPU @ 3.40GHz. RAM: 16GB. Windows 10 Home x64. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 645. NI Komplete Audio 6. Pro Tools Software 2019
amagrasmusic.com
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 02-19-2020, 05:41 PM
AlexLakis AlexLakis is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Annapolis, MD
Posts: 1,346
Default Re: Preferred Compressor for Vocals

Hardware? 1176 into LA2A. Software? Slate Distressor, slammed for aggressive vocals, opto for laid-back (this is mostly hard rock here).

Last edited by AlexLakis; 02-19-2020 at 06:28 PM.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
using compressor with vocals adza Eleven Rack 8 04-07-2011 04:33 AM
Compressor mainly for vocals TCM General Discussion 31 06-29-2010 01:47 PM
HELP!!?? Recording Vocals with Compressor GoldBlum General Discussion 6 04-16-2004 08:27 AM
Need Good Compressor For Vocals SHC 003, Mbox 2, Digi 002, original Mbox, Digi 001 (Mac) 28 01-31-2002 05:08 AM
Best compressor for vocals??? roijin Pro Tools TDM Systems (Mac) 19 12-13-2001 10:35 PM


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 10:22 PM.


Powered by: vBulletin, Copyright ©2000 - 2008, Jelsoft Enterprises Limited. Forum Hosted By: URLJet.com