What are some of the best Compressors, EQs for vocals?

[Mattitude]

Hey guys,

i use Pro Tools LE 8. For compression on vocals I have been using the one that comes with Pro Tools LE 8, called Compressor/Limiter dyn3 i think. I also I have the bomb factory stuff but I haven't really used it! I use the same with EQ too, the one that comes with Pro Tools LE 8, EQ3 - 4 band.

I'm just wondering what you guys think are the best vocal compressors and EQ out there for use with Pro Tools? Are there much better ones out there that can make your vocals sound a lot more professional? What do you guys use? What would you like to use?

Let me know!
Thanks guys,
Matt.

[Dorian Green]

Heya...
First of all and no offences, to achieve pro vocal, your signal chain must be very good which means : Very good large condenser mic, good wire, Very good preamp and Analog to digital converter.
That done you'll have a very clean and rich base to work on.

Now about the Eqs and Comp, the digi products are not too bad for minor corrections but if you need a colouration of your sound you'll have to get some Waves, MsDSP.

I personaly use the SSL collection by Waves, the settings are very sensitives but the only big problem is that Waves Plugins are quite expensive.McDSP plugins like filterbank are very good deal.

Don't forget to give a try to the A.I.R plugins included in all PTLE 8+.They sound really good and are not greedy.

I'm sure the other guys have other brands in their mind...

[elicious]

hey matt,
you have a great voc comp already;
the oft overlooked and unfairly maligned bf76...
we own the real deal and the plug reacts and sounds close to the originals.

like dorian says, the waves are very good
(the cla 76 is outstanding)
but pricey.

so start with what you have.
b.o.l.
e

[EGS]

I start with a hi-pass at about 100HZ; the Digi 1-band is great for this. Light dose of BF76 at 4:1. Buss all vocal tracks to a stereo vocal aux bus. On the aux use a BF3A set to compress, followed by a Pultec EQ to add just a touch of air at 5K.

[RiF]

As other already said, you cannot fix a bad recording with whatever plugin.
Answer 1: Learn to get the most out of the tools you have. Digis EQIII is a good and flexible EQ. The Bomb Factory compressors are pretty OK and should get you a long way. I really like the Purple Audio MC77 because it has more bite and mojo than the BF76. I heard great mixes done with the stock PT plugins alone.
Answer 2: I tried a lot and stuck with Waves SSL E-Channel, Waves CLA compressors and URS Saturation for vocals. All of them have been very cheap around christmas ;-)

[albee1952]

We should get about 100 opinions here, so here's one more. My usual vocal chain(once I get a good take) is EQ1(high-pass)-BF76(4:1 with light GR)-
EQ7( couple of bands for taming peaks as needed)-SMACK!(Warm and more squash)-Pultec EQ1A to add "air" that double compression loses. Lately been trying Softube's CL1B(TubeTech) plugin and like it a lot(similar to SMACK!). One thing I do before ANY compression is; I work thru the track and use the AudioSuite GAIN plugin to even out any parts that are too hot or too soft(that makes for more consistent compression feel).

BTW, my vocal recording chain is MXL V89(male) or V69(female) to a Focusrite ISA428(FMR RNP inserted).

[GW]

Originally Posted by Mattitude

Hey guys,

i use Pro Tools LE 8. For compression on vocals I have been using the one that comes with Pro Tools LE 8, called Compressor/Limiter dyn3 i think. I also I have the bomb factory stuff but I haven't really used it! I use the same with EQ too, the one that comes with Pro Tools LE 8, EQ3 - 4 band.

I'm just wondering what you guys think are the best vocal compressors and EQ out there for use with Pro Tools? Are there much better ones out there that can make your vocals sound a lot more professional? What do you guys use? What would you like to use?

You have gotten very good answers already - but the answers you have gotten also reflects what type of music these guys are mainly into... For you to get even more accurate answers I think you have to answer a couple of Q -
1) What type of music are you going to record?
2) Are time OR money of the essence?

F.x. if you have a lot of money but are pressed for time (to learn and to understand and want to go direct to record), then perhaps RenVox from Waves is a smart option and mayby not... depending on the style of music? The Lydkraft compressor suggested earlier, sounds really good, but does the PoCo-version sound the same as the native version, etc... Yes, there are a lot better plugins out there, but you can for sure get good sound with the included ones, if you have a lot of time... Don't forget to look at the templates.

(I'm sounding like a really busybody here, but I couldn't help it... hahaha)

[albee1952]

GW raises a point many forget. Does the plugin version of BF76 sound just like a real 1176? Hard to say(and tougher since you can pick any 4 of the real thing and they may all sound different due to when they were made and what condition they are in). Does the softube CL1B sound like the real thing? I can't say. What I can say is, both these plugins sound very good and work like you would expect them to. BTW, the CL1B plugin includes a lot of presets that would be great starting points for those that are sort of new to compressors in general.

[Jono_G]

Does anyone have a suggestion what settings could be used to replicate the sound of an orban 787a mic processor?

[robin.heinrich]

I recently discovered the Fabfilter Pro-Q and I love it! Sounds great and it is flexible with its dozens of filter-bands. You can add about 20 I think and the result still sounds great. In some magazine reviews I read the compared it to the Oxford EQ and one of the Waves Plugs. It almost beat them! I was very suprised with that. But listen to it yourself.