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How to Level Vocals Perfectly in 3 Clicks

Aug 30, 2021 | 234,517 Views

Quickly get your vocals sitting in the mix with automatic leveling from Vocal Rider. This 3-click solution revives an old-school engineering technique and avoids the squeeze and pumping of compression for clean, exact levels.

  • 0:00 Introduction
  • 0:08 What is fader riding and why do pro engineers rave about it?
  • 0:45 What is Waves Vocal Rider?
  • 1:44 Control walkthrough - using Vocal Rider to automatically level the dynamics of lead vocal tracks
  • 2:51 Vocal Rider examples
  • 3:42 Using Vocal Rider to level vocals with music
  • 4:35 Vocal Rider example
  • 5:01 Question – Do you fader ride your tracks? If so, how? Let us know in the comments below

Compression is the best tool for the job for placing lead vocal tracks in a mix, right?

Not always! While compression is widely considered an excellent tool for controlling dynamics, it can color and squeeze too much, stripping away the natural feel and vibe from vocal performances. A tried and tested alternative to compression came from the analog days and is known as fader riding. This technique is all about choosing how to rein in or reinforce dynamics and is done with constant level adjustments at the fader. BUT you’ve got to put the work in to get this fader riding sounding clean and natural, or do you?

Not so with Waves Vocal Rider, an elegant, real-time, automatic approach to riding the fader in a plugin that delivers controlled and leveled vocal sounds, so you don’t ever need to rely on heavy‑handed or overly aggressive compression again.

If you struggle to produce consistent sounding vocal dynamics, or feel compression colors your tracks too much, stop the squeeze! Try Vocal Rider today.

Discover more Vocal plugins from Waves Audio here.

Discover Waves Bass Rider, the perfect levelling tool for any style of bass track.

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