Fl Studio Vocal Effects Plugins
Faustina Bartsch
FabFilter make incredible processing plugins, including EQs, Compressors, Limiters, Reverbs and much more. The most popular FabFilter plugin is the Pro Q which offers ease of use with absolutely pro equalization quality as well as a very visual interface.
Vocal Rider is an intelligent gain adjustment plugin which automatically tweaks the volume fader according to the parameters you give it - without adding any coloration, compression, or changing the dynamics.
VoiceCentric gives you very simple controls over signature Greg Wells Delay, Doubler and Reverb effects. It gives you a super professional sound which is why this plugin is used by countless professionals.
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You can never go wrong with the classic sound of an 1176 FET compressor. One of the most popular dynamics processors of all time, the 1176 is fast, punchy and perfect for controlling the aggressive transients in an active vocal performance.
Once again, Analog Obsession offers a compelling take on the LA-2A that you can download for free. But with so many excellent plugins in their bundle, consider supporting them if you download them all!
After you're happy with the initial tracking, the best plugins for vocals will enhance a great recording. In some cases, purpose-made remedial plugins can improve a bad recording, but we recommend striving for the best front-end recording possible for truly professional results.
However, that's not to say you can't go more granular in your editing if needs be. Thanks to the graph mode, you can easily apply non-destructive time correction or apply pitch correction only where it's needed.
For surgical and highly creative vocal composition in the mix, Melodyne is at the top of its game. What's even better, most edits are almost always inaudible and natural-sounding thanks to the ever-improving Melodyne algorithms. Version 5 is a huge step forward for an already established industry standard.
Recording entirely in the box can often result in a clinical sound. After all, it's the saturation caused by the sound of tubes, transistors, and circuitry being pushed to the limit that adds so much character to classic recordings.
It's a remarkable sounding visual EQ that enables you to subtly shape the sound or dig deep to remove specific resonances. What's more, the new dynamic EQ feature now lets you change the gain of an EQ band dynamically - making Pro-Q 3 act in many ways like a multi-band compressor and EQ in one!
What a lot of producers will do is apply light EQ earlier in the signal chain before compression using a plugin like the Plutec, followed by a more surgical and flexible EQ (like the Fabfilter - Pro-Q 3) after compression. This enables us to avoid over-working the compressor with high-energy lower frequencies that might make the compressor work overly hard.
The 1176 is one of the most-loved classic compressors ever made. Earlier versions feature classic coloured FET gain characteristics found in the original 1176 while later incarnations are cleaner-sounding. The 1176 Collection represents one of the most versatile compressor packs on the market.
It pays to have a choice of different compressors in your production toolkit. Every compressor behaves differently and sounds unique; some are more transparent, others impart more character and colour to the signal.
The idea is, instead of making one compressor work really hard, you apply a more subtle compression spread over two plugins. The result sounds really up-front in the mix, with each syllable and nuance standing out clearly over the most complex and dense of compositions.
A common problem when mixing vocals is excessive sibilance. Put simply, these are irritating and prominent 's' and 't' sounds that quickly distract the listener and destroy an otherwise balanced and pleasing mix.
This dense, natural reverb works particularly well on a sparse mix to add real depth, timeless character, and impact to your vocals. Listen for yourself below and you'll hear how it's one of the best plugins for vocals if you love classic, natural reverb.
The user interface is highly intuitive, making it simple for even the most fresh-faced mix engineer or home recording musicians to dial in a great vocal based on four core algorithms: Compression, Gate, Harmonics and Air.
The plugins we've selected are frequently touted as the best in the business. They regularly make it into the signal chain for our productions here at Headliner, and I can personally vouch for the quality of each plugin.
Ultimately, it depends on what you're trying to achieve and the style of production, so instead of choosing your vocal plugins based purely on recommendation, make sure you try them out yourself and listen critically.
As a general rule, any gain-stage plugins, such as saturation plugins, for example, are best placed right at the front. These plugins emulate the effects of a tube preamp as though it were in the front-end of our signal chain during recording.
Next, it pays to apply any deductive EQ before the signal reaches further plugins. This allows us to remove any unwanted excessive resonances or low-end that might drive other plugins unnecessarily hard (particularly compressors).
With the deductive EQ applied, we can add compression to the chain. A nice trick here is to use two compressors (as mentioned earlier in the article). Rather than having one compressor work really hard, we can use two compressors with a light touch to create a vocal that sounds very up-front in the mix.
A note on compression: Purist engineers will insist that too much compression will destroy the life of your vocal. To help avoid this issue, some mix engineers will apply automation to a vocal track before any plugin processing. This method helps to even out volume levels in a more transparent way compared to compression.
With the dynamic levels sitting nicely in the mix, now is a good time to add EQ enhancement. By applying additive EQ at this stage, we can avoid driving the compressor too hard with any boosted frequencies earlier in the signal chain. This is where we can add shimmer and sparkle to a vocal without worrying about changing the behavior of a compressor.
Next up: De-Esser plugins. It makes sense to add a De-Esser after any other tonal or dynamic processing, as it removes a lot of the guesswork from the process. In other words, we don't have to worry about any EQ or compressor plugins bringing those harsh sibilant frequencies back up in the mix if we position this stage at the end of the insert chain.
Last but not least is our spatial or modulation effects. It's best, generally, to apply reverb, delay, and modulation effects via an AUX send rather than through a plugin insert. This way, we can adjust how much of the signal is sent to the plugin and send multiple sources to the same reverb or modulation effect.
In the end, this order that I suggest is just one opinion on how to effectively construct a vocal processing chain. As a producer, you will develop your own techniques and tricks of the trade over time as your style and approach develop.
That's the beauty of mixing as a craft; each engineer imparts their own 'sonic signature' on a production. You'll develop yours over time, and if it's a hit, artists will seek you out for a particular sound. The possibilities are endless.
The Auto-Tune effect is probably the biggest decider when it comes to vocal processing. This is the slightly synthetic and quantised vocal sound that has been a chart staple in many dance and rap genres since Cher made the effect famous in the song Believe in 1998. As well-trodden and arguably worn out this effect is, you can't deny its continued popularity, and those predicting its demise have been many and all mistaken over the last couple of decades. With that in mind, then, an 'Auto-Tune' like plugin is a good tool to have in your armoury and at least four of our options will deliver it, from the simple AlterBoy right up to the one that started it all, Auto-Tune Pro.
If singing is important to your songs and recordings then there are plenty of software plugins available to assist your recording and editing endeavours. The best vocal plugins are many and varied and can be used to help make great vocal recordings, or turn bad takes into recordings that can be used in any mix.
Vocal processing plugins include general mix plugins for adding EQ solidity and sparkle to male or female vocals, or classic, colourful compression for a vintage vibe. For vocalists with tuning issues or for that contemporary 'Auto-tune' effect, there are automatic tuning plugins to help your vocalist hit the right notes or recreate the classic Cher-like jumping effect. Finally there are more esoteric and bespoke vocal processors that focus on specific tasks like de-essing or double-tracking.
If you have tuning issues or want that 'Auto-tune' effect then there are a couple of clear contenders, the most obvious being the daddy of them all, Auto-Tune Pro. It's managed to stay ahead of the rest by heaping in some wonderful and easy to implement features, over and above that classic vocal effect, and has almost become the 'Hoover' of plugins along the way. That said, if you want the quick, down and dirty version then Soundtoys' Little AlterBoy impresses us with its simplistic but beautiful approach to not only Auto-Tune style effects, but brilliant male to female and female to male formant editing and more.
Advanced view has a few extras like Create Vibrato, ideal for adding a bit of wobble via an LFO, plus options to set minor and major modes, edit across multiple octaves, and MIDI input editing features.
Auto-Tune Pro is the most powerful, usable incarnation of this standard yet, and easily maintains the software's position as one of the best retuning solutions available, and may well prove to be the ultimate pitch-manipulating toolbox.
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