With hundreds of Waves Plugins to choose from...

• Waves Vocal Leveler
• Waves Vocal Levelers

With their Vocal Bundle, Waves look to take voice processing and automatic pitch correction to a new level of sophistication. Some products are so good at what they do that their very name becomes the verb we use to describe the action. Now Waves have come up with a plug‑in that does the job for you in a very straightforward and elegant manner. Vocal Rider is a cross‑platform plug‑in available in TDM, VST, AU and RTAS formats, and works by writing automation data for its own level fader directly into your DAW. The standard Waves.

Finding the absolute best Waves plugins can be quite a challenge.
Waves is one of the leading audio companies in the world right now and for good reason.
Almost all of their plugins are up to industry standards and sound amazing.
Not to mention, they’ve actually teamed up with some of the best audio engineers in the world!
Even top level mixing and mastering engineers like Chris Lord Alge and Michael Brauer have given their expertise & feedback to the Waves developers.
So it’s no wonder they are praised for some of best Waves plugins in the game.
In fact, they have over 180 incredible plugins that are used world wide!
For this reason, we had to make a top 15 best Waves plugins for the modern producer - allowing you to focus more on the music and less on the endless choices!

Waves Plugins #1 - CLA Classic Compressors

This 3 compressor plugin bundle is an instant classic.
They’re modeled after the legendary LA-2A, LA-3A and the 11-76 - Compressors you’ll find in almost every major professional studio as hardware units.
These compressors are arguably some of the most used tools by audio engineers on a daily basis. They’re truly incredible.
With each compressor acting differently than the other, you're sure to find a tool in this bundle that will help you in any situation that requires compression.
Here’s what each of them can do for your production:

1. The CLA-76 is a really quick compressor that works superbly with fast, dynamic input signals such as drums and percussion. If you want to add punch to your productions, use this compressor!

1. The CLA-2A isn’t really used to control dynamics as you would with a regular compressor. This rather slow compressor is widely used mainly because of its character/tone. Try putting this compressor after a quick one (assuming you need dynamic control first) to enhance your tracks!

1. The CLA-3A is a compressor/limiter plugin based on a famous solid state unit from the 70’s known for its unique transparent compression curve. This compressor works the best with basses and guitars since it adds harmonic distortion to the input signal, something the original hardware unit was known for! Old engineers were limited on how many of these compressors they could use, but with this amazing plugin emulation, you can fire up as many as your computer can handle!

They have all stood the test of time for a reason, making them easily some of the best Waves plugins.

Waves Plugins #2 - Brauer Motion

You might have heard Michael Brauer’s name before. But if you haven’t, this guy is an absolute legend in the audio engineering world.
He's won several Grammys for “Best Vocal Pop Album” with John Mayer’s “Continuum” and “Best Rock Album” with Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida”
So the fact that he joined forces with Waves to create this amazing spatial plugin is a HUGE deal.
This plugin helps add to your otherwise static mixdowns by creating an even greater sense of depth through the stereo field.
A great static mixdown is one of the first steps to a great sounding mix, but that can be pretty boring in electronic music! (And just about every other genre too)
If you listen carefully to any of your favorite tracks, some of its elements are most likely moving left and right, either subtly or drastically!
And this plugin can help you create the same effect.
The Brauer Motion plug-in isn’t only useful in music production though. If you are making cinematic tracks or film scores, this plugin can help you manipulate and make the listener immerse into the visual world!
If you want to see more of why this is one of the best Waves plugins, check out this incredible demo video Michael Brauer made with Waves over here.

Waves Plugins #3 - F6 Floating Band Dynamic EQ

First of all, we need to emphasize that this plugin is a dynamic EQ.
What does that mean?
Whenever you use any other regular EQ - for example, your DAW’s stock EQ - you are committing your track(s) to specific EQ parameters that are going to stay constant during your whole song.
What a dynamic EQ does is allow you to set thresholds like the ones found in most compressors, so the EQ only engages when the signal goes above the threshold.
This is an incredibly handy tool for multiple scenarios.
Imagine you have a rolling bass or synth line with the filter opening up at certain times during your song.
When the filter opens, it becomes a little bit harsh. With a regular EQ you can control those harsh frequencies, but when the filter closes once again, it’s taking out frequencies that otherwise might be useful.
This is where a dynamic EQ comes in.
If you are wondering if this works the opposite way too, boosting instead of cutting after going below the threshold, you're right.
A dynamic EQ functions both ways, making it easily one of the best Waves plugins if you’re looking for a better mix!

Waves Plugins #4 - Waves Center

If you've never heard about this plugin, it’s one of the most useful tools out there that you've been missing out on!
Waves Center is basically a plugin that allows you to separate the center content from your signal on the sides (L/R).
If you're an Ableton user, this is similar to the Utility plugin, but on steroids!
It comes with 3 knobs that allow you to push the low and high frequency content either to the center or the sides.
The punch knob has the same functionality, but with the transients of your input signal!
If this has been too confusing, let us explain the power of this plugin with an example.
Imagine you have an acapella you want to use for your remix, but it has unwanted sounds from the instrumental in the sides, and you just can’t EQ it out.
Simply use this plugin and drag the “Sides” fader until you achieve the desired result!
For that reason, this plugin is almost like magic!

Waves Plugins #5 - Kramer Tape

This amazing plugin is modeled after a rare vintage tape machine.
It’s very likely that you have heard another producer say before how awesome tape or vinyl sound is.
This is THE tape plugin you are looking for.
It’s subtle, but once you put it in your track you can definitely hear a tonal change without even moving any parameter or choosing a preset.
This plugin has so many uses we could write an entire article about it!
But instead, you can watch this really cool video made by True Sound Studios showcasing many of its uses here.
What you’ll realize afterwards is that this is by far one of the coolest plugins Waves has to offer.

Waves Plugins #6 - API Collection

The API EQ’s and compressor are another instant classic for many professional studios.
Waves actually teamed up with API to deliver the sound of the original hardware, making them some of the best Wave plugins for your mix.
Not only that, but it’s so user friendly that you don’t even have to read the manual if you have some experience with EQ’s and compressors.
You can just dive right in and use the same EQ and compressor that some of the biggest artists in the world have!
Believe it or not, the hardware versions of API gear were used in many of Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin’s recordings.
And if that doesn’t really convince you about their awesomeness, you can watch Virtual Riot inthis old recorded stream from 2014 using the API-2500 multiple times.

Waves Plugin #7 - Vitamin Sonic Enhancer

The Vitamin Sonic Enhancer is a multi-band harmonic enhancer plugin that has a little bit of a learning curve, but…
It can make any track sound incredibly powerful if used correctly.
The controls are rather intuitive.
You can determine the crossover frequency points between the five different bands and get noticeable results instantly. You can also control the mix of the direct signal with its enhanced version with the Direct Fader.
The sonic effect of this plugin is widely determined by the type of input signal - vocals, guitars, synths, drums, or even an entire mix -
For that reason, we really encourage you to spend some time with it to understand it, because this plugin can even save your song when it’s missing that “extra something”.
The results are comparable to what you would get from a parallel chain of EQ, compression, and saturation, but all in one single plugin.
In this5 minute tutorial at thePro Tools Expert website, they show you how to sweeten tracks using the Waves Vitamin Sonic Enhancer plugin.

Waves Plugins #8 - PuigTec EQ’s

We're going to be completely honest here: these EQ’s are some of our secret weapons...
They’re definitely not unknown, but we believe that many people overlook them!
The PuigTec EQ’s were developed by Jack Joseph Puig - the engineer behind many hits from U2, Lady Gaga, and The Rolling Stones.
What makes the PuigTec EQ’s unique is that they can boost and cut the same frequency at the same time, creating a really unique resonant shelving sound.
It’s a subtle sound which is hard to describe with words, so you might want to check it out yourself.
Once you hear it, it’ll be quite obvious why this is one of the best Waves plugins out there.

Waves Plugins #9 - Reel ADT

The Abbey Road Studios developed a famous technique called “Artificial Double Tracking” in the mid 60’s.
The “ADT” quickly became the sound of the whole era, made popular by The Beatles.
Waves did an excellent job of packing all of this plus extra features into one single plugin...
The Reel ADT!
And now, you can have this iconic sound downloaded as a single plugin right on your computer.
If you want to see this thing in action, check outJoel Cameron on YouTube experimenting with the “ADT” technique overhere.
Or, you can watch this incrediblein-depth tutorial by Waves where they go into all the cool features this plugin has to offer.

Waves Plugins #10 - Vocal Rider

If you are doing a lot of vocal production, you need this plugin. Period.
Those who have experimented with vocal production know that doing volume automation is crucial for a professional sounding vocal.
This plugin adjusts your levels automatically.
Not to mention, It’s crystal clear and doesn’t add any color to your input signal!
If you’d like to add this element to your own production, Waves explains exactly how to do that in this quick tutorial.
And if you’re still skeptical about how important volume automation is for vocals…
Checkthis video byThe Pro Audio Files where they enhance a vocal performance with manual clip gain automation.
What you’ll quickly realize is this isn’t just an amazing plugin for vocal production. It’s actually one of the best Waves plugins in general.

Waves Plugins #11 - SSL G Master Buss Compressor

This compressor is one that audio engineers simply can't get rid of.
The SSL Buss Compressor plugin is modeled after the famous SSL 4000 G console and it captured perfectly the original sound.
This plugin (and the console) gave birth to the famous “glue” term every producer seems to talk about.
Put this compressor on your drum bus and finally understand what everyone is talking about.
It’s been around for ages, and it’s commonly used by top engineers as the last compressor that transforms a mix into a finished record!
A must have!

Waves Plugins #12 - Doubler

This plugin remained a secret weapon for a long time.
But it’s widely known now, and for good reason!
It was originally created to achieve that 80’s type-shimmer and presence on vocals with chorus-like effects, but it's also a great tool for experimentation!
In fact, you’ve probably witnessed your favourite producers use this plugin when they’ve made their claps or percussions sound like they’re coming from the sides.
If you’d like to add this effect to your own arsenal, just know it may look this plugin might look a little bit intimidating at first.
But once you scroll through some presets and see how the visual interface changes, you’ll understand its inner workings quickly and be glad you downloaded it!
It’ll honestly be one of the coolest plugins you use.

Waves Plugins #13 - J37 Tape

Many modern saturation plugins offer a tape saturation setting.
The J37 is a dedicated plugin that takes the definition of “tape saturation” to the next level.
This plugin can be used on just about anything to give the sound an “old-school” vinyl sound.
Not to mention, if you ever want a little bit more warmth, or want to go for a retro vibe, this plugin definitely won’t disappoint!
It may seem a little complicated because it involves controls like Bias, Wow, Flutter, and Tape Speed.
Waves even made an incredible video on how to use this plug-in, and you can watch ithere.
But to be honest, you don’t have to become a master at it...
The J37 Tape comes with a TON of incredible presets.
If you spend some time experimenting with them, we promise you’ll find a preset for most situations you can probably think of.
And once you use this plugin, you might not make a song without it ever again...

Waves Plugins #14 - S1 Stereo Imager

This is one of those plug-ins that is impossible to describe.
In order to understand how phenomenal it is, you have to put it to work yourself!
But the good news is, Stereo Imaging has never been easier.
Simply put the S1 on your track and start messing with the width fader.
You’ll be able to achieve incredible imaging results in a matter of seconds!
There’s a reason why almost EVERY big producer swears by this plugin for their Stereo Imaging needs.
Test this epic plugin for yourself and see why it’s clearly one of the best Waves plugins of all time.

Waves Plugins #15 - Trans-X

If you are mainly an electronic music producer, it’s highly likely that you have a fetish for perfect kick drums.
This transient shaper plugin is the perfect complementary kick drum design tool.
You can also use it to shape drum loops or attenuate the attack of any sound source.
It’s a very straight forward plugin, and we highly recommend you add this to your toolbox.

Conclusion

Unsurprisingly, Waves has a bunch of incredible plug-ins.

Waves Vocal Leveler

This list BARELY scratches the surface of what they offer as a company!
These 15 plugins are truly among the best ones in the game right now, but there are SO many more in the Waves arsenal that can greatly impact your production.
We really encourage you to go over to the Waves website and check out these plugins and even more of their other products. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed!
Also if you want even more amazing plugins, we have an entire list of the 100 best vst plugins here!
And if you use any Waves plugins on a daily basis that we missed, let us know by commenting below!
Or make sure to tell us what are your favorite Waves plugins are!

Vocal Rider automatically rides the gain of a vocal track during mixdown. Users can automate the plug-in to modify its action, phrase by phrase.

Tight budgets or deadlines don’t always allow for the manual line-by-line tweaking of fader levels on a vocal track to perfection at mixdown. Waves’ Vocal Rider automatically rides the vocal’s levels for you, saving time and avoiding tedium.

Waves Vocal Levelers

The cross-platform plug-in comes in two flavors: native (RTAS, Audio Suite, AU and VST formats) and TDM. I tested the AU plug in Digital Performer 6.02 using an 8-core Mac Pro running Mac OS 10.5.4.

Well-Read
Vocal Rider’s controls are novel enough that reading the operating manual is a must. A Rider Fader, positioned at the center of the plug-in, automatically makes level adjustments to the vocal track based on the settings of surrounding controls.

The plug-in’s Vocal Sensitivity control helps Vocal Rider differentiate between vocal signal and superfluous noise. For example, if this control is set too low, Vocal Rider may interpret a quiet vocal phrase as noise and won’t ride the level higher to make it more audible.

Vocal Rider’s automation data can be written to the vocal track’s automation lane in your DAW. Here, the last fader move has been edited to provide additional gain boost to a swallowed lyric.

A Target control adjusts the nominal center point of the range over which the vocal’s level will ride. Two Range sliders also govern the Rider Fader’s action by defining its dynamic range. Moving the bottom Range slider lower increases the maximum amount of attenuation that Vocal Rider will apply to overly loud vocal phrases. I found that an indiscriminately low setting of this slider also negatively affects quiet phrases, riding them not as high as they might need to be boosted. On the other hand, the top Range slider increases the maximum amount of boost that Vocal Rider applies to low-level phrases. Set this too high, and any louder vocal phrases can end up being too loud. The bottom Range slider and top Range slider help define the overall dynamic range that you are riding in with relation to the target setting.

Positioned between the two Range sliders, an Idle Arrow can be moved to change the level to which the Rider Fader returns between vocal phrases. Here, a very low setting will decrease noise—such as breath sounds—but can also cause more drastic adjustments when the vocal comes back in, potentially making the track sound jerky. An Attack switch tailors the plug-in’s detector response (fast or slow), which also affects how quickly Rider Fader makes its automatic moves. Once these controls are dialed in and Rider Fader behaves the way you want, an Output fader trims levels while preserving all Rider Fader adjustments.

With some DAWs (including Digital Performer versions 6.02 through 7.01), you can make Vocal Rider consider the fluctuating levels of accompanying instrumental (and background vocal) tracks when determining how it boosts or attenuates the vocal track from moment to moment. You accomplish this by routing the accompanying tracks to a common bus and setting the Vocal Rider’s sidechain input to the same bus via a drop-down menu. Then adjust a Music Sensitivity control to determine how much the plug-in adapts to changing levels in the accompanying tracks. Not all DAWs support this functionality—check Waves’ Website for compatibility with your DAW.

In Write mode, Vocal Rider can write its vocal fader moves to your DAW’s automation lane. Later, you can edit the automation curve to tweak Vocal Rider’s performance dynamically on playback.

My Third Hand
Vocal Rider imposed very negligible drain on my Mac Pro. The slow Attack setting sounded considerably more transparent but let the vocal track peak higher. Phrases that exploded in level at their start tended not to be ridden lower as they ideally should’ve been. Switching to the fast Attack setting, Vocal Rider successfully attenuated loud starts to vocal phrases but also often failed to raise very quiet sections. Generally, I tended to favor the slow Attack setting on singers who tended to swallow syllables, and fast Attack on vocalists who had very explosive peaks. For vocal tracks that presented both problems, I usually slapped a compressor on the track to tame peaks and used Vocal Rider’s slow attack setting to automatically boost low-level tidbits.

Still, without automating the plug-in, Vocal Rider couldn’t smooth out all the fluctuations on a wildly dynamic vocal track. For example, very quiet syllables that followed closely on the heels of loud lyrics usually remained too low after Vocal Rider’s initial adjustments.

Fortunately, automation solved this and all other issues. Setting Digital Performer to automate plug-in parameters and putting Vocal Rider’s automation control section into Write mode, I played the track from start to finish. Digital Performer recorded a data curve—with numerous breakpoints—for all of Vocal Rider’s fader moves to a separate track layer. After editing the breakpoints to boost quietly sung lyrics further, I also edited the automation curve to anticipate vocal levels at the start of some phrases and move the fader before the first utterance. This made the start of these phrases sound better than they did when the plug-in arbitrarily rode them (as fader riding is an inherently lagging action). I also made other edits for creative reasons, such as goosing the song’s hook. Setting Vocal Rider’s automation section to Read mode, the plug-in followed all my edits in Digital Performer perfectly during playback.

Free Ride?
Despite its effectiveness, Vocal Rider isn’t a cure-all for sitting vocals properly in a mix. To make a buried lyric intelligible, sometimes a vocal doesn’t need fader adjustment but instead requires momentary EQ tweaks (for example, to correct excessive bass proximity effect that occurred at the mic during recording). That said, Vocal Rider does exactly what it promises, smoothly riding a vocal track to place it in the general vicinity of perfection. As is the case with all exacting engineering, the final tweaks are up to you. 

Mix

contributing editor Michael Cooper is the owner of Michael Cooper Recording in Sisters, Ore. Visit him at www.myspace.com/michaelcooperrecording.

Click on the Product Summary box to view the Waves Vocal Rider product page.