#VOCAL RIDER PLUG IN REVIEW HOW TO#

The range of the Target level slider is from 0 to -42 dBFS, with the center position equal to -21 dBFS. The slider knob is translucent so you can see the yellow fill color beneath it - this horizontal bar shows the average output level in real time. Gain riding is relative to this Target position, so when you change the Target reference range with the slider, it will actually move the Rider Fader’s zero position. this is where you set your desired overall level for the VO track. The topmost slider is the Target level slider, and it’s important.

#VOCAL RIDER PLUG IN REVIEW HOW TO#

But before we get to these we need to figure out how to select a volume range in which to ride that fader. That gives a total range of 24 dB for riding, and that can be further restricted by use of the two Range pointers to the left of the Rider Fader. Note that this fader’s range is only -12 to +12 dB, with 0 dB in the center. The big fader in the center of the window is the Rider Fader, and that’s where the business happens. The plug-in also has the aforementioned side-chain input at the upper left in the bar. The Vocal Rider plug presents itself with the standard Waves window bar at the top for saving and loading presets and for comparing between ‘A’ and ‘B’ settings.

Since most of us aren’t concerned with live music performance anyway, I did not use the Live version. The difference between them is that the Live version is meant for live music performance use, and includes a control labeled Spill that helps eliminate spurious noises from the stage that might get into a vocalist’s microphone, thereby confusing Vocal Rider. Waves does complicate things a little by giving you two different versions of the Vocal Rider plug: a regular one labeled Vocal Rider, and a “live” version labeled Vocal Rider Live. In any event, it’s easy to try out Vocal Rider settings and if you need to tweak them, that’s equally easy. Or you might want to do the equivalent of compression, but without the artifacts, you can just use a wide gain range. For example, if you don’t want to bring soft sections up too much, you can restrict the maximum amount of gain. There are several controls that give you quite a bit of latitude for optimizing the target level and gain range of the voiceover track. If the VO level goes down, Vocal Rider brings it up, and vice-versa.

Next, you set a target level range for the voiceover, and Vocal Rider analyzes level of the voiceover track as you mix. This allows the Vocal Rider to control the voiceover volume. First, you insert the Vocal Rider on a recorded voiceover track using a mixer insert. Conceptually, using the Vocal Rider is very simple.

Vocal rider plug in review