Quick disclaimer up top: this isn't a “buy every plugin” post. I run a fairly small Waves rack live, on purpose, and most of the value is in a few tools I know inside out. This is what's in it and why each one's there.
Why a plugin rack at all
Modern consoles sound great. I'm not adding Waves because the desk EQ is bad. I'm adding it for a handful of things the desk doesn't do as well: character compression on vocals, dynamic EQ, and effects I like the sound of. If the rack went down mid-show I'd finish the gig on desk processing and most people wouldn't notice. That's the right amount of dependence.
For the gear heads: SuperRack hosting the plugins, DMI/MADI in and out of the desk, and I keep the total latency of the chain low enough that the singer never feels it in their ears. Every plugin you insert adds a little; check the round trip before you go crazy.
The lead vocal chain
In order, and every slot has to justify itself:
- Gate, lightly. Just enough to stop the wedge spill opening the channel between lines. Fast attack, sensible hold, and a range control rather than a hard close so it never sounds like it's switching.
- Compressor for control. Something transparent first, working a few dB, catching the loud lines before the next stage sees them.
- De-esser. Live vocal mics plus bright PA equals harsh S's. This does more for a vocal than most EQ moves.
- Dynamic EQ. This is the one that changed how I mix vocals. Instead of cutting a resonance all the time, it only cuts when that frequency actually gets loud. The vocal stays natural on quiet lines and doesn't get honky on loud ones. F6 has lived on my vocal channel for years.
- Compressor for character. A CLA-76-style thing doing the “sit in the mix” job. This is taste, and I'll bypass it entirely for a singer who's already got great control.
Two compressors sounds excessive until you try it. The first one's a safety net. The second's the sound.
Buses
I'm restrained here. A gentle bus compressor on the drum bus and maybe the whole vocal group, doing a dB or two of glue. Nothing on the master except a limiter I hope never works. The goal is that the mix holds together when it gets loud, not that it sounds “processed”.
Effects
This is where I let myself have fun, within reason:
- A short plate for vocals that's always on at a low level. It makes the vocal feel like it's in the room rather than stuck to the PA.
- A long hall for the ballads, on a send I can ride.
- H-Delay for tempo-synced throws. I'll tap tempo it per song and, if I'm running snapshots, store the time with the snapshot.
- Something a bit weird — a spring or a chorus — for a specific song, if the band's into it. Ask first.
What I've stopped using
Anything on every input “just in case”. Multiband compressors on things that don't need them. Plugins I couldn't explain the purpose of. A full rack looks impressive on a screenshot and sounds like nothing in particular. Fewer, better.
Before you copy this
This chain is built for the kind of shows I do — loud bands, big rooms, vocalists who move around. If you're doing corporate speech or acoustic sets, most of this is overkill and a good desk EQ will do the job. Start with the desk, add one thing at a time, and only keep what you can hear making it better.
Got a plugin you reckon I'm missing out on? Let me know. I'll try it at the next gig.