Recording - May 2013 - 53
In use
As you can tell not only by its name,
but by its frequency range of 1 to 20
kHz, this plug-in’s main purpose is to
bring out various nuances in the human
voice. I tried it on a number of male and
female vocal takes, and, starting with the
included presets, was able to fine-tune
each to a given mix and performance.
Vocal Enhancer can be as subtle or as
broad as you wish; you can narrow in on
a specific element of a specific voice,
pulling out a touch of growl, breath, spit
or sweetness, or you can use it in a very
broad sense to give a vocal take
increased clarity and move it forward in
the mix. The one thing Vocal Enhancer
cannot do is highlight lows or chest resonances, but that’s OK because Character
can, and overall the two work quite well
together.
Speaking of chaining plug-ins, here is
a good place to warn you that, due to the
complex nature of what Vocal Enhancer
does, it is best to keep it first in your plugin chain, or maybe second after
Character, and do any necessary eq or
compression after rather than before it.
Otherwise it can lead to very processed
and unnatural-sounding results that to my
ears sound slightly whistley, aliased and
generally funky.
As I hinted above, Vocal Enhancer is
not just for vocals. I found it very adept at
highlighting the jangle of an acoustic guitar, the strumming of an electric guitar,
and even a great way to add pick and
finger noise back into a bass track without excessive equalization. My favorite
use was on my current favorite percussion
instrument, the Cajon, where it really
brought the snare rattles forward nicely; I
also enjoyed using it on the electronic
drums and synths of some electronica
tracks.
Caution—less can be more. After I
found the perfect enhanced sound, this
plug-in worked best when I dialed it back
10 to 20%. It is easy to think that making
everything brighter is automatically better; this problem is not exclusive to Vocal
Enhancer, and I’ve learned to do the
same dial-back with plug-ins like Abbey
Road’s Brilliance Pack and Kush Audio’s
Clariphonic.
Conclusions
When I hear about simplified plug-ins
that claim to fix or enhance a specific
part of the music chain, like voice, I am
often skeptical, but Vocal Enhancer is
nicely dialable and precise. Better yet, it’s
not a one-trick pony, being useful on just
about any instrument or source that has
an upper mid to high end that you need
to enhance. And if you’d like a broader
palette of sonic tweaks with less parameter control to fuss over, give Character a
listen as well!
RECORDING May 2013
53
http://www.clearsonic.com
http://www.clearsonic.com
http://www.ftc.edu
http://www.ftc.edu
Recording - May 2013
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - May 2013
Recording - May 2013
Fade In
Contents
Talkback
Fast Forward
Jim Anderson Records Patricia Barber
Lewitt Authentica LCT 940
PreSonus Eris Series High-Definition Studio Monitors
How To Record Great Vocals At Home
Audio-Technica AT5040 Studio Vocal Microphone
Plug-ins To The Rescue—Real-Life Remedies For Vocal Tracks
Moon Professional 3500MP 2-Channel Microphone Preamp
DPA Microphones d:fine Series Headset Microphones
Plug-in Outlet: Toontrack EZmix Pack: Vocal Toolbox
Plug-in Outlet: iZotope Nectar Elements
Blue Spark Digital USB Microphone
Plug-in Outlet: Noveltech Vocal Enhancer (and Character)
Readers' Tapes
Recording Fundamentals. Chapter 17: Sweet Spot Conundrums—Part 4
CAD Audio Acousti-shield 32
Advertiser Index
Fade Out
Recording - May 2013 - Intro
Recording - May 2013 - Recording - May 2013
Recording - May 2013 - Cover2
Recording - May 2013 - 1
Recording - May 2013 - 2
Recording - May 2013 - 3
Recording - May 2013 - Fade In
Recording - May 2013 - 5
Recording - May 2013 - Contents
Recording - May 2013 - 7
Recording - May 2013 - Talkback
Recording - May 2013 - 9
Recording - May 2013 - Fast Forward
Recording - May 2013 - 11
Recording - May 2013 - 12
Recording - May 2013 - 13
Recording - May 2013 - Jim Anderson Records Patricia Barber
Recording - May 2013 - 15
Recording - May 2013 - 16
Recording - May 2013 - 17
Recording - May 2013 - Lewitt Authentica LCT 940
Recording - May 2013 - 19
Recording - May 2013 - PreSonus Eris Series High-Definition Studio Monitors
Recording - May 2013 - 21
Recording - May 2013 - 22
Recording - May 2013 - 23
Recording - May 2013 - How To Record Great Vocals At Home
Recording - May 2013 - 25
Recording - May 2013 - 26
Recording - May 2013 - 27
Recording - May 2013 - 28
Recording - May 2013 - 29
Recording - May 2013 - 30
Recording - May 2013 - 31
Recording - May 2013 - 32
Recording - May 2013 - 33
Recording - May 2013 - Audio-Technica AT5040 Studio Vocal Microphone
Recording - May 2013 - 35
Recording - May 2013 - 36
Recording - May 2013 - 37
Recording - May 2013 - Plug-ins To The Rescue—Real-Life Remedies For Vocal Tracks
Recording - May 2013 - 39
Recording - May 2013 - Moon Professional 3500MP 2-Channel Microphone Preamp
Recording - May 2013 - 41
Recording - May 2013 - DPA Microphones d:fine Series Headset Microphones
Recording - May 2013 - 43
Recording - May 2013 - Plug-in Outlet: Toontrack EZmix Pack: Vocal Toolbox
Recording - May 2013 - 45
Recording - May 2013 - Plug-in Outlet: iZotope Nectar Elements
Recording - May 2013 - 47
Recording - May 2013 - 48
Recording - May 2013 - 49
Recording - May 2013 - Blue Spark Digital USB Microphone
Recording - May 2013 - 51
Recording - May 2013 - Plug-in Outlet: Noveltech Vocal Enhancer (and Character)
Recording - May 2013 - 53
Recording - May 2013 - Readers' Tapes
Recording - May 2013 - 55
Recording - May 2013 - 56
Recording - May 2013 - 57
Recording - May 2013 - 58
Recording - May 2013 - 59
Recording - May 2013 - Recording Fundamentals. Chapter 17: Sweet Spot Conundrums—Part 4
Recording - May 2013 - 61
Recording - May 2013 - 62
Recording - May 2013 - 63
Recording - May 2013 - CAD Audio Acousti-shield 32
Recording - May 2013 - Advertiser Index
Recording - May 2013 - 66
Recording - May 2013 - 67
Recording - May 2013 - 68
Recording - May 2013 - 69
Recording - May 2013 - 70
Recording - May 2013 - 71
Recording - May 2013 - Fade Out
Recording - May 2013 - Cover3
Recording - May 2013 - Cover4
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