Vocal Chain

ok here's my question:

how do you start your vocal link
EQ
Compresion
Limiter
and whatever else?
or in different order??

now i did search but i didnt find what im really lookin for most of it was based on drums,and i want to know for vocals,and im also got Waves Diamond Bundle,and i DL'ed some pre-sets that dont work for some reason? and i know you shouldnt use pre-sets but i was wanting to work around them,and figure my groove..

so can anybody help me,im usin PT LE and Waves Plug-in's?

What kind of music are you making?

Hip Hop requires a more in your face vocals sound without sqaushing the drums or the instruments...

RnB-A more emphasis on the vocals siblinces like breathe and more of a room feel... more open and less in your face unless its intamte rnb then the vocal up front and vey little instrumental above 6db from the vocal..


Id say for Hip Hop----
Lets say you got a cat who is always up front in the mic distorting it and giving it pops.. no matter how hard u try to tell him to take a step back....
Vocal-Mic-Preamp-Eq-LImiter-compressor.(Compressor is optional depending on limiter)
The chain would work like this..the Person would rap then the preamp(Tube Universal Audio) would be set at a warm signal thus making the distorted vocals less of a harshness and now more of a warmth....Then taking the pre to the eq...(Most cats would eq after which is a prefence, I would also, but Iam dealing with a guy who is ruining the mix to begin with.) So I take the eq and set it by playing with his vocal frequencies the ones that boost the most of his voice without destroying the signal and cutting the pops.

Bringing up the 2-5khz range can aid in vocal intellegibility. Its called the presence peak. Its usually in good vocal mics desginged to boost this...
If the 3-5khz range is stressed too much there can be an over accentuatuion in the siblances ("s", "Sh", and "T" sounds). When the vocalist is not close u can boost 60-90hz brings out your chest resonance they give you a size of an individual and their proximityto us.
Usually when a singers sound has a nasal qaulity it is very wise to reduce 300-400hz .
If the sound is a bit dull and needs more brilliance and sparkle..Use a high shelf to boost upwards of 10khz...
(I use a ten band two channel eq by Altec Lansing circa 1968)

Then after the signal chain goes from eq into the limiter this is where the magic happens... I hoping u have a Universal Audio limiter ln 1176. cause everyone from the living legends to Wutang have at least one of these in the studio.. If your a big name studio doing stereo you have 4..but the internet and plugins now you can have these or things very similar for free or buy them:).....So on the limiter you wanna set it at any of the four bush buttons you wish and adjust the attack and knee.....Also 4:1 is a basic setting...
Thats it..

thanks fo that info! i was lost at what to really attack first,OH and yea it is hip-hop

Freedom -> there's some good stuff right there, much props

pre>lim(if needed)>comp>EQ

"(Most cats would eq after which is a prefence, I would also, but Iam dealing with a guy who is ruining the mix to begin with.) "

YEP pre- lim(if needed)-comp-eq like I said its better to eq after, but for my example I was using an already damaged mix..

this is my chain

Mic (condensor..dyanmic for more nasly singers/rappers)
Pre (Super important to get a class A pre if you can)
Desser - Get it done first..isolate any anoying frequency before you move on
Eq- Find a "sweet spot" between 1-5k..boost..then boost between 12-16k for air. you will need to do this to compensate for the Desser.
Compresser - Now drop in the comp.

Aux chain..I like delay on vocals..maybe a bit of reverb too.

oh, and if you have a nasaly singer..or just aren't getting a good vocal.grab a new mic..don't try and fix it later w/ EQ..that is the worst thing you can do.