Can´t live without plug-ins?

[Chnoby]

I use SONAR 2.2XL for recording and am wondering whether I should use/buy additional plug-ins than the ones included in the standard of the sequencer....especially for the voice tracks (they seem not to be as crisp in hearing as on commercial cd´s)......
Does anyone knows of a real good plug-in for improvement of the vocal-sounds and do they work together with Sonar 2.2XL??? Thanks for all your comments on this subject!

 

[manning1]

i'll tell you up front i'm no great lover of plug ins and try to avoid them like the plague. i believe in being creative at the source.
the benefit of doing it my way is it makes you really creative and experimental. also it means i dont need a hugely powerfull computer. my take is great songs were done - many millions in fact before plug ins came along so if i cant get THAT SOUND i'm hearing in my head then i need to work on the source more and recording better tracks.
too many newbies today imho expect a plug in to make up for a poorly recorded track in the first place.
as many senior audio engineers have commented to me in the past THAT GREAT VOCAL SOUND comes from a combination of factors. a great singer recorded through a great microphone into a great mic preamp using very good analog to digital convertors. its very difficult to do with a poor mic and using a soundblaster card which is what a lot try to do.
also a lot of it has to do with how eq is used on the track and filtering.
particularly watching carefully the 2k to 6k area where cheap equipment sizzles like sausages.(try eq cut and experiment with the q factor).
what i do to get a better vocal is record it twice for richness.
ie: doubling.
just some ideas.
whats your mic,pre,sound card signal chain? what are you using ?

 

[Strryder]

The Sonic Timeworks EQ and CompressorX plugins in Sonar 2.2XL are pretty much top shelf, something like the Anwida DX plugin bundle will give you a much better reverb and modulation/delay set to work with for about 150 bucks.

 

[Ronan]

Read Manning1's reply. when you are done read it again.

the only thing I would chime in additionally is that its also a matter of find a mix that is a good fit for the singer. Plenty of platnum records have had vocals recored with a Shure SM 58 or 57.

 

[Tekker]

The Voxengo Voxformer is excellent on vocals... In fact I tend to use it on a lot of different instruments as well!

You can download a fully functional demo version (that mutes every 15 seconds or so) from www.voxengo.com and see if it's what you are looking for.

-tkr

 

[Atterion]

You definitely need to achieve a good vocal at the tracking stage. There is no substitute for good microphones, Preamps, or compressors. On that note, there are a few plugins that do offer up the goods when you just can't quite achieve what your after.
First I would say, upgrade to Sonar 3 or 4 Producer, which includes the mighty Sonitus Plugin Bundle. These plugins are absolutely top-of-the-line. Multiband is an extremely versatile compressor, and the delay and reverbs are absolutely lush and warm.
My personnal favorite plugin though is PSP Vintage Warmer (Multiband compressor/Analog Saturation Emulation/Limiter). Adds sparkle to anything!!!