Parallel Compressor Vocal Considerations

As your arrangement changes in weight/density, so must your vocal part. Let parallel compressors help

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Our track starts with a lead vocal floating over a delicate string pad which is super-fragile. Here, a vocal treatment to match feels appropriate. However, on the second pass, a more strident pad sound takes over whilst the beats too add extra weight. Here, the same vocal treatment gets a little lost.

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We set up a new auxiliary and put UAD’s 1176 LN Rev E compressor on the channel, increasing Input level to drive the compressor hard. Ratio is set at 12:1. We use automation to introduce the Compressor for the second section of the song, setting Send Level to taste.

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We set up a second vocal parallel compressor, sending the vocal to another new auxiliary. Start by duplicating the first 1176 setting to this but then tweak the settings, driving Input harder in the second instance and backing off the Output level to match overall volume. We pan the auxiliaries hard left and right.

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The different compression settings help differentiate the left channel from the right. If the settings were perfect duplicates, the ‘width’ in the treatments would be less obvious. By creating a slight difference in sound, the ear is drawn to both left and right, creating a wider overall vocal impression.

05

To help draw even more attention to the stereo width of the vocal mix, we use the Waves H-Delay plugin before the compressor on the left channel. We set this to an 1/8th note with low Feedback (to ensure only one repeat) and both high- and low-pass filters engaged to narrow the frequency footprint. Dry/Wet balance is set 50:50.