I've found that as a tracking compressor, I've never regretted putting the CL 1B on a vocal. I just try to avoid doing more than around 5db of GR since more than that can sometimes start to really suck the life out of a vocal. Using an 1176 in tracking feels more vocalist dependent to me, it works great for some and can feel like way too much on others. I personally prefer an 1176 rev E to the mc77, I've never really clicked with the purple.