Hi,
I used this tutorial from Sound on Sound and I'm pleased with it although I still want to try vocal riding myself. Adjust the settings to your liking, it helps me with quick mixes of recordings I make in my singing lessons.

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jun1...base_0610.html

It's written by Mike Senior and uses Cubase's plugins but I guess that it's usefull in all Daws with similar tools.
I'm curious what you think of this technique and how it compares to the dedicated plugins and to manual vocal riding.

Interesting. I wasn't aware of the feature of gain based on the mix side chain until this thread came back around.
I haven't used the Wave's, some experience with the VocalSteady, but plenty with normal comps and am a proponent of both pre and post fader automation.
Having said that, I can't imagine much utility out of modulating the vocal based on the background. Rather more mix to fit the vocal, finesse the vocal track as needed.
In other words I'm questioning raising the vocal because the mix is crowding it.

Hi Wayne, thanks for your reply. I didn't even realize how exactly it works, I'm rather slow when it comes to understanding some processing stuff, mostly when it is complicated by routing etc.
I will try manual riding as well as automating and also want to give the MeldaProduction MAutovolume a second try.
Cause for some work I need a quick method.
Any opinions about the MautoVolume?

see, as far as what i know, compression has several effects on the frequency spectrum as well when it compresses the louder peaks. maybe you have recorded the vocal which has more mid-range, then what will happen when you compress the vocal? into the frequency spectrum, the mid-range will become balanced and perhaps the highs will boost off a little after make-up. as result, you will get a balance in amplitude same as vocal rider, but the frequency distribution will be messed up. messed up highs, unbalanced lows. now, what will vocal rider do? it is just going to automate your high and low peaks, reducing the dynamic range ofcourse, but as it is. now when you smash the resultant into the compressor. that guy will already be getting the consistent levels, affecting the frequency spectrum in the controlled way as you want(as you have automated to your taste). now why wouldn't that sound natural. controlled frequencies, controlled dynamics!

You can set your "threshhold" at which the fader begins to lower, and the "ratio" with which it lowers, and there's even an output level control. Do you see what I'm driving at here? Isn't this essentially just what a compressor does?

When a signal exceeds a certain level, that signal is lowered according to your settings.
Waves seems to be advertising this plug-in as something new and innovative that will "save you hours", what makes it worth the price tag?

Gordon Bullard & Company

The OP is right in their first observation.
It is really no different to a compressor, just as an opto uses a cell or a 1176 uses fet or varimu a valve, Waves Rider uses a fader.
Within the plugin you have some control over how quickly it reacts, a threshold setting and a make up gain.
We might debate how it doesn’t do a compress typical of other compressors, but that just means its a new approach to the same problem of evening out a performance.

The main difference I would say is you can adjust the automation data lane to fine tune the result…I suppose you could do the same with a ‘real’ compressor plugin but that would be tedious.

So Vocal Rider should not--in theory--add any coloration to a track. But, of course, theory and practice are often two different things. Does some amount of coloration occur whenever a signal runs through a plugin, whether or not the plugin is intended to color the signal? I've wondered about this for a long, long time. Anyone have informed thoughts on this? Thanks in advance for any insights.