Pro Tools uses a proprietary plug-in format called RTAS (Real Time AudioSuite) which is equivalent to the open source VST plugin format used in other sequencers such as Logic and Cubase. As anyone can create their own VSTs and release them to the public, there are literally thousands of VST plugins out there, ranging in price from free to remarkably expensive. As there is no quality control system on these plugins, their usefulness also varies a lot – but at least for the free plugins, you don’t have much to lose by giving them a go. For Pro Tools users, however, there are still a few ways to expand your RTAS plugin arsenal on the cheap…
(from DAW)
Free RTAS Plugins – Yes, They Do Exist
My approach to vocals changes based on genre, based on what sound I want — and I experiment with plugins and gear all the time. But there are some plugins I keep coming back to that one would see in a lot of my mixes. FabFilter Pro-DS. FabFilter Pro-DS is easily my go-to de-esser. Anyway the best way to get the same sound without using a real talkbox is to use a vocoder plugin with whatever you are affecting as the carrier and your voice as the modulator. Add some overdrive and a high pass filter to imitate the poor frequency response of the small speaker in the talkbox and bam, you have the same sound. Pro Tools perpetual licenses and Pro Tools Ultimate perpetual licenses with an active 1-Year Software Updates & Support Plan get access to 115 plugins (HEAT not included). These plugins are not connected with, or approved or endorsed by, the owners of the Boss, Electro-Harmonix, Fender, Ibanez, Leslie, Maestro, MXR, Pro Co, Ross, Univox. Accordions are a family of box-like instruments that are the free-reed aerophone type. Best Accordion VST Plugins 1). Pro-Tools 10 is the minimum.
Although thin on the ground, there are a few free RTAS plugins to be had if you know where to look. Pro Tools does come with some nifty plugins out of the box, but if you want to grab a few more then try these:
- The Bad Habit RTAS Plugin List
- Blue Cat Audio Freeware Plugin Pack Nice bundle, including a useful analyser.
- Brainworx – bx_cleansweep Free filtering goodness.
Brainworx – bx_solo Mid/side processing tool. - Digidesign – Structure Free – Free sampler.Digidesign – SignalTools – Metering and analysis.
Digidesign – Xpand! – Sampler-performance instrument.
Digidesign – D-Fi – Lo-fi sound designer.Digidesign/Bomb Factory – Free Bomb Factory Plug-ins – Bomb Factory plug-ins now free for Pro Tools users.
Digidesign/TL Labs – TL Utilities – Metering and monitoring utilities.
Digidesign/TL Labs – TL AutoPan – Panning effects. - Elysia – Niveau Filter – Another filtering option for your arsenal.
- Flux – BitterSweet II – Transient designer with a sweet sound.
Flux – Stereo Tool – Get your panning in order. - FXpansion – Orca – Free synth with some good options.
FXpansion – ClapOMatic – Not exactly essential, but an interesting addition. - Izotope – Vinyl – Make your recordings sound like olde vinly.
- JK Plugs – JK-Pipe – Utility for Macs.
- Massey – Massey Tools – Massey RTAS plugins.
- Native Instruments – Kontakt Player – plays Kontakt sound packs.Native Instruments – Kore Player – Sadly discontinued, but still useful.
Native Instruments – Reaktor Player – Plays Reaktor soundpacks.
Native Instruments – Guitar Rig 4 Player – Guitar effects processor. - Ohm Force – Frohmage – Cheesy filter sounds.
Ohm Force – Cohmpost – For some sound decomposition.Ohm Force – Symptohm: Melohman PE – More synth fun. - Prosoniq – NorthPole – 4 pole filter.
- PSP Audioware – PSP Vintage Meter – Metering.
- Sonoma Wire Works – DrumCore Free – Free drum kit action.
- SPL – Attacker – Transient designer.
- Studio Devil – Studio Devil BVC – Amp modeling.
- UVI Sound Source – UVI Workstation – Sample playback.
- ValhallaDSP – ValhallaFreqEcho – Frequency shifter and echo.
Some of these are actually demo or trial versions, but it’s a start.
Free RTAS Plugins From VST – Time To Wrap Up
These cover everything from distortion and bitcrushing, through reverbs and delays, compressors and EQs and even utility tools such as loudness meters. While there might not be as many free plug-ins around in the AAX format as there are for VST, there is still plenty out there if you know where to look.
If you really want to use VST plugins with your Pro Tools rig, there is a way – you can get yourself a wrapper program that acts as an interface between the VST and Pro Tools itself.
You can buy this program from FXpansion for about €75, and once it’s installed then you can call up your VSTs in Pro Tools just like you would your usual RTAS Plugins.
You can read about my experience with the Fxpansion wrapper program in this post about my VST to RTAS wrapping adventures.
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Getting the vocals right in a mix is kind of everything. Even if everything else isn’t perfect, if you nail the vocals, you’re still doing ok and the artist will be reasonably happy. On the other hand, even if everything else is perfect, but the vocals are a touch off, it’s going to stick out like a sore thumb and you might lose the gig. Of course, we strive to get everything right — I’m just stressing the point that vocals are the one element you have to absolutely nail.
My approach to vocals changes based on genre, based on what sound I want — and I experiment with plugins and gear all the time. But there are some plugins I keep coming back to that one would see in a lot of my mixes.
1. FabFilter Pro-DS
FabFilter Pro-DS is easily my go-to de-esser.
For a long time, I was actually automating sibilance by hand because I didn’t like the graininess that I got from all the de-essers I tried. FabFilter Pro-DS in wideband mode is as good as automating by hand.
The split band also sounds great and works well on taming harsh tones that can show up around 3 kHz, not just sibilant tones higher up.
2. SoundToys EchoBoy
I spend an inordinate amount of time designing my ambiences, particularly on vocals. It’s not uncommon for me to have three to five delay throws that I automate between throughout a record. EchoBoy gives me the versatility to create a number of delays — from subtle ambience around the vocals to overt effects.
I can do very tight delays for rap vocals, smeared “pa system” delays for rock vocals or highly diffused and spread delays for pop. Basically, I feel like I don’t have many limitations outside of my own creativity.
3. Klanghelm MJUC
I’ve tried a lot of different compressors for vocals, and while there’s a number of hardware pieces I love, I haven’t found too many in the software world. Oddly enough, the one that I keep coming back to again and again is the Klanghelm MJUC, which is one of the least expensive options available.
It’s super versatile with a great tone. It’s transparent enough to not distinctly change the tone, but just colored enough to give the voice a little extra magic. I can’t imagine a genre where this compressor wouldn’t work. And even if I were using some of my very expensive outboard, I would still likely be using this compressor as a parallel return.
4. Waves MV2
There’s usually a point in my mix where I love my vocal sound, but I just want it to be a touch fuller and a hair more forward. This is where Waves MV2 is my finisher. The Waves MV2 has a “low level” limiter which does something really interesting.
Instead of taking level above a threshold and attenuating, it takes level below the threshold and turns it up, keeping the louder signal exactly where it is. This effectively brings the vocal forward without actually turning it up louder. Even setting the low level up to just 2 or 3 adds a distinct amount of body to a vocal.
5. Avid Lo-Fi
Surprisingly enough, the stock Avid Lo-Fi plugin makes this list. Sometimes a vocal comes in too clean to really stand out in the right way. I use very subtle amounts of Lo-Fi to add grit to a vocal or shift the tone ever so slightly darker.
A very common use is for vocals that have a boxy low-mid. I want to get rid of the boxiness so I EQ out the cruddy low-mid, but then I’m missing body in the vocal. I use Lo-Fi to bring some of that body back. Sometimes a touch of distortion also helps the ear find a sound in the mix, so it’s also a good tool for getting a bit of presence in the vocal without having to make EQ changes.
6. Lexicon Vintage Plate
This one is close. I use a lot of different reverbs for a lot of different vocals for a lot of different reasons. And most commonly, I use my hardware Bricasti, but if I had to pick only one reverb to have for vocals in the box, I’d go with the Lexicon PCM Vintage Plate. With this reverb, I don’t believe I’d ever run into a vocal that I couldn’t make sound incredible.
7. Boz Digital Hoser XT
There’s a number of EQs I use on vocals. I use the FabFilter Pro-Q 2 for surgical stuff pretty often. I use Waves Q10 for background vocals very frequently. But if I had to pick one that I use more than anything else, it’s probably the Boz Digital Hoser XT. It’s punchy like SSL-style EQs, but a broader band like API-style EQs, which kind of makes it the perfect vocal EQ in my book.
If the vocal is recorded fairly flat, I love pulling in a bit of “larger than life” smile curve with the broad low and high shelf and then tightening things up by getting rid of any boxy or harsh tone using the two bell bands. It’s a process I do very often.
8. Wavesfactory Spectre
Talk Box Plugin Vst Pro Tools Plugin
I have a lot of techniques for making a vocal sound rich in a certain frequency range. I will use parallel processing — either band-limited compression or saturation — that targets that range. It’s a bit of a process to set up and it’s a little tricky to dial things in just right. Getting a vocal to sound rich is even trickier when the vocal was not tracked in the best way possible. However, Wavesfactory Spectre has made this process much easier. Spectre works like an EQ but instead of boosting frequency content it boosts harmonic energy at a target frequency. This is exceptionally useful when it comes to getting vocals to sound full in the lower mids.
Talk Box Plugin Vst Pro Tools Download
Turn the playback level very low with the entire mix going. Listen to the vocals. If they sound thin or diminished in any particular frequency range, grab Spectre. Set the “Mix” to 100%, and dial in just enough of that frequency range to make the vocals stand over the record. Then turn the “Mix” down to a lower percentage until the vocal seems to glue itself back into the track again. I find a little bit goes a long way. A dB or two boost at 30 to 50% is usually plenty. Experiment with the distortion algorithms — I find myself going to “Warm Tube” very often. And set the Quality to “Best.” Instant rich vocal.
Bonus: PSP B-Scanner
A lot of Pop and R&B vocals benefit from a bit of chorusing/modulation. It gives them some tonal movement, texture and a sense of spread. My favorite choice for this process is the PSP B-Scanner, and I don’t believe this is at all what PSP intended for the plugin. But damn if it doesn’t sound sexy tucked under a vocal 12dB down.
Now, I didn’t list this in the primary seven because I don’t believe this plugin would work well for Rap or Heavy Rock. I can’t exactly call this one a “favorite” for everything, but I had to at least mention it.
If I had nothing other than these plugins listed, I don’t believe I’d have any restriction in mixing any vocal, from Top 40 Pop to grimy Punk-Rock. I’d be happy as a pumpkin in a pumpkin patch, and I’m pretty sure that’s not even a real expression.
Mixing Vocals Tutorials
How to Creatively Deal with Comb Filtering on Vocals
Getting the vocals right in a mix is kind of everything. Even if everything else isn't perfect, if you nail the vocals, you're still doing ok and the artist will be reasonably happy. On the other hand, even if everything else is perfect, but the vocals are a touch off, it's going to stick out like a
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