vocal maximizer

Posted: Sat May 24, 2008 12:11 pm

i've read in many forums that waves L?-Maximizer is probably the most user friendly compressor/squasher/limiter for vocals

The L1 Maximizer is fairly cheap right now, whereas the L3 and whatever it's sequel is are not

has anyone used these to see if theres really much difference? the website descriptions have been rather unhelpful

Posted: Sat May 24, 2008 2:15 pm

I've used the Hardware L2 quite extensively.

I would hesitate VERY much to use it on vocals.

As the last step in the AD conversion prior to printing back to 2 track, it's a great safety net with excellent converters. For vocals, it would be WAY too easy to ruin a decent mix by using this (plug in or outboard) to squash it.

A limiter should RARELY be used on vocals anyway unless only a little. And then, I still prefer good ole fashioned Leveling Amplifiers where the vocal is only slightly touched.

Try a light compressor versus the limiter - say a 2 or 3 to 1 ratio (maybe even less if the vocalist is strong) instead of the infinity:1 ratio of the L2/L3.

Cheers-
J.

Posted: Sat May 24, 2008 2:19 pm

Yeah I remember going through that phase when I was just starting out, limiting EVERYTHING! Infact I just opened a session from 4 years ago and all the waveforms are basically rectangles!

Basically let the vocals breath a little bit, or write in some volume automation to bring up the softer parts, then like Cucco said add a light compressor.

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