Solid State Logic Vocalstrip £229 (PC/ MAC)

The latest plug-in for the Duende platform promises to take your vocal tracks into the big league, so let's wax lyrical

Tricky to get right but easy to overdo, mixing vocals can be the bane of a mix engineers' life. While there's definitely an 'x factor' at work in some of the best vocal recordings, it doesn't always come from studios with gear worth millions of pounds (although that's not a bad starting point) and with relatively modest audio tools, it's possible to take a somewhat mediocre vocal performance and boot it up several notches. Solid State Logic's latest addition to the Duende system plug-in stable claims to be able to give your vocal tracks that professional touch, so let's see if it's really got what it takes...

Testing, one, two
Like all of the Duende plug-ins, the Vocalstrip GUI is extremely clear and easy on the eye. The processor itself is split into four distinct sections: De-esser, De-ploser, Equalisation and Compander. You can read more about the first two in the Pop till you drop boxout.

The Equalisation section features three bands tailored specifically for vocal use. There's a low-pass filter for knocking out rumble, a notch filter for reducing resonant frequencies and a high peak (with narrow Q) for sweetening the top end. Everything as it should be, then.

Vocalstrip offers both a compressor and an expander, seeing as they're vocal-processing staples, but SSL have tidily combined them in the Compander panel. Going through the controls, the expander threshold governs what is basically a noise gate, with a fixed ratio of 1.5:1. It gets any extraneous noises under control and tidies everything up before the compression stage. Just as you'd expect, the Compander delivers top-notch compression in typical SSL style. The most notable feature is the drive button, which activates a tube-like overdrive processor. It's capable of effects similar to SSL's LMC-1 plug-in and can either warm the sound up or totally smash it to bits. The amount of drive depends on cranking the make-up gain control.

A real-time graphical display on the right-hand side of the GUI lets you see exactly what's going on and is extremely handy for accurate tweaking of both the Equalisation and Compander sections. And, as we've said, you can reorder these to have, for example, equalisation after compression, or any. While the manual warns that only six instances of the Vocalstrip can be run at once, this shouldn't prove a problem unless tracking a band with seven or more vocalists - perish the thought!

Our one gripe is that, while there is an A/B function for comparing settings, it still hasn't got an A-to-B copy function. And, we made the exact same criticism of the Duende system's X-EQ and X-Comp reviews back in cm124.

Nevertheless, with all-in-one vocal processing units very thin on the ground (or just downright lackluster), you generally need to break out a long chain of plug-ins to cover all the bases for any given vocal mixdown. With the introduction of the excellent Vocalstrip, this is no longer the case, at least for Duende owners.

Contact: 101865 842300
Web: www.solid-state-logic.com
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Pop till you drop
Many will be familiar with the ear-bending noises that result when someone speaks in close proximity to a microphone, resulting in explosive pops with B's and P's (plosives), or over-accentuated S sounds (sibilance). Either of these can seriously mar a good take, but fear not, for Vocalstrip is well equipped to deal with them.

Vocalstrip's De-esser section is extremely simple to use, comprising an Active lamp, Threshold and reduction Amount controls and an Audition button. The latter enables you to hear in isolation the parts of the audio that Vocalstrip is removing. However, tread carefully, as it's easy to over-process the signal, which equally results in some wacky drop-outs and noises!

The De-Ploser panel works in much the same way. However, it is easier to tame, due in no small part to the less frequent instances of plosives when compared with sibilance in most vocal material.
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System requirements
(PC)1GHz CPU, 512MB RAM, Windows XP,80MB HDspace, SSL Duende platform, VST/RTAS host

(MAC) G4/G5/lntel CPU, OS X 10.4.10,80MB HDspace,
SSL Duende platform, VST/AU/RTAS host

Test system
(PC) Intel Q6600,4GB RAM, Windows XP, Cubase SX3

Alternatively
SSL Channel Strip N/A»N/A»£Free
Comes with Duende, but doesn't quite work the same vocal magic

Voxengo Voxformer N/A»N/A»$60
An affordable, comprehensive, vocal-specific channel strip

Verdict
FOR
- Very easy to use
- Awesome audio quality
- Drive function is great
- Some handy presets

AGAINST
- It's mono-only
- Still lacking A-B copy function

This is one of the best vocal plug-ins we've tried - Duende users who deal with the human voice would be foolish to miss out!

MARK: 9/10
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