As humans, we aren't born with exactness. You can't just simply walk into the studio booth, and expect a good vocal consistent take.
I am not an advocate of comping vocal (a process where the best parts of multiple takes are combined into a perfect take), why would I record multiple takes, and edit over & over again? That's not a nice feat if you are doing loads of projects.
Make sure you are fixing your issue at the source level before editing (compression, eq, etc), If it isn’t good going into the device, it isn’t going to be good coming out.
However, you would still likely experience some gain inconsistencies, which is where you use a compressor or a plugin, and an example of such is ERA 4 Voice leveler.
What is ERA 4 Voice Leveler
ERA 4 Voice Leveler is a single knob plugin that uses the accusonus patented algorithm to automatically detect audio gain inconsistencies, and correct them in real-time.
Getting Started With ERA 4 Noise Leveler
This is a simple and easy-to-use plugin and features few parameters, so, it’s fairly straightforward, nevertheless, let’s dive deep into the core features…
Processor & The Processing Modes
The processor is the big round knob at the center of the plugin and is the main control of the noise leveler. You can dial in the amount of processing you want depending on how you want the reverb suppressed.
On the left side of the plugin is the processing mode, you can either go for the 'Normal' mode or the 'Tight' mode. If you just want a subtle voice leveling, you can go for the normal modem and if you want something more aggressive, you can go for the Tight mode.
Emphasis & Breath Control
One of the interesting features of this plugin is the emphasis toggle, this automatically detects problems in tonal balance of voice recordings.
Also, the killer feature of this plugin is the Breath control option, as the name suggests, it let you control the breath of a voice, this won't actually remove the breath, it only controls the balance between the breath and the actual voice.
Output Gain
If you notice the level of the output signal is lower than the original signal, use the output gain as a makeup gain, this way, you can adjust the level of the output signal.
A/B switch
You can use the A/B switch to compare two settings, and it doesn’t stop there, you can adjust the controls such as Processing, Gain, and Emphasis independently for the A and the B setting, which is super awesome.
One last thing I would love to point out is that if you are recording the sounds yourself, record the best sound possible. if you are recording too many inconsistent takes, please do not expect a miracle, I can’t stress this enough!
►Key Features:
- Single knob operation
- Simple and streamlined user interface
- Automatic level normalization
- Input/output waveform view
- Precision-grade audio repair functionality
- Uncompromised sound quality
- Resizable UI
►System Requirements:
- macOS 10.10 or higher // Windows 7 or higher
- Hard Disk Space: 250MB (minimum) for Windows and 660MB for macOS
- Screen Resolution: 800×600 (minimum)
- Sample Rates: 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96 kHz
- RAM: 2GB (minimum)
- VST, AU, AAX Native (64-bit)