Description

Perfect Vocal Levels—Automatically

A true timesaver, this plugin adjusts your vocal levels automatically, saving you the need to draw each level change in your DAW or manually ride faders.

Vocals are the focus of almost all popular music, so they need a consistent level that’s never buried in the mix. But automating levels manually is tedious, and using heavy compression to even out the vocal levels ends up coloring your vocal sound.

Vocal Rider saves you time by riding gain automatically, while preserving the vocal’s full fidelity. Set a target level for the vocal, and Vocal Rider will take care of the rest. It unobtrusively raises or lowers the vocal’s gain to maintain the target level—just as if you were making fast, precise fader moves.

Keep the Focus on the Voice

Fluctuating vocal levels destroy the focus of a song’s most important element. Vocal Rider not only provides consistent vocal levels, but eliminates the tedious drawing of automation curves, or doing imprecise fader punch-ins.

Adapts Vocals to the Music

Vocal Rider can level the vocal in isolation, or in context with the music’s overall dynamics. Feed a submix of the song’s instruments into Vocal Rider’s sidechain, and the vocal’s target level shifts according to the music’s level.

Automation Made Easy

Vocal Rider can write an automation track that incorporates the automatic gain changes. If you want to make additional edits beyond leveling the vocals, just tweak the automation track.

Compensate for Mic Technique Issues

Poor mic technique is a mixing nightmare, because of the wildly varying vocal levels. Vocal Rider can provide up to 12 dB of attenuation and 12 dB of gain, to make sure the vocal stays consistent.

Better Live Performances

Vocal Rider is ideal for the stage, because it adds no latency. In addition to reacting to level changes in the music, it can even prevent other instruments’ spillover from interfering with the vocal leveling process.

Top Features

1. Automatic real-time vocal leveling—no manual fader riding needed

2. Preserves dynamics and tone unlike heavy compression

3. No latency making it ideal for live performance and tracking

4. Sidechain input lets the plugin adapt vocal level to the backing mix

5. Automation writing allows you to tweak and refine Vocal Rider’s moves

6. Adjustable range of ±12 dB gain/attenuation to handle wide dynamic swings

7. Perfect for voiceovers, podcasts and vocal production in any genre

8. Works with instruments and narration not just singing vocals

9. Set-and-forget operation freeing you to focus on creative mixing

10. Fast workflow booster—saves hours of automation drawing

Additional Features

Time-saver: No need for manual drawing of automation curves

No need for over-compression that suffocates the voice

Suitable for both studio and live mixing

Ideal for vocals & voice in music, podcasts & video narration

Real-time operation adds no latency

Writes an automation track so you can fine-tune levels easily

Why You Need Waves Vocal Rider

Waves Vocal Rider was created to solve a longstanding challenge in audio production: maintaining consistent vocal levels without resorting to heavy compression or tedious manual automation. In many vocal-centric workflows—whether music mixing, podcast editing, or live sound—engineers spend countless hours drawing automation or riding faders in real time to ensure the vocal sits properly in the mix. Vocal Rider automates this process intelligently and transparently, acting like a tireless assistant that adjusts gain in real time. Unlike compressors, which can alter vocal tone and squash dynamics, Vocal Rider preserves the vocal’s natural character, ensuring clarity and expression without the hassle or audio artifacts. The plugin is designed to streamline workflows and reduce time spent on manual tasks, allowing users to focus more on the creative aspects of mixing.

Who This is For

The target market for Waves Vocal Rider spans a broad range of audio professionals and content creators. Primary users include mix engineers working on vocal-heavy genres like pop, rock, and hip hop, as well as podcast editors and dialogue mixers who need clean, consistent voice levels. It’s also a valuable tool for live sound engineers seeking real-time control without latency, and for video editors and content creators who work with spoken word and need to streamline post-production. Bedroom producers and home studio users who want pro-level results without the complexity of manual automation or dynamic processors will also find Vocal Rider essential. Essentially, anyone focused on vocal clarity and consistency—whether in music, broadcasting, or content creation—is an ideal user.

What This Package Competes With

Several products compete in the vocal leveling space, including iZotope Nectar 4 Standard, MeldaProduction MAutoVolume, Waves MV2, and TBProAudio GAINRIDER 3. While each has its strengths, Vocal Rider stands out for its simplicity, real-time performance, and transparency. Unlike Nectar 4, which includes compression and is more complex to operate, Vocal Rider offers a focused solution without altering vocal tone. Compared to MAutoVolume, which can be more technical and less intuitive, Vocal Rider’s interface is user-friendly and ideal for fast workflows. MV2 and GAINRIDER 3 offer volume leveling, but rely on compression or require more setup, respectively. What sets Vocal Rider apart is its zero-latency operation, ease of use, automation writing feature, and sidechain responsiveness, making it uniquely suited for both live and studio environments where speed and vocal integrity are paramount.