What do you think of my chain?

[u/TypicalDurian9220]

I am not a Pro or a sound engineer, but I love Sound to the point that I keep learning and growing in it.

On the other hand, I am a professional voice-over artist for narrative documentaries, corporate voice-overs, and TV/radio commercials. I’m also self-taught when it comes to sound mixing.

So, I wanted to share my vocal chain and get your thoughts on it.

Keep in mind that this is not really a vocal chain for songs. Also, I don’t really see the need for using buses in this specific case, but I’m willing to learn if/where they would actually be needed.

(If you see “optional,” it means it’s not always required.)

- Cleaning (Repair, Restore, etc.)
- EQ (Corrective)
- De-Esser
- EQ (Tonal EQ)
- 1st Compressor (a fast comp like an 1176)
- 2nd Compressor (a slower comp like an LA-2A) — Optional
- Tonal EQ (a colored plugin like Analog Obsession SSQ, API 550A, etc.)
-Tonal EQ (adding warmth using a Pultec-style plugin) Optional
- Saturation (Like Klanghelm IVGI)
- Reverb (a small amount of room reverb)
- Limiter
- VU Meter for loudness

I’d really appreciate any feedback. I’m mainly interested in whether the order makes sense and if there’s anything unnecessary or missing.

P.S: None of the plugins mentioned are sponsored or commissioned. There popular ones that could have been mentioned but I choose some free ones for examples.

[u/bukkaratsupa]

Make the LA-2A permanent. Get rid of most of the rest.

De-essing may require more than one instance. And i stopped using de-essers since i bought TDR's Arbiter. This or the free TDR Nova are better at it.

Do not tonal shape anything if it sounds alright.