Thursday, September 17, 2026
Wednesday, September 16, 2026
Cubase 13: Using The VocalChain Plug-in
By John Walden
VocalChain: all you need to add polish to your vocals in a single plug‑in.
Cubase’s VocalChain can polish and add character to your vocals in an instant.
For Artist and Pro users, the return of the Vocoder plug‑in (which we explored in the March 2024 column) was not the only significant addition in Cubase 13: Steinberg also added the new VocalChain plug‑in. While this essentially combines the facilities offered by a number of Cubase’s existing plug‑ins, it’s impressive just how quickly it lets you go from raw vocal to a polished mix‑ready sound. So, with a few vocal examples at hand (you can listen on the SOS website: https://sosm.ag/cubase-0524), let’s explore the possibilities.
Go With The Flow
The main screen above shows VocalChain in action. Arranged down the left edge is the full set of processing modules offered, and these are arranged as three sections, Clean, Character and Send. Your audio is processed through these in order to apply ‘corrective’ processing, add character/sonic flavour and then ambience/stereo imaging. Individual modules can be engaged or bypassed as required and, in a section, you can change the order of individual modules (drag a module up/down to reposition it). With a total of 16 modules (you can use them all if you need to), this is quite a toolkit. But because it loads as a single plug‑in and everything’s available in a single window, it’s very easy to navigate.
The GUI provides three different levels of control. In the screenshot, the Overview tab is selected (top‑left, highlighted in yellow), and beneath the spectrum display you then get access to the most significant parameter from each module. However, select the Clean, Character or Send tabs (when selected, these are highlighted in blue, cyan and green, respectively), and the choice of controls changes to focus on the modules in this section, with more control over specific modules. Finally, select an individual module, and the display changes again to provide access to the full control set for that module. It’s a clever bit of design that means you can quickly switch between different levels of editing.
There’s also a set of style/genre‑based presets to get you started, and these should not to be underestimated. OK, so there’s no AI involved here (VocalChain doesn’t listen to your audio and then make some setting suggestions in the way that, say, iZotope’s Nectar might) but they’re well worth exploring and can get you off to a flying start. You just find a preset that provides a suitable starting point and then tweak to taste, using any of the three control levels described above.
Time To Tweak
In terms of that tweaking, a sensible initial task is to use the input and output metering on the right to set your levels. Setting the input level control to get your signal into the green coloured range of the meter is a good start, as it will most likely ensure your signal hits the first active dynamics stage in the preset’s design at an appropriate level. You can then adjust the output level to find the happy place where the vocal sits most comfortably in the mix. It’s also interesting to watch the two meters during playback: with two compression stages, two dynamic filters and two de‑essers available, there can be a serious amount of dynamics management going on, should you need it.
While tweaking, one further feature makes it much easier to evaluate the impact of the changes you are making: the ability to solo each module. In the list of modules, this solo mode can be activated via the small ‘s’ button located to the left of each module’s name. Once activated, all other modules are bypassed (so the overall signal level might also change), but it allows you to more easily focus on what the current module is doing to your vocal’s sound. And, by also using the selected module’s bypass button, you can easily assess the impact the module is having on the unprocessed signal. These auditioning options are particularly useful for the various EQ, dynamics, filter and exciter/saturation modules.
Make It Pop
So, what about the processing itself? As I said, there’s a lot packed in here, but a few highlights can serve as examples — remember to check out the audio examples on the SOS website if you want to hear some of these options in context.
Let’s start with a ‘pop’ vocal example. VocalChain includes a number of suitable presets, such as Perfect Pop Dry Vocal or Shiny Pop Vocal, that can deliver a very crisp and compressed, if (deliberately) not particularly natural starting point. Another common pop production technique is to add some ‘weight’ to a lead vocal by blending in a vocal double an octave below the main sung line, and the Lead Vocal Reinforce preset does just that. While it also provides dynamics and EQ settings that are suitable for modern pop, the ‘weight’ is added using the Pitch module.
As shown in the screenshot, this can be used to apply some automatic pitch correction (either subtle or not so subtle — try the Trap Icon preset), but that’s not being used here. Instead, this preset uses the Detune and Formant controls to pitch‑shift the vocal down by an octave, along with a suitable downward shift of the formants that makes this down‑pitched voice sound a little more natural. Finally, the Mix control has been used to set the blend of the original voice and the ‘octave down’ version. So it’s the same vocal, but with more ‘weight’.
The Pitch module does automatic pitch correction but can also be used to fake a vocal double.
Rock On
Lots of rock or metal singers can achieve aggressive vocal distortion through their singing technique, but this is also something you can enhance or create through processing. Here, the Hot Rock Hot Valve Mic Chain preset does just that. While the Character section’s Exciter module contributes, it’s the Saturator module that does the heavy lifting.
As shown in the screenshot (and can be heard in the audio examples), using the Distortion mode and the Drive control maxed out, this preset doesn’t hold back, but it illustrates what’s possible. It’s also worth noting that the Filter Bank is engaged — this focuses the distortion in the 500Hz‑3.5kHz region. It’s a very useful option and, in this case, it enhances the gritty, lo‑fi nature of the sound. If you want to dial it back a bit, then Tape and Tube modes, and different Drive and Mix settings, make that easy. And, of course, all these controls can be automated in Cubase if you want to add that saturated edge just to specific words or phrases in the performance.
The Delay module also features a Filter Bank, but this feature really shines in the Ducker, where it can help prevent your ambience effects from adding clutter to a busy mix.
Duck Duck Go
The benefit of the Send section is that it avoids the temptation of sending your lead vocal to reverb or delay effects used for more general duties in your project and, instead, you can configure settings specifically for the vocal part. In busy mixes (for example, an uptempo EDM project), too much delay or reverb can easily muddy a mix. However, as the Platinum Female Vocal Chain preset illustrates, VocalChain’s toolset allows you to manage this while still getting epic with your vocal ambience.
The Filter Bank feature in the Saturator module lets you target the specific frequency range for any distortion.As shown for the Delay module in the final screenshot, two particular features are useful. First, as with the Saturator module, both the delay and reverb modules offer a Filter Bank, allowing you to trim out frequencies in the delay repeats (or reverb) so you don’t get excessive low mids (to clog up the mix) or (at the top end) repeats fighting with your hi‑hats. However, it’s the ducker’s Amount and Release controls that are the stars of the show. They allowing you to suppress the level of the delay (or reverb) while the source vocal is present, and then control how quickly that ducking is released (so you hear the delay in all its glory) between the vocal phrases. It’s a classic trick, and VocalChain makes it very easy to pull off.
Join The Chain Gang
There are plenty of very capable third‑party ‘vocal signal chain’ plug‑ins designed to tackle the same task, including some powerful ones that feature AI assistance. But until AI can read our minds, it can’t know exactly what kind of sound we’re trying to create, so there is always going to be project‑specific tweaking to be done. Arguably, VocalChain’s presets can provide just as valuable a starting point as many AI plug‑ins, and because the GUI makes it really easy to adjust every component in a single window, it’s super easy to tweak your vocal sound to suit the mix. Of course, the potential of getting quick results is only one aspect of using VocalChain.
There’s a lot more to explore in the plug‑in, so it’s a topic I’ll probably return to in a future column.
Tuesday, September 15, 2026
Monday, September 14, 2026
Cubase 13: New Sampler Track Features
Custom modulation envelopes can now be constructed more easily in the Sampler Track’s Pitch, Filter and Amp panels using the new shape options.
We throw some shapes with the powerful new sound‑design options in the Sampler Track.
The Sampler Track (which is a feature in the Pro, Artist and Elements editions of Cubase) is a simple but undeniably creative tool, so it’s great for experimenting with sample‑based sound design. It’s been with us a while, but in Cubase 13 Steinberg added some new features, including some intriguing spectral‑based modes for the sample playback engine. For this workshop, though, I thought I’d explore another of the new options: the shape‑based drawing tools now present in the Pitch, Filter and Amp modulation panels. These make it so much easier to design tempo‑based patterns, so that risers, pitch drops, patterned filter sweeps and rhythmic volume effects should all feel well and truly in sync with your project.
I want to keep things simple to follow, so with that in mind let’s explore some of the possibilities when using just a single sample as a starting point — in this case, I’ll be using a sustained single note from a synth pad. There are audio examples on the SOS website that you can audition (https://sosm.ag/cubase-0624) and, with the aid of a second sample (a drum loop) and a vocal hook, these include putting these Sampler Track‑designed sounds into the context of an initial sketch for a musical project.
Shaping Shifting
We’ve explored some of the Sampler Track’s established features in previous workshops so I’ll not retread that ground other than to remind you that the engine works on a single sample and provides various means of time‑stretching (designed for different use cases), loop slicing (for working with drum loops), sample looping (to create sustaining sounds), automatic mapping of the sample across a user‑defined key range, and pitch, filter and amplitude toolsets, each with envelope and LFO‑based modulation, amongst a bunch of other possibilities.
The new ‘shaper’ tools introduced in Cubase 13 mean more options when creating modulation envelopes. In the Mod panels of the Pitch, Filter and Amp windows, a new toolbar drop‑down provides access to a whole range of Factory curves, and you can save your own user curves too. Once a curve shape is selected, you can add it to the modulation envelope using either the Draw (pencil) or Paint (brush) tools. The former lets you draw a single instance of the selected curve, and you can drag as you draw to resize it. The latter lets you add multiple repeats of the selected curve and uses the panel’s Sync setting to set the beat division (length) of each repeat (so defining a rhythm for the modulation). By dragging up/down as you use the Paint tool you can control the amplitude of each repeat, and therefore the amount of modulation to be applied. And, of course, you can build custom curves by combining different shapes and/or different beat divisions.
A useful selection of factory curve shape elements are included, and you can also save your own user curve creations.
Two other options are worth noting. First, the F button enables/disables Fixed mode. When enabled, adding a new shape (with its curve nodes) replaces any curves/nodes already present in the targeted section of the overall modulation curve. When disabled, existing nodes are automatically shifted to the right along the timeline to make room when new curves/nodes are added. Fixed mode also influences what happens when you edit individual nodes and whether moving one node does (or does not) cause other nodes to the right to also change position.
Second, the Mode types in each Mod panel now include a Shaper option. You don’t have to use this mode in order to create modulation curves using the shape presets but it does allow you to create modulation curves that can cycle perfectly, as it ensures the start and end node values are linked.
One Sample, Many Sounds
In creating different sound types from a single sample, we can make use of the Sampler Track’s full feature set, but these new shape‑based modulation tools can certainly play a useful part. For my (totally arbitrary) mission of generating all my non‑drum sounds from a single source sample, there are some obvious contender sounds that I’ll need to generate. These include bass, lead, and pad/chord sounds, as well as options such as a risers or bass pitch drops that can be used to add some ear‑candy.
Let’s start with a simple case: a short (non‑sustaining) bass sound. The key settings are shown in the screenshot. In the Playback window, I’d engaged Audiowarp and selected one of the new Spectral modes, then tweaked the Formant and Key F controls to alter the tonality to taste, while in the Filter section I chose a low‑pass valve‑style filter. However, it’s the Amp and Filter modulation that then control the nature of the sound, and each is based on one of the new preset curve shapes. The Amp modulation provides a short, ramped attack, short sustain and then a rapid fade, while the filter uses an S‑shaped modulation curve to smoothly but rapidly open the filter as the sound plays to give it a little tonal movement. The Filter panel’s AMT control (far left) can be used to adjust the degree of this tonal shift, while the S‑curve nodes could be manually adjusted, along with the starting cutoff value, for further control. When played in the lower registers suitable for a bass line, the end result is a short, solid bass tone with a little sonic movement.
Even simple curve shapes become easier to generate, as seen here for our simple bass sound with short modulation curves in the Amp (on the left) and Filter (right) panels used to generate a short bass note with a little bit of tonal movement.
A similar filter modulation approach was used to create a lead sound but for this I used a high‑pass filter. In this case, the Mono and Legato options were enabled in the Sampler Track’s main Toolbar area so that the Pitch panel’s Glide control could then be used to provide a pitch slide between overlapping notes.
For this exercise, I created a couple of different pad sounds, both of which involved defining a loop region in the main waveform display (enabling Snap To Zero Crossings and adding a crossfade in/out to the loop region help with creating a smooth looping experience). For the first of these pads, I used a simple curved shape to add a very gentle filter sweep that created a subtle tonal shift as the sound sustained. However, for the second pad, I used the shaper‑based tools to create a custom Amp modulation (the main screenshot shows a similar custom modulation curve). When played, this creates a rhythmic effect that’s automatically sync’ed to tempo. And, with a further custom modulation curve added to the Filter, I was able to add a tonal element.
The various curve shape options were also useful in creating some ear candy elements. For example, for a bass ‘hit and drop’, I duplicated my bass Sampler Track and, as well as making tweaks to the filter settings, I added a short pitch modulation curve that smoothly dropped the pitch by an octave. By using the beat divisions in the display, you can adjust the curve shape as you draw it, so its length locks in sync with the project tempo. Similar curves in the Amp and Filter modulation panels can help emphasise the effect created.
I created a number of different risers. Obviously, the initial element required for this is a volume rise that lasts the required time. Again, the beat grid in the modulation panels lets you draw a suitable curve to exactly the length that’s required, and I created one‑beat, two‑bar and four‑bar versions using this approach. The rise effect can then be enhanced by using a similar modulation curve for the filter, and I used a band‑pass filter this time, to sweep upwards as the riser was playing. In a second version of the four‑bar riser, I added a further element by superimposing a small amount of LFO based modulation (based upon a pulse waveform set to 16ths) on top of the shaper‑based curve to give the riser an additional rhythmic pulse effect.
Lock Then Load
To keep this workshop easy to follow, I confined my experiments to a single source sample — this is a great way to learn what’s possible too! — but in the real world you can use a selection of contrasting source samples to give you a broader range of tonal properties to play with. Also, note that if your modulation curve designs result in something you like, but you’d still like to experiment further, you can try using the same settings with a different underlying sample to produce a variation. To do this, just create a duplicate of your Sampler Track and enable the Lock button (the padlock icon) on the main Sampler Control toolbar strip for the duplicate. You can then load (or drag and drop) an alternative sample into the Sampler Control panel. This replaces the original sample in this instance but retains (locks) all the other settings — including your carefully constructed modulation curves!
As mentioned above, you can hear the results of my shaper‑based modulation experiments in the audio examples on the SOS website, both in isolation and in a short sketch. It’s great that Steinberg are continuing to nudge the Sampler Track feature set forward. No, it’s not a fully blown HALion or Kontakt‑style sampler, but it’s quick and easy to get to grips with, full of creative potential, and well worth digging into if you like to design your own sounds.
Saturday, September 12, 2026
Friday, September 11, 2026
Cubase 13: Stock Vocal Compressors Compared
What’s your pick for routine vocal compression duties? Vox Comp, Black Valve or Compressor?
Cubase now boasts a number of decent stock compressor plug‑ins: Vox Comp, Black Valve and Compressor. Which should you choose for vocals?
When it comes to modern vocal production, compression is pretty much a ubiquitous part of the processing chain. In most cases, the primary aim will be to manipulate the dynamic range so that, when placed within the final mix, every part/phrase/word of the vocal comes across clearly. Having achieved this, a secondary consideration might be to impart some character or attitude to further enhance the vocal, either tonally, or in terms of finessing the attack or sustain elements of the individual words.
Cubase now offers a number of stock compressors, including two new choices added in v13: Vox Comp (for Pro and Artist users) and Black Valve (Pro only). So how do you decide which of these compressors to use on your vocals? To help you choose, I grabbed a suitable vocal track and put the two ‘new for v13’ offerings up against the long‑standing standard Compressor plug‑in, to see if I could identify the role that each might play in achieving these typical compression aims. You’ll also find, on the SOS website, some audio examples that demonstrate what I’m talking about: https://sosm.ag/cubase-0724.
One Knob Wonder
As can be seen in the main screenshot, Steinberg have taken the keep‑it‑simple approach to Vox Comp’s control set. The documentation suggests that it features a ‘highly adaptive’ algorithm that’s designed for processing vocals. Given that there is a specific option to engage a low‑latency ‘live’ mode, I assume that there’s usually a ‘look‑ahead’ stage of a few milliseconds that lets the plug‑in see what’s coming and adjust the processing to suit.
Once inserted, you simply dial in Vox Comp’s Threshold knob to achieve the required amount of compression (there is no user control over the attack/release or ratio settings; presumably, these are built into that adaptive algorithm). If you need to level‑match the processed signal to the original, you can adjust the Output knob. I’ve not used it here, but you can also use Vox Comp for parallel compression without setting up any routing in Cubase, thanks to the Dry/Wet knob.
As is easily demonstrated by the audio examples that accompany this workshop, the results can be very good indeed. My example vocal features noticeable level differences between the verse and chorus sections, and several words within the verse section that are quieter than some others. Using the settings shown within the first screenshot, Vox Comp’s one‑knob magic does a very good job of levelling out these quite marked differences (the loudness range across the example goes from 13.1 LUFS unprocessed to 7.8 LUFS after processing) while still maintaining a fairly natural sound.
These changes are reflected in the vocal’s waveform, as shown in the second screenshot. Sonically, it’s impressive stuff: a much more even vocal performance is achieved effortlessly, the words and individual syllables can all be heard clearly, and it still sounds fairly natural. If in doubt about your vocal compression choice, then, Vox Comp should be a very good place to start, regardless of your confidence level and/or experience with compressors featuring fuller control sets.
Changes to the vocal waveform as a result of the compression settings shown in the first screenshot. Each panel shows a short example from the same vocal performance — the top and middle panels are from the quieter verse section, while the bottom panel is from a louder chorus section. The top panel compares the unprocessed vocal (pink) with the Vox Comp version (pale blue). The middle panel shows the three different compressors: Vox Comp (blue), Black Valve (pale red) and Compressor (pale green). The bottom panel shows three different configurations for Compressor, using the settings shown in the other screenshot (in pale green), with the same settings but an 8:1 Ratio (in pink), and with slower attack and release settings (in pale blue).
Added Character
Users of Cubase Pro 13, though, have the option of using the Black Valve plug‑in, which emulates a classic tube‑style compressor. There are more knobs here (five, compared with Vox Comp’s three) and it’s not designed solely with vocals in mind, but it still offers ease of use and is certainly useful in this context. The plug‑in emulates two important characteristics found in Black Valve’s hardware inspirations: a relatively slow attack time and the option to add some preamp‑based saturation to the sound.
The Dry/Wet and Output level controls function as they do in Vox Comp and, again, there are no individual attack, release or ratio controls. But as on lots of hardware valve and optical compressors, the Peak Reduction knob acts as a sort of ‘macro’ control, influencing both threshold and ratio parameters, with higher values providing more overall compression. The Drive knob controls the signal level going into the modelled tube preamp and, pushed suitably hard, adds some saturation to the sound. The gain control then provides a post‑preamp gain‑staging option before your signal hits the compressor.
As shown in the screenshot, I set a pretty high Drive level to make the tube saturation sound a little more obvious in the audio examples (it’s particularly noticeable on the harder consonants), but note that if you wanted to exaggerate this further then you could apply a few extra dB of gain prior to the signal reaching the plug‑in — this would drive the tube stage even harder. I didn’t think it was appropriate for this particular vocal part, but the modelled tube does break up in a very pleasing fashion so it’s an option to bear in mind in a different context.
The combination of saturation and compression resulted in a shift from the original 13.1 LUFS to 6.2 LUFS, and the much more even nature of the processed performance is clearly audible. Looking at the resulting waveform display, my Black Valve settings produced a slightly greater increase in the loudness of the quieter sections, but more noteworthy is the slightly higher levels of some note onsets. This is not a surprise given the somewhat slower attack time, and although it’s a small difference, to my ears it results in the starts of words having a slightly stronger emphasis. That might or might not be a desirable result, depending on the captured performance and the musical context, but it’s a useful option to know about. So if you’re looking for a compressor that might impart a little additional character to your sound, while still being very easy to use, Black Comp is a great candidate — I’d certainly check it out before choosing to splash the cash on a new third‑party compressor plug‑in.
Clinical Precision
Cubase’s standard compressor, called simply Compressor, is designed for those occasions on which you want precise control over all the elements of the compression process. It requires a little more user input (and probably experience), but the results are clean and controllable. As shown in the screenshots, for the main example used here I used a combination of a modest (4:1) ratio and fast attack and release times. I then just adjusted the threshold to taste until I felt the vocal was sitting at a more consistent level. Analysis subsequently indicated this resulted is a loudness range of 8.0 LUFS.
As shown in the short waveform, the most obvious feature of the Compressor processed version is that the loudest parts of the vocal are not compressed as much as with Vox Comp and Black Valve. This is most likely because the fixed 4:1 ratio is lower than the adaptive ones of Vox Comp and Black Valve are on average — a little experimentation revealed that an 8:1 ratio in Compressor produced something closer to the results of Vox Comp. Keeping the ratio and threshold fixed and varying Compressor’s attack and release produced exactly the sorts of changes you might expect in the waveform, making it possible to experiment with the balance between note attacks and note sustains with a level of control that’s not really possible with the simplified controls offered by Vox Comp and Black Valve.
Again, to my ears, the results in this example sound very clean. The overall level of compression achieved in this case was in the same ballpark but, of course, the user has much more precise control over how that’s achieved. If you’re more of a control freak, Compressor is a great choice — and note that if you want a less clinical‑sounding result, you could always use something else to add character: you might insert an instance of something like DaTube into your signal chain in front of Compressor, for example.
Is All Choice Good?
For me, the key lesson from this little experiment is that the differences between the three compressed versions of my example vocal are relatively small when compared with the differences between any one of them and the uncompressed version. Some of those differences between the compressed versions are where that secondary aim (discussed earlier) comes into play, whether it’s adding character or wanting more detailed control. If those things are important to you, Cubase clearly has stock plug‑ins that let you explore that.
But if you’re simply focused on that primary aim of getting your vocal broadly in the right dynamic range, then whichever compressor you go with, be it Vox Comp, Black Valve or Compressor, it can deliver the goods and the ‘right’ choice will probably come down to how quickly, or how easily, you can get to that good result. Yes, you can deep dive on your vocal compression if you wish, but you can still achieve impressive results by turning a single knob. How cool is that?