Pro Tools: Vocal Levelling

Clip Gain is an excellent first port of call when it comes to achieving a consistent vocal level.

Get your vocal levels just right in Pro Tools with these handy tips.

Vocal production has changed enormously since the start of the DAW era. While not every production requires the big, bright, and ultra‑processed sound common in pop productions, even the most natural styles today exhibit a level of polish that simply wasn’t there a couple of decades ago. If the vocal isn’t right, its failings will let the whole production down. So, what’s the difference between an ‘OK’ and a ‘great’ vocal sound, and how can Pro Tools help users get there?

This article won’t focus on tuning and timing nudges, which are often integral to modern vocal production. Instead, we’ll focus on levelling vocals, because if this isn’t handled correctly, no amount of further processing can hide that fact. We’ll look at four contrasting and complementary approaches. While these techniques can be performed in any DAW, we’ll highlight specific ways to achieve them in Pro Tools using stock features and plug‑ins, as well as third‑party tools where appropriate.

Next Level

Vocal levelling is the process of managing a vocal track’s volume to reduce inconsistencies in level over time. This might sound like dynamic range compression, and indeed, compression is a part of it. However, there’s a distinction between managing the differences between words and phrases, which can often be done manually, and the faster, syllable‑level adjustments that require compression or detailed automation.

While it might seem tempting to rely solely on a compressor to control amplitude variations, compressors always leave their sonic fingerprint to some degree. Even so‑called ‘transparent’ compressors alter the sound, and overuse can leave a vocal sounding squashed. This is why combining different levelling techniques is essential for a polished and professional result.

Clip Gain

Clip Gain can help you to manage your vocal levels in the first instance, before you move onto further processing (in fact it’s best to perform initial Clip Gain adjustments without any compression, as the compressor will affect how your Clip Gain adjustments sound). In Pro Tools, this feature allows you to adjust the level of audio clips at the pre‑mixing stage, much like setting channel gain on a console. However, Clip Gain offers much more precision by allowing dynamic adjustments within a clip, such as addressing loud breaths or inconsistent phrases.

To use Clip Gain efficiently, make an Edit Selection across the area you wish to adjust, then use Control+Shift (or Start+Shift on Windows) with your scroll wheel to trim the level up or down. Unlike the Pro Tools mixer’s fader, which has only 12dB of boost available, Clip Gain has up to 36dB, so large changes up as well as down can be accommodated. For more precision, display the Clip Gain line using Control+Shift +minus (Start+Shift+minus on Windows) and draw in your changes directly. These adjustments can be used to handle issues such as...