The chain, in order
Order matters more than any single setting. You subtract before you add, control before you colour, and put time-based effects (reverb, delay) last on sends. Tap a stage:
EQ — FabFilter Pro-Q 4
Two passes. The first Pro-Q 4 (before compression) is surgical: high-pass the rumble and cut the mud so the compressor isn't reacting to junk. The second (after compression) is musical: gentle shelves for presence and air. Tap the spectrum to learn each band.
Pass 1 — subtractive
High-pass at 80–110 Hz (24 dB/oct). Dynamic cut at 200–400 Hz for boxiness. Hunt and notch harsh resonances by boosting a narrow band, sweeping, then cutting 3–6 dB.
Pass 2 — additive
After compression: a gentle presence bump around 3–5 kHz for intelligibility, and a high shelf above 10 kHz (+1 to +3 dB) for air. Small moves only.
Use Pro-Q 4's tools
Turn on EQ Sketch / Spectrum Grab to drag bands straight onto problem frequencies, and use dynamic bands so a cut only engages when the harshness actually spikes.
Compression — FabFilter Pro-C 2
One compressor working hard sounds squashed. Two working gently sounds expensive. Stack them: the first catches peaks, the second levels the body.
Catch the peaks Pro-C 2 · #1
Style Vocal or Opto. Ratio 2:1, attack medium (5–15 ms) to let consonants through, release Auto. Aim for 2–4 dB of gain reduction only on the loudest words.
Level the body Pro-C 2 · #2
Style Clean. Ratio 2:1–3:1, faster attack, fast release for consistency. Another 2–3 dB. Together you've controlled ~6 dB without ever slamming the vocal.
Set it by feel gain match
Turn Pro-C 2's Auto Gain off and match input/output by ear so louder ≠ "better." The vocal should sit forward and steady, not pumping. Watch the knee — softer knee = more transparent.
Parallel trick
Want density without losing dynamics? Run a heavily-compressed duplicate underneath (Pro-C 2, ratio 4:1+, 6–10 dB GR) and blend it in 20–40%. All the thickness, none of the squash.
De-essing — FabFilter Pro-DS
Compression and presence boosts make "S", "T", "SH" and "CH" sounds spit. Pro-DS tames them without dulling the whole vocal.
Find the sibilance
Set mode to Single Vocal, hit Audition and sweep the range until only the harsh "ss" plays — usually 5–9 kHz (higher for bright/female vocals).
Reduce gently
Lower the threshold until the meter catches only the esses. Aim for 3–6 dB of reduction on the worst ones. If the whole vocal dulls, you've gone too far.
Split vs wideband
Use Split mode so only the high band ducks (keeps the body intact). One instance handles most vocals; add a second, narrower one if a few words still sizzle.
Colour & space — Saturn 2, reverb, delay
The last 10%. Saturation glues the vocal into the beat; reverb and delay place it in a room. These always go last.
Saturn 2 — warmth
A touch of Tube or Tape adds harmonics that help a vocal cut through on phone speakers. Keep Drive low; use multiband to saturate the highs more than the lows, and mix to taste, not to obvious.
Reverb — on a send
Use a send, not an insert, so you control the wet level independently. High-pass the reverb return above 300 Hz and low-pass around 8 kHz so it sits behind the dry vocal instead of washing over it.
Delay — for depth
A tempo-synced 1/4 or 1/8 dotted delay, low in the mix, adds width and depth without the mud of long reverb. Filter it the same way and automate it up on ad-libs and line-ends.
The 8-step workflow
Print this. Run it top to bottom every time and your vocals stay consistent track to track.
Clean the take
Comp the best lines, fix timing/tuning, remove breaths/clicks. Mixing can't fix a messy take.
Subtractive EQ
Pro-Q 4 #1 — high-pass, cut mud (200–400 Hz), notch resonances.
Compress in two stages
Pro-C 2 #1 catches peaks (2–4 dB), Pro-C 2 #2 levels the body (2–3 dB).
Additive EQ
Pro-Q 4 #2 — gentle presence (3–5 kHz) and an air shelf above 10 kHz.
De-ess
Pro-DS on the 5–9 kHz sibilance, 3–6 dB on the worst esses.
Saturate
Saturn 2 — subtle tube/tape, multiband to taste.
Space on sends
Reverb + delay returns, filtered, sitting behind the dry vocal.
Automate & check
Ride the fader word-to-word, then check on phone speakers. If it works there, it works.