In this test video and article, Julian Rodgers tours the 7 elements of the new AVA Vocal Flow plugin from Harrison.
What Is AVA Vocal Flow?
The AVA Vocal Flow plug-in is an all-in-one signal processing suite for mixing vocals in your music. It contains 7 routable signal processing elements along with input and output controls. The AVA-VF can be considered as a "greatest hits" compilation of Harrison console elements, specifically selected for mixing vocals.
The included elements are:
Vocal Character: A unique 2-band vocal EQ designed to “follow” the pitch of the vocal notes.
32c Channel EQ: A 4-band EQ complete with High & Low Filters. Directly based on the Harrison 32c consoles’ highly sought after channel EQ.
De-Esser: A specialized Compressor for removing sibilance in vocals or speech. Based on the X-Tool DSP found in Harrison MPC digital consoles.
Leveler: A handy Compressor derived from the Harrison Mixbus channel strip DSP.
Vocal Effects: Chorus, Delay, and Reverb for livening up vocal recordings.
Master Section: Includes controls for Routing, Polarity, Input, and Output Trim.
What We Think About The AVA Vocal Flow Plug-in From Harrison
Julian tries it with a particularly tricky vocal recording and finds that contrary to his expectations it wasn’t the 32c EQ which he enjoyed the most. If you don’t know the 32c EQ it’s a much-admired EQ design for Harrison’s 4032 analog console, which uses a proportional Q design that means the EQ can cover most tasks without the need for a dedicated Q control. It was famously used by Bruce Swedien on the mix of Thriller, other famous users included ABBA so you’ve definitely heard records made using this module!
The 32c EQ is great, as is the simple yet very effective Leveler section but the stand out modules for Julian are the de-esser, which has a brilliantly useful RTA display and an excellent split band design that makes dealing with tricky esses less of a chore and the Chorus, which is based on the Harrison XT-MG Micro Glide plugin and combines two pitch-shifted voices with a delay and doesn’t suffer the cyclic wooziness of most choruses.
There is an interesting harmonic tracking EQ section to complement the static EQ and a workmanlike pair of Send Effects, Reverb, and Delay.
A big positive was the thorough job Harrison has done on providing lots of options for auditioning at various points through the signal chan, a signal chain that can be re-ordered and gain balanced throughout.
A couple of minor gripes include the scaling of the send controls on the reverb and delay and while useable I’d probably choose a dedicated reverb over the one provided in this plug-in. That said, the value proposition has to be considered, before comparing one of seven modules in a plug-in that sells for $179 and is presently available for an introductory price of $89, to premium, standalone alternatives. You should buy this for the de-esser alone!
AVA Vocal Flow is available from the Harrison website for the introductory price of $89. You can also download a free demo which includes all of the AVA plugins.