Vocal Sauce — Manual, Features & Specs | New Hall of Fame Studios

Formats & Platforms
Price	$50 — your purchase is your license.
macOS	VST3, Audio Unit (AU), and Standalone. Universal binary (Apple Silicon + Intel), Apple-notarized.
Windows	VST3 and Standalone.
Category	Vocal channel strip · Dynamics · EQ · Reverb.
Channels	mono→mono, stereo→stereo, and mono→stereo (a mono voice blooms to stereo via the doubler + reverb).
Signal Chain (fixed order)
Order	Auto-Gain → HPF → Plosive Catch → Gate → De-Ess → EQ → Comp → Saturator → Doubler → Reverb → Limiter → Out.
Per-module control	Every module (except Out) has its own ON/OFF and a wet knob (0–1) for dry/wet or parallel blending.

Adaptive Engine (all off by default)
Auto-Learn De-Ess	Filterbank measures the singer's sibilance and re-centers the de-esser, tracking the voice live.
Adaptive Learn-EQ	Gentle corrective added on top of manual gains, glided and clamped to ±6 dB per band; holds on silence.
Plosive / Auto-Gain	Transient low-band ducking for pops; RMS leveling toward your target, gated on silence.
Quality & Latency
Oversampling	Saturator: 1× / 2× / 4× / 8× / 16×. 1× is a zero-latency reference path.
Stability	Hardened for clean, glitch-free operation under heavy oversampling — non-finite samples are scrubbed and every block is verified so audio never stalls.
Latency	From the saturator anti-alias filter and limiter lookahead (~1.5 ms in brickwall mode). Reported to the host for delay compensation; zero in the reference config.
Precision	Double-precision processing supported throughout.
Control & State
Presets	Eight factory presets: Silky Lead, Warm Ballad, Rap Vocal, Airy Pop, Broadcast VO, BGV Stack, Just Jay 1, Just Jay 2.
A/B compare	Swap between two of your own saved snapshots instantly.
MIDI-learn	On every knob — right-click, move a CC to bind, one CC per parameter; maps save with state.
State	All parameters, MIDI maps, and snapshots saved as bounded, sanitized data.
System Requirements
macOS	A recent macOS on Apple Silicon or Intel. Universal & notarized — no security prompts.
Windows	A recent 64-bit Windows with a VST3-compatible host.
Host	Any VST3 host; AU host on macOS (e.g. Logic). Also runs Standalone without a DAW.
Identity	Manufacturer "New Hall of Fame Studios"; product code `Vsau`; bundle `com.newhalloffame.vocalsauce`.

01Getting Started

Vocal Sauce is a full vocal channel strip built into a single plugin. Every stage a lead vocal needs is here, pre-wired in a proven professional order — high-pass, gate, de-esser, EQ, compressor, saturator, doubler, reverb, limiter — so you get a finished starting point without patching anything together. What sets it apart is that three of its stages listen to the singer: the de-esser learns the exact sibilance frequency of the voice, the EQ adapts to the take's spectral balance, and an auto-gain leveler plus plosive catcher clean up the source before you start mixing.

Formats & installation

macOS — VST3, Audio Unit (AU), and Standalone. Every Mac binary is a Universal build (Apple Silicon + Intel) and is Apple-notarized, so it opens without security warnings.
Windows — VST3 and Standalone.

Installing — the one-click installer (recommended)

macOS — open Vocal Sauce Installer.pkg and follow the prompts. It's Universal (Apple Silicon + Intel) and Apple-notarized — installs clean, no warnings. It places the VST3, AU and Standalone for you and removes any older copy so you never run a stale build.
Windows — run Vocal Sauce Installer.exe. (Right-click the .zip → Properties → tick Unblock before extracting if shown; if SmartScreen appears, More info → Run anyway.)
Launch your DAW, rescan plugins if needed, and instantiate Vocal Sauce on a mono or stereo vocal track. It also runs as a Standalone app if you just want to process or perform without a host.

Prefer to place the files yourself?

macOS — copy the VST3 into /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3, the AU into /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components, and the Standalone app into Applications.
Windows — copy Vocal Sauce.vst3 into C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3; the Standalone app can live anywhere convenient.

ActivationThe footer of the plugin shows LICENSED / TRIAL / UNLICENSED status. Click ACTIVATE to open the activation dialog — paste your license key, or save a request file for offline activation. Only the activation request ever leaves your computer. Your purchase is your license.

The rack & interface

Vocal Sauce is drawn as a single brushed-metal rack unit that resizes while holding its aspect ratio. Across the top is the header; below it a meter strip; below that ten titled module bays laid out in two rows.

Preset navigator — the < / > arrows and center name label step through the factory presets.
A/B — instantly compares two of your own saved snapshots (slot A / slot B).
Bypass — full-plugin bypass with a click-free 20 ms crossfade against a latency-matched dry tap, so tails and latency never jump when you toggle it.
Oversampling — 1× / 2× / 4× / 8× / 16× for the saturator (higher = less aliasing, more latency).
Limiter mode — toggles BRICKWALL (lookahead) vs ZERO-LAT (zero-latency clamp).
OPT — options menu with Mono Sum and a MIDI-learn hint.

The meter strip shows IN and OUT peak levels plus four gain-reduction bars — GATE, DE-ESS, COMP, LIMIT — so you can see exactly which stage is working. Each module bay has a live scope behind smoked glass, its knobs, and (except OUT) an ON/OFF LED in its header. Every scope has an expand arrow that opens a resizable, draggable pop-out (close it with the ✕, the Escape key, or by clicking the dimmed backdrop).

02Signal Flow

The processing order is fixed and always the same — the order a professional would build a vocal chain in — so you never have to think about routing:

Auto-Gain→HPF→Plosive Catch→Gate→De-Ess→EQ→Comp→Saturator→Doubler→Reverb→Limiter→Out

The auto-gain leveler runs first (before the high-pass); mono-sum, if enabled, is applied at the very input. Every module except Out has its own wet control from 0 to 1: at 1.0 the module is fully on, at 0 it is fully dry/bypassed, and anything between is a dry/wet or parallel blend. That means you can dial in exactly as much of each stage as the voice needs — a touch of parallel saturation, half-strength doubling, a hint of reverb — all from one knob per module.

03Input · HPF · Auto-Gain · Plosive Catch

The first bay cleans up the raw source before anything else touches it.

Control	Range	Function
HPF	20–300 Hz (def 80)	2nd-order high-pass filter to clear rumble, stage noise, and HVAC before the chain sees it.
Auto Gain	off / on (def off)	Rides input level toward a target loudness (±18 dB of correction), gated so silence never ramps up.
AG Target	−30…−6 dB (def −18)	The RMS loudness the leveler aims to hold.
Plosive Catch	0–10 (def 0)	Split-band low-frequency ducker that catches sub-200 Hz "p" and "b" pops and ducks only the low band, leaving the voice body intact. 0 = off.

TipSet the HPF just below the singer's lowest fundamental — around 80–100 Hz for most voices — then enable Plosive Catch only if you can still hear pops. Auto-Gain is handy on inconsistent takes: it evens out the level going into the compressor so the compressor works less hard.

04Gate

A downward gate closes between phrases to remove headphone bleed, room noise, and breaths you don't want.

Control	Range	Function
Gate Threshold	−80…−20 dB (def −52)	Level below which the gate closes.
Gate Range	−60…0 dB (def −24)	How much the closed gate attenuates (a moderate range gates gently; full range mutes hard).
Gate Release	10–500 ms (def 120)	How quickly the gate closes after the voice drops (attack is a fixed 1 ms so it never clips word onsets).

TipWatch the GATE reduction meter while the singer performs. If word tails get chopped, lengthen the release or lower the threshold; if breaths still come through, raise the threshold a few dB.

05De-Ess & Auto-Learn

A split-band de-esser tames harsh "s", "sh", and "t" sibilance. Its standout feature is auto-learn: instead of you guessing the sibilance frequency, it measures the singer's actual sibilance and centers itself there — then keeps tracking as the voice moves.

Control	Range	Function
De-Ess Freq	3–12 kHz (def 6.5k)	Center frequency of the sibilance detector.
De-Ess Amount	0–10 (def 4)	How hard sibilance is tamed.
De-Ess Learn	off / on (def off)	Tracks the singer's measured sibilance frequency instead of the dialed value.

How the learn works: a filterbank across roughly 4.5–9.5 kHz watches for sibilant events — moments where the high band is loud both in absolute terms and relative to the overall voice. During those events it builds an energy profile and reports the energy-weighted center frequency as the learned value, glided smoothly and kept within a sensible range. The de-esser then re-centers on that frequency and the scope shows the learned Hz live.

TipTurn Learn on for a few phrases, watch the scope settle on a frequency, then leave it on to keep tracking — or note the value and dial it in manually. Raise Amount only until the harshness is gone; over-de-essing gives a lispy sound.

06EQ & Adaptive Learn

A four-band EQ shapes tone, with a live SPECTRUM / EQ display as the centerpiece — the full calibrated input spectrum (log 20 Hz–20 kHz) with the real EQ curve drawn right on top of it and four draggable band nodes.

Control	Range	Function
EQ Low	±12 dB	Low shelf at 120 Hz — weight and warmth.
EQ Low Mid	±12 dB	Peak at 350 Hz — body or boxiness.
EQ High Mid	±12 dB	Peak at 3.2 kHz — presence and intelligibility.
EQ High	±12 dB	High shelf at 10 kHz — air and sheen.
EQ Learn	0–1 (def 0)	Corrective depth — adds gentle automatic correction on top of your manual gains.

Adaptive Learn-EQ: analyzers at the four band centers compare each band's level to the average across all four and compute a gentle corrective move — partial, glided over about a second, and clamped to ±6 dB — that is added on top of whatever you dial in manually. A small "+x.x" badge appears on any band being nudged. Silence holds the curve so nothing drifts between phrases. Set the Learn knob higher for more automatic balancing, or leave it at 0 for a purely manual EQ.

07Compressor

A smooth vocal compressor controls dynamics so every word sits at a consistent level.

Control	Range	Function
Comp Threshold	−50…0 dB (def −18)	Level where compression begins.
Comp Ratio	1–10:1 (def 3)	How firmly levels above threshold are reduced.
Comp Attack	0.5–50 ms (def 12)	How fast it grabs a transient (faster = tighter, slower keeps punch).
Comp Release	20–800 ms (def 140)	How fast it recovers after the level drops.
Comp Makeup	0–12 dB (def 3)	Output gain to restore level after compression.

TipAim for 3–6 dB of gain reduction on the COMP meter for a natural lead. A 3:1 ratio with a medium attack is a safe pop vocal starting point; use the module's wet knob below 1.0 for parallel compression that keeps transients alive.

08Saturator

A gentle harmonic saturator adds warmth, density, and a touch of analog-style color. It is the one module that benefits from oversampling (see §12).

Control	Range	Function
Sat Drive	0–10 (def 2.5)	Amount of harmonic drive.
Sat Tone	−1…+1 (def 0)	Spectral tilt — darker toward −1, brighter toward +1 (low shelf 500 Hz / high shelf 2.5 kHz, ±3 dB).
Sat Mix	0–1 (def 0.35)	Parallel blend of the saturated signal against the clean signal.

TipA little goes a long way — Drive around 2–3 with Mix near 0.3 thickens a vocal without obvious distortion. Push oversampling to 4× or higher when you drive hard to keep the top end clean.

09Doubler

The doubler widens a single take into a fuller, wider vocal by generating a subtly detuned, delayed copy — the classic pop-lead thickening trick. It's also what lets a mono voice bloom into stereo.

Control	Range	Function
Doubler Amount	0–1 (def 0.35)	Width and thickness of the double.
Doubler Detune	0–25 ct (def 9)	Pitch offset of the doubled voice — more detune = more chorusing.
Doubler Mix	0–1 (def 0.3)	Blend of the doubled signal against the lead.

TipKeep detune modest (5–10 cents) for a natural double; higher values move toward an obvious chorus effect. On a mono track, the doubler and reverb together open the voice into a wide stereo image.

10Reverb

A studio-quality reverb with pre-delay, early reflections, and full tone shaping places the vocal in a believable space. Four Character macros — HALL / PLATE / ROOM / CHAMBER — set size, decay, damping, and early reflections for you with one click, then fine-tune from there.

A docked Reverb Filter Window gives you graphical control of the tail: drag the two teal dots to set the reverb high-pass and low-pass cutoffs, and the two amber dots to set the low- and high-shelf gains.

Control	Range	Function
Reverb Pre-Delay	0–150 ms (def 32)	Gap before the tail begins — keeps the reverb off the consonants.
Reverb Size	0.3–2 (def 1)	Perceived room size.
Reverb Decay	0.2–10 s (def 2.4)	Tail length.
Reverb Damping	0–1 (def 0.45)	High-frequency absorption over time.
Reverb HP / LP	20–1k / 1k–20k Hz	Tail high-pass and low-pass (also on the filter window).
Reverb Low/High Gain	±12 dB	Tail low-shelf (300 Hz) and high-shelf (4 kHz) tone.
Reverb Mod	0–1 (def 0.3)	Movement in the tail to avoid metallic ringing.
Reverb Early Ref	0–1 (def 0.4)	Level of the early reflections.
Reverb Mix	0–1 (def 0.28)	Overall wet/dry blend.

TipStart from a Character macro, then raise Pre-Delay to keep the vocal up front, and roll the tail HP up to ~200 Hz so the reverb doesn't muddy the low end.

11Limiter & Output

A final limiter catches peaks and sets a safe output ceiling, followed by an output trim.

Control	Range	Function
Limiter Ceiling	−6…0 dB (def −0.3)	Maximum output level.
Limiter Release	10–500 ms (def 80)	Recovery time after a peak.
Output Gain	±12 dB (def 0)	Final level trim, followed by a safety hard-clip at full scale.

The limiter has two modes, chosen from the header: the default BRICKWALL lookahead mode (true peak control, ~1.5 ms latency) and a ZERO-LAT clamp for zero-latency tracking. Use brickwall when mixing; use zero-latency when you need the tightest possible round-trip while recording.

12Oversampling & Quality

The saturator can be oversampled at 1× / 2× / 4× / 8× / 16× from the header. Running the nonlinearity at a higher internal rate pushes the aliasing artifacts distortion would otherwise fold back into the audible band up out of the way, so hard drive stays clean and open instead of getting harsh. Higher settings cost a little more CPU and add a small amount of latency (reported to your host for delay compensation). The 1× setting is a zero-latency reference path.

Rock-solid stabilityVocal Sauce was hardened this cycle to run clean and glitch-free even under heavy oversampling — no dropouts, no freezes. A rare condition where a single bad sample could latch a filter and stall audio has been fully fixed: non-finite samples are now scrubbed from the signal, and every processed block is checked so a stuck value can never reach your audio driver. Push oversampling to 16× and drive the saturator hard with confidence.

Use 1×–2× for tracking and light saturation, 4×–8× for mixing, and 16× for the final printed vocal when you want the cleanest possible top end. Because stability holds at every setting, there's no reason to be shy about the high modes.

13Presets & Workflow

Factory presets

Eight factory presets get you to a finished sound in one click, then invite tweaking:

Silky Lead

Smooth, polished modern lead.

Warm Ballad

Rich and intimate for slow songs.

Rap Vocal

Tight, present, and up-front.

Airy Pop

Bright, wide, radio-ready pop.

Broadcast VO

Clean, controlled spoken-word.

BGV Stack

Wide, blended background vocals.

Just Jay 1 / 2

Mix-ready pop-lead settings — a classic console-style strip into a bright hall.

Every preset is built entirely from Vocal Sauce's own adjustable parameters — nothing is locked or hidden, so any preset is just a starting point you're free to reshape.

A/B compare & MIDI-learn

The A/B button swaps between two of your own snapshots so you can compare two versions of a setting instantly. And every knob is MIDI-learnable: right-click a knob, choose MIDI Learn, then move a controller CC to bind it — the knob shows a "CCnn" badge. "Clear CC" unbinds it. The map saves with the plugin, and your moves are recorded and automated by the host like any parameter.

A suggested workflow

Load the closest factory preset for the source.
Set the HPF and enable Plosive Catch / Auto-Gain if the raw take needs cleanup.
Turn De-Ess Learn on for a few phrases, then dial Amount.
Shape tone on the EQ spectrum; add a little EQ Learn if the balance drifts.
Set the compressor for 3–6 dB of reduction; add saturation to taste.
Add doubler and reverb for width and space; set the limiter ceiling last.
Save an A/B snapshot and compare against your untreated reference.

14Troubleshooting & FAQ

The plugin doesn't appear in my DAW

Rescan plugins in your host's preferences. Confirm you installed the format your DAW uses (VST3 or, on Mac, AU). On macOS the binaries are notarized and Universal, so they run natively on both Apple Silicon and Intel.

I hear a small delay / my tracks aren't lined up

Higher oversampling and the brickwall limiter add a small amount of latency, which Vocal Sauce reports to your host for automatic delay compensation. Make sure PDC is enabled in your DAW. For zero latency while tracking, set oversampling to 1× and the limiter to ZERO-LAT.

The auto-learn features aren't changing anything

The three adaptive features — De-Ess Learn, EQ Learn, and Auto-Gain — all ship off by default so the plugin sounds identical to its reference until you engage them. Turn them on and let a few phrases play so they can measure the voice.

Can I use it on a bus or on background vocals?

Yes. Vocal Sauce works on lead, background vocals, and vocal buses. Try the BGV Stack preset for grouped harmonies. It supports mono→mono, stereo→stereo, and mono→stereo (a mono voice blooms to stereo via the doubler and reverb).

Did it get a stability fix?

Yes — this release is hardened to run cleanly under heavy oversampling with no dropouts or freezes. A rare non-finite-sample condition that could stall audio has been eliminated. See §12.

Is my session safe? Will presets recall exactly?

All parameters, your MIDI map, and A/B snapshots save with the plugin state and recall exactly. State is stored as bounded, sanitized data so a corrupt or truncated session can't put the plugin in a bad state.

Where do I get help?

Email sales@newhalloffamestudios.com.

Rock-solid stability

It listens to the voice

Ten modules, pro order

Auto-learn de-esser

Adaptive four-band EQ

Compressor & gate

Harmonic saturator

Doubler & stereo bloom

Studio reverb

Dual-mode limiter

1–16× oversampling

Presets, A/B & MIDI-learn