You know those Facebook friends you have that you only kind of know, but they have about three thousand friends because they actively search for every name they ever remember hearing in their lives? Pretend that Duende is one of those friends, and Solid State Logic Vocalstrip has just accepted the invitation.

At the 125th AES Convention in San Francisco, SSL showed off the new Vocalstrip plugin, bringing together the four (processing) elements of nature: de-essers, de-plosers, equalizers and companders. Left out, was the oft-overlooked fifth element -- heart -- but we won't forget you, Ma-Ti.

Combining EQ and dynamics sections with vocal processing, Vocalstrip is meant to power up, characterize and clarify your vocal tracks from one interface, because let's interface it . . . there can be only one. If you can't get a good vocal recording with Vocalstrip, it might be you, and all the processing in the world can't help you.

Fast Features:

• Four selected vocal processing tools with a unique SSL twist
• Comparative analysis & dynamic envelope based De-esser
• Comparative analysis & dynamic envelope based De-ploser
• Three-band SSL EQ with High-Pass, 'asymmetric notch' and 'air' bands
• Compander featuring compression, downwards expansion and output drive
• Informative visual feedback showing EQ curves and real time FFT overlay