Vocal riding means moving the vocal fader by hand while the song plays, phrase by phrase and sometimes word by word, so every line sits exactly where it should. Compression evens out short peaks; riding shapes the performance. Michael Brauer, award-winning mixer and Campus mentor (Coldplay, John Mayer, Bob Dylan), treats it as part of the music itself: "The dynamics of riding the faders is a performance."
Key takeaways
- Riding is a performance, not a cleanup job. Michael Brauer rides with both hands, on physical faders.
- Close your eyes. Brauer almost always does when riding a vocal, so the screen doesn't steer his ears.
- Do several passes. He often makes three to five, improving the performance each time.
- Automate the original vocal, not the compressor returns, and feed reverbs and delays from it too.
- Leave calibrated busses alone. Once his A to D busses are set, Brauer doesn't touch their faders.
What is vocal riding?
Vocal riding is fader automation done in real time: you play the song, move the vocal fader as you listen, and your DAW records the moves. It's how engineers keep a lead vocal clear and present as the arrangement gets busier or thinner, without crushing it with compression.
- Compression reacts to the signal in milliseconds and controls peaks.
- Riding follows the song: a word that gets lost, a line that needs to lean forward, a chorus that should feel bigger.
- Clip gain fixes individual syllables before processing; riding shapes the performance after it.
For the full vocal chain around it, see how to mix vocals.
Why does Michael Brauer treat fader rides as a performance?
Because for him, mixing is about emotion, and moving a fader is moving the music. Asked in his info session why physical faders are still part of his process, he answered:
"I think to my dying day I will be using faders because it's faders, you know, it's all about emotion." — Michael Brauer
He works with several banks of eight faders and both hands: the left on other instruments, the right on the vocal. When he travels, he brings a fader bank with him, "because I really like the movement and the feeling, especially with vocals."
Fernando, a mixer who started from Brauer's template and learned from him for years, mixes completely in the box but still won't give up physical faders. He sums up the philosophy behind it:
"Technical decisions without an emotional reason are just empty decisions." — Fernando, in the Brauerize info session
How do you ride a vocal fader?
Set your balance first, then perform the vocal level against the track. A practical routine:
- Get a stable vocal sound first: EQ and compression done, the vocal roughly balanced in the chorus.
- Put your DAW in a write or latch automation mode on the vocal fader, or on a trim/VCA if you want to keep the fader free for overall level.
- Play a full section and close your eyes. Brauer almost always does: "once you close your eyes, you're not being affected by what you're seeing [...] You can really hear it a lot better."
- Ride for the listener: lift words that disappear, hold back lines that jump out, push slightly into important phrases.
- Make another pass. Brauer says: "I may do three or four, five runs, five passes, and I feel like I keep improving that performance better and better every time."
- Check at low volume. If every word is understandable quietly, the ride works.
Mouse or physical fader?
| Method | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Physical fader (controller) | Real-time, musical rides; using both hands | Needs a controller and a little practice |
| Mouse in latch mode | Rides without extra hardware | Harder to move smoothly and to ride two things at once |
| Drawing breakpoints | Precise fixes on single words | Easy to stare at the screen instead of listening |
A single motorized fader controller is enough to start. What matters is that you listen while you move.
Where should vocal automation go?
On the original vocal track, before it feeds any parallel compressors or effects. In Brauer's system, the vocal is sent to several compressor returns, and he was clear about where the rides happen:
"The vocal automation does not come from the returns. It comes from the original vocal that is sending to those." — Michael Brauer
His reverbs and delays are also fed from the original vocal, not from the compressed returns. Tyler Page, the course's teaching assistant, pointed out on the session what this gives you: the effects follow the natural dynamics of the performance, creating little "blooms" in the reverbs and delays that a fully processed vocal wouldn't produce.
- Automate the source, so every compressor and effect follows the ride.
- Feed effects from the source, so they respond to the performance.
- Don't fight your busses: if you ride the returns, the blend you designed changes every time.
The multi-bus idea behind this is explained in the Michael Brauer mixing method and parallel compression explained.
Should you automate your bus faders too?
Not in Brauer's method. Once his A, B, C and D busses are calibrated, they stay put:
"ABCD, once it's calibrated, you leave it alone." — Michael Brauer
Pushing a bus up to "get more compression" sends you, in his words, down "a rabbit hole." You mix into the busses by riding the sources, and the bus compression responds.
How do you stop overthinking automation?
Treat the mix as an instrument. Brauer's advice to students: "Think of it as an instrument. Act like it's an instrument." And: "Stop thinking so much. [...] Try this idea. Try that idea." Learn the tool first, then perform with it.
Practice exercise: three passes on one verse
- Loop a verse and the first chorus of a lead vocal in your mix.
- Set write or latch mode on the vocal (or its trim) and save a copy of the session.
- Pass 1: eyes closed, only lift the words you can't understand.
- Pass 2: shape the phrases, leaning into the lines that matter.
- Pass 3: refine anything that still feels mechanical.
- Compare with the un-automated version at low volume. Note which one draws you into the lyric.
Frequently asked questions about vocal riding
Is vocal riding the same as volume automation?
Riding is one way of creating volume automation: moving the fader in real time while the DAW records it. You can also draw automation by hand, which is precise but easier to do with your eyes rather than your ears.
Should I ride the vocal before or after compression?
Ride the original vocal so everything downstream follows. In Michael Brauer's system, the automation sits on the source vocal that feeds the compressor returns and effects, not on the returns themselves.
Do I need a fader controller?
No, but it helps. A mouse in latch mode works for simple rides. A physical fader lets you move smoothly while listening, and Brauer and Fernando both say they wouldn't mix without one.
How many automation passes should I do?
As many as it takes to stop hearing the rides as corrections. Brauer often does three to five passes on a vocal, improving the performance each time.
Michael Brauer, Fernando and Tyler answer these questions in the Brauerize info session, free on Campus Replays. The full system, from A to E busses to the vocal chain and automation, is taught in The Brauerize Mixing Method with Michael Brauer, a 26-hour, advanced, on-demand course with video lessons, exercises, a teaching assistant, community forums and lifetime access.
