So... what kind of effects will make vocals sound more rich & full?

Slight compression. A slight dip in the lower frequencies (<500hz), and some boosting above 4khz. A short plate reverb.

A trick I like using: clone the vocal track. Ultra-compress it, and roll off all frequencies above 5-6khz. Mix the two together to taste. Instant fullness. Taking out the highs on the cloned track gets rid of any potential artifacts and flanging.

I tried compression earlier, and I was like "OMG." The dynamics were just... perfect. I mixing down a song for a friend, and his voice isn't great, so I'm trying to find ways to enhance it. I'm going to try the other stuff now.

One thing to remember if you're using the clone-track trick is that to make a vocal track sound fuller, you're going to want to boost the EQ in the mid's, the "presence" range. Basically, all I'll do is roll off the bottom and top, and then EQ my original track. I'll compress the clone with a high ratio (7:1) and a relatively high threshold (~-15db), quick attack, slow release.

Sometimes some very slight chorus can help too. Or making several clone tracks and panning them left and right.

Completely unrelated... what's a good (preferably free) tab-making program?

(Didn't want to start a new thread)

I thought about linking powertab, but I could never figure out how to use it, so I didn't.

Also, when it comes to mixing, I'm a total noob. Are they any sites with basic guidelines or helpful tips?

I've learned a lot of stuff from Cakewalk's forums. Sound on Sound and EQ Magazine are great resources as well, they often have "back-to-basics" recording articles for us n00bs.

Thanks for that link; it looks likes there's a ton of useful stuff, especially if I decide to switch over to Sonar.

On a side notice, I was reading your "dirty demo" thread without realizing it was you until someone mentioned your name and I thought, "Wait, isn't that a massassian?"

(I can't believe that kid is still bugging you.)

Is there a way to turn off the music staff and only have the tab showing?

A Slight Chorus effect helps sometimes, but it depends on the song/vocalist and the intended effect.

I'm probably going to ask a stupid question, but... is there some way that I'm supposed to enable DirectX plugins that I've installed? I've got several of them, and they all show up and work in Goldwave, but not in other programs.

He hasn't been there in a couple days, looks like he might have grown tired of registering multiple names (there were 5 different ones so far).

Maybe. I don't really use Power Tab, I use Guitar Pro (not free).

It shows up fine for me in Sonar without doing anything special after installing it. Maybe there's a FAQ on Cool Edit's web site?

What programs specifically? Some of them require that you enable "DXI plugin support" or "specificy a DXI plugin directory"