Special Reserves – Allura Pop Stacks is designed to help you create wide, professional pop vocal stacks in seconds. Instead of manually duplicating tracks and adjusting pitch, timing, and panning, this plugin handles the heavy lifting for you.

In this step-by-step tutorial, you’ll learn exactly how to use Allura Pop Stacks to transform a plain vocal into a polished, radio-ready stack.

What You’ll Need

• A recorded lead vocal

• Any modern DAW (FL Studio, Ableton Live, Logic Pro, Cubase, etc.)

• Allura Pop Stacks installed and activated

Step-by-Step Tutorial

Step 1: Insert Allura Pop Stacks on Your Vocal

1. Open your DAW.

2. Select your lead vocal track.

3. Insert Allura Pop Stacks as an effect plugin.

💡 Tip: Start with a clean vocal (light compression and EQ are fine).

Step 2: Start with a Preset

Open the preset menu and choose a starting point that matches your song style.

Common preset types:

• Subtle Double

• Pop Chorus Wide

• Bright Stack

• Radio Harmony

Presets are optimized for quick results, so don’t skip this step.

Step 3: Adjust the Stack Intensity

Locate the Stack Amount or main macro control.

• Turn it down → Soft, natural double

• Turn it up → Big, wide pop chorus

🎯 For verses: Keep it subtle.
🎯 For choruses: Increase intensity for impact.

Step 4: Control Stereo Width

To achieve a modern pop sound:

1. Increase the Width control.

2. Keep the lead vocal centered.

3. Let the stacked layers fill the sides.

⚠ Avoid pushing width too far in verses — it can reduce clarity.

Step 5: Blend with the Original Vocal

Use the Mix / Blend knob to balance:

• Dry lead vocal

• Processed stacked layers

A good starting point:

• 30–40% for subtle doubling

• 50–70% for big chorus stacks

Always adjust by ear depending on the track.

Step 6: Fine-Tune for Natural Sound

If available, adjust:

• Pitch variation (to avoid robotic tone)

• Timing variation (for realism)

• Tone controls (to avoid muddy stacks)

The goal is natural thickness, not artificial doubling.

Practical Example Workflow

🎵 Verse Setup

• Subtle preset

• Low stack amount

• Narrower stereo width

• Lower mix percentage

Result: Clean, intimate vocal with slight depth.

🎵 Chorus Setup

• Wide pop preset

• Higher stack amount

• Increased stereo width

• Higher blend percentage

Result: Big, energetic, radio-ready vocal stack.

Pro Tips for Better Results

✔ Use automation to increase stack intensity in the chorus
✔ High-pass the stacked layers slightly to reduce muddiness
✔ Add reverb AFTER Allura Pop Stacks for better spatial control
✔ Don’t overdo it — clarity is key

Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Using maximum width in every section
❌ Over-blending stacks in verses
❌ Ignoring phase issues (check in mono)
❌ Skipping proper gain staging

Final Thoughts

Allura Pop Stacks by Special Reserves is built for speed and simplicity. Whether you’re producing pop, K-pop, EDM, or modern R&B, it gives you instant vocal thickness without complex routing.

Once you understand how to control intensity, width, and blend, you can shape stacks that sound clean, wide, and professionally produced.