To this date there’s no function to delete a plug-in effect preset in Ardour. A feature request has been filed and you can follow the status here. In this case we will delete an obsolete duplicate that has been saved under the same name.

Open the file:
~/.ladspa/rdf/ardour-presets.n3
On my system the .ladspa dir is located in the user home dir. If you’re using a file browser make sure you enable the “show hidden files” function. Before you edit the file remember to keep a back up.

In the image below the highlighted part represents the duplicate preset.

When the highlighted part is removed the preset is also removed. Open Ardour and have a look.

This works for every preset and to find the desired preset to be removed, start by searching for the name of the preset (line including #hasLabel). Then select everything from two lines down (line including #hasSetting)  up to the line below including next“#hasSetting” and delete selection.

I’ve created some presets of the effects I usually use on vocal in Ardour, distributing them here as screenshots. Presets aren’t something that should be treated as perfect settings for your needs but could  be a place to start. As the saturation is highly dependent on the signal level of your tracks, adjustment of treshold for compressor and blend/dry/wet for reverb/delay effects is the first move to be carried out.

To get a reference to the processed examples, first take a look at  the raw unedited vocal track.

SC4 mono: Vocals with presence
I wouldn’t have thought of using this high ratio of compression on a vocal track. But, by letting the attack off a bit, allowing the early amplitude peak to pass trough uncompressed it actually keeps some of the natural sound.

Try out:
For more natural sound:

• Increase attack time
• Decrease ratio

For more presence:

• Decrease attack time
• Lower treshold

SC4 mono: Light compression
These settings gives more dynamic sounding vocals compared to the earlier preset. I’m adjusting the treshold only to touch the loudest parts of the track, leaving the main part unaffected.

Try out:
For more uniform compression:

• Increase release time

For more presence:

• Lower treshold

Delayorama: Short Vocal Delay
The delay effect can be used as a trick to add some fatness to the vocals. The delay range should be set to somewhere between 0,08 – 0,15 (s) and the saturation of the effect should barely be hearable in the mix.

delayorama.ogg

Reverb
Here’s a collection of reverb presets that I find suitable on vocals.

C* JVRev: Short reverb

C* JVRev: Long reverb

longreverb.ogg

GVerb: Long tail

longtail.ogg