Maria Elisa Ayerbe, three-time Latin Grammy nominee, makes a clear case for placing corrective EQ before compression in the vocal chain. Her reasoning: if room boominess and resonances are still in the signal when the compressor hits, the compressor reacts to them and pushes those artifacts further forward in the mix.
She runs two EQ stages in sequence. The UAD Cambridge EQ handles surgical correction first, targeting problematic frequencies from the room or microphone. The Waves REQ follows as a second pass focused more on tone coloring and opening up the high end, with correction playing a smaller role.
Ayerbe also explains that vocal doubles used for thickening only work when they're completely fused with the lead, not audible as a separate take. That means entrances, exits, and consonant endings all need to land together precisely. If a double doesn't feel truly locked in, she'll re-record it or fix it manually herself.