The Waves Ltd. Vocal Rider was an easy plug-in to install (as is usually the case with Waves plug-ins) as it was straight forward and took about as long as it usually takes to do a basic install of a plug-in.  While I not completely convinced that this is a necessary plug-in to have, it does have an easy enough to use interface.  You've go three sliders - one main one labeled 'rider' to control the vocals in a mix and two others for range and output.  It also has knobs for vocal, music, and another slider for sensitivity.  It also has automation options on the bottom of the plug-in.  I haven't seen a manual for this plug-in, but I don't think that you need one as it is easy enough to use on its own.

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

I've never had any issues trying to run Waves Ltd. Vocal Rider as it doesn't take up much processing power at all.  I have used the plug-in on an Apple G5 desk top that runs with a Pro Tools HD system.  The plug-in has always run smoothly for me whenever I have wanted to use it, which hasn't been all that often since the first time I used it.  Even if you are running this on a Pro Tools LE system I don't think that you'll have any issues running this as long as you have a system that can run other plug-ins.  It really depends on your system and how well it can handle plug-ins.

OVERALL OPINION

To be honest, since I first used the Waves Ltd. Vocal Rider about a year ago I have only used it a few more times as I just don't think that it is necessary.  I can do exactly what it does without the plug-in and don't think that it saves me enough time to warrant using it.  I didn't have to buy the plug-in as I have used it at a studio and I don't think that I would buy one and use it otherwise.  While I can see why people will find this helpful, for me it gets in the way more than anything.  I don't believe that it is worth the price but would encourage those interested to try it out to see if it will be helpful for them as every engineer likes to work differently...