Do you process on the way in?

[BBJones]

I'm sorta noob at this so please forgive me

I'm re-doing my entire recording setup and approach and am getting down to the last bits of routing. I was wondering about if I should put things like compressors/effects into the input stream side of things or not.

Highly unlikely I'll use effects (like reverb on vocals) but what about things like compression on things like bass/vocals/kick?

Do you do it that way or leave it all to mixing/processing on playback? I don't have great quality rack gear.

I'm kinda going with the thought process that I should be capturing as "real" a signal to begin with as possible and just deal with it digitally.

If I'm bringing up a lot of old news please point me to the old thread... I didn't see anything obvious already.

Cheers!

[String7th]

I agree with the idea of keeping the audio tracks real and fine tune them later, especially for EQ. If you don't have anything yet, I'd suggest shopping for VST effects, rather than hardware.

If you allready have some awesome, expensive rackmount analog compressors or tube channel strips, use 'em. Just be sure you've mastered the hardware before you permanently lay down an altered track.

If you have the interface capabilities, lay down a dry track, then bus out that track to your hardware onto a new, modified input, using your compressor/effects. If you mess up, just delete it and start again with the original dry track..

[brandondrury]

I'm with String7th on this one.

There are supposed to be some benefits for some hardware compression and such. With that said, there are pitfalls.

Stick with the plugins for now. When you have some really badass mixes, then start looking at the hardware toys.

Brandon

[String7th]

Originally Posted by brandondrury

I'm with String7th on this one.

Brandon

I'm gonna print this out and frame it.

[Y.E.]

Commercial studios process on the way in, because the sound to them is better. But it's harder to proccess on the way in because it takes longer to record the track, when proccess on the way in their still tweaking within the signal chain to get it right, and once everything is set the final vocal track is set

[Gitarted]

Commercial studios process on the way in, because the sound to them is better.

Thats a bold statement.
It all depends on the song, the track, the effects, and the engineer.

I've seen (in very few cases) a commercial studio process the track on the way in.
This is however more common in small home studio's.

It really depends on what it needed for the track.

This is just my take on this subject (YMMV)

If you track with effects/ processing you can't undo it.
I feel the benifits of tracking dry (no processing) far outweigh the ease of tracking with effects.

You will have a much stronger, more usable track if you track dry.
most pro studio's tend to prefer it done that way.
You can always monitor with effects and still print dry.

that way you don't limit the flexability of your track.
...because nobody wants to recut the tracks they have already done because they used an effect that later downstream doesn't work well in the song.

D

[brandondrury]

You will have a much stronger, more usable track if you track dry.

Commercial studios process on the way in, because the sound to them is better.

Both of these are completely right and completely wrong at any given time. There is no rule to this. Basically, if you don't know why you should be processing on the way in, you shouldn't be processing on the way in.

It's very common to use compression on the way in for vocals in a situation where the engineer wants a specific color from a specific compressor and the vocals are completely isolated from the engineer so that the engineer here's nothing but the monitors. ( I prefer tracking vocals in the control room. I like to be in the same room with the singer. This rules me out.)

You can always monitor with effects and still print dry.

that way you don't limit the flexability of your track.

"Flexibilty" is a tricky word. It implies "choice". Every big engineer I know HATES choice. Get it right and get move on.

The bigger issue here is knowing when to compress on the way in and when not to. Most beginners have no reason to even try with hardware compressors unless they know exactly what they want. With that said, I'm inching my way towards compressing vocals on the way in. I think I may be missing something that is hard to get with plugins. I'd like to get a nice high end outboard EQ as well. Of course, me finally getting outboard eqs and compressors now (after nearly 7 years of recording) is much different than using harware eqs and compressors when I was a beginner.

[scribe]

I only compress on the way in if I have too. I use it as a tool rather than 'i got it so i gotta use it' type thing. Same goes with mixing. The less I have to do to make a mix sound good, the better. As Stav says 'maximum illusion, minimum voltage' - This is our goal.

Cheers.

[magno]

I needed a cheapish AD/DA converter to get 2 more tracks of recording to the spdif inputs on my delta66.
I bought a used t.c. electronics M-ONE fx unit that has spdif in/out.
So I tend to add some effects on the way in 'cause it's there.
I always compress my snare and kick on the way in due to the fact that I'm not a drummer, and will never admit to being one. This helps even out my erratic playing a bit.
I'll usually add some compression on the bass, if it fits the sound I'm going for.
It's nice to have options. Don't limit yourself one way or another.
You can always record a dry track at the same time.

[eboria]

I guess it depends on the performer. I'm only a decent singer, so I usually compress vocals on the way in, but I've recorded some great singers who know what they're doing with dynamics, so with them I don't bother. Same with acoustic guitar, which tends to be boomy. No EQ, though, that's best left for the mix. In this, as in all things, it all depends on the situation