I see all the Pros Eq and Compress before the signal goes into the Computer

They use all kinds of beautiful gear Like Tech Tube Compressors etc.... (expensive)

Those hardware's are now available at a much lower cost as VSTs

Can you get a close a enough result by Recording Raw then applying those beautiful gears

after in the box

 

Yes, you can get pretty close.

 

Ideally you should use a compressor while recording and at the same time, although to a lesser extent apply some eq, notably rolling off low frequencies or taming, for example, a nasal tone by lowering a notch at 2khz.
What you don't want to do is attempt to pre-emptively mix the vocals before you hear it in context with the final mix. Always leave yourself enough of the raw material that you can still add and subtract.

 

i could understand using a limiter while recording if the vocalist is not experienced enough to keep from driving the mic into the red. but compression? that doesn't seem like a great idea. you can always dial the compression in after it is recorded. maybe i'm wrong.

 

I see some people while tracking vocals on input chain have EQ and Waves SSL 4000 compressor vst version. Can someone explain to me, why that, when you can do that afterwards and have RAW data for more control over mix. I can understand if you have hardware and you want to apply some creative process to vocal, but how that matters with vst... No sense at all, or explain to me please, maybe i am wrong.

 

Yes, you are wrong. It is/was quite common (even more in the past, when all you had was in the hardware racks and you didn't have endless emtpy DAW-insert slots and thousands of plugins. You had to commit). It's about tone (character, saturation, transformers, etc) and commiting to a sound. It also helps a bit when mixing since you are 90% there pre-mixing. Also regarding vocals; they are usually compressed anyways, in varying degrees. It shouldn't be over-done though, as you can't undo over-compression.

 

Last edited: Oct 2, 2021

What is point for doing that, when you can do all that in a box and keep files intact? I mean and refer to vst, not a hardware... Why have EQ and compressor while recording vocal? What are benefits of that over RAW data?

 

There are no hard and fast rules. The greatest and simplest advice regarding almost any audio technique is, 'use your ears'. I have done songs with zero hardware, tracking all vocals with a basic preamp, and mixed all itb. I have done sessions where I have compressed and eq'd the vocals going in using all kinds of hardware. Both methods can produce professional results, with the most important factor being the recording/mix engineer.

I will say I DO prefer to track with compression and EQ, as it can get you 90% of the way to a finished vocal, making the mix that much easier and quicker, but I could get similar results without hardware, just using the right plugins.

 

Why the / slash?
They are both different professions.

 

Too ambiguous for me. I know of award-winning engineers who do not. It depends on what is coming in, always.
If it sounds like crap and the performer's articulation is all over the place, definitely. A great player can self-compress to an extent by the way they play. It's easy to tell because the waveform even if dynamic does not have random spikes everywhere. Their waveform is mostly consistent.
There are great engineers who do one or the other and other great engineers who make that decision on a session-by-session basis.

Once you compress and EQ something pre-recording, whatever is recorded, you are stuck with and maybe you can change it with more or less of other things, but you are still stuck with whatever you recorded. Many engineers also do exactly what you say and get a great sound too.
It is completely dependent on what and who is being recorded.

 

For the past 35 years I have been recording vocals into a compressor before it hits the hard drive (or previously, tape). When I'm personally singing, I play to the sound that I hear in my headphones. I try through mic technique and feel aiming to not waiver too far off of my - 12 dB level goal. Depending on the mix I will strap on another compressor to balance it out a bit. I use a fairly fast attack and release with a 4-1 ratio on a Warm Audio WA-76 after the preamp trying to cut no more than 6 to 8 dB at max. My ITB second compressor now is the awesome, amazing and all knowing/seeing FIRcomp 2.

 

If the vocal required such extreme control, I would use another track with a different setup. This is not the age of the 8 track track where vocals must be tamed because we don't have sufficient tracks. If the verses are whispered, use a compressor. When the choruses are shouted, use a limiter on another track.

What are the benefits of having a smooth, controlled vocal take before you mix? Are you saying, "ensure you capture every problem and fix it later?" Have you ever controlled plosives before recording as opposed to after? That is just one example of what I am saying. Any engineer will get the best they can "on tape" before mixing.

 

Yes, because unless you are not using the hardware, you can do that compression in the box and preserve the raw data in case you messed up something... Maybe that is some shortcut to mixing but in vst environment, for me that really doesn't make no sense and that is irreversible step in terms you can not undo any mistakes on good performances....

 

In my humble opinion and to avoid option paralysis . Light EQ and compression it is committing to a sound it's more of a mindset then a workflow recording plane tracks that you can work on later You will spend an eternity trying different plugins . In persona Studio One there is away to track true your plugins whilst tracking I'm sure there is something similar in every DAW And I'm guilty of using this workflow of Fix It In The Mix and ive spent more time chasing my tail . I have a few pieces of outboard equipment mic preamps and EQ's and a few fx I print Vocals with Eq and compression and the effects to a separate track. Guitars whatever sounds good I print with a di for editing only a small mixer like
Behringer Xenyx X1622USB is under $200 and even cheaper USED . MAKE MUSIC IS WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT !!!

 

Last edited by a moderator: Oct 2, 2021