recording with compressors?

tingkumajique · Post by **tingkumajique** » Mon Dec 26, 2005 2:21 am

hey all,

just wondering, when you record audio tracks (especially vocals) do you run your signal thru an external compressor first? if not, how would you handle a huge range of levels?

giles117 · Post by **giles117** » Mon Dec 26, 2005 3:36 am

IF I dont use a comp, I just feel the artists and the mic and the mic pre and find a nice level that allows me to cover LOUD passages and low passages.

More of an expereince thing.

BUT depending upon the material a comp is a very desireable device.

jaffi · Post by **jaffi** » Mon Dec 26, 2005 5:23 am

When I used to work anologue I would run a comp. But, since my migration to digital, I found that it is pointless. You have tons of room to work with. There is so much room in fact, that I have taken my compressors off of my recording chain all together. If you signal is hitting -12db, you are right in the MEAT of 24 bit recording. If the bulk is at -12db, you would be hard pressed for the vocal to go above 0db. If it does, then that passage would constitute you doing a separate overdub of it. Especially since the material surounding it would probably be near its levels. The only departure from that is if you are recording somebody like Mike Patton. In that case, I could understand being a little screwed up. But very few vocalists jump to his acrobatic ranges.

shankyboy · Post by **shankyboy** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 7:20 am

Are you kidding me??? Vocals are the one "instrument" that benefits the most from using compression. (In my opinion) I used to never use compression for anything during tracking until I picked up my first real preamp (Summit) that had a built in compressor. Once I discovered the benefits of tracking with compression, the overall quality of my recordings improved drastically. In many cases, it doesn't take much at all, but it sure helps in getting a really fat sounding track. (of course, like anything else, it can be overdone)

Kind Of Loud · Post by **Kind Of Loud** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 7:42 am

This is my vocal chain: Rode K2> Grace 101 Pre> Summit Audio TLA50 comp....I keep expermienting using/not-using the TLA 50 in the chain.

My question is....By using the K2, which is a tube mic, isn't the signal getting compressed by the mic without using any other compressor??....or......by using the TLA50, which is a tube comp, would that be "tube overkill"???.....Me and my "butchered ears" keep going back and forth on this.

jon · Post by **jon** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 8:38 am

Kind Of Loud wrote:This is my vocal chain: Rode K2> Grace 101 Pre> Summit Audio TLA50 comp....I keep expermienting using/not-using the TLA 50 in the chain.

I have a similar setup. Baby Bottle Blue> Grace 101 Pre> RNC: set to stun.

Oh that RNC. For a 199.00 you get allot of sweet comp.

tingkumajique · Post by **tingkumajique** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 8:55 am

hmm... looks like putting comps in the signal chain looks like a good idea... are there any basic settings all of you follow or do you play by ear? my opinion is to limit to loud passes and not to bring the softer passes to high to prevent noise from being recorded...

am i making any sense? i've left the audio scene for so long to dwindle in video... now it's calling me back... i see a light...

jon · Post by **jon** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 9:17 am

It does depend on what is being recorded. Sometimes but not always on solo guitar,bass or vox then I set the FMR RNC to Super Nice. It is so transparent and I try to keep my levels on or around where I like it at -12dB.

Kind Of Loud · Post by **Kind Of Loud** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 9:53 am

Hey jon,

So what do you do??....Set your levels first, and then use the compressor to get the levels where you want them...-12dB??...How do you like the sound of the Baby Blue without the compressor??

jon · Post by **jon** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 10:38 am

Kind Of Loud wrote:Hey jon,

So what do you do??....Set your levels first, and then use the compressor to get the levels where you want them...-12dB??...How do you like the sound of the Baby Blue without the compressor??

KOL,

I like the Baby Bottle for it's clear and transparent sound and the way it works with all instruments besides vox. Used with the Grace 101 I can track vox exactly the way it sounds in the room or to my ears. You know how sensitive the 101 is? I try to balance my sound thru the 101 first then sweeten it up a tad with the RNC then thru the Onxy 800R> 2408> DP.

Kind Of Loud · Post by **Kind Of Loud** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 10:49 am

OK, jon....thnx Bro!!

mortvillefugitive · Post by **mortvillefugitive** » Fri Dec 30, 2005 8:58 am

signal chain: Rode K2>UA610>UA1176. This is definitely all program dependent, vocals and kick drum are the only things I compress to tape. For vocals, I set the 1176 to a medium attack and release, with a 4:1 ratio. I have my input set so I'm just taking the top off. I'm not sure what the guy above meant about tons of headroom. I'm recording 16 bit, so it's probably different for me, but I don't feel like I have any too much headroom. If I don't use a little compression, I either run into overages from too much volume or a signal that's too quiet with not enough.

tingkumajique · Post by **tingkumajique** » Fri Dec 30, 2005 7:32 pm

hi all,

thanks for your replies... my rig consists of Motu Traveler, DBX compressors and my computer. is there a way of patching my compressor into the recording line without an external mixer?

i want to compress each individual channel (vox, guitars and drums).

tingkumajique · Post by **tingkumajique** » Wed Jan 04, 2006 5:11 pm

*bump*

Newsles · Post by **Newsles** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 7:33 am

If using comping during vocal recording, I always err on the side of caution as there's no way to undo it once it's down.

Subtle settings to clamp down on transients, and not too high a comp ratio seem to work best for me, although I havent recorded many full vocal takes in recent times, but do take care is my advice. You can always add more at the mixing stage - and in fact, surely that's the best place to use more "extreme" comping, as running the vocal track through a mixer channel (assuming youre using an external desk), and then putting a compressor on the insert, you can try out lots of different settings to see what works best, AND in the context of a full mix!