Compressing vocals

[Nick The Man]

will compressing/limiting a vocal take completely remove clipping or distortion?

[Dr Biscuits]

Not if was recorded with distortion...

[Nick The Man]

sorry i worded that wrong what i meant is if i had a chain like this:

Mic>compressor>interface>computer

and was recording the mic being ran through the compressor would it prevent the take from being recorded with clipping or distortion?

[Dr Biscuits]

Depending on how it's set up it certainly could keep the levels below clip, but it's usually better to adjust the gain instead... for me, I rarely like to record with much compression at all unless its absolutely necessary, because then you're stuck with it... I think the best solution (as usual) is to get the most even performance and mic technique as possible and compress during the mix if you still need it... if you're vocal track i being recorded so hot that it clips, or if the dynamics vary so wildly that a compressor is needed just to keep from distorting, the compressor will have to work fairly hard and may have an adverse affect on the sound... unless of course that's the character you're going for (in which case it can still be done in post)...
My 2c anyway