Processing as you track?

[djdarwin]

Do you guys tend to EQ as you track or wait till all tracks are in place and then EQ?

I know... I know... You guys are gonna say "what ever sounds good" or "experiment" or "depends on the song."

Can we look past these obvious answers?

I have tried to experiment and tinker. If i got the results i wanted i wouldnt be on here asking you.

So the question is:

Holding all variables at "AVERAGE"......

If you record your 1st track on a song and think it needs a little EQ do you apply it then or wait till you have all tracks recorded and composed before EQing any of them?

I ask this same question in regards to Compression?

I ask this same question in regards to Reverb?

Thanks fellas!

[blueroommusic]

I'm kinda old school as far as engineering goes, even though I'm 23, and tend to mix as I go along to some degree, so plug-in EQ's do get applied quite often as I go along..(this could be attributed to starting out with a 4 track, and having to make mix decisions before ping-ponging tracks)...

that being said, I usually un-instantiate the plug-ins when I start my final mixdown, so I can see the whole picture; thank god for non-destructive editing..

as far as compression goes, I always wait till final mixdown to start applying..

to each his/her own I guess...

[chazba]

Conventional wisdom sez not to print any efx when tracking, 'cause you can't undo it later. That refers of course to R2R medium. With todays nondestructive editing, we have an undo button, but if, for example, you have recorded the original track w/ reverb or delay, whatever, you may not be able to clean it up later, if it don't fit in the mix quite the way you thought it might.


chazba

[darkcubus]

i've found it best to record it all as close as you possibly can to the way you ultimately want it to sound first. this is key. i usually just concentrate on tracking it all first then adjust track levels and carefully eq out the unneeded. the more something is mauled with compression before it's recorded, the harder it will be to manipulate later.

[Massive Master]

I try to get it as close as possible at the core - I'll spend an hour moving a microphone a quarter inch at a time to avoid using an equalizer on the input chain.

Dynamics on the input chain - Never. Unless it's a "color" piece that has more to do with the sound (like a Vari-Mu as a mild leveler or something) than actual control over the dynamics. There's more headroom in 24-bit than we'll ever need - I can take care of the dynamics later in context with the rest of the mix.

Verb & miscellaneous effects - Basically never. There are exceptions, but few.

[xstatic]

I process the outputs frequently as I am tracking to help the mix along and to hear different ideas etc... Then again, I also frequently revert to bypassing all processing to make sure how things sit with the original tracks. When I approach a mix I usually undo almost all plug in EQ's, comps, verbs etc... (actually just remove them form the mix, or bypass them if I really think I may still use them). By starting over, it makes it a little easier for me to not overprocess and work myself in circles.

[Ironklad Audio]

yea...with all of my processing being digital(why's outboard gear have to cost so damn much, anyways?), i usually do a bit of eq'ing/compressing/whatever while tracking is going on, because i can always click the "bypass" button to turn it all off