i run bass direct and use a symetrix 425 on bass and kick as a limiter for tracking, and it does ok. it does color the sound, but it also helps it punch through (sit in) the mix a little better. i usually end up with the ratio around 2:1 or 3:1, with mild threshold so that it's only kicking in on the extreme peaks. that may or may not work for you.
I still feel there is a tendancy here to advise people to cut there tracks dry. In my opinion that is doing a diservice.
crosstudio said:i disagree. if you record it wet or processed (as the case maybe), you limit your ability to change your mind.
crosstudio said:my attack is program dependent based on the BPM of the song. I use AnalogX's delay calculator. Put in the BPMs and use either the 8th, 16th, or 32nd notes as the attack. Then i use either the whole (slow songs), half (mostly), or quarter note (rarely) time as the release. This depends on what type of bass style i'm playing.
Garry Sharp said:Strange how people generally seem to talk a lot more about ratios than the threshold (and even less about attack times). Might be worth experimenting with a low threshold so that the signal is being compressed virtually all the time, but with a very gentle (<2:1) ratio, and a slow attack time. For me it seems to smooth it out without being obvious, but I'm only a beginner here and YMMV.