Effects before or after?

[powderfinger]

Using cakewalk, can I use effects while I record? Does this even make a difference? In other words, rather than going back and adding effects(ie condensor, reverb, etc) after recording, would it help to do it while I record. This has caused me much confusion. If anyone could tell me their opinion or pros and cons AND how to do it with cakewalk it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Bassman]

I record stuff as dry as possible. It allows you to be more flexible down the road. If you record your guitar with a Delay pedal, and during the mix down you decide it doesnt fit well or it is too short or long you are stuck. Using effects on the channel after lets you be as flexible as you want.

 

[RWhite]

I go along with Bassman, its better to have a dry signal because that gives you all the flexibilty in the world. If you are using a mixer and external effects, one thing that works nice is to put some reverb into the monitor send. I have never met a singer yet that didn't like the sound of their voice better with a bit of reverb (of course I have not met that many singers). By doing that they hear reverb in their headphones and are more relaxed, but you can record a dry signal into Cakewalk and then do whatever you want with it later.