Does anyone know of anyone who records without compression on vocals & get pro results? I am interested in hearing what others have found successes with. If i can only get so far without recording with compression before eventually using it i would rather start recording with compression now.
recording with compression on vocals?!
- Thread starter Dmeek
- Start date
cusebassman
Freakin' sweet
What is your concern over using or not using compression? I'm sure there are instances where it wasn't used, but I couldn't give you any specific examples. I've recorded vocal parts before that I thought were fine as-is, and didn't compress, but they weren't overly dynamic parts to begin with, and my material is primarily acoustic+vocals, so the compression wasn't necessary to try and bring the vocals forward at all.
I'm sure others will have concrete examples, but as a general rule, you can try anything (especially in software), and undo it if you don't like it.
I'm sure others will have concrete examples, but as a general rule, you can try anything (especially in software), and undo it if you don't like it.
Massive Master
www.massivemastering.com
Recording through a compressor has as much to do with sounding "pro" as what you had for breakfast on the 3rd of last month.
Sure - There are pros, who know exactly what they're doing, who know exactly what they're shooting for, using professional quality gear, recording through compressors. Usually for the flavor of the unit - Rarely (very rarely) to control the dynamics of the incoming signal.
Most will not control the dynamics on the way in because they can only take it "so far" if they do. There is no "undo" on a compressor on the input chain. You can always run through it later (in the context of the rest of the mix) if you need it. You can always use plugs (many of which will beat the snot of out many "budget friendly" (for lack of a better term) compressors out there - many of which degrade the signal from the start.
Personally, I can't even imagine where you'd get the idea that recording without compression is somehow limiting (no pun intended, but I'll take it) the sound quality of the input chain...
cusebassman
Freakin' sweet
I suspect it might be partly to do with the fact that there are hundreds if not thousands of other threads here asking all sorts of question about where compression "should" be used. Some are informative, most are nonsensical and misleading. Forums are as detrimental as they are useful sometimes, if not moreso.
I just want to know how to get the most out of my gear & when trying to figure out why somebody might record with compression instead of using plug-ins i came to this : When recording an instrument with consistent volume i always try to record with the highest recording level possible & have found when recording with a weaker signal that the track sounds less "meaty". then i started thinking about how when i sing, i sing as loud as i can then adjust my recording level accordingly based on the loudest part. The rest of the track that falls below the loudest point is getting a lower recording level than the louder parts so i thought recording with compression might get the most out of my track before turning it into bits & samples. I also wondered if i was getting weaker character on parts because of the fluctuation in recording levels. Some parts of my songs sound like a professional album, then the very next riff will sound like a demo . When adding compression it still won`t fix it without it sounding mushed or processed & what i think is a good take might not sound so great after adding the amount of compression required. I know alot of pro studios use external gear & ive never really seen a reason for it so i thought id try to get to the bottom of it on here.
Massive Master
www.massivemastering.com
Oh Jeebus...
You need to brush up on some gain-staging basics first here...
Honestly, that sounds like a singing technique problem to me. Equipment will not save you when the instrument (in this case your voice) isn't happening. Practice singing consistently into a microphone. Hold your head still, don't let it wander away from the relative position with the mic.
Here's some suggestions... first, record in 24 bit mode to get the extra dynamic range, for sure. Second, do NOT record hot! (not for digital anyway... analog is a different question) You don't want your peaks to be anywhere NEAR clipping. A 24 bit recording has huge downward dynamic range, so you can always crank the levels if needed. When I learned to record at lower levels, my sound improved 1000%. Clipping is EVIL.
And here's an old Motown trick I learned recently for getting weight and clarity without cranking the levels too much. After you record the vocal track, copy it to another track. On the copy, compress the crap out of it and eq in a presence peak. Leave the original unprocessed. Now blend the two, making the original bigger than the processed copy. The original preserves the dynamics, and the processed copy helps it cut through during instrumental peaks. This is how Motown producers mixed those funky loud grooves AND got vocal clarity, even on AM radios and tinny 1960s record players.
Thanks for the responses so far everybody 
I`ve recorded for about 7 years with everything dry going in using plug-ins. I just wanted to make sure i was not using inferior technique. I understand there is no one way to do things & I want to learn what is common technique for others so i can eventually do anything i hear in my head. So what i ve gathered here so far is there is nothing wrong with recording an unprocessed signal & no better method,just different methods. Thanks everyone & feel free to continue to share your thoughts
I`ve recorded for about 7 years with everything dry going in using plug-ins. I just wanted to make sure i was not using inferior technique. I understand there is no one way to do things & I want to learn what is common technique for others so i can eventually do anything i hear in my head. So what i ve gathered here so far is there is nothing wrong with recording an unprocessed signal & no better method,just different methods. Thanks everyone & feel free to continue to share your thoughts
It's interesting that if you're hearing it get thicker as the level changes (and not just louder=better), could this be mic proximity or perhaps something saturating' (pre, mic?). It shouldn't be because of the conversion' level.
If compression isn't working out you might also look at doing some level automation to lighten the load on the compressor.
Janis Ian. Used no Compression on anything on an album done about 10 or so years ago. Sounds great. With good technique from the vocalist, and a song that's not too dynamic, you don't need any compression. There's also the trick of adjusting faders in realtime during mixdown, when you know there are very hot or soft parts coming up... In a book called Behind the Glass, one producer talks about adjusting the gain on the mic preamp DURING the perfomance, thus avoiding compression! Real old school, love it!
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