Using VST plug-ins during tracking?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Creamyapples1
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Creamyapples1

Creamyapples1

www.murphycabs.com
I recently went to a studio session with a few friends. Just a bystander, hanging out, observing. The studio was using a Pro-Tools rig with all the bells and whistles. One thing I noticed was that they were using a software limiter on incoming signals during the tracking phase. Coming from a modest analog background and recently joining the times with PC based recording, I find myself learning new things everyday, but this peaked my interest.

I'm using Sonar CW Homestudio 4XL, and was curious if this was an option. Using plug-ins during tracking with the software that I have, rather than tracking with just guitar amp, mic, preamp, soundcard, software. Actually being able to limit via plug-ins (for instance) as I track would be great! I'm trying to reduce the ammount of rack gear I have, so this sounds like a great start. I've been using CW for the past several months, but this idea never occured to me, and of course the literature available from CW is less than enlightening.

I do realize that there is a CW section, but seems the traffic there is low in comparisson. Would really appreciate any assistance with this.

Thanks,
 
Uhhh, no. If you've clipped your converters, you're clipped. Software limiters cannot save you, although they might try to reconstruct the wave so it isn't technically "clipped", you have still lost the integrity of the analog waveform.

Now if you are running a chain of VSTs while tracking, I can see the sense in sticking a limiter at the end.

Whether or not you can successfully use VSTs while tracking (for example, for an amp emulator) generally depends on your software/soundcard/VST support for low latency monitoring.
 
I'm not so much talking about clipping or peaks. More as to, if I use a VST during tracking, will it record the track as effected by the VST, rather than using a VST to effect the track afterward. The limiter was just an example, first thing that came to mind. Thanks for the response!
 
I don't know the answer to can you, but my response is "why would you". In that case you're using the effect destructively, at a time when you haven't even heard how the track is sitting in even a ruff mix. VST limiters usually aren't huge resource hogs, so there's little reason to ever apply one destructively, let alone at this stage. If you didn't clip the converters, you're sure not gonna max out the headroom in the software just recording. I don't see a point here.
 
Makes sense, but what about a noise gate or something similar?
 
Creamyapples1 said:
Makes sense, but what about a noise gate or something similar?
Click to expand...

No, you'd want to apply software effects during tracking IF the effect is necessary for the performance, like with my amp simulator example.
 
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