Vocal compression: in recording or mix?

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leavings

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Is it better to compress vocals as the track is being recorded or during mixing? Is there any difference?

Sort of a moot point for the song I'm working on, since I already have a great take...but the curiosity struck me.

Peter
 
i like doing a good bit of compression on vocals going in to get a nice level......
 
for me personally, i would only compress while tracking if i had all day to mess around with the settings.
 
if i track with compression, its lite.. like 2:1
my vox never distort or get to wild while tracking( i have a lot of headroom) so i usually stick a La2a or 1176, or even a Rcomp on the vox during the mix.. if you over compress with tracking you can't undo it...
 
It depends... I just tracked 5 songs with 2 compressors and printed it. I have to break that habit of premixing everything before going to tape. Maybe not! :)

SoMm
 
Son of Mixerman said:
It depends... I just tracked 5 songs with 2 compressors and printed it. I have to break that habit of premixing everything before going to tape. Maybe not! :)

SoMm
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but if it works why change, why break the habit that you know sounds good?
i have friends that do the same thing..
they track with distressors and they will sware by outboard compression direct to a studer..
but i stick with digital and Nuendo 2.1, la2a,1176, fairchild emulation via uad-1:D
 
Depending on the style, I might occasionally do a little medium-knee limiting (just a dB or two) just to tame the beast on the way in. That way, I can still scoop it later.

John Scrip - www.massivemastering.com
 
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I prefer after.

although I do use a lil gate before. Just enough to shut the mic off until the slightest sound hits the mic.

On Bass DI,, I use compression while tracking.

Malcolm
 
c9-2001 said:
but if it works why change, why break the habit that you know sounds good?
Click to expand...

Yeah, Im quirky that way. I've began to prefer to get the sound I want before I print to tape. The last gig I recorded things whilst messing with the sounds and then did a playback to see if what stuck was was what we alls were looking for. It seemed to lessen the bickering about retracking stuff. We spent an hour setting up the Bass, but once we got the sounds we kept the tape rolling. Only one retake out of 5 songs, pretty went through one reel without stopping. Wild.

The vox was magical. Its took awhile to find the right signal chain. This was his 10th demo, he has been on a few albums and has been in some pretty big studios. He has never been happy with his voice. Im the 3rd engineer/studio in the last year. I ended up using a md421(S eq'd) into vtb-1 with a 3630 sidechained with a RNC stuffed into the insert. Fast attack, medium release with 10:1 and 25:1 respectively. Where I pulled that out of I don't know but apparently it was the first he has smiled in 10 years. When we were tracking, the guitarist was just shaking his head. The more I listen to Fletchers "twist the knob till its right" methodology the more fun and rewarding this is becoming. 10 years ago I would have never thought about something crazy like that.

SoMm
 
BOTH, each depending on the purpose. Durring tracking for level control and signal management, and durring mixing for color, effect, and to fit the mix.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
bsanfordnyc said:
my vote is during mixing. That way it's not so FINAL.
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In theory that is the rule, but practical you gotta use a little sometimes during tracking.

f.e. the recordings of my band: we have a quiet peice followed by a few loud screams. If you don't want to break the recording and if you want a good headroom, a little compression during tracking makes life a lot easier.

And if you use an Avalon, it will sound great :D
 
I used to compress on the way in as a means of level management, but these days of 24 bit tracking that's no longer so important.

What I don't think anyone has mentioned is using compression while tracking to aid the vocalist in getting a better performance. A high quality compressor can not only impart a desireable color (which is often pleasingly noticeable to the performer in the cue mix: "Wow! This is how I've always wanted to sound!") but can also keep the vocal a little more "present" against the backing tracks, so that the vocalist is less prone to oversinging and can use a greater dynamic range. Again, the end result is a better vocal performance.

The amount of compression during the tracking stage is usually going to be relatively light, and certainly does not preclude using additional compression during the mix.
 
it depends on what my goal is, really. sometimes i'll only do minor compression on the way in just to ensure an even signal. but most of the time, i find myself knowing what kind of sound i want, and what's gonna sit well in the mix ahead of time, so i'll go ahead and squash on the way in. a lot of the stuff i do is similar (acoustic-based w/vocals), so i have a good idea what kind of sounds i'm looking for to begin with.

usually, i'm pretty much with SoMM here--if i know what i'm looking for and if i can get the sound(s) i'm looking for on the way in, it's one less thing i've gotta fight with later. so, as often as possible, i'm a big fan of "record it how you want it to sound and be done with it". there's definitely something to be said for getting the right sounds going to tape in the first place.

but there are sometimes when i don't exactly know (or haven't yet decided) how i want it to sound in the mix, or i just might want the flexibility (and ability) to carve it up later. if so, i'll compress very lightly on the way in and make it submit later. :p

the only rule i subscribe to is "does it sound good to me?"


wade
 
Just to limit..

I use the Avalon AD2044 just to keep from blowing out the track on the way in. Like just about everyone else, I use it to get levels going in, and not really to smoosh and pack. I would only crush a bass going in.
 
Do you have to have a hardware compressor to do vocal compression while recording? Or can you somehow do that with these soft compressors?
 
littledog said:
What I don't think anyone has mentioned is using compression while tracking to aid the vocalist in getting a better performance. A high quality compressor can not only impart a desireable color (which is often pleasingly noticeable to the performer in the cue mix: "Wow! This is how I've always wanted to sound!") but can also keep the vocal a little more "present" against the backing tracks, so that the vocalist is less prone to oversinging and can use a greater dynamic range. Again, the end result is a better vocal performance.
Click to expand...

I agree with your logic to get a better performance from the singer. Another option is to split the signal and record an extra track clean with no effects for mixing later on.
 
<<Do you have to have a hardware compressor to do vocal compression while recording? Or can you somehow do that with these soft compressors?>>


I don't know of any plugin (software) compressors that will compress while recording.

some of them will allow you give the artist some compression while recording (in the vein of what LittleDog said), but that's after it's hit the recorder and obviously you're gonna be dealing with some latency there.

long post, short--you need hardware compressors if you're going to compress on the way in.


wade
 
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