When recording...

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jasongreen

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Do people usually use a compressor while recording or is this done during the mixdown? I'm recording an acoustic guitar using an MXL 2001 at the 12th fret and an MXL 603S on the soundhole. I have a behringer composer pro, so I could use it while recording....but is that going to give me the result I want? What do most people do?

Also, when we start recording voices, the singer can be quiet at times and VERY loud at others. I don't want her to have to back off from the mic too much, if any, so would I use a compressor for this application?
 
jasongreen said:
Do people usually use a compressor while recording or is this done during the mixdown? I'm recording an acoustic guitar using an MXL 2001 at the 12th fret and an MXL 603S on the soundhole. I have a behringer composer pro, so I could use it while recording....but is that going to give me the result I want? What do most people do?

Also, when we start recording voices, the singer can be quiet at times and VERY loud at others. I don't want her to have to back off from the mic too much, if any, so would I use a compressor for this application?
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Using anything other than a straight line between the preamp and the recording should be left as a last resort only. If you color the sound during recording and it turns out to not be what you want, there is no good way to undo it without re-recording the track.

As far as the vocalist goes, gently advise her that if she wants to sound good on the recording, she's got to work with you a bit and try to work the microphone a bit better. That means backing off the mic a bit when she's belting it out and coming in closer when she's crooning her quieter passages. Don't be afraid to ask her; it's part of her performance just as much her voice control is. She can only help herself.

If she just doesn't have it in her to work the mic yet, then you might have to apply some light compression during the recording, but try getting it good without the compression first.

G.
 
I will put a hard compressor on the way in to ensure no peaks at recording. Typical settings: attack 2ms, Release 20ms, Threshold -3dB, Ratio 15:1.
But i am wanting to try and get tracking done without any efects on the way in as this will yeild better results. Defo.
 
A lot of pro engineers gently add compression during tracking. I'm personally with Glen, but I will use it when I have to tame inputs with wild transients.
 
well...

These days there are many vst and dxi effects out there (many free) that are competetive with good analog effects. If you use effects 'in the box' there are many more options are left open to you and you can see how it fits in the mix with the effects applied. That been said, I sometimes use a slight amount of compression going in if the singer needs it.
 
i compress vox, snare, overheads, and guitars on the way in personally.

i just make the signal do what i want.

control it.

everything else goes straight in from the pre.
 
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