I’ve heard that some engineers like to set their compressors etc.. before tracking then record with it in effect. Is there any real reason for this instead of post production?
No.
I haven’t met anyone who would do that, unless it’s an fx track they are certain they are going to keep.
Definitely not a good idea with main kit parts like bass drum, snare and toms. You don’t get any benefit doing it upfront to tape rather than after the kit is recorded, but you get the downside that once it’s recorded you can’t adjust it.
Well, I know there are definitly some engineers who will record with at least a small amount of compression. The idea is that you may as well get the sound you’re looking for printed to tape immediately if you can. However, if you’re not totally sure about what settings or what type of compression to use, then like Whitten said, you are better off doing it in the mixing stage. There is no sonic benefit to tracking with the compression.
Yeah it depends on timing and budget too,if your tracking at a fancy expensive studio and mixing in the box .You may know what sounds your after and want to hit the tape/convertors with a more consistent volume,analog mojo,many reasons to do so ,with a trusted engineer but Caution is Paramount at that point.
It could be as simple as tickling that irresistible API,TG,Neve,UA.a slower attack leaving the transients untouched.
You just have to know your commiting it to tape and thats going to be your starting point for mixing.
Many other factors like tuning,heads,room,performance will have just as big if not more impact on a recording.
Ive heard many producers talk about printing what they want right there and then and the trap of leaving too many actual decisions to the last minute.
I just got a nice UA 610mk2 to print some better touched up vocals and gtr&bass to daw and it sounds awesome.
Maybe Chris misunderstood your question or perhaps I misunderstand your question… if you are tracking LIVE drums, you almost always need to use a bit of compression (as a limiter) unless the drummer can consistently control the loudness of each hit (I have never seen a drummer able to do this not to say someone could).
In this case, the compressor is not an effect rather than a tracking tool used for limiting that allows the drummer’s adrenalin to run wild without worrying about peaking out the meters during printing. So, you might say that this is limiting but most hardware compressors can be great limiters (some of the vintage hardware models had a compressor and limiter mode just for this reason).
As far as EQ or compression effects, yes, that is best done at the mixing stage.
Jim
Keeper of the Shrine The Lamb Laid Down on MIDI www.lldom.blogspot.com
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