recording with compression plugins

[polf]

hello,

This may be an easy one but im too lazy to read up on this when i can ask people here!...
...can use a compressor plugin when recording instead of an outboard compressor....and if this is possible will latency be a problem?

mmmmmmmmmm.....


cheers

[polf]

okay so im lazy but found the answer. When i tried to record using a compression plugin i tried it on an audio track which is post fader so i wouldnt work....but if you go through an aux track it will!

http://www.digidesign.com/digizine/archive/digizine_february04/groundwork/

[msg6794]

does anyone know how much of a delay from latency is introduced this way?

[msg6794]

i just tried this to answer my question. i'm currently routed this way:

guitar is plugged directly into mbox. i have an aux channel and an audio channel with inputs receiving that signal. the audio channel is recording it directly. i put a compressor (digirack comp. II) on the aux bus, and send the output of that aux to a bus. i then have a second audio track's input set to that bus, and i am recording to that audio track as well. so, i have 2 audio tracks recording, one of which has the signal going through an aux, a compressor, and a bus first.

there was an obvious phasing problem with the 2 tracks, so i zoomed in on the wave forms, and found that i had to move the compressed track over 595 samples to line it up with the straight track.

was there an easier way to figure out how much delay would be introduced? like a list of latency/delay introduced by plugins/buses?

[edited to add - i'm using pt 6.9 with an mbox "1"]

[Craig F]

control click in the fader level window for signal peak click again for plug-in delay.
I don't think it will tell you bussing delay.

[max cooper]

Remember that the compression plugin isn't before the converter, so you aren't protected from clipping it.

[polf]

hello Max Cooper,

Are you saying that when you set up a compressor on an aux track and its not in the red if the gain is too high on the input channel it may be clipping but not showing?

cheers

[max cooper]

By definition, anything that happens in Pro Tools is happening after the analog to digital conversion, so no matter what's happening with the compressor on the aux track, you may still be clipping the converter.

You could put twenty aux tracks before the audio track, and they'd all still be happening after the converter.

All you're doing when you put the compressor on an aux track before the audio track is 'printing' the compression to the file, thus eliminating the possibility of changing or removing the compressor later.

I'm not sure where this practice originated, but I don't see much reason for it, other than to reduce the plugin load on the cpu later on.

If that's what you're after, I suggest recording the file, saving it, duplicating it and printing the effect to the dupe track, that way you can always get back to square one.

[mindseye]

this is just a wasted step then? so if you're recording a vocal with a lot of dynamics,
you'd be better off just lowering the mic trim and riding the fader?? or getting a external compressor?

[vicwind]

yep, get an external compressor, or record at 24 bit and track a little softer.