Compressing the recording signal???

[gar_lei]

Hello

I want to kow if there is a way to compress the recording signal with plugins just like what the external compressors does?
Cause I have a focusrite preamp that doesn't have inserts, so I wanna see if I could use some plugins to compress the signal before it gets record.

The purpose of the compression is to avoid clipping.

Thanks in advance!

[jfitz]

create an aux, and an audio track.

Set the AUX's input to that of the incoming signal from the focusrite
Set the AUX's output to a bus.

Set the AUDIO TRACK'S input to the aforementioned bus
record arm audio track

Insert compressor on AUX track.
(make sure the aux volume is at unity (alt+click on the fader))

[mindnoise]

Hi,

Sorry, but the question of gar_lei was how to avoid clipping of an analog input signal.
But the method described above is totally unsuitable to avoid that!

The ONLY other way to avoid signal clipping is using a hardware compressor/limiter.
But it´s easy to screw up with a compressor in the recording chain, if you´re not
sure how it will work with the rest of the mix later on.

Why does this does NOT work with plug-ins?
Because the plug-in works on the digitized signal, not the analog input Signal.
What do you think you see when the level meter in ProTools moves?

Once the signal is IN the computer is digitized and therefor no
possibility exits to avoid clipping of an analogue input within the digital domain.

Besides one:
with 24bit recording it si not necessary to record to totally hot levels.
conservative metering with a 1/2 to 3/4 volume level is totally OK!

It´s also the most common and best way to record the signal as direct as you can.
you can add compression later in your mix.
Most of the times you screw your recordings when using a compressor in the recording chain
with the utmost care.

And finally: you DON´T have to compress all and everything.

...hope this is of some help.

regs

[gar_lei]

Thank you very much for the replies!

the reason why I wanted some compression, is simply to compress whenever there is a sudden loud part.
So I guess if I really want one, I would have to get a hardware compressor...

By the way, you were saying that there's something special that we have to deal with when we record with compression.
Could you explain that a bit please?


Thanks!

[jfitz]

He's saying not to overcompress the incoming signal. just use it lightly as a safety net, to avoid clipping.

Also, he's right about my method being useless for avoiding digital clipping, but I'm sure you could find other uses for it.

Check ebay for hardware compressors (I use a dbx 160, that works pretty well, for now), and just place it directly in your signal path
focusrite > Compressor > Interface

[gar_lei]

Thanks a lot!

I was looking @ the dbx 160 as well.
I think I might pick up one of those.

THANKS!

[mindnoise]

Hi everybody,

Also, he's right about my method being useless for avoiding digital clipping, but I'm sure you could find other uses for it.

Yes, that Bus/AUX thing is the one of the reasons DAW are so great, plenty of creative potential here!

By the way, you were saying that there's something special that we have to deal with when we record with compression.
Could you explain that a bit please?

I guess that goes in my direction so:

when using compressors you must be aware, that you not only change the dynamics of a recording
but also the rhythmical feel of it, due to the attack/release settings.

a phrase about comps that goes around here is "to treat a compressor like a loaded gun - carefully, don´t point until you know you hit the target", that of course does not apply this way to sound design.

In the beginnings a "Compressor" was a studio JOB! An Engineer riding the volume controls to avoid
distortion and to take care of the overal volume balance. Usually with classical recordings
he had the notations infront of him and knew in advance when the loud or quiet parts were coming
and adjust the volume accordingly.

The point of this is, that you may have to try perhaps LOTS of compressor settings until you achieve
the optimum recording, to find these settings requires time and usually only very few settings
can be applied to one specific recording, while the others will most likely deteriorate the recording compared to an unprocessed recording.
And if you record some one´s playing or singing he/she might get tired of repeating the same thing over and over again until you found the correct settings.

So it´s better to just record with conservative levels and apply the treating later on when necessary.

So you still might want to use a brickwall limiter which is way better than record clipping.
the DBX stuff seems to be fine to start with. I have a TL Audio comp, but usually don´t use it
for controlling input signals.

This is not discourage you to do it, though. You can only learn in the process.

regs

[foxlemieux]

This was some advice given to me that has yet to fail. Especially if you are recording in 24bit, just turn the mic pre gain down a little lower than you normally would when recording something that could potentially have a loud transient. The noise floor is low enough with 24 bits that normalizing/gaining/compressing/etc after recording doesn't bring too much if any noise into the equation. It's a much cheaper solution as well. There's obviously a limit to how low/how much you can turn up the sound later, but with 24 bits you have way more wiggle room than you might realize. Note that this doesn't work well with 16bit recording. If you are going to buy some external hardware I'd say a limiter would be a better idea than a compressor if you are looking only to control peaking.

[mcgirr]

Ditto.
Limiting should occur on the input of the material. This is done to avoid clipping of the original signal.

Compression is almost exclusively for mix/ master stage.

Peak LIMITING is the solution you are looking for to avoid wasted takes.

Best wishes.

[EGS]

...So it´s better to just record with conservative levels and apply the treating later on when necessary...

I agree with this. If you print an inappropriate use of compression, then you have "painted yourself into a corner". If you insert a compressor plug on the record track, you can monitor the results immediatly without "printing" the compression. To me, this provides speed AND flexibility. My 2 cents.