That is, of course, unless your interface happens to have some insert jacks in the back. This means that after you signal hits the mic pre it immediately goes to your converters. Nice!įor most people in a home or project studio you’re using an audio interface with built in mic pres. I usually like to compress my snares to get a fatter sound in the mix, so with an outboard compressor you can get this sound set before you even hit record. You’ll tame the peaks, bring up the quiet parts, and get a more even performance going to “tape.” The same is true for recording snare drum.

A little compression on your vocals, kick or snare drum, or even your bass guitar can be a nice touch when going in to your DAW.įor a dynamic vocalist (someone who varies between loud and soft passages of singing), a simple compressor inserted after your mic pre but before you converters can be a life saver. a physical hardware compressor in your signal path) is for recording purposes. The best reason I can think of for someone to use an outboard compressor (i.e. Via wing_clipper Flickr What It Can Do For You Or perhaps you’ve seen the “big boys” using outboard compressors in the mixing stage. At some point in your studio adventures you might be asking yourself this question: do I need to buy an outboard compressor? Maybe you’ve heard that recording with some compression can be helpful.

Best vocal recording software 2012