FEEL THE WARMTH - Vintage Audio Processing is back!

Jim Prewitt Productions uses both Outboard and Software audio processing.

Hardware vs. Software Compressors

Most modern production have software compressors these days. These come in many different styles and types and many of them sound quite good. However, these are mainly for post-recording. You apply them to an audio track or soft synth as a plug-in, after the recording has been made. Software compressors do not help as you record, so they cannot limit the peaks coming off the microphone through the preamp and into the converter. Hardware compressors, on the other hand, when setup correctly, modify the signal before it is recorded, thus preventing the overloads that can ruin a take. If you don't want to use a hardware compressor here you simply have to be careful about overloads. With 24 bit recording you can record at a lower level to avoid overloads, however, it is a great idea to have the protection of a hardware compressor all the same.

There are some great software compressors available today. As usual, the better ones will cost you. Take a look at the Universal Audio UAD-1 Studio Pak which features software models of the classic 1176LN, LA-2A, Pultec EQP-1A, and Fairchild 670 hardware devices. Also check out the Waves Platinum compressors.

Jim Prewitt recommends the following audio processors for a warm, silky, velvety sound.

La3a/La4a Compressor/Limiter

Aphex Dominator Multi Band Limiter

DBX 166a/DBX 160

1176/1178 Peak Limiter

Aphex Aural Exciter w/Big Bottom

Air Corps Pro Announcer Mic Processor

528 Symetrix voice processor

DBX 286 Voice processor

Cool Edit Adobe digital processing
And a few other goodies we can't tell you about.

Remember, Compression/Limiting is a GOOD thing when used properly.

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