When recording, outboard compression/limiting is useful to avoid overages/clips. You don't want to record clips. I can also be useful to filter out background noise and narrow the dynamic range is very specific cases.

The point is, this is done BEFORE it is converted into bits and sent to your DAW.

Doing a compression/limit after it has bee converted to bits during recording is generally pointless. If your signal has clipped, you are not fixing it. You are just compressing/limiting the clipped signal.

So, an outboard compressor/limiter is a good thing.

DAW based compressing/limiting during recording does not solve the same problem. You can monitor through a compressor/limiter, but still record the raw material. However, what the software plug-in may be doing could mask problems that you should hear and compensate for before the track is recorded.

Peter

I would tend to agree if this was a professional recording setup with mics that could deliver large peaks and dynamic range in the 120+ dBA region.

But the OP is using a dynamic mic that will only deliver at best 80-85dB off the floor in the real world. Needs all the dynamic range he can get. Adding any pre-emptive compression or limiting will just lower the dynamic range and effectively raise the noise floor. His sound interface will easily handle the full range of levels that any dynamic mic can deliver, thus my advice to adjust carefully and record the full dynamic range.

Judicious application of compression in post, if any, would be done for the aesthetics of the mix, not with the intention of fixing anything. It's easy to add a little compression after the fact, but it's impossible for the average hobbyist to expand it after the fact.

OTOH, if he was miking drums with a set of Heil or Audix my thoughts about pre-emptive limiting would have been much different. It all depends on the situation.

You heard wrong. Unless you are for some reason unable to set levels correctly, there is no reason to ever compress on record. Even moreso if you record 24-bit, which allows for a good safety marging without degradation due to quantisation.

Compression on source cannot really be undone if it turns out not to your subsequent liking.

geoff

I wouldn't go quite that far, Geoff. There are plenty of situations where it is advisable or necessary to limit or compress at the input stage.

This just isn't one of them . . .

I would. You can easily have around 20dB real recording safety margin 'headroom' before even getting 'down' to CD-quality.

geoff

I'm guessing you've never miked drums. Or a belter.
But since we're OT, why don't you start a new thread?

Back in my studio days, I used compressors on tracking sessions all the time... when needed, but not to the extent being 'final,' usually just enough to even out or control a vocalist with poor, or no mic technique. a few dBs at the most, or just in a limiter capacity to catch the peaks.

Only most days .... ;-)

geoff

To answer the OPs question, yes, you can Insert an input bus and assign compression plugins or efx plugins or whatever to record a "wet" track if needed. It's not the best solution but will do in a pinch. Look under the "Insert" menu for Audio Input Bus Or search help for Input bus for the different uses. Do a short test record first to make sure you are getting the desired results before you record a full take. Hope that clears things up a bit.

As that compression isapplied after A-D conversion, the ONLY point would be if a compressed sound was required in a Vegas-sourced Input Monitor feed.

geoff