Scouser wrote:I have only really used software compression and do find it can take lots tweaking and when you are doing that with a mouse ! So yeh knobs seems a better quicker more intuitive option.
Absolutely!
Also I thought that hardware compressors might bring more in terms of tonal contribution, than their software equivalents ?
Not particularly. I have tested my hardware MC77 and the plugin and they are very much interchangeable. Same with the the optical compressor in the LA610 and the UAD equivalent.
“The only time you need compression going in is when you are doing a tape based session where you need to limit the dynamic range “
I thought I might use it to better control dynamic performances going in ? Now I’m confused, it doesn’t take much.
It's what I was referring to above. With 24 bits (say 20-21 effective) you have a gigantic dynamic range: nobody can sing or play so loud to exceed it - the only thing you can do is to set up the initial gain level too high (but that's just a mistake).
So if you set your level at an average of -18, -20 dBFS, you can shout or drum at your heart's content and you will not ever go near 0dBFS, while the system noise floor will still be way below anything audible (the ambient noise will likely be much higher).
Tape had a lower dynamic range, so even setting up the initial gain "right", you may risk to overshoot.. hence, compression in input in the old days. Or with 16 bits digital recording, for a similar (not identical) reason.