So here's the deal, am I able to add an effect into the FX bin in Sonar X1 Producer, and have it affect directly to the signal that is being recorded in real time?

For ex: a song that has whispering parts and screaming parts. am I able to use a compressor added to the bin and have it running WHILE recording? (because I don't have any real analog compressor). So that way it will replace a real compressor which is missing in the chain (though of course I will have to sacriface some of the audio quality I guess, and I really don't wanna use a lousy compressor, as well as for now, I can't afford a good one)...

I know that I can add a compressor AFTER the vocal is done, but the thing is, if there's no compressor, in whispering parts I have to turn up gain in my pre to capture the singer's voice, but that will cause clips in those screaming parts, and vice versa (turning down gain in screaming parts will result loss of signal in whispering parts).

So is there any solution? If any of my question sounds stupid, please don't mind as I'm just a newbie :(. Thank you very much for helping me.

if it were me I would definitely record the various types of vocals onto different tracks and as separate takes.

I would not use a compressor to control the levels of recording sources.

And, in any case, the recorded audio is dry and the effect is applied on its way through the routing path. And that is the way you would want it. That way, you can try different effects or different settings.

The X2 plug-ins are of very good quality and there is no need to save up for expensive hardware any more. Not in my opinion anyway. There are purists who I'm sure would disagree...

You have to turn Echo Input on to hear the effects while you're recording, but they won't be recorded. After you record the track with the effects, all you have to do is bounce the track to another audio track and you'll have the track with the effects. 

As I understand it..... the incoming recording is NOT affected by the FX in the FX bin.

The FX you add to a track are processing the outgoing sound.... the stuff coming in is dry and un-effected. 

UNLESS.... you do a PROCESS AUDIO function which then prints the FX to the track. But that is done while stopped. 

If you remove an FX you do not lose anything and no recalculation takes place.  You can delete an FX and add another and do this on the fly which shows the FX are on the back side of the signal.... not on the front side going in. 


I record all the time with my echo on so I can hear the reverb on the vox and other things.... but I can swap them out or go dry. That would be impossible if the signal coming in was recorded and the FX were applied to the recorded signal. 

daveny5


You have to turn Echo Input on to hear the effects while you're recording, but they won't be recorded. After you record the track with the effects, all you have to do is bounce the track to another audio track and you'll have the track with the effects. 

That is a nice way too (for echos/reverbs/etc) but it's no real time, so the compressor thing wouldn't work I guess. I think I'd have to do synkrotron's way, but it's real bad because sometimes I need to record something live, and missing a compressor in the chain is really a pain in the... sound. That's why I asked if I could use a software solution in the mean time...

Guitarhacker


As I understand it..... the incoming recording is NOT affected by the FX in the FX bin.

The FX you add to a track are processing the outgoing sound.... the stuff coming in is dry and un-effected. 

UNLESS.... you do a PROCESS AUDIO function which then prints the FX to the track. But that is done while stopped. 

If you remove an FX you do not lose anything and no recalculation takes place.  You can delete an FX and add another and do this on the fly which shows the FX are on the back side of the signal.... not on the front side going in. 


I record all the time with my echo on so I can hear the reverb on the vox and other things.... but I can swap them out or go dry. That would be impossible if the signal coming in was recorded and the FX were applied to the recorded signal. 

That's bad news =(

Its not bad news its the way it is. What you need to think about is if we do it that way why can't I do it that way?

Its actually a good way to do things. Because the recorded signal is untouched we can than manipulate it all we want afterwords. Its really a blessing. That is what non-destructive is all about.

Using a compressor in this way wouldn't work to control levels as levels are set prior to Sonar. i.e. by your interface.

There is no way to control incoming levels from within Sonar. To compress the recorded signal you'll need an external compressor.

You can of course compress the signal within Sonar once it has been recorded but not before.

I think that the OP is expecting to be able to record a complete vocal take in one go and that vocal has a massive range of dynamics and he is expecting a compressor to behave like an automatic recording level device (automatic gain control). And I suppose that that is what a compressor is, in its crudest form.

And then there's a limiter, which is a compressor with a high compression ratio and fast attack, generally.

Recording live stuff, if you cannot check levels first, is a tough cookie and you need to manually check levels and adjust faders. Using a compressor is not normal in this situation, as far as I'm aware anyway.

I guess my question sounded quite stupid then, I'll have to let it go and save for a compressor I think. 

But still, I think it'd be very cool to have a real time software based compressor (or any kind of effect/processor) for those who just want to try, or use it as a temporary solution =(