recording with compressor or limiter

Rockerrockstar : A proper stereo recording strip is the best way to
go, now as for your question, A leveling amp to control dynamics is a must when recording il suggest a few to consider and there rentable.. to try out..  http://www.summitaudio.com/tla50.html
is one and its very good.. aphex 320D compellor is very good on bass.. and the trusty ..UREI LA2's  

Some audio interfaces come with built in compressors and EQ on every channel.  Motu, RME and Roland all have an audio interface that allow you to print with effects.

If you want to shell out for the real thing the ART PRO VLA II is a damm good compressor/limiter and it is very cheap, you should be able to get one for around $500, they're made in the US as well.

Peace

I have the RNC (Really Nice Compressor) and use it for recording vocals, but really I hear no difference between using it and just recording at a sane level without it and then using a compressor/limiter as needed once in Sonar.  Too much stress on compressing from the get-go.  Somerset's response is very helpful in that regard.

RB

Even cheap interfaces offer 24bit depth. Why bother?

And keep in mind that an analog limiter will:

1. Have too slow of a response time, and let some of the offending peaks though anyway.

and/or

2. Clamp down so hard and so fast that it sounds almost just like the clipping would (as it's doing essentially the same thing). Even if it sounds slightly better than digital clipping, it still won't sound good.

Thanks for all the replys.  I think for guitars I probably could get away with not using an outboard limiter or compressor but for Vocals I really do believe that having some outboard gear would be best.  

I am wondering about the signal chain. Would you put the out board pre plugged into the (channel strip, or compressor or limiter) then into the input box?  Or would the Channel Strip have buit in mic pre too?  I am sure it depends on the gear.  I am just trying to get an idea of what is a good set up.  

I guess you can put in your own out board pre then have it go into something like an ART Vila II for limiting then into the interface box.

I currently have a cheap ART Tube MP for my mic pre outboard but would like to upgrade to something better down the road.  Probably would use something that has some good color for the vocals with a nice tube.  Maybe I would start off by switching out the tubes in the art tube MP to see what that does.  But later maybe upgrade to a much nicer mic pre. 

What should I look for in an interface to take advantage of outboard equipment.  I am worried about losing the quality of the outboard equipment through the recording analog to digital conversion.  Should I be concerned about this or do most interfaces do a good job with this?  Do you need high sample rates to get a good recording for vocals using out board gear and what specs should I consider when getting an interface?