Got a question about outboard effects should I get for a home studio

[Buddah999]

Me and my band mates are getting pretty serious about this DIY recording. We are using Pro tools 7.4, We have a command 8 for the drum tracks and mic'ed cabs, while I have a m-box mini for any direct tracking and mixing.

I've seen what pro tools can do as far as effects, and I wanted to know if there were any outboard effects I should consider getting instead of using those that come with pro tools? I.E. a good compressor for vocals?

Also what plug ins would you consider essential?

I would like to make this project as pro as possible. If there is anything you guys would suggest we get, please let me know!!

Thanks!!

[chrisp2u]

I own a bunch of plugin bundles (McDSP, Wave Arts, Waves, IK multimedia)... one of, if not the best, plugins you can get for PTLE... and easily the best value out there...
http://www.masseyplugins.com/

The only 2 I don't own are the new de-esser and the vt3 eq, but they're both quite good as well. Download them and use them without limits... except that when you save or close your session it doesn't remember your settings.

Massey ROCKS!

I like a lot of the McDSP stuff to, but it costs quite a bit more than massey.
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c

[DaS HaaS]

Make sure you have pre amps for the mics and I would get a good compressor.

[mudbean]

Unless you're prepared to spend over $1000 on a vocal compressor, stuck with your plug-ins.

mud

[Padams4]

My band does all the recording with ProTools and a good mic pre but we leave the final mixing and mastering up to a pro studio and their gear.

Might not work for everyone but for us it does.

PA

[seamonkey]

I agree that the plugins are outstanding. Pro tools nulls tests them against the real thing and they are for all purposes identical to very expensive outboard gear.

Still for convenience sometimes it's handy to have an out board effect. Some of the new ones include USB or Firewire to actually also act as VST/RTAS plugins. Like Lexicon.
There are also external DSP processors you can buy that will load and run plugins to offload the PC CPU.

[Charling]

well, hardware, good hardware, is one of the reasons a pro studio sounds better then a demo studio. but implementing it is both expensive and tricjy, especially when you only have 1 compressor etc.

it can be useful to have one on the way in to smooth peaks but with the fidelity of modern recording technology it isn't by any means a sin to just turn down the level to ensure you dont distort.

in mixing, having just one compressor is tricky to utilitise, its so annoying having to mixdown a whole tracks worth of vocals only to find that a few hours down the line you have to re do it because the mix has changed.

you will probably also find yourself wanting to put a lot more stuff through your nice hardware compressor and before you know it mixing is nightmare.

I'd stick to plugins, good hardware is the nirvana but you have to have a lot of seriously good gear before it starts to practically outweigh the advantages of plugins.

a good compromise is to use a pre-amp/channel strip like the focusrite isa220 etc. they have a good eq and compressor on them ,and the pre amp will do your recordings wonders (unless you have something better, or dont have a soundcard that can capture the sound well!)