Why destructively edit when you don't have to? The only answer is because you need the CPU cycles.

Good reply....so if I track a vocal with very little compression going in....once I have the wave file Dynamics and everything.....are you saying I shouldn't mess with that vocal destructively? I should just use plugins.

also I use to use gates on all my vocals to get rid of back ground noise (head phones/ other interference type things) but it seems to take "something" away from the feel of the vocal. So im fiquring that I should just treat my booth a little better among other things.

another thining with tracking... should I hear the beat in the back ground ( I know that theres is some bleed but should it be that significant.

You never know when you might want to do a remix or have someone else do one, so if you print the compression, you'll have to live with it forever.

Try to kill the bleed at the source. If it's just from headphones, get another pair, or if you're on a budget, try earbuds.

hey dav....is it possible to kill all the bleed with a good pair of headphones?

Yes. Try a sealed headphone like the Sennheiser HD280. Also, earbuds work well, and if your talent must have extreme volume, try earbuds with selaed headphones, turned off, over the top.

If the plugins are slowing you down you can disable them while working on other tracks then re-enable them for the mixdown. If you are using a lot of the same plugin on different tracks you can also consider setting up a parralel bus for it.

you guys are the biggest help..thanx david and also dedalus....to good pieces of advice that I didn't know or think of.........

Any track that you think you want to do destructive processing on, clone it and leave the original intact. Gives you a way to retrace your steps.

Caisson wrote: you guys are the biggest help..thanx david and also dedalus....to good pieces of advice that I didn't know or think of.........

If you do this you won't have individual controls on the tracks will you?

Just as a general rule you should be saving multiple copies of your anyways - this is a great habit to get into. Just save your file before making any changes. I will often put a number beside the name of the song. If I have enough room I will date it i.e. Song X - 2005 06 30, If you have multiple saves of the same song on the same day, I add a letter to the end i.e. Song X - 2005 06 30 A, Song X - 2005 06 30 B etc...