Read up on Digidesign.com. Search on this site about the software vs. hardware question. If you know how to use inserts and aux sends on a board its the same. Think of protools as a recorder thats already patched into a "board", you play off the tape rought that to a track (if your using the protools mixer its the track you recorded it to which get sthe coresponding track on the protools mixer.) and from there use plugins like you would an insert on a board or an aux send/return. In protools per track theres six inserts and six sends. The only way you can compress to protools would be having a real compressor patched in before hitting protools. Theres no way to compress to tape in protools using plugins, plugins work in real time and are used after you have something recorded and is being played back, just like using a tape machine and mixing on a real board.

"what are the benefits and disadvantages of software based v. hardware based compression?"

Outboard comps will never be obsolete while plug versions have to be upgraded as new OS and software comes into play.

Outboard comps still sound the best at this point, but this will not be the case for much longer as computers get more powerful and software designers take advantage of the added horsepower ...

With outboard hardware based comps you can print to the DAW with compression and then use it again at mix, a technique I prefer to adding all the compression at once ....

I like to use classic hardware comps on the way in to the box and then employ the plugs when mixing. Hardware comps have a sonic signature while the stock plugs available seem to reduce dynamic range without adding a sound, so it works out to be a nice combination ...

missilanious wrote: Read up on Digidesign.com. Search on this site about the software vs. hardware question. If you know how to use inserts and aux sends on a board its the same. Think of protools as a recorder thats already patched into a "board", you play off the tape rought that to a track (if your using the protools mixer its the track you recorded it to which get sthe coresponding track on the protools mixer.) and from there use plugins like you would an insert on a board or an aux send/return. In protools per track theres six inserts and six sends. The only way you can compress to protools would be having a real compressor patched in before hitting protools. Theres no way to compress to tape in protools using plugins, plugins work in real time and are used after you have something recorded and is being played back, just like using a tape machine and mixing on a real board.

PT LE five inserts and five sends per channel. If you compress the signal before it gets to the input then you'll record the compressed sound. If not as mentioned above using an insert wont compress the original audio until you bounce this down or to another track.

If you plan to compress audio using software you should consider getting the Waves Renaissance Compressor (available as single plugin or in bundles from http://www.waves.com) . It is, in my opinion, the best software compressor available by far.