RECORDING WEEK 2026: We recording technology geeks are totally spoiled today. We have so much power and so much access to tools and materials, even inside the most humble of laptops (or even tablets), that we could be forgiven for thinking that life was always like this. But it very much wasn’t…
As any professional who has been dabbling with studios since the early 90s will tell you, there was a time when if you needed a specific effect, you had to buy that specific effect. And we mean physically buy it.
Ask any guitarist about this, as most purists will continue to fly-the-flag for a conventional analog pedal-board with a handful of effects, and each distinct pedal providing its own tone colour or specific effect. Of course, there are people who now use digital effects, and many superbly reputable companies also employ digital technology in analog boxes to create classic sounds.
There are also those guitarists who swear by their multi-effects pedals, and some who even venture out with a laptop, for the ultimate in flexible heavy-effect lifting. It's easy to see the appeal - turn up to a gig with a single device, and you have all the sonic colouration you need.
But just like guitarists, there are plenty of studio evangelists who continue to swear by traditional outboard effects - whether totally analogue in operation, or digital.
So we have to ponder the question - why? If digital copies and clones are now so exacting, just why do some people continue to plump for the original vintage devices?
Unlike the guitarist’s domain, studio effects in hardware have always traditionally conformed to the 19” rack mount form-factor. As the measurement suggests, devices would be 19 inches wide, with a vertical measurement described as ‘U’ for Rack Units.
1U would be 1.75” height (that’s 44.45mm in new money) with devices available as 2,. 3U or more.
This gave rise to the studio rack; a studio system, a little bit like an exposed cage, that you could physically screw your effects into. The more devices you have, the larger the rack or racks that you would need, hence some studios would utilise space from floor to ceiling, often with multiple racks to accommodate all of the equipment.
In professional environments, all of this rack-mounted kit would be hardwired to a patch bay, making it accessible via the plugging in of a patch cable, to any channel on a mixing desk.
This physical process was (and still is in some instances) very rewarding, as the clunk of the patch cable would satisfyingly engage the desired effect unit.
It was also prone to failure, with the need to keep contact cleaner to hand so any dirty connection points could be quickly fixed. No such failures in the plugin world of course… save the odd just incompatibility issue.
Over the last 30 years, those of us that had rack equipment have streamlined our set-ups, but there are many examples of devices that we still love. For us, they’re irreplaceable.
The most common of all, is generically described as the voice channel compressor. Given that many of us tend to only use a single microphone at a time, at least in a home recording environment, the addition of such a unit can be beneficial on a number of levels.
As the name suggests a voice channel compressor does indeed contain a compressor circuit, which is ideal for tracking single instruments and vocals (particularly loud signals) and can take the sweat out of getting a good take.
Moreover, the tactile component of the physical hardware can be great for quickly changing settings on-the-fly, which makes it perfect for acoustic and studio recording. Be sure to check out a list of our favourites and current retail prices here.
Voice channel compressors also tend to offer other components, such as better microphone preamplifiers, various forms of EQ, and in some instances, degrees of saturation and tone colour, which can either be applied manually, or form an intrinsic part of the devices make-up.
Many of the more expensive and elaborate voice channels include vacuum tube circuitry, which provides a beautifully warm and organic component to the signal, without even trying.
The same can be said for other technologies, where the electrical signal may pass through transformers or transistors. Bottom line, degrees of impurity enter the signal, and with our 'digital heads’ on, we will be thinking that we should do everything we can to eliminate it.
The problem is, our ears and our brain quite like it, so why would you want to clean up a signal that sounds so lovely?
Setting up a voice channel alongside an existing home-rig is very easy. Instead of plugging your microphone in to your audio interface, you merely plug it into the voice channel first, and take the output from the voice channel into your audio interface as a line output/input.
Some devices offer a digital output, in which case run your digital signal (optical or coax) into your interface instead.
At the performance level, you will also notice that unlike working in the DAW, hardware devices have a near zero processing buffer, so you won’t have to compensate for latency.
If you have a device such as a small mixer, you can use this for monitoring purposes for that true zero-latency experience.
It's also worth noting that despite the ‘voice’ channel moniker, there is nothing to stop you putting a guitar, bass or synth through the same device, and you will probably find that all examples will benefit from the tone of an outboard unit.
Just imagine how beefy that synth bass will sound…
The next logical extension to 'going hardware', is to look at what other tempting treats you can find in the outboard effect arena. Many plugin effects draw inspiration from hardware counterparts, with some choosing to appear as clones on screen, even adopting the same colour scheme.
Legendary compressors, such as the Teletronix LA-2A or the Universal Audio 1176 can still be purchased from secondhand or new, although integrating your signal fully, may require additional expenditure.
If you have one of the larger audio interfaces that are available, with multiple inputs and outputs, it is possible to easily route signals out of your unit (using outputs 3-4), towards units such as a compressor, and back into a pair of inputs. You can do the same thing with other forms of effect too.
One category that is definitely worth exploring is the realm of reverb.
Many reverberation boxes from the late 80s and early 90s were digital. Their sound has fallen out of favour, but in the right hands and with the right creative intent, you can do some seriously clever things at the press of a couple of buttons.
Devices such as the Lexicon PCM series were highly applauded back in the day, and still have much to offer for relatively little outlay on the second hand market.
But if you want to go the whole hog, nothing is as satisfying as the physical size and grandeur of spring and plate reverbs.
Devices such as the AKG BX-15/20 spring reverbs, or the legendary EMT-140, are an investment in physical space as much as finances, but for good reason. If you find yourself working with acoustic samples in your DAW, the addition of genuine analog reverb can really bring your samples to life.
Here at MusicRadar, we have to admit that we’re self-confessed outboard fanatics.
We love the sound of some of the old units, even the ones that have arguably been improved when re-birthed as a plugin.
It's the tactile form and the incomparable - and genuine - warming effect it has on our audio signals, that really endears us to the technology.
Best of all, many of the old outboard units are now available at very sensible prices, meaning that you can cheaply buy things to try out. And, if it doesn't work out for you, you can likely sell it for what you paid for it.
