I'm reaally thinking I might go without

Not sure if you're asking me... but I have a decently treated room with great monitoring... Bryston/Proacs/Avocet, yada

So...

After my lengthy rant about no compression, I was browsing through Ebay and lo and behold, there in the shining mist is a Retro Instruments 176 for $2450. TWENTY FOUR FREAKING FIFTY. I couldn't pass it up. Thank you, Billmelater...

I've only used one briefly and didn't really have time to put it through the paces, but I remember pretty much loving what I heard. I figure if it doesn't work, or if times get tougher, it will be easy to get my money back if not a little more.

Damn you, G.A.S...

Well, unless my 2014 is better than my 2013 (which it's looking like it will be ), I won't have a choice...

I think the point Mr Swedien was making, when you compress on the way in, you're permanently shrinking and removing transients and dynamics from the source, once those things are gone, you cant gettem back. Conversely, you can always add the compressor after tracking and achieve the the same and MORE results in the context of a final mix based on your artistic whim. This is a solid philosophy IMV, we spend $1,000's of dollars for gear that gives us lots of options, and subjective control over our sounds, permanently shrinking the size of your canvas on the way in doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

again YMMV, i've heard lots of great results by guys who track with compression, but i've also heard a ton of compression abuse... this video is a little off topic, but funny none the less.

I'm saying that AND...that he's not likely in the room with the singer with headphones on setting the compression. Or worse, BEING the singer with headphones on setting the levels. That's the disconnect. Here's the Tower of Babel here: musician reads how John's going to track Martina through the Fairchild...they neither have the objective view from the control room's live playback, John's engineering experience, OR a Fairchild. 

So, someone with the headphones on themselves patches in a ProVLA and set it so they get visible GR when they sing loudly, turn up the make up...and likely never really gain match compares...so, it's louder, therefore better. They don't hear how it's changing the envelope. They don't hear the color that may not be particularly as flattering as something I have access to...etc. 

I'm a big fan of both of these things.  Let's try to get it right when laying it down rather than fixing it later.

What are you using for EQ's?

This comes down to why you're using a compressor. I use compression simply for mix context. Not for some cool vibey distortion circuit (though sometimes that's an added bonus). I actually hate running VOCALS through an 1176 with no GR...for that very reason. There's nothing wrong with you doing that. THAT...is an artistic choice. Compression really rarely is. I'm not suggesting people don't make decisions until mix time...AL ALL...but, I DO advise they not make MIX context decisions until mix time. If there's a frequency that needs gone, get it gone on the way in. That's not context. If you creatively want to here the sound of the 1176 transformer, that's not contextual--that's a sound you want...you print it.

I think maybe I'm being misunderstood.

If the compression is part of "a sound"...it's part of a sound...print it. But, you don't print it out of technical "need". There' no noise floor concern. There's no ADC overload concerns-turn the preamp down--OR turn it UP and attenuate so the tube or transformer present clips musically and not the ADC. There's no analog compression is better than digital concerns--because that being what it is, you can use either during mixing with any system I'd mix on.

That's ALL I'm saying. I print through EQ all day. I'll print certain guitar pedal FX. I'll saturate preamps on the way in. If we have an IBP around, I'll manipulate the phase. Submix tom mics. I actually HAVE patched the La3a in with no GR on some egtr tracks before for it's euphonic transformer*. I will limit where it's got an intended side effect on the envelope. Anyway--you will NOT find me recommending carte blanche to "leave decisions until the mix" anywhere. And certainly not when they're working at a facility with a great collection of gear and a solid engineer with the objective view of the live playback in the control room.

*BTW...didn't they make a preamp out of those? 2108 or something? I see those pop up now and again and always consider...

@johnkenn, when do you get that 176?

Oh lord, what have you done now!!

Gear slut!!!