EQ > REVERB > COMPRESSOR > LIMITER or a different order?

[des0free]

In processing a track like a vocal, guitar, or bass track I have been doing the following order of operations

EQ > REVERB > COMPRESSOR > LIMITER

It seems logical, but does anyone have any thoughts about a different order?

[TPB]

It's all personal preference sometimes I have put the reverb at the end to give a room effect over the track
Tim

[Mach]

It's all personal preference

I very rarely use a limiter because it will stop a signal from increasing in loudness above a set threshold.
A compressor only attenuates the signal above a set threshold. Limiter=infinity:1 ratio. Compressor=adjustable ratio settings.
The attack and release settings control the timing of the gain reduction. I find this to be a waste of time trying to find the right settings and complexity kills the momentum of the creative production flow.

I also wouldn't recommend DSP limiters while tracking. There is always enough high headroom with digital recording.
I prefer to take care of the transients before hand and use gain staging as a starting point. Remember, you can always increase on a Master Bus later. Now a limiter may come in handy on a Master bus of your entire mix. They are very aggressive though and can reduce dynamic range very fast. So I try to avoid them because they 'limit' my work flow LOL!!

EQ and Compression - IMHO to get good sound for mixing are dynamic range and frequency balance. EQ, use it wisely and it can reduce the effect of masking, but there's no such thing as a perfect filter. Listen. Less is more. Tame the boom and the piercing resonance and inter-peace will be achieved  Compression, ehh, use it at your own discretion. Ratios are your other friend.

Now how you put them in order >> Tim said >> "It's all personal preference" Experiment, there are no rules!

Mach

[Mach]

Oh Reverberation...I just make a stereo AUX track, put it there, send which instruments you want and adjust how much dry and wet you want for each. Saves time and plug-in use and they all have the same parameter settings.

[Ferryman]

Try it and see what works for you. I like EQ before compression because I like to send to send the desired frequencies to the the compressor rather than try to EQ the compressed signal. I don't use compression on everything myself, I try to get the sound with EQ first and might then use compression to shape the transients, maybe add some punch (I love to get an aggressive plectrum sound on bass for example) or maybe even smooth things out a bit (vocals mostly).

Personally I wouldn't put compression after reverb because you are "squashing" the effect. The received wisdom is that time-based effects like reverb and echo should come after compression in a signal chain, but sometimes doing it the other way round can create an effect or sound that could work.

With reverb, I tend to use it more as an effect on a few specific tracks, so I may have different parameters or even plugins for each track. I try to stay away from putting reverb on too many tracks, but that's just me. 

I never use a limiter on a track because that would imply to me there is something up with the input level or the way it was recorded. Like Mach said, gain staging is really the key when mixing multiple tracks. But I often use a limiter in the mastering process.

Bottom line - don't be afraid to try things that create a sound that fits your music.

[StephenM]

I wouldn't have a clue...generally I use presets I like and maybe tweak a dial or something...but I have ventured into looking at the chain in some of the BR1600 presets and they do alot of stuff... I need to take a few photos to add to this along with what it sounds like...and MP3 clip.... I guess experimentation works...looking at the way I work I would say that I am more of a producer than an engineer (although I like a bit of that )... what I mean is the producer is looking for a  sound and the engineer/musician have to get it for him... I would suppose there is alot of overlap in this though also depending on the skills and likes of the ones involved...
I am not an endless fiddler with knobs, buttons eq etc.. I tend to go for presets that I like the sound of...I think engineers probably have to like tweaking alot more...but I will spend hours on mixes...panning, using a preset effect etc to get the crazy stuff I am looking for...always until my ears are happy...

[T.C. Elliott]

I agree with TBP and Mach.

EQ > Compressor (or vice versa, there's a big debate on the internet about that, but this is my preference) > compressor > (optional second compressor) > spatial effects (reverb/delay etc.,)

I prefer two compressors (or even three) rather than one doing a lot of compressing. And I prefer not to use limiters on individual tracks, although there are times where it solves some spiky volume problems, especially if you go with a super light touch. I like using two different kinds of compressors, but I typically use the TDR free compressor twice, with a fairly soft setting on the first one (reducing the spikes by about 4 db and compensating almost as much and using a 3:1 or 4:1 ratio) and an adjust to taste setting on the second.

I just realized that if you're using a BR or similar style unit then you may not be able to stack your compressors. If that's the case then try to use your limiter with a very slight touch, essentially using it as close to a compressor as possible. If this is the case then you might use it first then the compressor after (play with it to see what sounds the best.) Although another work around would be to print the track to another Virtual track with the compressor on and then adding a compressor to that new track.

For bonus points, if you are using a DAW, try side chaining your reverb and tuning it.

[des0free]

Thanks for all the advice guys - this is helping me improve my custom mixing/mastering software!