Avoiding committing effects to track sound file.

Cubase
1

I’m recording an ‘off the floor’ recording, just two of us, 5 inputs at a time, but having trouble keeping the level for the foot stomp high enough in the monitor mix to hear it. We’ve got some help from the cue mixes, but since the stomp is weak but very dynamic, it clips the sound card input before getting much into path, I’m wondering about adding some compression to even it out and gain to bring it up in the mix.
My question is about not wanting/needing to record the compression (or other) effect.
I’m using a UR44, which has specific settings for either monitor only, or to track. That seems simple enough. But if I use an insert, send, or fx track, my understanding is that the actual sound file is still always going to be dry and so can still change it during mixing… true?
I’ve scoured the forums and manual and found numerous references but nothing definitive.
Besides the onboard UR sound card effects and/or a physical device before sound card, is there any way to ‘accidently’ commit effects to the actual sound file?
Thanks for any help.

Cubase 8.5, UR44, Win 8

2

Unless you put effects on insert point of the inputs you will not record them.

But to hear effects on the DAW inserts or sends you will obviously be monitoring through the DAW which will be monitored the soundcard latency.
The benefit of the UR dsp effects is that they are on the direct monitor path with negligible latency.