Quote:
Originally posted by Jules
IMHO - The trick here I feel is to be less preoccupied with the 'level before clipping' while recording and be more aware of the optimum level your equipment PRE CONVERTER likes best to operate at.
I concur, especially when running 24 bits.
Digital is funny, in that headroom is based on a fictional nominal level. Because of that, you can swap headroom for for a higher s/n ration. But the noise floor of some analog gear is signifigantly higher than the "noise floor" on the converter. Normalizing just takes the blank bits at the the top and inserts them at the bottom, raising the signal and noise floor similarly. You normalize, you end up dropping the fader back down to compensate or you end up with mixes with no headroom to fit in a kick or even snare sometimes.
Depending on what i'm doing, i'll use either the vu meters on my pre's, or the sound coming over the monitors (ala mp-2nv) while adjusting the master output to set levels with the RMS values my RME box spits out. After switching over to using rms (vs peak), i don't have issues with low levels, and 99% of the time it won't peak. Even when the drummer gets a little crazy during a take. No need to normalize it, as the faders usually will get dropped below 0 vu anyway. A distorted chunk guitar that has been normalized might even need to be cut 30 dB (or more) below the 0 fader position.
I'd almost suggest you try to limit the concept of "peak metering" from your workflow. About the only thing it is good for is when the little red light comes on saying you had 3 full scale samples in a row, suggesting you back off a bit. It will get you past some of the complaints of working with digital. Mainly, the misconception that 0 dBFS is your friend.