jatoth
DJ,
Normalizing raises or lowers the entire track by a certain amount. It does not alter dynamics.
If you normalize to -6db, the highest peak will be -6db. If prior to normalizing, the highest peak was -8db, the entire track will get a +2db boost.
HTH
 

 
So would all the audio be raised evenly? I assume so? ie. Just like raising the volume? Everything stays proportional? I personally do not normalize much. Just trying to understand it a little better.

http://forum.cakewalk.com/m/tm.aspx?m=3074655&p=7
 

DJ Darkside

jatoth
DJ,
Normalizing raises or lowers the entire track by a certain amount. It does not alter dynamics.
If you normalize to -6db, the highest peak will be -6db. If prior to normalizing, the highest peak was -8db, the entire track will get a +2db boost.
HTH
 

 
So would all the audio be raised evenly? I assume so? ie. Just like raising the volume? Everything stays proportional? I personally do not normalize much. Just trying to understand it a little better.

Yes, but you'll also be raising the noise floor.

Bristol_Jonesey
Yes, but you'll also be raising the noise floor.

+1
 
Always best to get the gain staged right during the record process.
 

I've always looked at normalizing similarly the same way I look at a compressor.
for that reason alone I rarely if ever use normalize unless im doing outside work on something not recorded in my studio.
in my environment I typically try to get the levels as close to proper as possible.
in some cases I would rather fader ride (afterword/if not too bad) than use a compressor to keep the feel of the dynamics real/less squashed if you will.

Best practice is to capture as close to how you want it to sound, at a good level.  That makes everything else easy and leaves "mixing" to adjusting levels and pan and reverb and other such ear candy.
 
If the track's level is too low, for whatever reason, either the gain knob or normalizing can be used to raise it higher.  Either of those have the same effect, raising the entire signal, peaks and noise.  Compressing, well, compresses the internal dynamics of a sound, squishing the differences between the loudest signal let through and the softest part, including noise, esp. if you have to raise the output level on the comp.  Compression evens out the signal differences between the loudest and softest parts of said signal.
 
Normalizing isn't supposed to be a normal, everyday tool to make up for bad tracking techniques, but a tool to fix problem tracks.  That said, if your process involves normalizing everything to make mixing easier since every track as loud (lead guitar, kick and triangle), that is fine, but seems to me the long way around and is a way to introduce unnecessary noise.
 
However, gain staging is mostly an analog problem in driving a signal hard enough to overcome inherent noise without saturating or distorting.  Once it is in the computer you can raise a signal or normalize or compress it w/o needing to introduce any artifacts or adding noise (you'll just be raising up whatever is already there).  For me, if the captured signal needs more level to work into a mix, I'll use gain for a little bump, but normalize when I need more than a couple of dBs of gain.
 
@

chuckebaby
I've always looked at normalizing similarly the same way I look at a compressor.

 
That's quite true, the way we normally use compressors. This is because there is (usually) makeup gain applied following signal compression. Many of today's compressors do this automatically, but the oldies let you set the makeup gain manually.
 

Normalizing has the same effect as turning up the volume or setting the gain.
The difference is you get to decide on the maximum peak level beforehand.
All three techniques change the noise floor in direct proportion to the change in gain.
None of the three techniques compress or limit. There are no changes to the dynamics whatsoever.

jpetersen
Normalizing has the same effect as turning up the volume or setting the gain.
The difference is you get to decide on the maximum peak level beforehand.
All three techniques change the noise floor in direct proportion to the change in gain.
None of the three techniques compress or limit. There are no changes to the dynamics whatsoever.

Absolutely right.    

I don't exactly implement gain staging, like several who have already replied. However, my process is a little different from some of those described.
 
First and foremost, I make sure that no individual tracks are anywhere near 0 dB, and that the Master buss is in the neighborhood of -12 dB. When mixing is pretty much complete, I use Izotope Insight to make sure the Master buss is about -25 LUFS. I then bounce everything to a mix track and/or export everything to a final mix.
 
In the mastering process, I use Ozone 7's limiter and Insight again to make sure the final loudness is about -15 LUFS, plus or minus 2 LUFS. Most of what I do can be described as classic rock. If I was doing dance music I'd probably limit to a louder level; for acoustic music I'd keep it quieter (maybe -18 LUFS).
 
I think 24 bit recording gives me enough headroom that classic gain staging isn't really that important, as long as individual tracks or their sums don't get too hot. That bit depth enables really clean signals at a pretty low level.