Quote:
Originally Posted by Dean Roddey  But gain staging the analog input chain is what is being discussed. That's all before the fader. If you have some part that's going to be way off in the distance and at -24dB or something, then to do that with the fader at 0, you couldn't really possibly be getting an optimally staged signal through the analog gear on the way in, I don't think. It would have to be way lower that is optimal. And if you have any processing on the track, it's going to be working on really sub-optimal bits as well. Good gain staging would mean getting a good signal through all those things so that they have plenty of signal to noise ratio, then pulling down the fader to what's appropriate for the track in the context of the mix, or so it would seem to me. |
In practice, modern ADC noise floors are much lower than most chains, and you can dial in what you want and not worry much about it either way. Take a look at how much leeway there is in your chains, and how, after (digital) loudness matching, your converters sound at different levels.
Both "sides" of the level argument are wrong: hotter isn't always better, and colder isn't always better. Goldilocks knew this.
