Do you guys ever use normalization?

[jgrif08]

I've got some old tracks I'd like to revisit but everything was recorded way too soft (didn't really know what the hell I was doing at the time)

I seem to recall my music tech advisor in college treating 'normalization' as a dirty word of sorts. I realize that if there's any noise or other garbage in the source file that that will be amplified as well... any other pitfalls to normalization? I just, for better or worse, have really never reached for the normalize button before.... curious how commonly its used, if at all, by most?

and a postscript - I've learned my lesson and I'm MUCH more mindful of levels as I track now, but thats neither here nor there

[DeeDrive]

There's nothing wrong with using normalization, it just turns the volume up to so the file peaks at 0db.

People calling it a bad thing are just talking about people using it as a method or matching levels based on peak levels rather than RMS. If two files are normalized to 0db, they might have the same peak level, but they are not necessarily the same average level, i.e. one will most likely sound louder than the other.

If you have files that are quiet, you can turn them manually, or normalize them. It's just a change in volume. So yes, the signal will be amplified, noise and all.

[jgrif08]

Cool, thanks man. Hey, nice cat by the way. I'm thinkin about getting myself one soon, do you let him in the studio? Just curious cuz my bedroom is my studio so I'm hoping he doesn't take to dfegad on the MIDI controller or anything like that...

wow, quick way to derail my own post...

[DeeDrive]

Thanks, yes, the cat comes in the studio, loves to sit on top of the monitors. The only problem she gives me is trying to jump on top of my acoustic cloud hanging 6 inches from the ceiling. She balances on the monitor then makes a flying leap onto the cloud. If a cat pissed on any of my stuff, they would probably be out in the cold...or at least locked in the bathroom.

[Flymax]

I usually dont normalize above 95%..
Back in the day, like 2000, with Pro Tools, there was some distortion associated wth taking it to 100%...
Also, in PT, make sure under prefs you turn of audiosuite dither or you'll be inadvertantly adding that to the audio file..

[auxpot]

Originally Posted by DeeDrive

There's nothing wrong with using normalization, it just turns the volume up to so the file peaks at 0db.

not really exact...in digital world changing volume or normalizing (which is just that) will change the wordlength of the entire bits...these added wordlenght will than be truncated to match the specific bit rate...
so your adding definitily degradation to your signal..i would try never to normalize a 16bit file...

[KingDaddyO]

Not saying it's good or bad. Here are a few links to some good information:

http://digido.com/modules.php?name=N...=article&sid=8

Dithering, db levels, and normalizing?

[DeeDrive]

Originally Posted by auxpot

not really exact...in digital world changing volume or normalizing (which is just that) will change the wordlength of the entire bits...these added wordlenght will than be truncated to match the specific bit rate...
so your adding definitily degradation to your signal..i would try never to normalize a 16bit file...

technically yes, but my point was that normalization is no MORE degrading than a volume change, because that's exactly what it is.

[khameln]

well it is, becuase what he's saying is that if you drag a volume fader in a DAW with high-bit internal precision or whatever, the volume change happens in a "virtual" way and all the info is preserved, but if you take a sound editor and find a file and click "normalize", it has to be immediately crushed down to the bit depth of the audio file itself and thus you destructively lose resolution of the audio.

When you are mixing it seems better to save truncation until the last possible minute and do the whole file, instead of hammering all of tracks individually this way and then summing the result of all the degradation together (and then doing it yet again when you bounce the mix to the target resolution).

This is the type of picky stuff Bob Katz talks about in his Mastering Audio book.

[adrianex]

Well, I never use it.

Besides the points already explanied, I could never find a reason to use it.

If you need volumen, crank the speakers.

Just my 2 cents

[Sirocco]

luckily mr katz doesnt roam around these parts

[verb1]

Wasn't this just discussed here a week or two ago?

Run a search on "normalization" for the reasons why you shouldn't use it.

[16/44.1]

Originally Posted by jgrif08

I've got some old tracks I'd like to revisit but everything was recorded way too soft (didn't really know what the hell I was doing at the time)

I seem to recall my music tech advisor in college treating 'normalization' as a dirty word of sorts. I realize that if there's any noise or other garbage in the source file that that will be amplified as well... any other pitfalls to normalization? I just, for better or worse, have really never reached for the normalize button before.... curious how commonly its used, if at all, by most?

and a postscript - I've learned my lesson and I'm MUCH more mindful of levels as I track now, but thats neither here nor there

Normalization is only pushing the audiolevel of the total recording to a certain higher level.
And yes, noise will also be amplified as well.
Oh, i wouldn't normalize a ballad and a loud guitar song to the same maximal level on 1 disc.
And do please use normalization only when all other things failed.

[DWINC]

Originally Posted by jgrif08

I've got some old tracks I'd like to revisit but everything was recorded way too soft (didn't really know what the hell I was doing at the time)

I seem to recall my music tech advisor in college treating 'normalization' as a dirty word of sorts. I realize that if there's any noise or other garbage in the source file that that will be amplified as well... any other pitfalls to normalization? I just, for better or worse, have really never reached for the normalize button before.... curious how commonly its used, if at all, by most?

and a postscript - I've learned my lesson and I'm MUCH more mindful of levels as I track now, but thats neither here nor there

You have read all the posts of all the other users, and I have a few PRO and a few CONS, but it is simple... Normalize when you think you need it and listen carefully if the sample is not going beserk, because it is true that all the noise will be lifted up too. I guess you are talking about taking samples from records or cd or mp3´s right, so always try to get the highest quality and if you like the song on mp3 format, go and find yourself the original one so you have the highest quality available. I made the mistake a few years ago by working on a very good song which could have been better if I would have searched for the original sample.

So basicly my story is: get the highest quality, sample it in high quality, and if you have a shitty sample that needs to boost up anyway, see if normalization is the right choice for you at that very moment. No situation is equal to the other

[Jules]

Never use it...

Bad voodoo...

Leave well alone...

tutt

[Stitch333]

If you think you gonna normalize, use a limiter instead

[16/44.1]

Originally Posted by Stitch333

If you think you gonna normalize, use a limiter instead

Is a limiter not a sort of compressor?

[Stitch333]

Originally Posted by 16/44.1

Is a limiter not a sort of compressor?

yeah....and?

[16/44.1]

Originally Posted by Stitch333

yeah....and?

That's a tutt to me.

[Stitch333]

Originally Posted by 16/44.1

That's a tutt to me.

thats cool.
L1 works like a charm for me.

[16/44.1]

Originally Posted by Stitch333

thats cool.
L1 works like a charm for me.

L1?
Waves?

[Sirocco]

use something thats non-destructive at least

[jgrif08]

Originally Posted by Sirocco

use something thats non-destructive at least

Like?

[Sirocco]

any tool u beleive will give u equal results..be it riding the levels of the un-bounced mixed...or using a compressora on a bus to them. it just makes it more intuitive being able fine tweak ur results.

[jgrif08]

Originally Posted by Sirocco

any tool u beleive will give u equal results..be it riding the levels of the un-bounced mixed...or using a compressora on a bus to them. it just makes it more intuitive being able fine tweak ur results.

coo'

[khameln]

Just move the fader up in the DAW...

[Alex Niedt]

Originally Posted by khameln

Just move the fader up in the DAW...

Ditto. Not difficult.