Originally Posted By: Frankp
Originally Posted By: Guitarhacker


The down side is that when you normalize the track, the process of normalization brings everything up to a predetermined level. Say you choose -3db as the level. Normalize will look at the entire track, find the highest peak in the wave and bring THAT point to -3db. It amplifies everything else in that wave on a linear scale as well so that the music retains the exact same dynamic range but just louder with the highest peak not exceeding -3db. What that means is any noise in the track also gets that same boost. That's the downside and the why not.



I understand it raises everything including the noise. But it raises everything, so doesn't the noise level stay relative.

I always increase the volume on my mix as much as I can without clipping. Does it make any difference in the noise level of the final mix whether I, 1) raised the volume with the master fader or, 2) raised the volume by first normalizing individual tracks and then still adjusting the volume with the master fader? Or for that matter, I keep the volume low on the mix and the final listener just raises the volume on their stereo, any difference in that noise level?

It's all digital, I don't understand how it would make a difference in the noise levels in any of those scenarios.


pretty much correct. If the track is a midi track and digital, there should be no noise in it to speak of. The silence in a midi track should be (for all practical purposes) total silence. we know that is not possible but it is so low you can't hear it and even amplifying it 100% or more still leaves it below the threshold of hearing.

The problem comes in when you record an audio track such as a guitar amp with a certain amount of hum. That hum is boosted, as you said, relative to the track, or as I said, in a linear manner.... so as the track volume goes up so does the noise. So even though the audio track is digital, the hum is part of the material and regardless if it's digital, it gets boosted.

Then, you also have the phenomenon of masking. This is where there is other sound sources (instruments in the other tracks) that, due to their presence, mask, quite effectively, the noise in the target track to the point it's not heard. So even if the noise is boosted and not edited out in the silent parts, the other sources keep it well hidden in the mix.

Any time you turn it up, whether in the track, the sub-bus, the master output or after with normalization you will raise the noise level. The only time this would really matter is if that instrument track was solo at the time. Such as a guitar intro to a song... however, the amp hum/noise can also be an asset by giving that "live" and personal feel to the recording.... so it may not always be a bad thing to have noise in a track.

If it is an issue, gating or envelope editing will work but you also risk the loss of the reverb tails making the part sound very unnatural as a result.

Last edited by Guitarhacker; 11/11/13 10:49 AM.
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