The Logic Off Topic list

On a fine day, 12-03-2004, drummerboy5142 wrote:

>Like to end this argument once and for all. Is using the gain function
>in the audio window better than normalizing your individual audio
>tracks to bring the levels up to get the best quality recording to mix
>with?

The best way (except for recording at decent levels :) is to use the 
Gainer plug-in.  Since it's a plug-in, it operates in Logic's native 
32-bit space.  All destructive edits, such as normalizing, work on a 
24-bit level and introduce quantization errors (noise).

amgshaffer quoted John Pitcairn and wrote:
>  >In Logic, it is far preferable to increase level by boosting the fader
>>level and/or inserting Gainer plugins, which ensures that the increase
>>in level is done both non-destructively and at a much more accurate
>>32-bit floating point resolution. The result when added up across many
>  > tracks is _clearly_ superior to normalizing all the audio.
>
>Given the above comment, I would assume the best way to maximize your
>signal-to-noise ratio is get the levels set correctly when you record
>the sound.  Otherwise, gain, normalization, or using the Gainer plugin
>will raise both signal and noise.

I don't think you get the gist of John's argument.  John explicitely 
says that using a Gainer plug-in is preferable to normalizing in the 
sample editor.  Saying that "they all raise signal and noise" misses 
the point, which is that anything done at 24 bits introduces more 
noise than when done at 32 bit.

Another but somewhat related argument against normalization: 
normalizing is imo as pointless as the digital zoom on digital 
cameras is.  If sufficient data is absent, the camera (Logic) can't 
invent it out of the blue.  With a 200 x 300 array, you can't make a 
_real_ 400 x 600 photo.  Likewise, if you have a recording that uses 
21 bits of dynamics, increasing that to 24 bits (normalizing by 
multiplying everything by 8) won't _really_ increase the resolution 
of your recording by a factor of 8.  If you then realise that it's 
not only pointless, but adds noise to boot, well... you get the 
picture.

-- 
Hendrik Jan Veenstra   h @ k n o w a r e . n l
Omega Art: http://www.omega-art.com/