Good call on the -1db Lugia. I actually find myself 'normalizing' to way less than that to achieve balance between samples. db values and perceived loudness are very different at times.
-- wiggler55550
Yep...but the nice thing about only dropping the normalization level to -1 dB across ALL samples is that everything's more or less uniform, putting the control of the overall mix back into YOUR hands. Plus, there's literally no way for dithering and such to bump things over 0 dB because, while -1 dB might seem to be close to that, the fact is that on a PCM word level, it's a long way from it. And the ultimate spin comes all the way back from undergrad: 99% of all people cannot tell the difference between -1 dB and 0 dB. As a general rule, any amplitude changes between -3 dB and 0 dB are mostly imperceptible, and -3 dB is considered to be something of a perceptual threshold for an average group of listeners where one CAN detect a level change. Note that I'm NOT referring to electronic composers and/or performers here; WE tend to have a better ear for these sorts of things, probably from the simple fact that we spend a lot of time tinkering and twiddling with these minute control changes all the time.