Is it ok to Normalize before sending tracks to studio?

[GONZO-X]

the real point should be,
that if you recorded your individual tracks with the proper amount of headroom,
that after you bring all your faders up for your final mix,
the levels where they sit, should be almost where they were when you recorded.

once you normalize,
all those tracks will be sitting down about -20db or so to maintain the proper headroom required for avoiding digital distortion,
which will not necessarily show up on 'crummy' meters.

 

[Bobbsy]

Oh, indeed. It's not often worth normalising, especially if you're summing a lot of tracks together. My only point is that normalising, in itself, doesn't destroy your tracks and that, if there are times when it's appropriate, it's safe to use it.

Just as an example, I'll sometimes normalise to keep the fader (or volume envelope in Audition) someplace in the "sweet spot" where results are nice an linear--a bit like using the pre amp gain trim on a mixer.

However, as I said, in this case normalising is NOT appropriate--leave it to the engineer at the studio to decide.