FKA1 said:
Cyms always tend to peak a little.
What does this mean? Everything "peaks". Do you mean "digitally clips"? If so, saying that cymbals always tend to clip a little is wrong. It totally depends upon the miking technique, whether you're talking about a crash or a ride, the drummer's playing style, etc.
And that's just talking tracking. In the mix it depends entirely upon the timbre of the mix, the genre of music, the spectral balance between instruments, and even the mood of the engineer/producer. There is nothing that says that cymbals should peak higher in the mix than anything else.
If you're talking about going above 0VU on the analog side (going into the VU red), then, sure, it's entirely possible that you might track some cymbals that hot. But the same is potentially true for every other instrument; there's little special about cymbals there.
FKA1 said:
One thing most home recorders aren't aware of,
Digital 0 (unity gain) isn't always the same as analog 0.
Watch your terminology there. In standard parlance, "digital 0" refers to 0dBFS, not the "0" or unity gain position on a digital slider.
As for evrything else, Farview has it right (though I won't come down on the school, just the loss of the forest for the trees.)
DavidK said:
I AM recording at the proper levels. It is the processing (compression and reverb) that puts it over the top. Certainly I can turn it down, I am more curious as to why. If there is something there I am not hearing, that is certainly a possibility. Maybe I am confusing loud with good
Way, way back when I was in sales (over 25 years ago), we had a "trick" that was a slam-dunk for selling equalizers for home and car stereos. We simply only boosted the various frequencies (except the mids) and didn't cut any frequencies, even if they sorely needed them. With the exception of audiophiles or people who's ears simply knew better, everybody thought the EQ sounded fantastic, even if it was a piece of crap and even if the EQ curve was pure fantasy. Why? because it increased the volume.
Same with loudspeakers. Any time I wanted to sell a pair of ESS loudspeakers, I'd A/B them with the Advents, playing the Advents first, even though the Advents were a far smoother and more accurate - actually better-sounding - speaker. Why? Because the ESSs was a higher-efficieny speaker; it put out more SPL per watt than the Advents did and was automatically louder without even having to touch the volume control. And people translated that into better (while we were holding our noses behind their back.)*
Like Jay said, David, A/B the mix with the clipping and without the clipping. Use the same amount of compression and verb, but just hold back on the comp makeup gain and/or the track trim volume to keep the clipping away.
But A/B them at the same SPL playback volume. Then use that A/B to determine which sounds better.
If the clipped track does honestly sound better to you, then run with it. There's no commandment that says if you clip you're going to hell
. BUT, if it sounds a bit worse, of even basically the same, then back off and do without it. Remember, it's not how it sounds solo, but how it sounds in the mix. And if you are using more RMS energy in a particular track than necessary, that leaves less mixing room for the rest of the tracks.
G.
*It's this kind of BS that goes on all the time in sales, which is why I left sales a loooong time ago 
.
Also, Dave, I just remembered (I think) that I left one of your PMs from yesterday unanswered. I'll answer it shortly... 
Am I not hearing the clipping? Is this wrong, will I be banished from HR?? 
I have come to the conclusion that it is not much different. If I A/B tracks, I really cant tell much of a difference, therefore it doesnt seem to be worth it just in case someone CAN tell. One of my legions of adoring fans may hear it. 
