Tips and Tricks for the Normalize function?

[grannis]

 

(Process->Apply Effect->Normalize)

Looks like it should be useful for smoothing levels on a clip or track, but I can't quite figure it out and can't find the doc on it.

 

[mettelus]

Audio Normalization is nothing more than raising/lowering the entire clip or track by a constant value to hit the target you specify. It does nothing to "smooth" or change the relative dynamics of the audio. Where this can be useful is to prepare tracks to a given level prior to mixing and/or so that they hit more common threshold targets for follow-on FX (specifically compressors) more consistently. Visually, normalization does essentially the same thing as applying clip gain (CTRL-click-drag) on the waveform in the Track View (just that with normalization you are specifying the target for the peak in the entire clip and a single gain is inserted on that entire clip to make it land there).

[msmcleod]

1 hour ago, mettelus said:

Audio Normalization is nothing more than raising/lowering the entire clip or track by a constant value to hit the target you specify. It does nothing to "smooth" or change the relative dynamics of the audio. Where this can be useful is to prepare tracks to a given level prior to mixing and/or so that they hit more common threshold targets for follow-on FX (specifically compressors) more consistently. Visually, normalization does essentially the same thing as applying clip gain (CTRL-click-drag) on the waveform in the Track View (just that with normalization you are specifying the target for the peak in the entire clip and a single gain is inserted on that entire clip to make it land there).

It's worth noting that it will raise the volume so the peak level hits the target you specify... not the average level.

It is useful for raising a very quiet recording to a sensible level though.

[Sock Monkey]

The difference is that applying normalize or gain processes the original audio permanently and this is known as Destructive Editing. 
Simply increasing your level using the tracks gain control or using clip gain is Non-Destructive and can be easily changed at any time. 
Some people don’t like the idea of destructive editing as it does render the audio file and has a potential to alter the audio files quality.  And it can’t be undone after the project has been saved and closed. 
I have never heard a difference in quality myself so I often use it on live recordings when a few tracks are recorded way too low. 
 

To use it this way I will set it at -6 db globally for all tracks. 

Be aware that if the audio clip has just one loud spike it will get normalized to that one spike. The track will still be too quiet overall. 
You sometimes need to manually remove any peaks first before proceeding. 
 

If you’re lazy you can just use a limiter like Boost11 set at -3 db and use the track  or clip gain to push it up . 

Edited Thursday at 05:43 PM by Sock Monkey

[Amberwolf]

The only thing I use the function for is if I have a bunch of little snips of something (usually percussive, or sounds I recorded to use as effects, like my dogs' breathing, panting or other wierd sounds they make that I can reprocess into something musically useful). 

 

I slice up the recorded or imported wave into separate clips (either manually or with the audiosnap feature that does a fair job at it), then select them and press my shortcut key for Process-Audio-Normalize and just hit Enter which does it to 100%.

Then I can use the sounds wherever, and use track volume or clip gain envelopes (or the destructive Process-audio-gain function) or compressors, etc., to manage the individual volumes of the sounds wherever they're being used. 
There's a few examples of this usage in a recent project here, with some panting and other sounds in certain sections as percussive timing effects,

https://amberwolf.bandcamp.com/track/ookami-no-kari-no-yume-wolfs-dream-of-the-hunt

and in this one replacing some shakers with pantings. 

https://amberwolf.bandcamp.com/track/a-peek-over-the-wall

[grannis]

great answers thank you all.

The fact that it normalises to the peak could in itself be quite useful (thank you @msmcleod)... so if you normalise to -6db, and see that a couple of peaky peaks are stopping the whole from getting close, you can then clip-gain those down and repeat. 

It's not something you could do with a limiter, clipper or compressor on its own. Has anyone experience artifacts from this approach? feels like you shouldn't but I'm not an expert on the comparative cleanliness of clip gain editing vs limiting or clipping.

As for the destructive editing (thanks @Sock Monkey) I guess a null test would prove or allay any concerns regarding quality degradation... not sure I can be bothered though - I wonder if anyone has already done it...

 

as an aside, I've always felt that batch processing of clips should be a useful tool to augment the real-time algorithms of limiting etc. I presume that plugins can't do this, it has to be a built-in DAW feature