The Normalize effect (Effect, > Normalize) is the workhorse of many a digital recording studio, because it is common to record to a peak of -12 dB or lower, sometimes all the way down to -24 dB. Normalization is usually the last step before export to bring your recording up to a higher peak volume level. Digital audio has such a wide dynamic range that you can record to conservative peak levels to avoid distortion and then later normalize your tracks to bring the peak levels up to a comfortable playback level.
Normalization is also used to bring multiple tracks up to the same peak volume level. Do not use Normalize if you want to preserve the relative volume levels of different tracks. For example, if you have one track that peaks at -6 dB and another one that peaks at -12 dB and you want to keep the 6 dB spread, don’t use Normalize; use Amplify. With Amplify you can raise or lower them a set amount, for example +3 dB, which would raise them to -3 dB and -9 dB, respectively. But if you want both tracks raised to a peak of -3 dB, then Normalize is the tool for the job.
Always leave “Remove any DC offset” checked, because DC offset is not something you want to keep. If there is any DC offset, this indicates that your mean amplitude is not zero. A little bit of offset is no big deal, but if the offset is big enough, it will mess up your dynamic range, and it could even cause some distortion (Figure 12-2).
DC offset is short for DC offset from zero. DC originally meant direct current, but now it applies to any waveform representing any type of signal. Figure 12-3 shows the before and after: The track on top is the original, unnormalized track with a bit of DC offset, and the bottom track is normalized and has no DC offset.
