Quote:
Originally Posted by pac-man
But if you get tracks like that to mix, they are probably already pushed through the analog front + converter, right?
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Not necessarily. Many pre-amps have output gain/trim knobs and if the gain is added there, it may not necessarily affect the "tone", it's just voltage. It would be different from maybe over-driving an input circuit way past an "optimal operating range", just turning the output stage's "volume" up to "fill up the bits". So, some people fully respect the input side on their analog outboard, and still push the output level way up.
So it depends on how it was done and through what gear. Very few tape recorders could take say, +15, over analog 0 as an average level and not sound kinda bad. There is so much headroom in digital you can get away with it as long as you don't clip.
IIRC, +5-6 or so to tape was hitting the tape pretty hard. That probably equates to peaking -5/6 or lower in digital, an analog average of +5 with peaks going over that. Never seen anyone actually record to tape at +20.
Just to be clear, when I've "over-driven" some pres to get a certain sound, I still gain down the output stage to stay within the operating range of the recording medium, with tape or digital.