Normalize All Recorded Samples?

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#1

So I am a noob that is starting to feed a bunch of homemade samples to my OT from various hardware synths that I own. From what I have read and understood, it is best to record samples into the OT as loud as possible without them clipping (correct me if I’m wrong here).

From this point, after sample is trimmed and edited, should I be normalizing all of my samples before saving them? Or if I’ve recorded the samples at a reasonable volume, is this not necessary? I’m compiling a bunch of sounds to work with and would like to get levels correct at this stage to avoid issues down the line.

Thanks!

#2

I run them in pretty hot, Amber but not clipping then set playback to +12dB in the sample file menu.
I don’t normalise because I find they don’t sit well with Mixer/Thru machine inputs & I end up constantly attenuating them on the Track Vol.
This way I find I can transition between inputs & samples of ABCD/Cue/Mains etc & my levels all match. Obviously my gain structure entering & leaving the OT plays a part.
My mixer is always set to 0dB btw