I do not agree.
Distortion plugins that capture hardware with impulses of different levels (like nebula does) demand that you feed them a level within recommended specs.

 

DirtyFM's input in this thread is the best so far, so I'll only add that it seems like you are stuck in an analog paradigm and expecting digital to behave the same way.

"I'll have to take one of my recent tracks and re-track it this week and try it out."

You don't have to re-track it. You would only have to retrack something if it digitally clipped on the way in, or you tracked in at such a low level that your noise floor is terrible. This is very unlikely if you're tracking at anything greater than 16-bit.

What you may need to do is regain the tracked clips so they correspond to optimal levels before entering any analog modelled plug-ins. Of course, all things audio are subjective, so being "too hot" may be exactly what you want to do with that particular analog modelled plug-in, but in general terms, "best practice" is to gain the average program level of your digital material to 0 VU. In other words: Not too quiet (avoiding too much hiss) and not too loud (avoiding slamming levels).

In your DAW, if you compulsively use VU meters and pretend you're still in analog world, set things to taste. Then see what that corresponds to on the digital meters. If you're a 0 VU kind of guy then expect your digital meters to show around -18 dBFS. If you are obsessed with slamming things in the analog world then your digital meters will likewise show a higher average level. Taste will always skew your gain staging, so it's not a one-size-fits-all.

 

Last edited: Feb 20, 2025 at 6:23 PM

Bingo. In Logic, the same tactic is done by switching to Pre-Fader Metering under the Mix menu, and then using the "Gain" parameter which is located within the Region Inspector for that channel. People often get this wrong in Logic, because they incorrectly believe the signal flow is from the top of the mixer straight down, but it isn't. Post-fader everything looks great, but when switched to Pre-Fader Metering, it's immediately showing that it is clipping. Many of the same users are also unaware of the magic Normalize Region Gain function.

A good substitute for Cradle TGP is Musik Hack Master Plan. It has more adjustable parameters, but that is probably both a Pro and/or a Con to most people.

 

On the contrary: a proper input level is all what matters with distortion!