[albee1952]

My big question is: what bit rate do you record at? I recommend always recording at 24 bit as it yeilds more headroom. As for the calibration question, I doubt I am qualified to answer but consider a few things. -18dbfs is an older record level recommendation based on 16 bit recording and as a way to make sure you did not hit 0dbfs which will clip in digital(and digital clip sounds really bad). my method which works for me, is to record above halfway on the PT meters and not try to slam the input too hot(to avoid clipping). As you add plugins like EQ and compression, the track level will increase. The more tracks you have, the more audio you will be cramming thru the mix buss. With a 32 track session of fairly hot signals, I have ended up with crunchy sounding mixes. The solution to that is to reduce all audio tracks by a few db (3-4 will usually do it). You will know instantly if you dropped the level enough as the mix will immediatly sound cleaner. SInce you are recording for video, you should also record at 48K instead of 44.1K(I bet you already knew that). Higher is better but for most popular music, 48K sounds fine(assuming good recording techniques and gear are used). I have been very happy with the sound of PT. Hope I helped your thought process.