one thing about recording in 24bit ..yes, you can have great dynamics and detail with a "shallow" signal that peaks at -12db.
OTOH, you have to have MASSIVE power in your playback system to get that to reproduce back at the same volume as the actual performance.
this said, there is no harm in ridding a little hotter. I try to get my 24bit stuff to peak at around -2db...but hitting 0db doesnt hurt anything.