I think I may have been unclear on number 5...
I understood that the signal cannot be altered before it enters the mics. I probably didn't explain myself well there (English is not my mother tongue).
When I said "amplify the signal that enters the mics" I meant the signal that is captured by the mics from the air that will be later amplified by the preamplifier before it goes on to the recorder.
When you say A/D converter do you mean Analog/Digital? Is that the conversion that happens when the signal enters the recorder after entering the mics and passing through the preamp or does it already happen at the preamp?
You wrote "Most digital recorders have clipping indicators for the digital to analog converter. The R09HR manual says the peak light is a clipping indicator not an preamp overload."
I can see how the signal can be too strong for the recorder to cope with so the clipping light will start flashing. My question was about the clip light on the preamp. Belexes wrote:
I keep my pre on +20 (cranked all the way) and 40 on the HR. Dial down on the 9100 if it's a very loud concert and watch the clip light to make certain you are not clipping at the pre stage.
So I did not understand how can you be clipping at the preamp stage because its only job is adding some gain to the signal. I thought the clipping could only happen at the recorder...