Let's talk about clipping ... -ACID Product Family

Subject:Let's talk about clipping ... Posted by: ClipMan Date:5/8/2010 9:41:32 AM Hi, I'm talking about no more than half (.05) decibels in the red. Why is it so bad? (Yes, I'm whining) Even with the stereo monitors at full blast I can't hear any distortion. Is there any technical reasons why I should go through tedious volume envelope contortions just to eliminate a few spots on the timeline? Most of the stuff I do is for computer playback but sometimes the clips are used in combination with other media for CD/DVD production. TIA for any input. Brian
Subject:RE: Let's talk about clipping ... Reply by: krushem Date:5/8/2010 11:45:48 AM I used to say the same thing. "a little in the red...." . But where I can notice it alot is listening to it through IN-EAR headphones,example IPOD HEADPHONES. Speakers and monitors, it's hard to really hear it and I think it would be okay. So, I always keep it my final mix below 0db's all the time.
Subject:RE: Let's talk about clipping ... Reply by: ClipMan Date:5/8/2010 12:04:47 PM Thanks for the feedback. I never thought about the iPod thingy. Don't even own one. At least there's a credible reason to spend more time mixing than making the music. Go figure. Brian
Subject:RE: Let's talk about clipping ... Reply by: pwppch Date:5/8/2010 3:55:34 PM There is nothing above 0db in the digital world of fix bit audio. If you render a project that goes above 0 db, your are introducing clips into the final output. You can mix as hot as you want before the final master stage, but your master bus should never clip. Never! Internally ACID mixes in floating point so the above 0 db signal is not a bad thing - with in reason. Peter
Subject:RE: Let's talk about clipping ... Reply by: ClipMan Date:5/8/2010 6:44:12 PM Thanks, Peter Looks like there's no way out of spending the time to do it right. Good to know about the "internals". Your input is much appreciated. Brian
Subject:RE: Let's talk about clipping ... Reply by: ozzborn Date:5/9/2010 4:31:29 AM Set your master to zero and put L2,elephant,wavehammer,precision limiter,etc,etc on the final master. You wont have any overs and you can add some gain without zeros.
Subject:RE: Let's talk about clipping ... Reply by: Geoff_Wood Date:5/9/2010 1:53:37 PM CLipping is bad - it's just the wrong thing to do whether you can hear it or not. And it's simply a second or two to avoid, so why not ?!! Also some playback devices may put out huge nasties replaying a 'clip', or even apporaching 0dB. That's why it is usual to allow peaking only to -0.3dB or so max in a final mastered track. geoff
Subject:RE: Let's talk about clipping ... Reply by: pwppch Date:5/10/2010 8:15:08 AM While this can solve the clipping problem, it can also reduce the dynamic range unless one is very careful - and knows what they are doing. It is always better to mix to the master correctly and use compression and such to achive a desired dynamic result vs just limiting the output. Peter

Subject:Let's talk about clipping ...

Posted by: ClipMan

Date:5/8/2010 9:41:32 AM

Hi,

I'm talking about no more than half (.05) decibels in the red. Why is it so bad? (Yes, I'm whining) Even with the stereo monitors at full blast I can't hear any distortion. Is there any technical reasons why I should go through tedious volume envelope contortions just to eliminate a few spots on the timeline? Most of the stuff I do is for computer playback but sometimes the clips are used in combination with other media for CD/DVD production. TIA for any input.

Brian