What Is Audio Clipping And Digital Clipping And Is It Really That Bad?
You’ve probably heard about audio clipping and have gotten a sense that it’s not desirable at all. It usually comes up as an annoying red light on your DAW, interface, or speakers. And it more often than not results in scrambling knobs or faders in an attempt to turn it off. But what is happening when audio clips and why is it important to understand what produces this?
In this article, we will go over what audio clipping is, why it happens, and what to do when it happens. We will also cover what digital clipping is so that you’re aware of that too and it doesn't catch you by surprise.
So What Is Audio Clipping?
Audio clipping is a nasty little glitch in the audio world, and it can scramble your mix. It often shows up as an annoying red light on our DAWs or interfaces which makes us want to pull out every knob we see! What's behind this phenomenon? Why does understanding what "clipping" means matter so much when dealing with music professionally
Audio clipping is a term that describes an audio signal that has been distorted because it reached the maximum amplitude of its recording medium. Audio clipping can be caused by signals getting too hot, or having too much gain applied at one time. Audio clips can also occur if the ratio between the highest peak and lowest trough is greater than 2:1, which is called "distortion."
Audio Clipping isn't just limited to sound either! If you're a music producer who wants their recordings to sound clear and professional, you also need to know what digital clipping is so that you know how to combat them when they arise, which will be sooner rather than later!
What Is Digital Clipping?
Digital clipping occurs when there are no analog devices to handle large volumes of data. Or, in other words, when there is no room for data in the system and an audio signal has exceeded the maximum amplitude possible before being digitized or recorded onto your computer hard drive. It adds an ugly hash noise sound on the top of the recording.
When a loudspeaker is pushed beyond its physical limitations, it can cause distortion that results in an overdriven signal. Digital systems work the same way with digital clipping issues when we reach 0 dBFS on our meters for 1s and zeros at the input stage by running out of headroom before reaching maximum levels possible within this new world filled only with squares instead of sine waves anymore!
Digital clipping can be caused by D/A (converting digital to analog) and A/D (converting analog to digital). This issue was at its worst with CD audio because it had a dynamic range of 96 dB which means that the loudest sound could rise only 0 decibels from the quiet ones!
Audio Clipping: Major Takeaways
A little red here and there never hurt anybody. If your loudspeakers occasionally flash as they react to peaks in the reproduced material, don’t take it as a sign that the internal components are destroying themselves! There's generally nothing wrong with an overheated speaker. They just need some time off from work so their self-preservation mechanisms can kick into gear before you overload them again (and give yourself an earful).
Oftentimes when this happens, all we have to worry about is our audio going silent instead of full-blown distorted audible sound waves because those safety features kicked in automatically before things got too outta hand.
Make sure you are happy with the overall mix before worrying about individual elements. If a certain part of your song is sounding better than others, don't change anything else in hopes that it will be less noticeable! Listen for any audible distortion on either side and then judge whether this section needs more/less volume from its surroundings based on what sounds good to start with.
One of the most important things to remember when mixing is that if you're sending your signal through a bus and it's booming, then something needs to be adjusted. You'll want headroom so there isn't any digital clipping on playback or recording. But how much will vary from person to person! Some people keep their peaks below -10dBFS while others go up as high at +3 dBs before mastering for maximum quality sound in post-production later down the line.
Clipping is easily preventable and certainly not the bane of any loudspeaker or DAW. Use your ears to listen for when the material starts clipping too much, in which case minor adjustments will solve the problem. And of course, if you have any questions about this please feel free to drop them in the comments!