how much do you care about digital clipping

serox · Post by **serox** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 9:21 am

people on here who know better than me have told me not to do it, so I dont.

__________ · Post by **__________** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 12:06 pm

on the final mix - no.
on samples - yes sometimes.

a little off topic, but recently i've been doing volume enveloping to my samples in audacity instead of just compressing them. being able to see the waveform & what you are doing to it can be really useful.

rendr · Post by **rendr** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 12:08 pm

£10 Bag wrote:on the final mix - no.
on samples - yes sometimes.

a little off topic, but recently i've been doing volume enveloping to my samples in audacity instead of just compressing them. being able to see the waveform & what you are doing to it can be really useful.

x2, sometimes I when compression just doesn't cut it, I add a volume envelope which mimics the waveform in the negative.

thetaco · Post by **thetaco** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 12:11 pm

depends what's causing it.

If it's in the bass area (between, say, the kick and the sub) I tend to eq or sidechain compress something to something else.

If it's in the mids I'll generally pan things out a bit or break out the old subtractive eq.

__________ · Post by **__________** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 12:15 pm

Rendr wrote:
£10 Bag wrote:on the final mix - no.
on samples - yes sometimes.

a little off topic, but recently i've been doing volume enveloping to my samples in audacity instead of just compressing them. being able to see the waveform & what you are doing to it can be really useful.
x2, sometimes I when compression just doesn't cut it, I add a volume envelope which mimics the waveform in the negative.

no no, i mean manualling amplifying certain parts of the sample to bring them out, or make them hit harder or whatever. i'll wait for macc to get technical, but i can get my drums pumping harder with this method than when i mess with compressors. my knowledge of how compressors work is basic, but i know one important thing - if you use them wrongly, you'd be better off without them.

rendr · Post by **rendr** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 12:31 pm

£10 Bag wrote:
Rendr wrote:
£10 Bag wrote:on the final mix - no.
on samples - yes sometimes.

a little off topic, but recently i've been doing volume enveloping to my samples in audacity instead of just compressing them. being able to see the waveform & what you are doing to it can be really useful.
x2, sometimes I when compression just doesn't cut it, I add a volume envelope which mimics the waveform in the negative.
no no, i mean manualling amplifying certain parts of the sample to bring them out, or make them hit harder or whatever. i'll wait for macc to get technical, but i can get my drums pumping harder with this method than when i mess with compressors. my knowledge of how compressors work is basic, but i know one important thing - if you use them wrongly, you'd be better off without them.

Yeah, I meant the same thing, but rather than increasing the amplitude I reduce at problem points.

macc · Post by **macc** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 3:08 pm

I dunno about pumping harder, but controlling dynamics manually in that way will usually be much more transparent. Just be careful not to overcontrol it

For drums I think of compression as a tone/body/shaping thing rather than controlling dynamics like with, say, a vocal. Personally I'd rather compress drums and manually control a vocal, FWIW

Sharmaji · Post by **Sharmaji** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 3:21 pm

it almost never sounds good, so i don't do it. when it does, its for an effect.

in the writing i stage i just try to keep stuff out of the red-- I keep logic's metering at the pre-fader setting so i can keep my channels as clear as possible.

when i mix i start w/ the kick, get it to around -6 or so, and build from there. my mixes usually wind up having peaks between -1 and -3db.

the only time i want to think about digital clipping is when i'm building the for-dubplate-or-serato master, where i want shit as loud as i can get it. Otherwise-- avoid it. Mixes are much easier to accomplish when you've got headroom to spare.

and yeah as far as compression goes: i'll compress drums if i want them to sound compressed, pushing-pulling etc. Vox i want as transparent as possible.

spencertron · Post by **spencertron** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 3:45 pm

Only time i'm running meter's 'hot' is when making a track which i want to play out ASAP an hve a loud mixdown...but even then i avoid clipping which can be heard if i poss.

Otherwise anything gone professionally mastered has been low mixdown with no clipping whatsoever...as for using clipping as an effect, i thought it only sounded good with analogue equipment e.g. I have an Akai 4000D tape machine and occasionally (when i used it in the past) it's like a subtle saturation if peaking, but if i did the same in logic it'd just sound like an error.

pdomino · Post by **pdomino** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 3:59 pm

Clipping isnt just behind the ear you know

faun2500 · Post by **faun2500** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 6:57 pm

100% AVOID digital clipping. Its harsh and cant be removed without side-effects.

It dont matter if your clipping constantly while your making a tune but as soon as you need to render/record audio make sure it is NOT clipping AT ALL.

God i hate digital clipping!

deadly_habit · Post by **deadly_habit** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 8:26 pm

after reading maccs doa post i'm curious as to how much headroom cubase has when it shows to be "Clipping" in 16 bit and 24 bit mode

spencertron · Post by **spencertron** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 8:42 pm

If volume during production is your concern...The best way to avoid any clippin..is to turn up your monitors (not your DAW/Sequencer/Channels)

i try to keep to the rule of 'Keep master at 0 and let the master meter go no higher than -3db'...i know nothing about mastering but this is old info i work to, which has kept those happy receiving something for mastering.

sometimes i forget and just run it hot, and then think, shit, i suppose i should go through every track/channel and reduce accordingly till the master fader (at 0db) looks healthy again. utter ball ache.

deadly_habit · Post by **deadly_habit** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 8:49 pm

spencerTron wrote:If volume during production is your concern...The best way to avoid any clippin..is to turn up your monitors (not your DAW/Sequencer/Channels)

i try to keep to the rule of 'Keep master at 0 and let the master meter go no higher than -3db'...i know nothing about mastering but this is old info i work to, which has kept those happy receiving something for mastering.

sometimes i forget and just run it hot, and then think, shit, i suppose i should go through every track/channel and reduce accordingly till the master fader (at 0db) looks healthy again. utter ball ache.

well i'm just saying like my latest tune http://soundcloud.com/deadly-habit/dead ... -pusherman final render had a few digital clips but did a quick fix with the l2 and sounds alright atm least to spin
definately going back into mixdown and fixing though
just wondering how much headroom is actually avail in digi realm when it says it's clipping

misk · Post by **misk** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 9:22 pm

over engineering can definitely kill the writing vibe. I love clipping, if it's an artistic choice, but i'll sample things clipped - though my final mixdown is never clipping in the sequencer.

distort the fuck out of individual elements, but make the mixdown smooth as silk....

how much do you care about digital clipping

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