Clipping
Distortion caused by a signal exceeding the maximum level a device can represent, so its peaks are flattened.
In the analogue world clipping produces a rounded, sometimes musical distortion; in the digital world the waveform is cut off abruptly and the result is harsh and irreversible. Once a digital recording clips, the information above the ceiling is gone, which is why engineers leave headroom when tracking and why meters show overs in red. Some producers use clipping deliberately as an effect, but only where it can be undone.
Example: A recording that crackles harshly on the loudest chord, with flat-topped waveforms in the editing software, has clipped.
See also
Related
- PageBit depth
- PageGain staging
- PageHeadroom
- PageAmp mic placement
- PageAudio interface
- PageAux send
- PageAaron Dessner
- PageAce Frehley