CLIP CLIP CLIPPING - IT's A BIT OF MAGIC (and a bit of a secret)

FOR WHEN A LIMITER JUST WON'T DO
Clippers are likely not used as much as limiting and are probably used quite rarely among producer/songwriters in the - except for those in the know...
Clipping shaves off the pointy bits of your audio and this can be very handy for producers/songwriters when it comes to adding processors such as compressors and for the mastering stage because you won't need to drive the limiter so hard.
You can use clipping on anything.
(I am not endorsed by SIR and did not receive the plugin free)

[@MOOTANT1]

I have revised my suggestion to insert a Clipper last in the chain. After much testing, it is probably best to insert a clipper before any compression or limiting, and for individual tracks it's probably best to have it first or at least just after EQ.

[@nastyninjata]

Thanks!

[@jasoncruizer]

clip as you mix and buy the end of the mix everything will be properly gain staged. clipping should be done in the sound design stage, before you even start adding eq and compression. Find your sound, transient design (ii needing to wave shape the sound) clip ( if needing to reduce dynamic range) then start eq, compression and saturation processing.

[@haysmikethere]

You also probably don't want oversampling 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@mandalaman9695]

this question came up for me early in the video;thank you for confirming that it works well before a compressor. I was thinking it'd be great to do. Its a new tip for me and I cant wait to give it a shot! Thank you for this video it was very informative. Just subscribed!

[@MindsetModulation4259]

Clipping before any dynamics processing is usually best. But there are advantages to leaving your signal more dynamic before certain types of effects for different effects. If you run a more dynamic signal into a saturator plugin some parts of the signal will be saturated more than others which can make the sound more interesting. It’s really about having intention behind everything you do and really thinking about your signal chain and why you are even clipping/saturating/eqing in the first place. A really important place to consider clipping though is on your busses. When two or more signals mix together they create more peaks. So keep your peaks under control on individual tracks as needed and also all your bussing points, especially your master bus, especially before using a limited.

[@mirceastaicu4131]

I've always been surprise by the musical industry's caste system where everyone seems to think that leveraging the nature of asymmetric knowledge makes them superior to everyone else and they take all their found knowledge and information to the grave as a divine right, forgetting that they themselves have acquired it from someone else. Thanks for sharing this, we need more people like you

[@cryptout]

Since KZbin there are no secrets left. Really I started in the 90's but learned more since KZbin than all those years before it...

[@moaneg1]

Sometimes it's not like what you think, i always try to tell everyone in audio community these kinds of things, and they don't respect what you are trying to do for them, or they don't pay attention at all, And that's what arrogance does.

[@jaybefaulky4902]

I think this horrible problem is because we value knowledge and experience to the point where we will even PAY for someone's knowledge and experience. I agree, leveraging your personal experience and knowledge is definitely a form of superiority and should be abolished or at minimum shamed (as is your approach). We should at least abolish someone asking to be PAID for their involvement in this 'caste system' or at least SHAMED as is your approach. *The moral of this story is that things that give someone 'superiority' is bad and should be shamed if it isn't shared freely and equally*

[@J77199]

@@jaybefaulky4902 what are you even talking about? If someone works to aquire years of knowledge they absolutely have the right to be paid for that hard work and knowledge. If people want to share their knowledge in the audio community or any other thats fine, but there's nothing wrong with people being paid for their knowledge if they choose

[@jaybefaulky4902]

@@J77199 well that's actually my point. I was responding to what Mircea Staicu originally posted. I was agreeing with him to show how wrong it was lol

[@nihftyy]

Clipping has completely changed everything for me. Clipping certain busses and tracks has allowed me to get wayyyy louder mixes without any audible distortion.

[@oscarpatxot659]

This is like the day I discovered saturation, mind blown. I have to admit it took me too long to find out about clipping.

[@MOOTANT1]

Me too - about 25 years.

[@ymenace5024]

struggling with loudness for years now learning about clippers has surely changed my sound

[@CBPM_]

Good video demonstrating clipping! A few thoughts: 1. Oversampling can introduce aliasing, for a long time I just thought that moar oversampling = better quality. However it's not as transparent and you can sometimes hear the effects. 2. You should try pushing the input gain UP into the clipper rather than bring the Clip ceiling down 3. You can get even more control and loudness if you clip the tracks going into the buss, that way each clipper is doing less work and should be more transparent

[@powerpopaholic876]

Brialliant! -- at 8:14 - alternates between limited and NOT limited. They sound NEARLY the same (the kick is not as spiky when limited (i like the spikiness). But it's subtle, and as he says, gains 5 db of elbow room. Wow ! The rest of the explanation sounds like gold -- thanks for the tips!! 6:01 "Just shaving the peaks." -1.6 6:28 "Not hearing an obvious change to the sound". -5.0 db 6:37. "Starting to hear a change; acceptable." -5.75 db 6:46 "Fine". -6.05db 7:52 Shaves off kick until equal to the snare. Still not distorting. -10.30 8:01 Back to -6db

[@lisotunali3807]

This video has made me realise that you can SEE dynamic range on the ableton level meters. That's huge. Thanks for this video, such a simple concept but very helpful if you understand why it works so well.

[@djcj]

BEST VIDEO on the topic! Just bought standard clip earlier today. Thanks for the video!

[@Variable1000]

Great video, thanks ! I kept on laughing the whole way through, nice sense of humour ;) !

[@RaveyStabs]

Very well explained, might have to add this plugin to the wishlist! The free Softube Saturation Knob you mention at the end is a favourite of mine too, sounds better than several expensive ones I've demo'd.

[@rasdani5851]

Great video! Thanks for sharing the knowledge. Clippers have been a game changer on getting the sounds up loud and present in the mix and to control the peaks. I always thought it was a compression thing but this technique its smoother

[@David-hs1bu]

you got a talent for explaining music man, extremely rare.

[@SnakeBonesBeats]

This was helpful! I disagree about limiters, but I make House, so it being competitively loud on a club sound system is part of the genre. Great tutorial!

[@iswhatheis]

I was using clipping wrong, thank you for this video! I always thought it was just a way to make things louder, but now I know it's a way to set up things to make it 'better' louder!

[@BenCaesar]

This was literally like a magic trick! 👌🏾⭐️

[@VthatGuy1]

You did a great job explaining this plugin-Thanks

[@machinedrum]

I’ve shared this video with so many of my producer homies to show them how to gain stage the plugin so you get the most out of it. Thank you!

[@MOOTANT1]

Checked out some of your music. Most awesome 😎

[@machinedrum]

@@MOOTANT1 thank u!

[@davecatalyst]

Really helpful vid, will definitely be giving this a go on my tracks and mix busses. Thanks!

[@6884]

I went to the SIR website and bought the damn thing when I was not even half into your video,

[@MOOTANT1]

Lols I've done the same thing. It's a very useful plugin though so you won't have wasted your money

[@FlatTire]

I love it!

[@maclaudcastro]

GRRrreat content and gRrreeat sense of humor! Thanks for the video, me good sir.

[@TheWaspist]

This was the only good tutorial on standard clip. I appreciate this video. Thank you:) subscribed

[@jasonhalstead4292]

Brilliant video sir. Learnt a lot from this, thank you.

[@JoinTheBlocks]

Haha this is the video I just messaged you about...very sick

[@j.r.a.inthacut8148]

Check out "Saturate" from Newfangled Audio. It's a spectral clipper and very transparent. Can't recommend it enough

[@darlawkopx]

This is a good explanation mahn. Clipper makes anything sounds professional and loud. Thanks bro

[@slowedpalace]

These videos are incredibly helpful, thank you

[@melokit-music]

thanks a lot, that's exactly the situation i'm in😁and having this tool since fews days, perfect

[@MOOTANT1]

Dont over use - just a couple of DB here and there 😉 for volume On a sound that has very high peaks it's ok to shave more off For FX/destruction processing such as a slamming kick drum - as much as you want

[@melokit-music]

@@MOOTANT1 🤘😁🙏✨

[@tekis0]

Fantastic demonstration.

[@Skkyyyyyyyyyyy]

You can immediately hear the differences between clipped and unclipped as the level differences between the kick and snare are bigger on the unclipped and they’re more similar in the clipped.

[@DavidDiMuzio]

Great video. Thanks!

[@midastouchable]

absolute game changer, thanks very much 👍🏻

[@shinemastering]

Another great video! thanks so much, I'm subscribing!

[@kbs752_]

Brilliant work 🙌🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@apshinn]

Amazing video! Thank you for the demo!

[@RiversideProductionz]

Thank you for explaining this great plugin. You have just earnt yourself a new subscriber : )

[@LittleGmusic]

Very good demo, secret sauce 😍😍😍😍😍😍

[@kvanck5774]

Loved the video and loved your accent.

[@nastyninjata]

Great tutorial and explanations man! Thanks!

[@ambrocado]

At last a pretty good explanation!!. THANK YOU. SUSCRIBED.

[@barnem108]

this is brilliant. i knew i needed a clipper now i know why😂

[@danmyersmusic]

Brilliant - thanks for sharing!!

[@STOKES_SOCIAL]

very informative! thank you for the advice!

[@MerajTypeBeat]

Good, informative video! Appreciate you 🙏🏽

[@shine_uno]

thank you very much sr

[@nikhilganesh6547]

Great video. Thank you.

[@djjessy]

Thank you!❤🙏

[@shubhamkoli4127]

Yoooo Insaneeeee!!!

[@KublaCarn]

Bless your heart ❤

[@timepiece6300]

Thank you, sir!

[@robertsmithshair4199]

We do this in the samplers. Normalize the breaks to 105% levels out the dynamics and avoids the pumping you get from compression 👍🏻

[@jumpbackgeno]

Awesome, thank you

[@Heafyshiu]

I Love the intro😁😁👍

[@connyolovsson]

Great tutorial, thank you!

[@lolaurent5606]

Excellent video! Thx . ASH from acustica is true amazing too in the same way.

[@maurodimario1423]

You are Great !

[@SchibbiSchibbi]

a true discovery this tutorial!

[@snaredrum954]

Really helpful thanks!

[@sjcongo]

This is a cool one ;)

[@juliengobet4600]

does the saturator plugin do the same?

[@WhychekOfficial]

Thank you!

[@djgeorgegold]

thank you brother!!😘

[@geraldgoodiii6993]

I like to clip before a brick wall so the limiter doesn’t have to work as hard. I used to use KClip but they changed something and now it asked me to buy it again. Put me back in demo mode.. So I bought this and when used sparingly it adds a bit more level without losing much punch 🥊

[@rajkamaljangir3618]

Thanks brother

[@kindlight6885]

Very good!

[@fredyrocazaurus8420]

Thanks a lot

[@tekis0]

It's a really good value, The Standard Clip. I also have the Boz Digital, Big Clipper 2, though I need to spend more time with it. The Boz is keenly priced, like the Standard.

[@iseeyou4291]

Does it work with Ableton 9 too?

[@808JuJu]

132x oversample and you’ll never hear distorted clips again lmao Rip computer tho

[@marceloribeirosimoes8959]

Thank you very much for the video. I'm curious if you heard about Baphomatrix CTZ (clip to zero) videos. Could be a good thing to hear from you about them...

[@BLKSHP]

What clipper is better? Standardclip or T-Racks Classic clipper? Or a other one?

[@craigturb]

I would also be interested to know opinions on this.

[@ARIIIrxsnw]

or is it recommended to use earlier so those sharp spikes don't bother my compressors?

[@soniksaint3008]

thank you!

[@johnnyvegas2015]

Good tutorial, thanks

[@akratmachines]

I have been using this plug in for a while and I really like it. I was just wondering if I should gain compensate after clipping like in a compressor?

[@davelordy]

Depending on how you clip (the plugin allows you to clip in a few different ways) you can gain compensate afterwards, so if you shave off 4dB then increase the output gain of the plugin by 4dB . . . .but this is also dependent on how you are using it, if it's the final plug in your output then yes, make up the gain (you can set the ceiling here too), if it's being used to make a bassline or snare drum loud, then it's less important to gain compensate, after all you can simply increase the level via the channel's fader.

[@komodinotubesco]

Luca Pretolesi like this plugin too :)

[@alavmusicc]

Edm producers need this

[@marceloribeirosimoes8959]

Cool! But the material starts to be processed earlier in soft-clipping than in hard-clipping modes. That means, when avoiding crispy harshly" distorted results on tonal material, the best process is by a clipper on soft mode. As gentle as possible. Hard clipping usually works better on transients.

[@ilyouslug]

can anyone tell me if this would help with vocals. i’ve been using the la-2a to add volume and add body but it only ends up sounding squashed in headphones. would this be something i could fix with eq? the vocals only sound squashed when im listening in airpods and headphones

[@MOOTANT1]

Vox is probably not the best use of a Clipper but there is no harm in trying, If I were to use a clipper on a vocal it would be a kind of FX thing I'm looking for, or want a particular vocal really loud (for some reason).

[@TheSheepPimp]

I have a limiter on my master as default, or i should say used to have. Thanks for great tip. Are u still releasing tunes Chris?

[@MOOTANT1]

Haha - smart Pimp :) I will start releasing new tunes this year.

[@M.V.I.D]

Can you do this on Vocals And Instruments Buss??

[@tunerterror]

good vid

[@NealCaen]

So i’m just getting into mixing my own beats… the point of clipping is solely to get a louder mix correct? and if so so i add standard clip to every track individually or what would be your suggestion?

[@MOOTANT1]

Yes, that's pretty much it except you definitely won't need to use one on every track because maybe the kick and bass samples are in the ballpark anyway. For me, it's mostly the drums and bass, but I've used clipping on pretty much everything. Use it on individual tracks, busses, and the Master, whatever you want really. Treat your kick and bass first and work around that. Anything else that would benefit from clipping you will soon know. Spreading Clipping/Limiting duties across tracks, busses makes much more sense to me than using one limiter on the master trying to sledgehammer 10B of gain which will def pear shape the mix. Don't go mental with this stuff though. Squeezing just 2 - 3 DB of gain out of sounds is all you need.

[@NealCaen]

@@MOOTANT1 thanks so much for your reply i truly appreciate this information 🙏

[@mochorocho]

so if you record input in an outboard sampler really hot, does at achieve a similar effect? I suppose it does.

[@MOOTANT1]

You would get saturation on some of them like an MPC60. My S770 produces garbage if I do that. I don't think there are many samplers you can overload the inputs. You can overload the input on an analog mixer increasing the channel gain. That will produce saturation/distortion and an increase in loudness. The plugin achieves the increase in loudness cleanly without adding saturation/distortion - but it can saturate/distort as well.

[@mochorocho]

@@MOOTANT1 Thats interesting - I happen to use the 60 for that and also an old Tascam Mixer m 2600. Thanks for your really helpfull videos. watched em all !

[@ARIIIrxsnw]

Do you recommend using this plugin at the end of the bus chain?

[@MOOTANT1]

Use ut anywhere you like but for sure you can use it on a Bus.

[@djmattblack]

It works great on claps as theres always those peaks that you cant hear but stop you from being able to bring up the level without it affecting your masters level

[@dariofromthefuture3075]

I don't understand why saving DB's during the mix phase is beneficial if you plan on using a Limiter as little as possible. Isn't the point of a limiter to expand your track 5 or 10 more db's? But If you mix super loud than you don't need that expansion right?

[@Bajazo]

Thanks mate but i don’t get it. Someone told me: never touch the master. Your master is at -6db. Also when I make my drum group where to put the clipper? When I have my drum group at 0db it’s clipping at the master. Maybe you can help me with that please. Thx 🙏

[@MOOTANT1]

Quote: Thanks mate but i don’t get it. Someone told me: never touch the master. Your master is at -6db Whoever told you that is misleading you. Such advice will hinder creativity and distract you from mixing. Obviously, don't push levels into the red, but don't worry if you hit 0dB. As for explaining the Clipper, I covered it all in the video. Give it another watch. Don't overanalyze what I'm saying. It's just a simple trick to boost the volume of your tracks without having to slam the master limiter too hard. Why not try the demo, play around with it, and pay attention to your level readings? For the Drum Group, it's up to you. Maybe try it before the compressor to smooth out peaks in the drum track and help the compressor work better. Or put it after if you want those drums to really punch and for that you would clip harder - and here we're in FX territory. A clipper can be used to increase the volume of a group or track, but generally, just use it to shave a couple of dB off peak volumes. In the video, pay attention to what I'm saying about the meters - the dark and light green zones indicate where most of the sound's energy is. The peaks are light green. The objective is not to get rid of the peaks, its just to reduce them a little.

[@kasuqokasuqo7852]

AM I THE ONLY ONE THINK HE MATCH THE BPM OF HIS VOICE WITH THE BPM OF THE DRUMS ,?

[@kasuqokasuqo7852]

so u did it !

[@Variable1000]

Can you put it before the limiter on the master ?

[@MOOTANT1]

Yes, put it anywhere you likei including individual tracks, groups master etc. I did read some mastering engineers use it after the limited to gain and extra 1-2 db .

[@CheloScotti]

@@MOOTANT1 I ear people put a limiter after the clipper

[@AlbertSirup]

Now I'm torn between standardclip and V-Clip by Venn Audio... need to think which one i prefer.

[@lisotunali3807]

The fact you're clipping matters more than the clipper itself i would say.

[@CheloScotti]

@@lisotunali3807 v-clip should had better antialiasing and from x1 to x 256 oversampling

[@GuitarNDrumCoverS]

I like when he raps at 7:04

[@Gaverny]

Enjoyed this video mate. Subbed

[@levinsonl]

why is a limiter harsher than this? what is the difference between doing this and tracking into a limiter?

[@MOOTANT1]

The clipper shaves off peaks and a lot more if you want. Clipping 2-3 DB of peak info means you have gained 2-3 DB of loudness on those tracks before any limiting or compression (you can see this working in the video). The limiter/comp won't need to work so hard because they react to the peaks first and sometimes the peaks can be twice as loud as the main body of the sound. Imagine a very clicky kick drum. You slap a compressor or limiter on it and what happens is the click just gets louder. using a clipper to shave off some or a lot of that peaky click means the kick is louder and no limiting/comp has been used yet. After the clipper, you can then add a compressor, limiter or both to make your kick very loud. Then mix everything else around the loud kick and clip tracks that you think will benefit from shaving off some of the peak info.

[@levinsonl]

@@MOOTANT1 thanks so much!! So it's about shaving off the peak vs being triggered by the peak makes sense

[@MOOTANT1]

@@levinsonl Yes basically that's it and thus you won't have to drive your comps and limiters as hard.

[@o-o3686]

Yoe @7:04 that's a tune

[@Sebastian-tn4ft]

Whole vibe 😂

[@rafalvarezsevilla]

after this video i'm still confused, are you bri'ish or what? your accent is clipping my brain :S great video btw!! clipping makes mixing and mastering so much easier

[@MOOTANT1]

I'm British/Scottish. I use the poshest accent I can muster :)

[@rafalvarezsevilla]

@@MOOTANT1 noise!

[@thegroove2000]

DONT TELL ANYONE. ITS A SECRET.

[@morrisalanisette9067]

Is that what a compressor does?

[@Strafuzz]

No. Compressors reduce the volume over time a clipper just shaves off some of the waveform independent of time.

[@meis18mofo77]

All these videos are so funny to me like, we Dubstep producers have been told not to clip our drums by audio engineers to the point that it's a running gag to mention it before telling people you're doing exactly that. Turns out, we had it right all along and now everyone else is discovering it, like it's a genious new trick.

[@gegilog7493]

you may confuse clipping with clip plugin and clipping by hitting your track levels above 0 dbfs. 2nd type of clipping isn’t good especially in digital world, that’s why you’ve been told that

[@meis18mofo77]

@@gegilog7493 same thing really, in one case you clip digitally in a plugin, in the other you digitally clip the file, now if you softclip in a plugin, that's different, but hardclip is hardclip as far as I know.

[@gegilog7493]

@@meis18mofo77 it’s not the same thing (btw there is an analog clipping also) because there would be a different plugin behaviour if you process through it a “plug-in clipped” signal and level-clipped (over 0dbfs) signal, 2nd gonna sound like trash 99%, that’s why you have been told to avoid that type of clipping, that gonna mess up your gainstage, plug-in response and workflow

[@user-qt9wk7xg2o]

well basically ur gaining 5dB but it sounds bigger because u are increasing the RMS volume cause ur taking the transient (reducing the dynamic range) and then putting 5dB at the output, comparing them by the peak volume its not a great way to explain this process, although its a great demo

[@Middlestepofficial]

This is right and wrong at the same time. Clipping the AD-DA converters in the software (DAW) is only going to add distortion to the signal. This comes from the fact that hardware AD-DA converters are being clipped to achieve more saturation from their transformers and is definitely not the same as digitally induced distortion. Most sound interface cards are equipped with low-tier AD-DA converters and clipping these even slightly a bit can result in not what we're looking for in a sound. There's a very valid reason why an averagely priced AD-DA rack unit costs ~3000 USD.