Clipping, Soft Clipping, & Saturation Explained

Sound Explained: Clipping, Soft Clipping, & Saturation
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[@Itsallawesome]

Please. Never stop making videos. These are extremely helpful! I know you don't have a ton of subscribers or get a ton of views but your content is great and the people that do watch your videos get a lot out of it. Thank you!

[@IVTheFourth]

I appreciate the positive feedback; comments like this definitely help keep me motivated. I plan to keep making these tutorials for as long as I can!

[@welsonerva]

+Beat School really really helpful.. Thank you :)

[@KriAsb]

These are probably the best production tutorials that is currently on youtube.

[@sevazakharenko8176]

Was looking all over for someone to explain the concept in the context of signal manipulation. Thank you for this!

[@abishekraju8787]

this is the real deal. No tutorial series or channel has ever had such a huge effect on me. Your tutorials are different from others and probably what many ppl need. But not many ppl are aware of their(ur channel and these tuts) existence. Trust me, this is what i as an amateur producer(who still has a lot to learn) would call a treasure. Keep up the gppd work m8!

[@spartanA01]

Really great explanation... you're absolutely right - I've also seen it hundreds of times where producers are saying "avoid clipping at all costs" as if it is some golden rule. Understanding what's really going on in terms of the sound and how it is affected is the key to good production. Thanks a lot for all your videos, they are brilliant!

[@jeroenfigee]

11:30 > the last phrase of the video would be cool 4 a new tutorial :-) " because I use softclipping to get a louder sound " Maybe sometime when you have time, you could show and teach us your technique? :-) | Thanx4posting the video

[@ShallieDragon]

I never thought of using clipping/waveshaping as a form of compression. I might want to try that with some sounds in the future.

[@frangellico]

great tips about an endless topic, good be great to see how much - in your opinion - saturation can be applied on diff. parts of a mix, without compromise the whole dynamic range of a song.

[@ajprasad6865]

@4:00 "Your song is going to summon a demon" lmao!

[@perrypelican9476]

What do you mean by “using clipping”. Do you mean by increasing the volume beyond 0db. Sorry but this seems to be a lot of explanation for something like clipping, but that’s just me. It would have been cool if you had brought compression and limiting into the discussion.

[@jcgongavoe337]

Thank you, after 5 years of researching, I finally've found the noise source on my piano track that bashes me to avoid any louder volume

[@PhilsHarmony]

Very very good tutorials, keep it on! Thank you.

[@FusionReflex]

I gotta say that i find clipping the piano makes it better

[@noahora277]

Odie's Music there is a way u can make it sound like that with out the clipping

[@psy-lion]

I have this problem mostly with kick and hi hats, after i export my file not in the DAW itself tho...

[@natanunorthodox]

Can someone please help me answer this...Is orange and red clipping? And is anything over 0 on the main (c) volume control considered clipping? I keep hearing that if you go over 0 a little bit, that's fine? Can someone please give me just a clear and simple answer? Thanks

[@izvarzone]

no, orange and red means amplitude is closer to 0dB.

[@natanunorthodox]

@@izvarzone Yeah thanks, I know alot more about all of this stuff now, but thanks for commenting.

[@XQeliographX]

I have FL studio 10. In my track the master mixer track peaks at -2 db when the track is played; no clipping. Yet the master peak meter at the top of the interface (the smaller horizontal one at the top) goes into the red and shows clipping when the track is played. I have instrument channels that are turned up above 1 db. In my renders there is no distortion. Is my track really clipping or isn't it?

[@jvcobt]

good tutorial besides sounding like theres a period between every word

[@elcapitan6126]

what. are. you. talking. about.

[@htwodaahizzza68]

Yo you are the truth!!... Keep posting tutorials... You helped Gained an understanding on something others couldn't explain...👌🔥🔥

[@krusade2158]

i just notice distortion, couldn't really hear the higher frequencies becoming weaker, good video though, very thorough

[@actionstyleusa23]

Appreciate your time in these tutorials thank you and funny comments throughout the video haha.

[@conrow1157]

After all this years. Still so important to understand the real basics! Thank you

[@MephistoDerPudel]

Good video ... but I really like the hard clipped piano. It adds a really nice distortion.

[@TheDropOfTheDay]

can you give examples of songs that have soft clipping on purpose?

[@marshallfox7925]

Hi, I watched your tutorial but I'm still having some trouble. I'm trying to get that buzzy sub bass sound that is used in a lot of hip-hop/rap, and often times trap music. I have achieved a bit of buzz by taking the limiter and causing the sub to clip a bit, then reducing the high frequencies with EQ'ing. But I can't quite achieve the sound I'm looking for. A good example of the kind of bass I'm trying to achieve would be similar to that of the bass in the song "Bonny & Clyde" by Dean. If you could look it up and help explain to me what to do, that'd be awesome. :)

[@IVTheFourth]

Distortion type B on Fruity Fast Dist gives a very buzzy sound. I've used it on some 808s with good results. Might be worth a shot

[@doktagc01]

cool...thx for the demonstration - that´s really helpfull!

[@deanc2000]

So it's better to minimize any saturation in the mix, and limit the saturation or soft clipping to say transient rich instruments like the drums? Thanks.

[@IVTheFourth]

It depends. Using a little bit of saturation/soft clipping on drums can help you get a louder mix, but too much won't sound great because of the harsh harmonics created in the highs or because you killed the punch of the drums or both. Some people like the way saturation sounds on vocals, and I use it often on basses.

[@alleniverson46]

so is clipping basically to get a somewhat different of a sound or effect. im sorry can you just summarize this a bit.

[@6ok9n6o3]

It’s to make your song louder and harder pretty much.

[@neilorourke71]

Very good video. Informative and easy to digest

[@cortster12]

Instructions unclear, summoned demon.

[@IVTheFourth]

😅Did it at least make a cool sound you could sample and turn into a banger?

[@cortster12]

@@IVTheFourth Made a killer choir/bass hybrid.

[@markhvb192]

Very clear tutorial, thanks!!

[@osahenipaulamenordia3321]

Hi... please.. is waveshaper only in fl 9..

[@chriskozeer]

How I can make soft clipping with Fruity Wave Shaper ?

[@6ok9n6o3]

Move the band above the peak volume higher up & make the curve softer, you can type it on KZbin and you’ll find it as well

[@arseniy]

Why turn off WaveCandy when show trance lead and piano?

[@IVTheFourth]

The same thing happens to the trance lead and piano that happened to the sine wave. Anything that goes beyond the clipping threshold will be flattened (and become "more square"). I'm not sure it would have been seen very well on the WaveCandy oscilloscope at the settings it was on; I think it would have been updating too quickly. That's why I didn't show it. If you're interested in observing clipped waveforms like these, you could record with Edison and test out varying amounts of clipping. You'd be able to zoom in and out as well, which could be helpful. When I make the web page, I'll try to remember to add an image of some other clipped waveforms along with the sine wave.

[@andrewhart3318]

Clear and concise. Good job man!

[@VI3EMusic]

Finaly someone who know what He doing. Gr8 job!

[@IVTheFourth]

Thanks! It's good to hear the videos are helpful

[@drorbazer7531]

Quality video man

[@anjunabeatsforever]

Thanks for the lesson :)

[@imyouandurme]

Excellent explanation!

[@NarcissistMargarine]

Where have most of the videos in this playlist gone?

[@IVTheFourth]

They just haven't been published yet. The last 3 will be published each week starting next week, and the first two will be published based on the scheduling for the full "Intro to Mixing" series. I'm doing this partly so my channel doesn't go quiet while I finish up the mixing series and partly because I think this information is helpful to know as a "prerequisite" to the mixing series (even though each of these has an associated section that they belong in within the full series).

[@vigilant545]

well done!

[@iCarroller]

Should you always use clippers on drums?