Help w clipping

K

kunalkho

New member
Ima rapper and My first question is I always thought U compressed after u recorded , but some of my freinds said the compressor is on and workign as your recording I was wondering can you do it bothways or am i wrong, and if this is a really dumb question, then excuse me...

and 2nd in one of my songs i gotta be REALLY loud and energetic and stuff and it ended up clipping, and i dont wanna re record it all the way, and the clipping doesnt sound soo bad but i wanna fix it...is there a way to fix it....withou having to re record
 
Once clippped it's history, no goin back. You have to re record it but don't worry it will be better next time.

Yes you use a compressor on the way in to control the dynamics, eq and/or because you like the way it sounds.
 
kunalkho said:
Ima rapper and My first question is I always thought U compressed after u recorded , but some of my freinds said the compressor is on and workign as your recording I was wondering can you do it bothways or am i wrong, and if this is a really dumb question, then excuse me...

and 2nd in one of my songs i gotta be REALLY loud and energetic and stuff and it ended up clipping, and i dont wanna re record it all the way, and the clipping doesnt sound soo bad but i wanna fix it...is there a way to fix it....withou having to re record
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It is true that the compressor can be "on and working" as you're recording, but that won't have any impact on your final track unless you are using a hardware compressor before you hit the DAW. If you're using a software compressor as you monitor and record your track then it is going to be compressing as you record, but all of its effects will be totally reversable. So yes, you can do it both ways (compress while you're recording or after the fact) especially if you're using a software compressor (because you can alter the settings post-recording), but if you're using a hardware compressor you should make sure you have all of your parameters set perfectly before you hit "record."

It's pretty hard to fix audio that clipped while you were recording it. However, if your audio didn't clip while you were recording it and it is only clipping because of inserts you have on the track, then you can just modify or remove those inserts. For example, your software compressor might be making a perfectly good audio track clip because the gain is too high. The case is most likely that the audio clipped while recording though, in which case the track is virtually unrepairable.
 
I often track with either an 1176, or a 660 compressor on vocals.

In the digital world, once something is clipped, you're out of luck. They're are a few plug-ins that help repair clipping, but it's always best to get proper gain-staging from the get go. Track around -18dB, -15dB, or -12dB depending on your converters.
 
Here is the thing that a lot of people miss. You can't use a plugin to keep from clipping while you are recording. The thing that clips is the analog to digital converter. Since the plugin is digital, the signal already went through the converter and is already clipped. All the plugin is doing is turning down a clipped signal.

If you have a hardware compressor, you can put that between your preamp and the interface to tame the level. But that's really not why you would use a compressor there. You would use a compressor on the way in to give your the sound of compression, not to keep you from peaking.

If you are clipping the input, turn it down. Your peaks shouldn't be any more than -6dbfs. If you are having a hard time hearing yourself when you are recording with those levels, that means your music is too loud. Turn the music down so you can hear yourself properly. If your music it anywhere near clipping, it's too loud too.

Don't get recording level confused with monitoring volume.
 
if you like what your friend sounds like, do what he's doing. i don't compress on the way in usually. just make sure the loudest part of the track doesn't clip. then compress after it's all in.

or, do what your friend likely does, a little compression on the way in, again, making sure there is no clipping. either one works, and lots of good engineers do each of these or mix of both. only rule is DON'T CLIP.
 
aaronmcoleman said:
DON'T CLIP.
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Definitely.

I'd even take a step further and say that clipping shouldn't even be a concern because your peaks shouldn't go anywhere near 0db. Set your recording levels so that your highest peak is no louder than -6db (and I'm being generous here). I try to have my tracks averaging at about -18db to -20db, and peaking MAYBE at -10db.
 
Totally bizarre suggestion...

Why not forget the compressor and learn how to properly sing? After all, people did it for any number of years.

Use compression to smooth out a few problems from over-excitement or just hitting it too hard, but don't try to use "gadgets" as a substitute for good technique...
 
RAMI said:
Definitely.

I'd even take a step further and say that clipping shouldn't even be a concern because your peaks shouldn't go anywhere near 0db. Set your recording levels so that your highest peak is no louder than -6db (and I'm being generous here). I try to have my tracks averaging at about -18db to -20db, and peaking MAYBE at -10db.
Click to expand...

Yeah I try not to get above -6db ever, and rarely above -12db. Leaving all that extra headroom helps when it comes time to mix, and ensures you'll never clip.

the only time I'll push it (when the peaks hit -6db) is when I really want to push a preamp and get some saturation or distortion.
 
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