Audio Clipping
Clipping is when a signal coming into a device is so loud it begins to distort. Whether you are using a mixer, amplifier or a recording interface, these devices can only handle a certain amount of signal being put into them.
Below is an example of a guitar being recorded in Cubase on the computer. The guitar was plugged into the recording interface connected to the PC. I used this method to show you clipping because Cubase will give you a visual representation of the sound being recorded. This will help you to understand what "clipping" is.
Below is an example of a guitar being recorded in Cubase on the computer. The guitar was plugged into the recording interface connected to the PC. I used this method to show you clipping because Cubase will give you a visual representation of the sound being recorded. This will help you to understand what "clipping" is.
A strong signal
A weak signal
This time I recorded the same melody but I reduced the input level going into the recording interface. As you can see from this screenshot, the waveform is much smaller due to the weaker signal being recorded.
Weak signals are bad. Have a listen to the weak signal recording below. You will probably need to turn up your speakers to hear it clearly, but in doing so you will hear a faint "hiss" in the background. Hiss is not a good thing to have when recording as it reduces the clarity and quality of your song. |