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| quote: | Originally posted by alanzo
that's not exactly what I'm getting at.
When I reduce the primary output and render the mix there is 0 clipping. But if I turn the primary output up to 0 then there is clipping. So this means that some of the instruments are clipping.
I'm not sure if that clippping goes away when I turn the primary output down. |
Depends on what you use to mix.
On hardware mixers, especially analog ones, clipping should be avoided both on the individual channels as on the output. If for example there is an overload in a channel, turning down the output won't solve anything. The level will drop, but the distortion remains (as the overload is BEFORE the output).
In the digital world, this depends on how the software is programmed. If it's programmed right (as most major audio progs are anyway) the internal resolution is higher than the actual resolution the hardware can handle.
Let's just take Cubase as an example. If I remember right, everything is calculated at 32 bit floating point internally. In theory, it's practically impossible to clip with such a resolution (32 bit floating point means 24 "real" bits mantisse, and 8 bits are used as an exponent (in other words, those bits control the "range" you work in). So like I said, clipping is unlikely to happen in such instances, as long as you stay internal.
The problem is, you don't stay internal  As soon as you need to pass through hardware (let's say, erm, your soundcard outputs) you don't have that extra resolution anymore. Signals are basically electricity, and there's only so much hardware can take. That's also why clip indicators in your software work (if you think about it, it's said it's virtually impossible to clip, then why do they even put clip indicators, and why do they light up? It's just interpolated to the end bitdepth you defined in your project setup).
Even then, it's not necessarily because your output buss is clipping that some of the individual instruments are clipping... Don't forget that the output is a sum of several signals. The sum could be too high (it's possible to clip an output by mixing a lot of low level signals too, if you get what I mean). Getting this right, that's just the art of mixing (and no, not the art of putting a compressor or limiter on the buss)
Even then, if the internal resolution is high enough, and the clip indicators light, there's not necessarily a problem. So decreasing the output level so there's no clipping there will probably fix the problem...
But seriously, this is bad practice. In my point of view, you should always work as if you are working on hardware. Keep limitations in mind. It's more a matter of principles. What if you ever switch over to hardware mixers? You'll be so used to NOT care about clipping, and that may result in bad surprises.
For example in analog mixers, you'll always mix with the master fader at 0 dB. The master fader is nothing more than a level control for the element in the master buss that gets all the individual signals. If you overload that element, lowering the fader won't solve a bit.
In other words :
Keep everything as clean as possible. Solo each track and look if it clips. If it does, reduce the level so it doesn't clip. Then mix. If the output buss clips, well sorry, you're doing a bad job at mixing. Start over. The aim of mixing is getting your levels right. This means "inter instrument level", while keeping everything in the green too... And this even applies more when you actually record stuff the analog way (like a mic).
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