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audiovisceral · 2nd February 2007

From many of the posts on here, I understand that in many cases, loudness in commercial mastering is attained predominantly through A/D clipping. I gather that clipping via this method, with a high end A/D converter can generate positive harmonic distortion that sounds more musical and impactful than compression (which alters vibe and dynamics), limiting (which can suck away impact), or ITB clipping (which just straight distorts).

From what I've read, in pro studios, the mix goes out of the sound card (D/A), and is processed by analogue eqs, compressors, and limiters. After this, it is somehow 'driven' to clip as it is re-inputted to the computer (A/D).

It's how this 'driving' process takes place that I don't understand. How do you feed the signal back into a sound card A/D at a level high enough to make it clip by the A/D, but not by the unit doing the feeding? For example, if the sound is coming out of a limiter and you set the limiter output to greater than 0, the limiter would clip the signal, not the A/D, would it not?

I can't get my head around it.

Why do I ask? Besides to add to my musical education, I'd really like to try, just to get a taste for the whole thing, an A/D clip on my budget gear. My sound card is a PCI M-Audio Delta 1010. Let's say I eq'ed, compressed, and limited ITB. I imagine it would be thereotically possible to and take the signal coming out of the Delta's outputs (D/A), boost it somehow (?), and then feed that signal right back into the Delta's inputs (A/D) and use them to clip. Again, however, I don't understand what would need to be inserted between these two points to elevate the signal level and force the A/D to clip.

Any help would be appreciated.

Also, I'm going to go ahead and surmise that the A/D on my Delta 1010 is probably not going to sound all that awesome clipping-wise (though I would pretty easily gamble it should still sound better than a clipping plug-in like the free G-Clip). Based on that, what sort of low-end/budget/entry-level A/D converters suitable for clipping currently exist, model and money wise? Obviously, I'm not asking what Sterling uses here ...

Thanks.

ps. *Please note this is not intended to be another 'how do I make my home masters sound like the pros?'. I am just hoping for some straight fundamentals on how it works and could, at least theoretically or crudely, be employed by a DIY home/hobby musician, for, if nothing else, a bit of fun.*

2nd February 2007	#1
audiovisceral Lives for gear Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 1,546 Thread Starter	Beginners guide to A/D clipping? From many of the posts on here, I understand that in many cases, loudness in commercial mastering is attained predominantly through A/D clipping. I gather that clipping via this method, with a high end A/D converter can generate positive harmonic distortion that sounds more musical and impactful than compression (which alters vibe and dynamics), limiting (which can suck away impact), or ITB clipping (which just straight distorts). From what I've read, in pro studios, the mix goes out of the sound card (D/A), and is processed by analogue eqs, compressors, and limiters. After this, it is somehow 'driven' to clip as it is re-inputted to the computer (A/D). It's how this 'driving' process takes place that I don't understand. How do you feed the signal back into a sound card A/D at a level high enough to make it clip by the A/D, but not by the unit doing the feeding? For example, if the sound is coming out of a limiter and you set the limiter output to greater than 0, the limiter would clip the signal, not the A/D, would it not? I can't get my head around it. Why do I ask? Besides to add to my musical education, I'd really like to try, just to get a taste for the whole thing, an A/D clip on my budget gear. My sound card is a PCI M-Audio Delta 1010. Let's say I eq'ed, compressed, and limited ITB. I imagine it would be thereotically possible to and take the signal coming out of the Delta's outputs (D/A), boost it somehow (?), and then feed that signal right back into the Delta's inputs (A/D) and use them to clip. Again, however, I don't understand what would need to be inserted between these two points to elevate the signal level and force the A/D to clip. Any help would be appreciated. Also, I'm going to go ahead and surmise that the A/D on my Delta 1010 is probably not going to sound all that awesome clipping-wise (though I would pretty easily gamble it should still sound better than a clipping plug-in like the free G-Clip). Based on that, what sort of low-end/budget/entry-level A/D converters suitable for clipping currently exist, model and money wise? Obviously, I'm not asking what Sterling uses here ... Thanks. ps. Please note this is not intended to be another 'how do I make my home masters sound like the pros?'. I am just hoping for some straight fundamentals on how it works and could, at least theoretically or crudely, be employed by a DIY home/hobby musician, for, if nothing else, a bit of fun.