Clipping & redlining are some of the most discussed areas of DJing. It can also be a little confusing, especially if you’re just starting bedroom DJing and don’t know what you’re doing.
So let’s clear this up, what is clipping and redlining?
While it’s more common than not, even for professionals, it can be a bit scary to suddenly see your mixer’s indicators turn red, or to notice your monitor’s audio clipping.
The good news is that, because these things are so common, the solution for how to resolve or avoid them is just as easy.
In this guide, we’ll be going over what audio clipping and redlining are, how it relates to your audio signals as a whole, and some of the ways you can go about avoiding them altogether.
What is Clipping? (in short)
Let’s attempt to put this into simple terms. Audio clipping or redlining is audio waveform distortion. When an amplifier is pushed beyond its maximum limit, it goes into overdrive which it can not handle efficiently. The ‘maxed out’ signal then causes the amplifier to produce an output voltage beyond its capability, which is when called clipping and distortion of the sound output clipping occurs.
What Does Redlining Mean in Music?
The term redlining refers to the ‘red lights’ on the mixer being lit up when the power is being pushed to or over the limit. Red means warning! If you want to be a professional DJ or DJ of any standing, then redlining your mixer is one thing to always avoid. It is exceptionally bad for the equipment, and your hearing and will ruin the dancefloor vibes.
Audio Signals Explained
Before we can get into explaining what audio clipping is, it’s important to first understand how we perceive audio signals as a whole.
Essentially, audio signals are sounds that have passed through the auditory canal in our ears and hit the eardrum, causing them to vibrate.
These vibrations affect our neural network, transmitting audio signals to our brain which are then interpreted as “sound”.
Sound waves can be understood to be broken down into three separate categories:
Frequency, amplitude, and phasing.
Frequency Explained
Frequency can be described as the number of times that a particular sound waves is repeated. These sound wave repetitions (or ‘oscillations’) are measured as cycles per second, also known as ‘Hertz’ or ‘Hz’.
As the rate of repetition increases, so too does the Hz.
This also means that our ears will better be able to recognize and perceive higher-pitched sounds. As these sounds continue to grow and expand with wider and more separated sound waves, the lower the sound will be.
Because of this, the sound frequency will always be inversely proportional to the wavelength of a sound.
As such, the greater the wavelength the lower the frequency, while the greater the frequency equals the lower the wavelength.
Amplitude Explained
Amplitude is regarded primarily as the magnitude and volume of a smoother sound wave. Measured in Decibels (dB), the sound amplitude is how we hear things at the right volume or level.
The sound’s amplitude is properly defined as the height of a sound waves peak measured from 0dB.
Phase Explained
The phase is regarded as the angular measure of a specific time difference that is registered between two similar waveforms.
As they are expressed in degrees, the further one waveform’s time difference is from another, the more degrees are used to describe their separation.
Audio Clipping Explained
Now that we have a basic understanding of how we can hear and perceive sounds, we can now get into understanding exactly what audio clipping is.
Audio clipping is a specific form of non-linear distortion in an audio or sound waveform.
Clipping occurs specifically while an amplifier is being pushed outside of its maximum limits. This causes the device’s circuitry to begin producing voltage beyond its initial capacity, creating signal distortions.
It is these audio signal distortions that, when heard, come across as noisy and unpleasant sounds.
Simply put, clipping will occur only when the audio signal output coming from your DJ mixers is too strong, causing it to become distorted and ultimately reduce sound quality.
What Can Cause Audio Clipping?
Some of the things you should be aware of that can cause channel and audio clipping to include:
- Quality Of A Track
- EQ
- FX Use
Track Quality
One of the first signs you’re liable to have clipping is due to a track’s quality. If, as an example, you download a low-quality track, of some kind, you’re liable to get a lot of audio clipping as a result.
This can range from just downloading audio from an MP3 format to illegally downloading and using a low-quality track.
EQ
One big sign that you’re liable to experience audio clipping is by way of improper EQ levels. It’s important to constantly check your audio levels before playing any tracks, even if you’re just about to go out and perform a set.
If you have improper EQ levels, the mid, high, and low-frequency levels will either be present in too much or too little amounts for a respective channel.
This can cause the track to begin clipping.
To avoid this, make sure to carefully adjust the EQ so that you can carefully avoid large groups of disjointed frequencies that can potentially push the signal over the red line.
FX Use
Effects (FX) being performed by a DJ are incredibly common. In fact, in many cases, it’s pretty much a requirement if you want to sound like you know what you’re doing.
The challenge is that, if you’re not careful, it is very easy to end up clipping your audio.
Effects like “reverb” or “flanger” or other sound-altering effects can end up multiplying the power or master volume of the sound-making clipping much more likely if you aren’t careful.
You’re going to need to use effects while DJing, so your best bet is to give yourself enough headroom when doing so.
This allows you to account for any accumulation that will come from sounds overlapping on top of each other and makes sure that you don’t deal with any potential clipping or redlining.
The Best Ways To Avoid Clipping
Method #1. Only Use High-Quality Tracks
A biggie! This can’t be emphasized enough. One of the clearest signs of a rookie DJ is the use of cheap or ill-gotten tracks that sound low-quality.
The truth of the situation is that, in many cases, the sound quality is so bad for these low-quality tracks that they will begin clipping no matter what you do.
They’re liable to have a large amount of sound distortion going on, and even if you did clear them from redlining, the sound would be so bad that people wouldn’t be able to appreciate the music anyway.
It’s simple. If you’re going to take DJing seriously, you’re going to have to take track acquisition seriously.
This means buying high-quality versions of tracks through reputable sources or joining DJ record pools with verified tracks.
Cheap or illegally acquired tracks may save you money in the short term, but they’re going to end up costing you big time through a terrible set and a lack of gigs.
Method #2. Always Keep Your Eye On The Different Levels
You want to also ensure that the volume between the monitors is balanced as well as the different mixer channel EQs and the console meters.
Simply put, you want to always be paying attention to what your controller is doing and what your laptop is showing and ready to turn something down or raise something.
The more precise you get at this, the less audio clipping you’re going to have to deal with.
Method #3. Keep Your Trim/Gain Level
Lastly, one of the best ways to keep from audio clipping is by maintaining a steady trim/gain level. The gain/trim control is used to better adjust the proper input volume of a single specific mixer channel.
As such, it generally undergoes only some slight alterations during a specific DJ set.
By maintaining enough of a level headroom between the signal output and the mixer channel’s maximum capacity, you can ensure that the sound never jumps over into the red or begins clipping out.
What is Clipping? Takeaway
Audio clipping and redlining are not a fun thing for anyone involved. Audiences don’t like it because it can distort the quality and listening experience.
Meanwhile, DJs and music producers hate it since it can throw off all of their hard work if spotted. The key is to understand what is happening, why it’s happening, and what you can do to resolve it.
By knowing what digital clipping is and what you can do to avoid the issue, you can immediately put yourself above many of your contemporary DJs while creating high-quality sound from start to finish.
