What is Clipping?

In digital audio, clipping happens when the signal exceeds 0 dBFS — the absolute maximum value that can be represented in a fixed-point digital system. Any sample value that would go above 0 dBFS is simply chopped off at that level, creating a flat-topped waveform where there should be a smooth curve. This flat-topping introduces high-frequency harmonic content that was not in the original signal, which the ear perceives as harsh, brittle distortion. Even a single clipped sample creates a discontinuity in the waveform, though brief clips may not be audible in dense mixes. Analog clipping behaves differently and is often musically useful. When an analog circuit — a tube preamp, a tape machine, a transformer — is overdriven, it saturates gradually rather than hard-clipping. The signal compresses softly as it approaches the maximum, producing even-order harmonics that sound warm, thick, and pleasing. This is why engineers intentionally drive analog gear (and analog-modeled plugins) for tonal color. The key distinction is that analog soft clipping is a smooth, gradual nonlinearity, while digital hard clipping is an abrupt, mathematically brutal cutoff. Clipping can happen at multiple points in a digital signal chain: at the A/D converter during recording, inside a plugin that has a fixed-point internal architecture, at a bus summing point, or at the final output stage. Modern 32-bit and 64-bit floating-point DAW engines have essentially unlimited internal headroom, meaning the mix bus itself will not clip — but the final dither or export stage, the plugins in the chain, and the listener's playback system all have finite limits.