Using Clip Joint

Output and delivery

This page helps you set the controls in the settings bar along the bottom of the window. They decide how clean the clipping is, what it costs in CPU and latency, how Clip Joint prepares a final export, and how you compare at matched loudness. They do not change the character of the clipping; Clipping covers that.

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The settings bar. Set processing quality and export preparation here, and match loudness at the right end.

1. 1Oversample1x to 16x. Higher keeps the harsh edge out of hard clipping, at the cost of CPU and latency.
2. 2QualityLinear Phase for transparency, Minimum Phase for lower latency. Disabled at 1x.
3. 3DitherOff, TPDF, or Noise Shaping. Turn it on only for a final export at a lower bit depth.
4. 4Bit DepthThe bit depth you are delivering. Dimmed while Dither is Off.
5. 5Gain MatchA trim for comparing at the same loudness. It is printed when you bounce, so turn it off first.

Choose an oversampling rate

Clipping creates harmonics above what the sample rate can carry. Without oversampling, those fold back down into the track as a harsh, slightly out-of-tune edge, most noticeably on bright material pushed hard.

Oversample runs the clipper at 1x, 2x, 4x, 8x, or 16x the session rate. Higher settings keep more of that edge out. Each step up costs more CPU and adds latency. The default is 4x.

• Stay at 4x for most work.

• Move to 8x or 16x when you are clipping hard on a master and the CPU budget allows it. Listen to cymbals and vocals: they should sound cleaner, not duller.

• Drop to 2x or 1x when you need the lowest CPU or latency, for example while tracking. 1x leaves the most of the harsh edge in.

Choose the filter quality

Quality chooses the oversampling filter. It only matters above 1x, and Clip Joint disables it at 1x.

Option	What it does	Choose it when
Linear Phase	Keeps every frequency in step with the others. Adds more latency. This is the default.	Transparency matters more than latency, as on a master.
Minimum Phase	Cuts the latency and shifts phase instead, which can slightly change how transients feel.	You need lower latency, or prefer the transient feel.

Both options keep the full audible top end at every sample rate.

Latency and bypass

Clip Joint reports its exact latency to your DAW for every combination of Oversample, Quality, Low Protect, and Stereo or Mid/Side, so delay compensation keeps the track in time with the rest of the session. When you bypass Clip Joint from your DAW, it keeps the same delay on the bypassed signal, so switching bypass does not move the track in time.

Two filters are always in the path while the clipper is on. A DC blocker removes offset well below the audible range. At sample rates of 88.2 kHz and above with oversampling on, an ultrasonic low-pass also removes clipping products above the audible range. Both also apply to the unclipped part of Mix.

Set dither and bit depth for the final export

Use these two controls only when Clip Joint is the last processor before you export at a lower bit depth. Your DAW still sets the export format.

Dither adds a small amount of noise to cover the grainy distortion you would otherwise hear in quiet passages and fades once the file is cut to a lower bit depth.

• Off is the default. Leave it here for mixing and for intermediate bounces.

• TPDF adds plain, even noise.

• Noise Shaping moves that noise into a part of the spectrum your ear notices less, so it is harder to hear than TPDF at the same bit depth.

Bit Depth tells the dither which bit depth to aim at. Match it to the file you are delivering: 16-bit for CD, 24-bit for most high-resolution delivery, 20-bit only when a specification asks for it. At 32-bit Clip Joint skips dither entirely. Bit Depth is dimmed while Dither is Off, because it has nothing to do.

Dither once

Dither only the final export. If the file will be processed again, leave Dither off and export at 24 or 32 bits.

Compare at matched loudness with Gain Match

Clipping adds level, and louder almost always sounds better. A comparison at different levels tells you nothing about whether the clipping helped. Gain Match, at the right end of the settings bar, is an output trim from -24 dB to +12 dB that brings Clip Joint back to the loudness of its input.

1. Play a loud, typical section of the track.

2. Click the capture button beside the readout. It listens for about three seconds, then sets a starting trim from the input and output levels. Click it again while it listens to cancel.

3. Switch your DAW’s bypass for Clip Joint on and off. The two should now sound about equally loud, so you hear only the difference the clipping makes.

4. Nudge the trim by ear if they still differ: drag the readout, or double-click it and type a value.

5. Use the power button to take the trim out without losing its value, so you can flip between matched and unmatched level.

Use your DAW’s bypass for the comparison, not the power button on the clip bar. The clip bar’s power button turns off only the clipper, so the trim still applies to the signal you hear.

The trim is part of the output

Gain Match is the last thing Clip Joint does, so your DAW records and bounces it. It sits after the meters and the waveform scope, which keep showing the clipper’s real output. A positive trim can push the delivered peaks above the ceiling without the meter showing it. Turn Gain Match off with its power button before you print, unless you want the trim in the file.

The trim and its on or off state are saved with the session, not in presets.