Reference
Parameters
Use this page to look up any control: its name, its range or options, its default, and what it does. In Mid/Side, the Mid and Side versions of each lane control appear in their own table. For how to use the controls together, see Clipping and Output and delivery.
Clip
Main controls| Control | Range or options | Default | What it does |
|---|
| In | -24 to 24 dB | 0 dB | How hard you hit the clipper. Raise it and more of the track reaches the ceiling, so you hear more clipping while the ceiling stays where it is. |
| Style | Hard, Punch, Smooth | Punch | The character of the clipping: Hard cuts peaks flat for the most obvious edge, Punch keeps the attack of drums, and Smooth is the hardest to hear. Drive, Softness, Density, and Tilt do nothing in Hard. |
| Threshold | -24 to 0 dB | 0 dB | The ceiling: anything that would go above it is flattened. Lower it and the clipper works earlier and on more of the track; in Punch and Smooth it starts easing peaks down a little below this mark. |
| Drive | 0 to 24 dB | 0 dB | Adds warmth and body, a round even-harmonic thickening with a little extra presence, without moving the ceiling. Off at 0 dB; not available in Hard. |
| Softness | 0 to 100% | 0% | How suddenly the clipper takes hold: low is firmer and more obvious, high starts easing peaks down earlier and sounds rounder. Not available in Hard. |
| Out | -24 to 24 dB | 0 dB | The level after the clipper. Use it to set the level you deliver. |
| Link | 0 to 100% | 100% | In Stereo, how far left and right are turned down together when one side peaks harder. 100% keeps the image still; lower settings can sound more open but can pull the image sideways. |
| M/S Link | On or Off | Off | In Mid/Side, moves the other lane by the same amount when you move a knob, keeping any offset between them. Host automation is never copied across. |
| Bypass | On or Off | Off | Turns the clipper off so you can hear the track without it. The Gain Match trim still applies. |
| Density | 0 to 100% | 0% | Lifts the body of the track toward the ceiling, up to 12 dB at full, so the track gets louder and denser while the ceiling stays put. A strong control; not available in Hard. |
| Tilt | -100 to +100 | 0 | Chooses which part of the mix takes the most clipping: positive sends the kick and bass in first, negative the snare and cymbals. It changes what gets clipped, not the overall tone; not available in Hard. |
| Low Protect | On or Off | Off | Routes everything below about 100 Hz around the clipper so the kick and bass keep their weight. Adds 10 ms of latency, which Clip Joint reports to your DAW. |
| Mix | 0 to 100% | 100% | Blends the clipped signal with the unclipped signal for parallel clipping. The two stay exactly in time, so lowering it never adds phasing. |
Mid/Side controls| Control | Range or options | Default | What it does |
|---|
| Channel Mode | Stereo, Mid-Side | Stereo | Whether the clipper works on left and right together, or on the center and sides separately. Mid-Side lets you drive the center for level while leaving the sides lighter. |
| In (Mid) | -24 to 24 dB | 0 dB | How hard the center of the mix, where vocals, kick, and snare usually sit, hits the clipper. |
| In (Side) | -24 to 24 dB | 0 dB | How hard the sides of the mix hit the clipper. Keep it lower to leave the width open while the center does the work. |
| Threshold (Mid) | -24 to 0 dB | 0 dB | The ceiling for the center of the mix. On a full master, this is usually where the loudness comes from. |
| Threshold (Side) | -24 to 0 dB | 0 dB | The ceiling for the sides of the mix. Lower it to catch wide peaks, or leave it high to keep the width untouched. |
| Drive (Mid) | 0 to 24 dB | 0 dB | Warmth and body for the center of the mix only. Off at 0 dB; not available in Hard. |
| Drive (Side) | 0 to 24 dB | 0 dB | Warmth and body for the sides of the mix only. Off at 0 dB; not available in Hard. |
| Tilt (Mid) | -100 to +100 | 0 | Which part of the center takes the most clipping: positive sends the lows in first, negative the highs. Not available in Hard. |
| Tilt (Side) | -100 to +100 | 0 | Which part of the sides takes the most clipping: positive sends the lows in first, negative the highs. Not available in Hard. |
| Softness (Mid) | 0 to 100% | 0% | How suddenly the clipper takes hold in the center of the mix. Not available in Hard. |
| Softness (Side) | 0 to 100% | 0% | How suddenly the clipper takes hold on the sides; a higher setting often suits wide material. Not available in Hard. |
| Out (Mid) | -24 to 24 dB | 0 dB | The level of the center after clipping. Set it against the Side output to balance center and width. |
| Out (Side) | -24 to 24 dB | 0 dB | The level of the sides after clipping. Raise it if clipping the center has made the mix sound narrower. |
Output
| Control | Range or options | Default | What it does |
|---|
| Oversampling | 1x, 2x, 4x, 8x, 16x | 4x | Runs the clipper at a higher internal rate so less harsh, out-of-tune edge folds back into the track. Higher settings cost more CPU and latency. |
| Quality | Linear Phase, Minimum Phase | Linear Phase | The oversampling filter: Linear Phase keeps every frequency in step but adds more latency, Minimum Phase cuts latency and shifts phase. Only matters above 1x. |
| Dither | Off, TPDF, Noise Shaping | Off | Adds a little noise to hide the grainy distortion of a lower bit depth: TPDF is plain, even noise, and Noise Shaping moves it where it is harder to hear. Use it only on the final export. |
| Bit Depth | 16-bit, 20-bit, 24-bit, 32-bit | 24-bit | The bit depth the dither aims at; match it to the file you deliver. Only active while Dither is on, and dither is skipped at 32-bit. |