Micro Clippings... worth Adjusting?

[Pasha]

While Mixing in Live I got the master clipping at 0.28 Db or 0.10 Db.
The Mix is almost perfect to my ears, I hear no distortion.
Do you think it's worth putting a limiter on the offending track (I think it's the Guitar Track)?
What would you do in that case?

- Best
- Pasha

[chapelier fou]

i'd put a small volume automation on that guitar track.

[1.A.M.]

Clipping in digital even with a 0.1 db is a bad thing even if you don't hear it, I say put a utility volume cloned in each track with at least -1db and this will lower all tracks evenly so your overall mix should sound the same, render , send it to mastering, your mastering engineer will thank you for that IMO.

[Pasha]

Thanks.
I have also found that (as always) it's more a bus sum than a specific track.
It's guitar + drum at the same time. I'll try both suggestions and see.

[Tarekith]

Just select all the track headers and then lower one of the faders. This will lower them all at the same time, so your mix will sound the same, but you're no longer clipping. Best of both worlds.

[Pasha]

Just select all the track headers and then lower one of the faders. This will lower them all at the same time, so your mix will sound the same, but you're no longer clipping. Best of both worlds.

Wow I never tried that. So easy. Thanks!
Does this support automation on all tracks as well?

[chapelier fou]

Does this support automation on all tracks as well?

Unfortunately no...

[Tarekith]

Yeah, there's no way to trim automation in Live easily unfortunately. This is one reason to always use Utlity to automate volume as mentioned above.

[Pasha]

Well, thanks guys!
I have learned a new thing. Live from 2005 but still learning..
So far I was able to sort this out by using a mix of all three methods.

1) The problem was due to a Bus Sum. Drums & Guitar & Bass firing at the same time..
2) Applied Limiter to snare only in that 1/8 (it's a drum audio loop) so that it does not affect the whole track
3) The Guitar (actually a VG99 processed guitar) sometimes acts like a savage horse in regards of low to mid frequencies. A little EQ in the right spot plus lower the volume made the trick
4) Used Utility to automate volume in all the three tracks (I do not like Track Volume automation...)

Well, it was hard. Moreover the clip value changed every time even if I did not touch anything. At Bar 43.1.2 I have the Clip but if I start listening from Bar 40 I got 0.39 clipping while if I start from 42 I got 0.29. Is this a Live thing or has some audio physics background? I have solved the issue now but just curious...

[jallan99]

On your last point about clipping changing depending on when you start the track, you seem to get more when you start the track earlier - do you have a reverb or delay tail hanging around from earlier on? Perhaps when you start form bar 42, the tail has not had a chance to build up to its full volume.

[Pasha]

On your last point about clipping changing depending on when you start the track, you seem to get more when you start the track earlier - do you have a reverb or delay tail hanging around from earlier on? Perhaps when you start form bar 42, the tail has not had a chance to build up to its full volume.

That might be the case. I have a reverb and some tracks send to it. I have a copy of the old project so I can test without disrupting the work I have done. I am curios by nature so thank you!