Interestingly, it is the synth bass that suffers most on all of these. This makes perfect sense as the sustained low frequency sound will most audibly reveal the releases, which are the Achilles heel of clipping limiters.
The Ash one sounded better than expected. The hardware sounded the best to my ear but I'd like to hear that test against the newer Gold clip plugin. I've tried and bought a few and really like that one and would expect it to rank higher than most everything I know of currently.
Beyond your good content, which is evident, my English is not very good, but I understand almost everything the same. Thank you for your excellent content.
Great comparisons. Thank you. I liked Ash and New Fangled Audio Saturate the best, but I'd use any of them. They all sounded good, and each was slightly different.
100% Agree listening on Adam A7Vs.I know they each bring their own sound but LVC was seemingly soooo much more transparent. Everything else did something to the midrange or softened the transients. I liked the HW for colour.
Good one Dom. I think, if you took the low end warmth of Saturate, the punch of K-Clip, the openess and imaging of ASH, then you would have the sound of the hardware lol. The hardware unmistakenly has that heavier low end, and it has rounded off the transients nicely. Shame you didn't use SiR Standard Clip and ASH Lavry Gold in this comparison ! I'd like to see how they sound next to the hardware. Still, i'm not disapointed by the software. It might be worth feeding a signal with the low end removed into the software clippers and see if that performs better.
stunning video dom, very interesting comparision. I use a lot T-Racks clipper, FireTheClip and Standard Clipper (which you didnt test here) along with Saturate, that for me is the best sounding among the plugins on your test. I also liked a lot the ASH by AA, which I am going to start demoing soon. The Lynx converters sound so transparent even so pushed, amazing! Thanks for this video.
My go to is SIR audio tools StandardCLIP which works nearly on everything and of course oldie but goldie JST Clip for that aggressive sounds - especially on drums
This video is brought to you thanks to Hellfire Club! 🔥💀😂 For me the ASH and the real Converter are the kings for this types of scenarios (Mixbuss Clipping). Are the ones that preserve better the transients and add more rich to the sound specially on the mid low end and the Side information. One honorable mention is Saturate by Newflanged Audio, It sounds someway unique the touch of harmonics that brings to the high frequencies. But even though I think the Karzorg and Saturate are really good for some buss processing like Clipping on the drums buss or bass, like it could work really good on different aspects of the mix to be honest. Nice video Dom!
converters still work digitally - with an algorithm - and to think a box from 15 years ago can compete with modern algorithms such as Ash, StandardClip, Kazrog multiband clipping and PA's latest luxury clipper is a wild theory. Didn't sound best here, and that's for good reason.
The Acustica Audio is the best one , it sounds very full and natural but also very Loud . Second to me is Newfangled Saturate and Third one (Only in this Case) is Clipping your LYNX AD/DA .
Yes, but also no. First of all I'm a massive LVC fanboy so I'm going to be biased with what I say here, but Dom didn't alter the "Shape" and "Harmonic" settings away from maximum in LVC. These give a certain character, and tweaking them changes things a lot, let alone other settings! Dom then went to Acustica and started altering the "Hard / Soft" parameters and even tried different modes, adn messes around with the setting on a lot of others too, which doesn't feel like a fair comparison to me. You didn't get to hear the full capability of LVC, at all. It also has mid-sde and multiband capabilities that weren't demonstrated. It's not that these other clippers are bad, and Acustica does sound very good, I'm not hating on them or Dom at all. I just think it wasn't a fair reflection of processing capabilites and don't write LVC off just from this video :)
I think the Linx had way more control across the frequency range, but my favorites were the Ash and Saturate plugins. The T-Racks really cut out the top end when being driven, too much of a roll-off. The others were having some difficulty with certain frequencies in the high range. I liked Ash for being a very smooth roll off when driven and I liked Saturate for the way it controlled the whole bandwidth evenly, which was much better than any of the other candidates. Just my opinion, I guess it's all it context anyway?!
@@sos-tegno From my experience, this depends on the oversampling: too low and it can get "noisy", too much and it sounds clinical / harsh. But in the end it's a matter of taste
Your Lynx seems more "alive" than all the others. But it saturates earlier (on this test) You should test the Kclip in "4 bands" mode. It's really good ! In my Humble opinion : T-Racks is nice, even as an old plugin Saturate is a bit forward, and a low end eater, but keeps good transients LCV audio is quiet good Ash is one of the best here.
Ash Ultra version at 16XX using the Yel X6 sounds incredible. Not sure why he used the Prism for the final comparison bit at the end as its one of the weaker modes imho. But yeah, Ash is excellent.
Hi Dom, fantastic insight... wondering in which position of the master bus are you used to insert the clipper? I guess just before the final limiter (as I do), but just curious to know. Keep up the good work man!
TOP THREE ITB ADDA CLIPPERS IN THE VID: DF Clip < Kazrog KClip < Acustica Audio ASH (bka ruler of them all) in other mathematical equation: Acustica Audio ASH (bka ruler of them all) > Kazrog KClip > DF Clip
No ! Crisp leans more to soft side! Crisp is like 50% of “Soften” knob! Crisp mode is Good for overall clipping like whole mix! For spiky transients smooth settings at 0 is the best
very good, thank you very much, I wish you could leave the files for downloading your videos (hopefully, including the raw version),.... You know, it is very different to listen to via TH-cam,... Thank you very much, I love your videos ,
Without having seen the video yet, I think the loudest is the Neve Master Comp & Limiter without losing too many musical qualities. Now, I'm interested to see your results. 👍 It's difficult. In my opinion, the best is your first choice, and the last is T-Racks, which sounds a bit washy in the bass and pumps a bit. The Opus compression on TH-cam is really good. I have bought many masters from HDtracks at 48kHz 24bit. The masters are clipped with a low and high range difference of about 5-6dB in the hooks. Record your main mix on TH-cam, then normalize it to -0.3dB and add StandardClip (my favorite) or Waves L2. With some tiny settings, you can get the exact same result as a corresponding master. Now you can upload your master with -14 LUFS (simply reduce the volume until you reach this level) to TH-cam as private and compare the results of the original and your mastered version by ear and waveform. Voila, there is no difference. I have tested this with about 25 new tracks from Dua Lipa, Tiesto, Ava Max, Tate McRae, Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, Doja Cat, and more. With this procedure, you can compare your own stuff handling a clipper with other references. The best are StandardClip and Waves L2, in my opinion.
I'm sorry, but I don't really understand the goal/steps of this procedure...I'm not a native speaker so this is maybe the main issue here! xD. Can you explain it for dummies? Thanks in advance!
the Real converter won for me...BUT the New Fangled Audio Saturate was the best to me of the plugins. I was bummed I didnt see the famous sir audio standard clip in the video. Thats been my #1 for the last two years.
That's a good idea- I'll try and get my hands on one and compare it to my Lynx. The Lynx is one of the cleanest converters out there so it would be great to make a test compared to the Dangerous ;)
KClip 3.5.1 with x8 oversampling (Crisp) is the king for me. It's totally flat, every other one except Saturate colours the sound way too much. That is why people like Ash because it softens and rounds the sound (A bit like a Neve, but too much for my liking). I use KClip for tracks and groups, and Saturate on master. If Acustica ever update their Snow plugin (Emulating the Portico II) then I'll use that, right now it sounds pretty bad and uses 40% of CPU.
As of late, it seems like Acustica is getting their sh*t together because they came out with this one ASH and the new JAM (the hard-er-ware answer to FabFilter Saturn IMHO) plugins.
Dude. Whenever I use ASH, I'm getting that DVD audio sound...it sounds like 64/192kHz sample resolution IMHO to my ears with OVS of 32x + True Peak transparency at 8x....I never seen such an oversampling beast and my PC still can handle the hallway like LL Cool J.
@E. IRIZARRY same here started pushing Ash to the limits and Wow Your mix comes to life, and every processor before that also starts to sound expensive, AA got really serious with this,
I have the Kazrog Kclip Zero, and I just got what I understand to be the predecessor to the LVC Clipped-MAX called ClipShifter. Besides your hardware clipping, not being biased, I liked what I heard on that LVC. The other clippers didn't sound bad, however I liked LVC and the T-Racks most.
follow-up I’ve bought the Clipped-MAX by LVC and like the 4 sections within. I’m using this clipper as my first plugin on my Studio One DAW’s Master Bus Insert section. This goes into the Venomode Maximal 3 limiter.
You know... when a clipper has an algorithm that has "detail preservation" or somehow sounds much cleaner... it's really not longer a clipper, but an actual limiter.
should have used something with snare drum because which song doesnt have snare drums most song have and they are the ones you notice squishiness going on, also hi hat claves; non of that were here. even that synth bass it could sound alright because it could have been thought that that was the sound. anyways you are one the best who does real life stuffs most others just talk and not show even when they show you might not understand but you are amazing at everything
@@DomSigalas so far I get good results with electronic music. So it works for me. But it is the opposite of what I learned a decade ago. What about you?
I feel like it kills the space and power in a mix just for the sake of (measured) loudness. All those layers of little bits of distortion add up to make this kind of veil over the music. I remember watching a Baphomet (?) video where he was demoing it and the moment he did a level-matched comparison between a CTZ mix and a non/less-clipped mix and said "bet you can't hear any difference..." clinched it for me. To me it was like night and day - the CTZ mix just fell flat.
@@DomSigalas Hi there. So ssl fusion is doesn't work as a limiter? Its only like a colour unit? So what's analog gear we can use like a final limiter, maximizer?
@@Pkutsko no, not at all. The Fusion doesn’t even have compression. When it comes to analog limiters there’s the Portico II MBP from Neve (which is amazing) and the Bettermaker Limiter - I own the Neve and have used the Bettermaker extensively. Both really great choices. The question is, do you need an analogue limiter? I love their sound but I will always follow them up with a digital limiter for safety in the box :)
idk if im the only one but, the "more transparent" ones sounds lifeless for me, but, if the material asks for 0 distortion (like softmusic) i think acoustica and the hardware are a go-to.
I've never used a clipper, because I don't like the idea of "clipping" the transients. That said, I can NEVER get my mixes loud enough. I use limiters, and it looks like I'm getting the LUFS level, and just about 0dB true peak. Then on TH-cam, my songs sound MUCH softer than other songs. I'm starting to lean towards clippers, at least in a subtle way. It doesn't sound like it ruins the sound.
I use Ash since it was released, love its sound treatment, versatility and variety. A 2-3dB clipping is recommended on the user's manual, but when pushing it harder is when it gives the most, according to my ears. Obviously, it depends on every application of it and what you're looking for, but the best advice on Ash is not to be affraid when pushing it up and oversampling it.
Really Really good point...hardware producers dont wanna hear that...but very true...you go by a Prism or Lavery...all you have is that ONE SOUND......that you paid 1000s of dollars for....they could at least have 4 or 5 color modes the hardware to make the puchase more worth it
Great video!! Personally, I have a relatively non-standard approach to achieving loudness (limiting/clipping). I pay attention to technical aspects, but after 30+ years of this hobby ... my final decisions (last 5% of loudness) are based primarily on what allows the 'art' to best be communicated to the audience I'm aiming for (some mad-scientist proprietary stuff going on over here). Pros like Dom can definitely help a person to get better at all of this. 🙂
Hilo is the best open hight end smooth bass, Ash, TRacks, New Fangled, Kanzrog is the best, but best one i heard in my life was the Studer D19 mic preamp analog Tube Clipper, one of my friend had it, but he didn't know the value of the gear and he sold it out🤦🏽♂🤦🏽♂🤦🏽♂, i'm so angry to him.
I really didnt hear an audio Quality Jump between ASH and the Hilo...not hating very very beautiful Converter....but....its not a big enough difference between the two...to go spend 2800 more....now...I plan on purchasing a ART Tube Channel for Vocals an a SSL Fussion, and a better audio interface......MOTU and RME already have really good A/D coverters in them......thats a better way to spend 3000
Well I always hate your reviews and I just do like it.. I love it and I hate u for it you are to good 👍.. ok back to being professional I love a cubase user and I'm going to watch this a few times before I download and audition these plugins .. you are my top 2 guy I go tooo
I think the Acustica Audio and Newfangled Saturate are the best ones. Some of the others have a weird pumping sound, or are doing something weird to the transient of the 808 that I don't like (almost like distorting the transient so making it sound distorted/clipped)
I think the Lyra2 is a pretty good clipper, especially for EDM/Techno stuff. But you already had a PrismSound emulation. Other than that, the Merging Anubis should be worth checking out. It’s a very versatile unit with outstanding A/D (136dB (A) for Line Inputs) conversion and top D/A (123 dB (A), line and main outputs). These are not just numbers, these converters sound astonishing. I have to say the HILO got the most transparent and natural sound. I like it the most, because it stays closest to the original. One important thing, that came to my mind is that the track should be radio ready already before clipping to get the best results. Thanks Dom.
@@DomSigalas I'm a big fan of yours, however, I don't hear the difference between the 250 USD Schwabe & any of these other clippers you compared - they must be for very experienced sound engineers, not so much the entry-level riff-raff like myself?! In other words, it would be interesting, in your clips, if you added a footnote: "Unless you're an experienced sound engineer mastering tracks, I strongly suggest this cheaper version of ___________ would be more appropriate for starters" Cause I watch you clips - however, you're amazing, you swim in the deep end of the pool, what about those of us in the shallow end of the pool? Where do you draw the line for what's appropriate for your viewers who are not all a big fish like you?
@@fractionalistthank you my friend ❤ like I always say on my videos, if you’re not experienced stick with your stock plugins- they provide way more than most people will ever need. I actually made a mastering course using just Cubase plugins for this very reason. I would save the money and just learn the tools you have in your DAW before investing on plugins. Do third party plugins make a difference? Many times they do! But I would train my ears first until I can appreciate what a third plugin has to offer 😊
Ash sounded better, but sadly Acustica had very unpractical GUI for they plugins, Fire the Clip sounds great too but is very unpractical without graphic waveforms, often i use SIr Standard Clip or V-CLIP , they have practicals GUIs.
Why would you compare them using different clip style everywhere. Hard clip, ~50/50 and soft clip are all sound different. Wouldn't it be more informative to compare how all these clippers do a hard clipping f.e.
By the way, the Standard Clip is definitely one of the most common, for good reason, I wonder why you didnt take it to the list.
that and kclip but i just got fire the clip i love it allot
standard clip is currently the best clipper vst and most clesnest sounding for sure. its even better than gold clip
Proud Hilo owner here. That thing is always :chef's kiss:
had mone for a year to be honest it chokes the low end to much did not like that apogee mk2 kills it
@@Getemprod. This is nonsense
This made me feel better about my go to which is the TRacks Classic! Thanks for doing this!
Interestingly, it is the synth bass that suffers most on all of these. This makes perfect sense as the sustained low frequency sound will most audibly reveal the releases, which are the Achilles heel of clipping limiters.
The Ash one sounded better than expected. The hardware sounded the best to my ear but I'd like to hear that test against the newer Gold clip plugin. I've tried and bought a few and really like that one and would expect it to rank higher than most everything I know of currently.
I use StandardClip and the clipper in Elysia Alpha Master... they are good. Although they didn't make it to this list, lots of engineers use them.
Elysia Alpha Master is a secret weapon,love that clipper
Beyond your good content, which is evident, my English is not very good, but I understand almost everything the same. Thank you for your excellent content.
Best clipper I've ever used. Crane Song HEDD 192 - truly fantastic mastering quality ADA and clips brilliantly.
Ash is the one things sound more expensive. The complexity and detail of high frequencies is quite a game changer on the digital clipping world.
Perfect choice of music to demonstrate these clippers. Your videos are always excellent!
Thanks for the video. Acoustica Ash sounds amazing to me and definitely the best. Very high end sounding, mastering grade!
+1
Great comparisons. Thank you. I liked Ash and New Fangled Audio Saturate the best, but I'd use any of them. They all sounded good, and each was slightly different.
That smile though when you were pushing ash 😂. Amazing video as always. But that instrumental tho, I want to write to that one 👀
Thanks for doing this! LVC Audio sounds fantastic to my ears!
yea that was crazy
100% Agree listening on Adam A7Vs.I know they each bring their own sound but LVC was seemingly soooo much more transparent. Everything else did something to the midrange or softened the transients. I liked the HW for colour.
Good one Dom. I think, if you took the low end warmth of Saturate, the punch of K-Clip, the openess and imaging of ASH, then you would have the sound of the hardware lol. The hardware unmistakenly has that heavier low end, and it has rounded off the transients nicely.
Shame you didn't use SiR Standard Clip and ASH Lavry Gold in this comparison ! I'd like to see how they sound next to the hardware.
Still, i'm not disapointed by the software. It might be worth feeding a signal with the low end removed into the software clippers and see if that performs better.
@@AlexandNeville that might work
stunning video dom, very interesting comparision. I use a lot T-Racks clipper, FireTheClip and Standard Clipper (which you didnt test here) along with Saturate, that for me is the best sounding among the plugins on your test. I also liked a lot the ASH by AA, which I am going to start demoing soon. The Lynx converters sound so transparent even so pushed, amazing! Thanks for this video.
Noone noticed how fire is the instrumemntal?? Pls made a walktrough video on how is composed/produced
TRex Classic No.1. it's open, nice, warm, alive, still enough sharp but not too anoying etc.
My go to is SIR audio tools StandardCLIP which works nearly on everything and of course oldie but goldie JST Clip for that aggressive sounds - especially on drums
This video is brought to you thanks to Hellfire Club! 🔥💀😂
For me the ASH and the real Converter are the kings for this types of scenarios (Mixbuss Clipping). Are the ones that preserve better the transients and add more rich to the sound specially on the mid low end and the Side information. One honorable mention is Saturate by Newflanged Audio, It sounds someway unique the touch of harmonics that brings to the high frequencies. But even though I think the Karzorg and Saturate are really good for some buss processing like Clipping on the drums buss or bass, like it could work really good on different aspects of the mix to be honest. Nice video Dom!
converters still work digitally - with an algorithm - and to think a box from 15 years ago can compete with modern algorithms such as Ash, StandardClip, Kazrog multiband clipping and PA's latest luxury clipper is a wild theory. Didn't sound best here, and that's for good reason.
The Acustica Audio is the best one , it sounds very full and natural but also very Loud . Second to me is Newfangled Saturate and Third one (Only in this Case) is Clipping your LYNX AD/DA .
Yes, but also no. First of all I'm a massive LVC fanboy so I'm going to be biased with what I say here, but Dom didn't alter the "Shape" and "Harmonic" settings away from maximum in LVC. These give a certain character, and tweaking them changes things a lot, let alone other settings!
Dom then went to Acustica and started altering the "Hard / Soft" parameters and even tried different modes, adn messes around with the setting on a lot of others too, which doesn't feel like a fair comparison to me. You didn't get to hear the full capability of LVC, at all. It also has mid-sde and multiband capabilities that weren't demonstrated.
It's not that these other clippers are bad, and Acustica does sound very good, I'm not hating on them or Dom at all. I just think it wasn't a fair reflection of processing capabilites and don't write LVC off just from this video :)
Yes, that are the best Clippers and in that order
Ash, KClip, and hardware for me. Really liking that Ash a lot.
Nice review. I was surprised by ASH. Amazing work from acustica audio!
Дякую за цей огляд! Проте я все ще не розумію, для чого потрібно користуватись кліппером і яка різниця між кліппером та лімітером? 🤷🏻♂
I think the Linx had way more control across the frequency range, but my favorites were the Ash and Saturate plugins. The T-Racks really cut out the top end when being driven, too much of a roll-off. The others were having some difficulty with certain frequencies in the high range.
I liked Ash for being a very smooth roll off when driven and I liked Saturate for the way it controlled the whole bandwidth evenly, which was much better than any of the other candidates. Just my opinion, I guess it's all it context anyway?!
I Use Ash on all my mastering now amazing work from Acustica yet again ! ❤👌🏻
StandardCLIP by SIR audio is a very good clipper too. I know Dave Pensado is a fan of it.
Also Luca Pretolesi likes it a lot 🙃
ja but it sounds very harsh and white noisy ... i dont like it
@@sos-tegno From my experience, this depends on the oversampling: too low and it can get "noisy", too much and it sounds clinical / harsh. But in the end it's a matter of taste
@@DevishMend i need to check this thanks mate
Your Lynx seems more "alive" than all the others. But it saturates earlier (on this test)
You should test the Kclip in "4 bands" mode. It's really good !
In my Humble opinion :
T-Racks is nice, even as an old plugin
Saturate is a bit forward, and a low end eater, but keeps good transients
LCV audio is quiet good
Ash is one of the best here.
Ash Ultra version at 16XX using the Yel X6 sounds incredible. Not sure why he used the Prism for the final comparison bit at the end as its one of the weaker modes imho. But yeah, Ash is excellent.
i did like the T racks ....and the video, thank you Dom
Hi Dom, fantastic insight... wondering in which position of the master bus are you used to insert the clipper? I guess just before the final limiter (as I do), but just curious to know. Keep up the good work man!
TOP THREE ITB ADDA CLIPPERS IN THE VID:
DF Clip < Kazrog KClip < Acustica Audio ASH (bka ruler of them all)
in other mathematical equation: Acustica Audio ASH (bka ruler of them all) > Kazrog KClip > DF Clip
KClip on the "Smooth" setting with the "Soften" knob set to 0 is basically the same as the "Crisp" setting
No ! Crisp leans more to soft side! Crisp is like 50% of “Soften” knob! Crisp mode is Good for overall clipping like whole mix! For spiky transients smooth settings at 0 is the best
Love the video, there is also stardard clip and boz digital big clipper, they can get really loud, thx, ,
Ash nailed the sound of the Lynx in Grey D2 Mode
Standardclip by SIR Audio Tools is my favourite
Hi Dom! in you video: Get Crystal clear mixes EVERY TIME - tell me, what song is it? And who is the wonderful singer?
The Acustica Ash sounded super similar to your analog unit
I see you didn't include the BSA clipper. I thought you liked it?
I think that they all sound pretty similar, but the T-RackS one was the one that I liked the least.
very good, thank you very much, I wish you could leave the files for downloading your videos (hopefully, including the raw version),.... You know, it is very different to listen to via TH-cam,... Thank you very much, I love your videos ,
Hi Dom! Thank you very much for the nice review and comparison. What do you think about clipper in TDR Limiter GE?
What does hilo do? Convert digital into sounding more analog?
Ash all the way! My fav mastering clipper 🔥
Without having seen the video yet, I think the loudest is the Neve Master Comp & Limiter without losing too many musical qualities. Now, I'm interested to see your results. 👍
It's difficult. In my opinion, the best is your first choice, and the last is T-Racks, which sounds a bit washy in the bass and pumps a bit.
The Opus compression on TH-cam is really good. I have bought many masters from HDtracks at 48kHz 24bit. The masters are clipped with a low and high range difference of about 5-6dB in the hooks.
Record your main mix on TH-cam, then normalize it to -0.3dB and add StandardClip (my favorite) or Waves L2. With some tiny settings, you can get the exact same result as a corresponding master.
Now you can upload your master with -14 LUFS (simply reduce the volume until you reach this level) to TH-cam as private and compare the results of the original and your mastered version by ear and waveform. Voila, there is no difference.
I have tested this with about 25 new tracks from Dua Lipa, Tiesto, Ava Max, Tate McRae, Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, Doja Cat, and more.
With this procedure, you can compare your own stuff handling a clipper with other references. The best are StandardClip and Waves L2, in my opinion.
I'm sorry, but I don't really understand the goal/steps of this procedure...I'm not a native speaker so this is maybe the main issue here! xD. Can you explain it for dummies? Thanks in advance!
the Real converter won for me...BUT the New Fangled Audio Saturate was the best to me of the plugins. I was bummed I didnt see the famous sir audio standard clip in the video. Thats been my #1 for the last two years.
Dangerous AD+ would have been good for this test.
That's a good idea- I'll try and get my hands on one and compare it to my Lynx. The Lynx is one of the cleanest converters out there so it would be great to make a test compared to the Dangerous ;)
Flatline by Submission Audio is a great clipper.
..until Acustica ASH came out around Xmas '22.... LoL
KClip 3.5.1 with x8 oversampling (Crisp) is the king for me. It's totally flat, every other one except Saturate colours the sound way too much. That is why people like Ash because it softens and rounds the sound (A bit like a Neve, but too much for my liking). I use KClip for tracks and groups, and Saturate on master.
If Acustica ever update their Snow plugin (Emulating the Portico II) then I'll use that, right now it sounds pretty bad and uses 40% of CPU.
As of late, it seems like Acustica is getting their sh*t together because they came out with this one ASH and the new JAM (the hard-er-ware answer to FabFilter Saturn IMHO) plugins.
StandarCLIP by SIR Audio, simply the best of them all.
I use my trusty NI Transient Designer as a clipper, it does the job and I sometimes use the attack knob as a transient cheat code. 😁
I never heard of that Ash one! That's impressive😱
ШИК, БЛЕСК, МУЗОТА!!! 🤗
Шикарный инфо-канал! Автору всех благ!!! 😎
ASH all The Way, it is taking my mixes to another level,
Dude. Whenever I use ASH, I'm getting that DVD audio sound...it sounds like 64/192kHz sample resolution IMHO to my ears with OVS of 32x + True Peak transparency at 8x....I never seen such an oversampling beast and my PC still can handle the hallway like LL Cool J.
@E. IRIZARRY same here started pushing Ash to the limits and Wow
Your mix comes to life, and every processor before that also starts to sound expensive, AA got really serious with this,
I have the Kazrog Kclip Zero, and I just got what I understand to be the predecessor to the LVC Clipped-MAX called ClipShifter.
Besides your hardware clipping, not being biased, I liked what I heard on that LVC. The other clippers didn't sound bad, however I liked LVC and the T-Racks most.
follow-up
I’ve bought the Clipped-MAX by LVC and like the 4 sections within. I’m using this clipper as my first plugin on my Studio One DAW’s Master Bus Insert section. This goes into the Venomode Maximal 3 limiter.
Great Informative Video As Usual..By the way whats the song name? its fire Bro...where can i hear it????
Dom, can I find this song somewhere? Great video btw!!
When are you dooing the Narcos Mixing Video Dom ?
Sei bravissimo 😘
Voxengo has a great clipper!! what did you use to drive your lynx?
Portico II master bus processor :)
Acoustica Ash sounded smooth, they all did pretty well, compared to the master converter
You know... when a clipper has an algorithm that has "detail preservation" or somehow sounds much cleaner... it's really not longer a clipper, but an actual limiter.
...or both.
should have used something with snare drum because which song doesnt have snare drums most song have and they are the ones you notice squishiness going on, also hi hat claves; non of that were here. even that synth bass it could sound alright because it could have been thought that that was the sound. anyways you are one the best who does real life stuffs most others just talk and not show even when they show you might not understand but you are amazing at everything
In this context. Have any of you heard about the CTZ Clip to Zero Method of mixing?
Yes I certainly have. :) do you like it?
@@DomSigalas so far I get good results with electronic music. So it works for me. But it is the opposite of what I learned a decade ago. What about you?
I feel like it kills the space and power in a mix just for the sake of (measured) loudness. All those layers of little bits of distortion add up to make this kind of veil over the music. I remember watching a Baphomet (?) video where he was demoing it and the moment he did a level-matched comparison between a CTZ mix and a non/less-clipped mix and said "bet you can't hear any difference..." clinched it for me. To me it was like night and day - the CTZ mix just fell flat.
@@DomSigalas Hi there. So ssl fusion is doesn't work as a limiter? Its only like a colour unit? So what's analog gear we can use like a final limiter, maximizer?
@@Pkutsko no, not at all. The Fusion doesn’t even have compression. When it comes to analog limiters there’s the Portico II MBP from Neve (which is amazing) and the Bettermaker Limiter - I own the Neve and have used the Bettermaker extensively. Both really great choices. The question is, do you need an analogue limiter? I love their sound but I will always follow them up with a digital limiter for safety in the box :)
Sir!!! I mean SIR!
LoL
idk if im the only one but, the "more transparent" ones sounds lifeless for me, but, if the material asks for 0 distortion (like softmusic) i think acoustica and the hardware are a go-to.
And the soft clipping of apogee, that is free!!
Hi Dom,
Have you tried FLATLINE 2.0 by Submission Audio? That's my favourite!
So nobody has heard of Venn Audio V-Clip??? Great plugin....Small interface.
Please give us a training course on how to make a choir to make the voices of few people more.
Sing in different locations of the room, sing in different tonalities every time! Try to mimic others people voices! Sing as many as you can manage!
And pan properly
I've never used a clipper, because I don't like the idea of "clipping" the transients. That said, I can NEVER get my mixes loud enough. I use limiters, and it looks like I'm getting the LUFS level, and just about 0dB true peak. Then on TH-cam, my songs sound MUCH softer than other songs. I'm starting to lean towards clippers, at least in a subtle way. It doesn't sound like it ruins the sound.
It's all about knowing how to use it. You won't get perceived loudness without one. It just won't happen
I use Ash since it was released, love its sound treatment, versatility and variety. A 2-3dB clipping is recommended on the user's manual, but when pushing it harder is when it gives the most, according to my ears. Obviously, it depends on every application of it and what you're looking for, but the best advice on Ash is not to be affraid when pushing it up and oversampling it.
Really Really good point...hardware producers dont wanna hear that...but very true...you go by a Prism or Lavery...all you have is that ONE SOUND......that you paid 1000s of dollars for....they could at least have 4 or 5 color modes the hardware to make the puchase more worth it
Great video!! Personally, I have a relatively non-standard approach to achieving loudness (limiting/clipping). I pay attention to technical aspects, but after 30+ years of this hobby ... my final decisions (last 5% of loudness) are based primarily on what allows the 'art' to best be communicated to the audience I'm aiming for (some mad-scientist proprietary stuff going on over here). Pros like Dom can definitely help a person to get better at all of this. 🙂
P.S. I keep overlooking K-Clip (too many plugins), but it is quite good!!
Saturate sound punchy
1 hardware
2 acoustica
3 kazrog
Try vclip by venn audio
According to my 3 bucks earphones these top 3 i liked 😉
An an owner of a HILO...PROUD!
Hilo clearly, more round, open and creamy!
My prefer Clipper is GOLD CLIP
Thanks for the video
Cool
Flatline is a good one
I think the Acustica was not the loudest, but it sounded best, most clean, most fresh, most controlled.
No Standard Clip ? 😭😭😭
Definitely the Hardware is the winner😂
Hilo is the best open hight end smooth bass, Ash, TRacks, New Fangled, Kanzrog is the best, but best one i heard in my life was the Studer D19 mic preamp analog Tube Clipper, one of my friend had it, but he didn't know the value of the gear and he sold it out🤦🏽♂🤦🏽♂🤦🏽♂, i'm so angry to him.
My favorite clipper is PiMax
Newfangled saturate sounds the most superior by far. I think it sounded better than your converters
Glad you found your favourite ones. To be fair, I didn’t push my converters as much as I wished for this one ;)
I really didnt hear an audio Quality Jump between ASH and the Hilo...not hating very very beautiful Converter....but....its not a big enough difference between the two...to go spend 2800 more....now...I plan on purchasing a ART Tube Channel for Vocals an a SSL Fussion, and a better audio interface......MOTU and RME already have really good A/D coverters in them......thats a better way to spend 3000
Ash and Saturate !!! but Ash special for me top but and I'm surprised from saturate...
Saturate and ash rules software clipper but still the converter is god of clipping
UFF I LOVE THIS!
I like Dom Sigalas's films, he is a nice man, he has a lot of knowledge. I just wonder why he used children's music for the test? :). Regards
Because it's the mainstream music currently.
Well I always hate your reviews and I just do like it.. I love it and I hate u for it you are to good 👍.. ok back to being professional I love a cubase user and I'm going to watch this a few times before I download and audition these plugins .. you are my top 2 guy I go tooo
I think the Acustica Audio and Newfangled Saturate are the best ones. Some of the others have a weird pumping sound, or are doing something weird to the transient of the 808 that I don't like (almost like distorting the transient so making it sound distorted/clipped)
I think the Lyra2 is a pretty good clipper, especially for EDM/Techno stuff. But you already had a PrismSound emulation.
Other than that, the Merging Anubis should be worth checking out. It’s a very versatile unit with outstanding A/D (136dB (A) for Line Inputs) conversion and top D/A (123 dB (A), line and main outputs). These are not just numbers, these converters sound astonishing.
I have to say the HILO got the most transparent and natural sound. I like it the most, because it stays closest to the original.
One important thing, that came to my mind is that the track should be radio ready already before clipping to get the best results. Thanks Dom.
I have the Anubis - it does sound amazing 🙂
What does 'radio ready ' mean in this case?
I prefered Ash and Saturate
I like Acustica Audio ASH - its my go to clipper.
❤❤❤❤
schwabedigital Gold Clipper
Yes!!! Wasn’t available when I made this video :)
@@DomSigalas I'm a big fan of yours, however, I don't hear the difference between the 250 USD Schwabe & any of these other clippers you compared - they must be for very experienced sound engineers, not so much the entry-level riff-raff like myself?! In other words, it would be interesting, in your clips, if you added a footnote: "Unless you're an experienced sound engineer mastering tracks, I strongly suggest this cheaper version of ___________ would be more appropriate for starters" Cause I watch you clips - however, you're amazing, you swim in the deep end of the pool, what about those of us in the shallow end of the pool? Where do you draw the line for what's appropriate for your viewers who are not all a big fish like you?
@@fractionalistthank you my friend ❤ like I always say on my videos, if you’re not experienced stick with your stock plugins- they provide way more than most people will ever need.
I actually made a mastering course using just Cubase plugins for this very reason.
I would save the money and just learn the tools you have in your DAW before investing on plugins.
Do third party plugins make a difference? Many times they do! But I would train my ears first until I can appreciate what a third plugin has to offer 😊
@@DomSigalas Thank you~!
@@DomSigalas Schwabe is 20% off tomorrow for BF!
Ash sounded better, but sadly Acustica had very unpractical GUI for they plugins, Fire the Clip sounds great too but is very unpractical without graphic waveforms, often i use SIr Standard Clip or V-CLIP , they have practicals GUIs.
There is a new GUI version of ASH - Ash Ultra
Why would you compare them using different clip style everywhere. Hard clip, ~50/50 and soft clip are all sound different. Wouldn't it be more informative to compare how all these clippers do a hard clipping f.e.
Not all of them have these controls. I show how I use them to get the maximum loudness for the given program material ;)