Is this clipping?

[njc235]

My bass player runs our mixerr (A&H Qu16) and records everything.  My rig is guitar to Helix LT XLR mono to Bishopsound FRFR BO108 then mix out from the FRFR to the desk.  Last night he sent me this message and image:

 

Nick, I don't know if you are aware, but your guitar sound gives a very strange wave shape on the recordings. I actually have no idea how you get this shape other than putting a faulty diode in line with the input.

 

To me it looks like clipping on the +ve side of the waveform but surely it would clip on the -ve side too.

 

[Schmalle]

Not enough information. Listen to that track and / or take a look at the Helix patch that was used. 

[Scheol]

The waveform looks a lot like clipping. At the loudest parts, the usual peaks are missing, it’s just a straight line. That’s typically clipping. The second possibility would be extremely heavy compression combined with a brickwall limiter. During the loudness wars, many songs looked like that. But that doesn’t happen by accident; it’s intentional. I would drastically reduce the input signal.

As a guideline, you can try setting a track’s level to around -6 dB or -12 dB. Both work great. That keeps you on the safe side. If you set the track fader to 0 dB in Reaper and the meter lights up red, you’re clipping. -6 dB is more than enough. The final loudness is achieved during mastering or optionally in the mix. You don’t need to force the track up to 0 dB. That will only give the person doing the mix a headache. All the best, and good luck!