In the music production world, clippers are key tools for enhancing audio signals. However, it is important to find the right one and use it properly to prevent the ruin of your audio.
So, a good producer or audio engineer should know how to use a clipper and how to choose one to sculpt the audio with precision.
So, today, we will get into the world of Clipper plugins. I will give some tips on using them properly and choosing the right one for your project.
How do clipper plugins work?
Clipper plugins' main role is to control the dynamic range of audio signals. We often use them to prevent distortion, manage peaks, and add punch or warmth to a track.
Actually, clippers work like dynamic processors as they clip or trim down the loudest peaks of audio signals. So, they are used to flatten the audio signal to the desired threshold.
In more technical terms, a clipper trims down a waveform's bottom and top peaks. When the input signal reaches the adjusted threshold, the clipper trims the wave to keep the output signal in the defined amplitude range.
- Preventing Distortion and Protecting Mix Levels: In most cases, I use the clippers to prevent unwanted distortion in the signal. I use them to control the peaks of the audio; otherwise, the track would be pushed into digital clipping, which, in turn, sounds unpleasant and harsh. Clippers simply cut off peaks and give an aggressive and punchy sound while keeping levels in order.
- Adding Punch and Saturation: I also use clippers when I want to add more harmonic saturation to the sound. Clipping off extreme peaks makes the sound harmonically rich, making drums, bass, and other elements sound warmer or punchier. This results in a denser and fuller sound.
- Preserving Dynamics While Maximizing Loudness: I also use clippers to increase the overall loudness of a track without overly compressing it, where it loses its dynamics and richness. As clippers trim the sound, not compress it, the track can get louder without losing the dynamics. This is great for loud genres like electronic or metal music.
- Customization and Control: I like that clipper plugins allow you to adjust the clipping threshold, the softness or the hardness of the clipping, and saturation characteristics. Even some clippers have the feature of multi-band processing, where each frequency band can be clipped individually, giving even more precise control.
1. Schwabe Digital Gold Clip
I am starting with the most expensive plugin on the list: Gold Clip. Ryan Schwabe’s clipper comes with some special features that make the plugin stand out.
First, I must say that the user interface of this plugin is pretty well-designed and has an intuitive approach. Even if you don’t know anything about clippers, the waveform graph and the easy controls will let you realize what this plugin does in a few minutes.
What I like about the Gold Clip is that it basically comes with two Lavry mastering converters in three modes: Modern, Classic, and Hard. For me, the Gold Knob is a great addition, which adds a special kind of compression to increase the loudness of the tracks but leaves the peaks and transients untouched.
Another feature I enjoyed was the Alchemy knob, which acts like a rehash to reduce the harmony effects of clipping. So, it adds a soothing effect to the track. There is also the Boxtone button to roll off the high-end frequencies at the top of the mix. I use this when I want a less digital sound. The clip clock allows users to see where the highest point of clipping takes place on the track, a parallel mixer to adjust the wet and dry signal percentages, and, finally, an A comparison to compare different settings.
I found the hard clipper mode to be the most transparent sounding. It directly chops away the tops of the waveforms and gives the sound a bit of an edge. I would use the modern box tone to remove the harsh edges the clipping adds. It is a good choice for those who want a smooth-sounding mix. I think combining that with the hard clipper creates a good mix, and you can experiment with the Gold knob for compression.
I don’t like the classic mode, as it sounds pretty aggressive for my taste. I think the plugin works great with drums, but I would recommend that you go with the modern box tone instead of the classic. That way, you can create pretty big-sounding drum sounds. Hard clipper combined with the modern box tone gives a great drum tone, and you can play with Wet and Dry knobs to create different drum sounds.
In short, Gold Clip is an expensive but pretty good and handy plugin. I would use it on mixed buses, especially when I would like an extra bit of loudness and warmth. There are great clippers for more affordable prices, but the extra features the Gold Clip has add a unique touch to your sound.
The plugin is available in VST3 and AAX formats for Windows, while it is in AU, VST3, and AAX formats for Mac users.
2. Plugin Boutique DualClip
If you like cost-effective plugins like me, DualClip is worth checking out. Its simple design and get-the-job-done attitude catch the ear.
First, I must say this clipper is especially for those who like analog-style warmth and saturation. It gives the instruments a nice presence and character, which I think is the most successful part of the plugin.
So, the user interface is pretty basic, with the classic clipper control knobs and a waveform graph. I love how simple and intuitive the plugin is, as it has soft and hard clipper modes with its controls. The soft clipper has Drive, Curve, Smooth, and Mix controls, while the hard clipper features Crush, Breach, Soften, and Mix knobs.
Here, I should point out the Curve control for the soft clipper as it brilliantly shifts the clipper’s focus on high or low frequencies, which is pretty handy. In the hard clipper mode, which I like more as it gives a heavier, bit-crushing distortion type, the crush knob is the most important control for distortion amount control.
I also love the final touch with Color options, as it gives you warm, clean, or bright color options to finetune the overall sound of the plugin. It also has three transient modes to enhance the transients in the low, mid, or high frequencies.
Finally, I use the built-in brick wall limiter as the final step in the signal chain, as it keeps the overall signal level in check. Also, if you don’t want to adjust the controls by yourself due to laziness or lack of experience, it comes with 75 presets to try out. And some of them I found, especially the drum presets, sound pretty ok.
While DualClip is not the best clipper out there, for the price range, it is one of the best, without a doubt. It allows you to create good mixes easily and without breaking the bank.
Plugin Boutique DualClip is available in VST, VST3, AU, AAX, and Standalone formats.
3. Signum Audio SKYE Clipper
If you like different clipping types like me, I recommend looking at SKYE Clipper, which has 7 different clipping styles to help control peaks, add loudness to your mix, or add saturation to your audio.
One of the first things I look at in a Clipper plugin is the versatility. In that sense, I use SKYE Clipper as it is a Swiss-knife-style clipper that you can use for taming a snare, creating punchy drums, bus processing, or adding texture to a synthesizer.
The plugin has the so-called sophisticated proprietary real-time anti-aliasing algorithms. But don’t let the name fool you; the user interface is quite sleek and easy to use. The interface features a waveform graph, a clipping-type shape graph, and four knobs, including pre-gain, threshold, post-gain, and mix, along with the clipper-type control. I really enjoyed using the graph as you can zoom in and out easily, and it has a memory to go back and see the gain reduction and clipping history.
I recommend using the SKYE clipper in single tracks as it features so many clipper-type variations. For example, when using it with snares, first find the threshold to decide the gain reduction you want and then add some post-gain to it until you reach the sound you like. I use the hard clipper mode for single tracks, and for mix busses, I use the soft clipper to adjust the details.
For example, for the whole drum set, I used the soft clipper and added some pre-gain, which is linked to the post-gain to protect the sound level, and then you can turn the link off and adjust the post-gain to create a bit of headroom without losing any loudness.
For mastering situations, my favorite mode is the warm clipper mode, as it gives the tape saturation effect to the sound. My advice would be to go with the motto “less is more” when using this plugin for mastering. So, subtle touches of clipping will be more than enough. Otherwise, the clipping can cause overshoots in your track. You can also use a peak brick wall limiter after the clipper in the signal chain to avoid this issue.
Finally, you can also use it as a sound design tool to add saturation to your tracks. Bright saturator mode with its softness control is great for this job. So, if you want a joker-type clipper to use in different parts of your project, I believe SKYE Clipper would be a good choice.
Signum Audio SKYE Clipper comes in VST, VST3, AU, and AAX for Mac and Windows.
4. Big Clipper 2
Boz Millar’s Big Clipper 2 sits more on the hybrid distortion effect side and combines the clipper and tube saturation stage.
When I want a clipper to do more than general-purpose clipping and use it for more creative processing, I tend to use plugins like Big Clipper 2. The two-stage plugin can be connected in series, parallel, or divided at an adjustable crossover frequency. My favorite is when it has the clipper on the low band and the tube on the top end, which results in a great analog-style saturation with clipping.
I found the user interface of Big Clipper 2 to be different than other clippers on the list. It does not feature a waveform graph to see how and where the clipping occurs. This makes sense, as the goal of this plugin is more on the saturation effect side than the clipping. The UI does not particularly amaze me and is basically just some knobs.
It has the Push and Pull knobs working in sync to control the input and output gain. But where I like to play is the Top and Bottom knobs. It adjusts the shapes of the top and bottom waveform, giving you a variety of different tones. I also like the Bias slider as it shifts the drive amount in the desired direction. I found the Heft knob to be pretty useful when you want to adjust the meat in your tone.
The Blend and Distortion knobs are also great, as I can easily blend the soft tube distortion and mellow the harmonics with these knobs.
The thing I like about this plugin is that it comes with a clipper and a variable distortion circuit that can also be in multiple different orders with the clipper. With the distortion set to zero, you can use it like a 2-band clipper, which works okay. But it shines when you start experimenting with the distortion. I would use the clipper part without distortion, especially on snare drums. I tried The clipper-distortion combination with bass and was impressed with the tone quality and versatility.
So, to anyone who wants a clipper with a nice analog character and distortion, I recommend checking out Big Clipper 2.
Big Clipper 2 comes in VST, VST3, AU, AAX, and RTAS for Mac and Windows.
5. Softube Clipper
For those searching for a clipper with a strong character and interesting adjustment options, Softube Clipper gets the job done.
Softube is one of my favorite plugin makers, and one of their latest releases, the Clipper, does not disappoint. The first thing I must say is that this is not just a simple clipper, as it adds its own quirky sound character. So, if you are searching for a transparent clipper, you can skip this one.
The sonic character of the plugin emphasizes the 3rd harmonic distortion even with the low signals. So, I can say this is more like a mojo plugin than a basic clipper.
The one thing I didn’t like was that the Clipper has 4x oversampling, but it does minimum phase filtering, which creates a phase shift. So, I would not use this to clip things on a parallel bus, as phase shifts can be troublesome.
However, what I found to be the most interesting part of this plugin was the RMS section. I think it is highly useful in many scenarios. It has a pretty wide knee that affects the signal even when the headroom is set to the top. It is designed to shape the sound before it arrives at the clipper, and it does a superb job.
I like to use the RMS softly on the bass and low-frequency ranges. This way, it does not interfere with the clipping. This section truly makes the Clipper stand out. You can also use it to tame things alone, even without the clipper.
Finally, the user interface consists of a graph and many sliders as controls on the side. I am sure it is pretty intuitive and easy to use for anyone.
I would use Softube Clipper for drum mix buses as it gives a nice color to the sound and successfully tames the top and bottom ends. In general, I think it is a pretty interesting plugin to try out, especially with its RMS section.
The plugin is available in VST3 and AAX formats for Windows, while it is in AU, VST3, and AAX formats for Mac users.
6. Yum Audio Crispy Clip
When simple clipping is not enough, and you are after versatile sound shaping capabilities and extreme clipping control, then comes the CrispyClip with its revolutionary clipper design.
I love it when I can take full control over an effect in a plugin. That is why Crispy Clip is one of my favorite clippers. It gives you so much control over how you want your clipping to happen.
For me, the standout feature is the clever crossover function, which allows you to have the clipping just on the lower or higher end instead of the whole audio spectrum. You can choose the frequency you want the clipping to happen to make the Crispy Clip work more precisely. Plus, I think the Solo button is a great touch as it allows you to hear the exact frequency of clipping.
The plugin gives you two options: You can push your audio up to 48 dB, which is great for achieving specific loudness on, for example, master buses. The next one is to lower the ceiling up to -48 dB. This technique can reduce sharp transients for individual tracks without losing dynamics.
The user interface features a waveform graph to see the clipping points, along with digital and analog metering. It is a nice design with an aesthetically pleasing look and an intuitive control design. It does not have many controls to make things complicated, just the right ones to give you a big amount of tonal options with Mix, Push, and Ceiling knobs, Crossover choices with the exact frequency box, as well as Pre-filter and Oversampling buttons.
It is a great clipper to use with drums, as you can add nice beef to the lows and lows of the drums. Reduce the Ceiling knob to around -20 and the Push knob to around -10. Of course, the exact parameters would depend on the loudness of the drums, but the idea is to narrow the Ceiling and give the sound a boost with the Push. Put the Crossover section to Low, around 800 Hz, and you will get a drum sound with a juicy low end.
So, I like Crispy Clip as it gives you plenty of control over different frequencies to clip precisely.
Crispy Clip comes in VST3 and AAX formats for Windows and AU, VST3, and AAX formats for Mac users.
7. Brainworx bx_clipper
bx_clipper by Plugin Alliance is there to check all the boxes an audio engineer needs from a clipper.
So, I have to start with the great user interface of bx_clipper. It has an elegant design with many options. It has the Wave, Graph, and Knee displays to see where the clipping is happening. And I love that we have it separately for the left and right sides. You have the controls underneath the graphs, which I will explain now.
So, you have the Knee knob with FET for softer and Diode for harsher clipper modes. There is a Ceiling knob and an auto button to adjust it automatically. Furthermore, there are the classic Input, Mix, and Output knobs and an Autotrim control with a dB box. But, the good thing is you have the same controls separately for the Left and Right sides. In the middle, you have the link option to sync both sides and an Ambience button to hear the clipped-out parts.
I found it pretty useful that the clipper offers smooth and natural clipping using FET mode as well as edgy distortion using Diode mode. Also, I think avoiding hard-clipping with Auto Ceiling while using a soft-clipping range is great for many occasions, such as when using it on aggressive beats. It is a kind of chameleon clipper that can increase the loudness while maintaining clarity or give edgy saturation with character.
Also, I like to take advantage of the Ambience and use it as a gate for some beats. It makes the beat from your DAW sound like it was created by a drum synth from the 90’s or 80’s, which is pretty cool. You can put the ceiling around 8 dB and the knee around 4 to 5 and work with the shaved-off partitions with the Ambience. It works wonders for house and hip-hop tracks.
All in all, I think bx_clipper is probably the most versatile clipper on the list. It is a bit pricey for a clipper, but what you get is more than just a simple clipper with bx_clipper.
Brainworx bx_clipper comes in AU, VST2, VST3, and AAX formats for Mac and Windows.
Last Words
So, here are the 7 of the best Clipper plugins that you can go for today. All of these clippers serve for different budgets, purposes, and workflows. Some have wider areas of use than the rest, and some are more like “do one thing but do it good” plugins.
If you have the budget, I highly recommend the Schwabe Digital Gold Clip for its precise, professional, and versatile design. For value-for-money, I would suggest Plugin Boutique DualClip, which is a simple clipper with a transparent sound to get the job done.
Hope you found this article helpful and enjoy these plugins in your workflow.
