Clipping

Both analog and digital media have an upper limit beyond which they can no longer accurately represent amplitude. Analog clipping (or overdrive or distortion) varies in quality depending on the medium. A tube amplifier, for example, has a much warmer distortion than a solid state amplifier. In each case the upper amplitudes are being altered, distorting the waveform and changing the timbre, but the alterations are slightly different. Digital clipping, in contrast, is always the same. Once an amplitude of 1111111111111111 (the maximum value in a 16 bit resolution) is reached, no higher amplitudes can be represented. The result is not the smooth, rounded flattening of analog clipping, but a harsh slicing of off the top of the waveform, and an unpleasant timbral result.