Clipping is inconsistent

[mashers]

Hi all

This is something I've struggled with for a long time but only just thought to ask about. I often find that when listening to a track in Reason, I'll spot the clip warning go off and then backtrack to the part where the clip warning occurred. I always go back a few bars to make sure I get the decay of anything that came before it, but I find that I am not always able to reproduce the clipping reliably. In the case which has just happened, there was audible clipping too, but when I replayed that part neither the clip warning nor the audible clip occurred. I don't understand how this is possible and why it would happen. It makes maximising volume really difficult. Any ideas?

[rcbuse]

It really depends on what material you have. If you are summing just straight audio tracks, those should be consistent. If you have a bunch of MIDI driven synths or effects, those could vary slightly different between each playback due to all the different internal device phases.

[mashers]

Ahh, that could explain it. I have a variety of audio tracks for vocals, and a range of different Reason devices. I hadn't considered they might be starting from a slightly different point in their run loop when you start playback. That would potentially explain it. Thanks!

[MrFigg]

Yeah thanks from me too. Wondered the same thing on more than one occasion.