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I've recently recorded a choir. The choir was singing very loud and the recording sounds badly where high or loud notes are heard, perhaps because the microphone didn't support such loudness or frequencies. What filter should I apply to remove or diminish this effect?

Listen to a sample of my recording

Thank you.

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  • I'm not sure it's a duplicate. When asked, he didn't know that this is clipping. Now he knows and can research the topic. This question can direct people to the clipping issue.
    – Eugene S
    May 6, 2013 at 2:52
  • @EugeneS Even when closed, this duplicate question will still direct people to the other clipping question.
    – Friend Of George
    May 6, 2013 at 14:29
  • @FriendOfGeorge Thanks. I thought it will become invisible.. In that case, what is the added value of closing questions? If they are still available..
    – Eugene S
    May 6, 2013 at 14:38
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    @EugeneS For duplicates, closing the question points everyone to one main question. That way any new answers go there and gives future viewers a better chance of getting a great answer.
    – Friend Of George
    May 6, 2013 at 14:47

2 Answers 2

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Your mic is ok. What you hear is called Audio Clipping. Clipping limits a signal once it exceeds a certain threshold of signal values representation.

You can also find some explanation here.

Unfortunately, when clipping introduced - the original signal is not reconstructable.

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  • But at least how could I make the recording less painful for the ear?
    – Petru Dimitriu
    May 5, 2013 at 15:59
  • You might be able to EQ away some of the painful harmonics. But your best bet will be to re-record with lower levels and/or a compressor next time.
    – ObscureRobot
    May 5, 2013 at 16:38
  • Unfortunately I'm using a cell phone with a good mic but no settings whatsoever.
    – Petru Dimitriu
    May 5, 2013 at 19:48
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Definitely clipping and a poor quality mp3 - was that the mp3 taken from your phone?

Clipping is destructive - you lose information that is basically impossibly to recover. I tried a 5-band multiband compressor on the recording but it is so poor quality i gave up after a minute.

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  • Yes, it was taken from my phone... you cannot expect to have super-high quality sound from a cellphone; but for me it's satisfactory, apart from the clipping problem
    – Petru Dimitriu
    May 6, 2013 at 9:20
  • Is there any way you can find a setting in your phone to improve the mp3 bit-rate - your bandwidth is limited to 8kHz and assuming you can reduce the input levels the bit-rate is quite a problem too.
    – Andy aka
    May 6, 2013 at 10:35

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