- On-Screen Keyboards
- External Instruments
- Choosing a GB Instrument
- Recording Options
- Recording a Track
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Preventing Clipping
Before you export your song, you need to make sure that the volume is set at the proper level. If the volume is too high, clipping (a snapping noise) may surface intermittently throughout the song.
Clipping occurs for two main reasons: the volume of a Real Instrument track is too high while recording, or the master volume of the song is too high. Every volume meter in GarageBand has a "clipping meter": the red indicator lights on the right end of the meter. If these light up, that track or the overall song may encounter clipping when it is exported.
If you are experiencing clipping in your recorded Real Instrument tracks, lower the track volume in the track information bar before you begin recording.
You may also need to lower your microphone's input volume. This can be accomplished by moving the microphone farther away from you or by adjusting the Input volume in the System Preferences - Sound window (see Recording - External Instruments).
Check the volume slider in the lower right corner of the GarageBand window to see if your song as a whole has a clipping problem. If so, you can lower the overall volume of the song. If this isn't an option (perhaps certain tracks would be too quiet), you can lower the volume at specific points in the song where distortion is occurring.
To do this, go to the Track menu and select Show Master Track. Now, a Master Volume line will appear at the bottom of your song.
Add volume automation points to the line, just as we did with the volume pan example in the last section. Now, you can adjust the volume at the points where it is clipping without having to interfere with the sections that are not distorted.
For more information about clipping and how it can be prevented/resolved, look up the "Preventing Clipping" topic in the GarageBand Help menu. Also available on Apple.com Support.
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Preventing Clipping
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