[TimoteusR]

Thanks Dmxtools. Nice explanation. Clipping can occur in any amplifier. It can happen on your mic preamp, buss amp or power amp. Clipping basicly happens when you ask an amplifier to do more than it can. Turning up the "band" controls or equalizers as they are called by the pros (hi,mid,lo) can ask the amp to do more than it can. You should always (Remember, exception proves the rule) cut with eq as opposed to boosting. Be especially careful of boosting the extreme low (and high) end. You might not hear a change, as the speaker will not produce any sound at these frequencys (like asking your sx300 to produce 30hz) but it surely will heat up the speaker as it trys to.

Do you know how to setup proper gain structure?


If you could provide more info on your setup, we could help more. here are a couple of questions.

What model speakers are you using?
What is the make and model of your amplifier?
Is there a mixer, if yes what make and model?
Are there any other outboards such as effects or graphic eq's?
Any mics or di's?
What kind of cabling?
How much power, or how big circuit brakers are you using?
Any specific problems other than tweeters blowing?

If you go with the light bulb trick, be sure to cover it up, and/or tell others about it. There's a story on LAB about a fellow, who was a little drunk, that got scared and ran away when he saw the lamp light. He thought the monitor wedge was possesed by demons...


Ok, I re-read your post's and i would like to clear something up. Clipping happens when your amp (be it pre, buss or power) can't produce what it is asked to do. This happens to the whole signal (the amp doesn't sort the signal based on what frequencies it has. It does it's things to the whole signal). The "wave controls" (EQ) separet the signal into different bands and you can amplify them separetely. So turning some bands completely off will not cause clipping. It will just make the sound suck most times. BUT boosting any one of those controls might cause clipping. If any red lights are flashing, you are nearing the clipping point. Indicators marked PEAK are usually used.


One way to demonstrate clippping is to use a piezo and a 440hz (A) signal. You can also use this to check for proper gain structure. Just put the signal through your mixer (with amps off or speakers disconnected, the sound get's annoing after a while). Then put everything on the channel your feeding the signal to to 0db. then connect your piezo to your mixer outs. Now turn the gain up on the channel trim until you hear a "sound" from the piezo.

--
TImoteus Ruotsalainen