Clippers / measured

Classic Clipper

IK Multimedia · VST3

6.8/10 Measured score · Measured passband + path · how scored

Passband flatness

2.0/10

±5.36 dB · scored

Clipping (harmonic)

4.858%

notable · character, by design

Noise

10.0/10

< floor · scored

Clipping action

-131 dB

minimal · character, by design

Latency

73 smp

factual · not scored

On the bench

48 kHz · 512-block · offline · same procedure for every plugin
Magnitude responsestepped sine, −12 dBFS
2026-07-17T18:06:35.517964 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.10.9, https://matplotlib.org/

Output level vs. frequency.

Even below the clipping point it tilts your tone by up to ±5.4 dB, so it is not perfectly clean before it clips.

Distortion vs level1 kHz, THD / THD+N
2026-07-17T18:06:35.622376 image/svg+xml Matplotlib v3.10.9, https://matplotlib.org/

THD   THD+N. THD is the trustworthy figure; THD+N is method-floor-limited at low levels.

At full level it makes 4.9% harmonics as it clips — that added edge is the clipping doing its job, not a fault.

Latency, reported
73 smp
Latency, measured
73 smp (matches)
Onset
57 smp
Noise floor
below measurement floor
Linearity residual
-131.2 dB (1000 Hz, -12/-18 dBFS)
Processing cost
not measured

Its own background hiss is below what the bench can even measure, so it adds no noise you would hear.

It treats quiet and loud the same (within -131 dB), so its color does not shift with how hard you push it.

It delays the audio by 73 samples (1.5 ms at 48 kHz) and reports that delay, so your DAW lines it back up.


What these measurements mean

read from the numbers above · clipper

On the bench it behaves like a clipper, scoring 6.8/10 on staying clean below the clip point and on a quiet signal path; the clipping itself is reported as character. Even below the clipping point it tilts your tone by up to ±5.4 dB, so it is not perfectly clean before it clips. At full level it makes 4.9% harmonics as it clips — that added edge is the clipping doing its job, not a fault. Its own background hiss is below what the bench can even measure, so it adds no noise you would hear. It treats quiet and loud the same (within -131 dB), so its color does not shift with how hard you push it. It delays the audio by 73 samples (1.5 ms at 48 kHz) and reports that delay, so your DAW lines it back up.

Measured score 6.8/10 — below-threshold passband flatness and signal-path noise (the clipping itself is the function, shown as character, not graded). How scoring works.


What people report

sourced sentiment · in our words, not a bench measurement
7.0/10 reviews, blogs & user discussion, 5 sources · a separate figure from the measured score

Consistently praised

  • Reviewers find it quick to learn — just gain, slope, and output plus gain-reduction and output metering, so most people get going without reading a manual.
  • Several writeups note it tames peaks through clipping rather than limiting, which they describe as a cleaner way to hold down levels for loudness, especially on the master bus.
  • Beyond level control, users and the maker point to its second job: pushing gain while pulling output adds harmonic saturation that can thicken a thin snare or bass and give a flat track more presence.
  • It has been handed out free on a perpetual license more than once, so a lot of people picked it up without paying the usual price.

Common criticism

  • The recurring forum complaint is the installer: grabbing the one free plugin forces a download of the entire multi-gigabyte T-RackS suite through Product Manager, with no per-plugin choice.
  • Users on that thread also report no uninstaller for the bundled extras, leaving them to delete unwanted plugins by hand, and any update means re-downloading the whole suite again.
  • One reviewer judged it not worth buying on its own, suggesting the full mastering suite or a different module makes more sense at the standalone price.
  • Notes that it suits mastering and final-stage level control more than general mixing duties, and that the T-RackS modules can lean on CPU.

A review score is shown only when at least two independent sources — published reviews or genuine user discussion — return usable text. Launch or announcement coverage alone does not qualify, so some plugins read N/A here while still carrying a full measured score above.


How it sits in clippers

measured score + bench figures, then the sourced review score (separate, N/A if unscored) · alphabetical · not ranked
PluginMeasured /10Mag devMax THDLatencyNoiseReview /10
BSAClipper10.0±0.1 dB0.004%0 smp<floor7.4
Classic Clipper6.8±5.4 dB4.858%73 smp<floor7.0
Gold Clip9.9±0.1 dB1.748%764 smp−1978.3
Orange Clip10.0±0.0 dB3.645%124 smp<floorN/A
Sponsored · not a measurement

This lane is separate from measured results

No promoted plugins here. Anything in this lane is labeled and never affects the bench numbers or the order plugins appear in.