I’m wondering why the shape of my Recording is like this? What is the cause of that ‘‘un-symetric’’ wave shape and can it hide any issues from my gear?
Thanks for your input!
This picture is a Recording of the ST going in the EHX Platform and then in my Audio Interface (MOTU 828 ES)
This picture is ST straight in my Audio Interface.
I tried to google it because I think this is an interesting topic. This may provide some explanation:
“When you see one half of the waveform having greater amplitude than the other, that is a visual representation of the effect of 2nd-order harmonic distortion.”
Isn’t it phase issues? Genuinely unsure. 
it’s the DC-amount.
You can filter this with Lives utility Device… select DC.
You could also apply a lowpass.
It’s from your hardware according to your second picture.
Nothing to worry about.
Which Utility? Thanks!
it’s an audio effect called utility
Ok, I got it. Now, do I only have to enable DC like on this picture?
I think you mean a high pass filter here.
DC offset is dead center offset usually caused by some unwanted very low frequency content that shifts the waveform away from the dead centre / zero amplitude average.
It can be a problem because it can cause clipping/overloads in the signal chain so you should usually attempt to address it.
Here’s a quick video that explains it fairly well:
Thank you @shigginpit!
‘’ If the bottom half of the waveform is the only one getting compressed, then the gain reduction is “asymetrical”. This is the same thing that class A tube amplifiers tend to do.
It ususally is considered a good thing when overdriving an amplifier, as asymetrical clipping gives you more even-order harminics that sound more musical. When the tops and bottoms of the waveform are both truncated, you get more odd order harmonics that tend to sound “harsh”.
Can this explains it?
Highpass indeed
…yup…that looks like a classic dc offset…
Hmmm. I thought it was second order harmonics too.
Are you by chance using a tube pre-amp? I know it’s a longshot. I’m not experienced enough to give you a 100% confident answer, but I was thinking that if the waveform is a representation of the actual electricity and the balance of that wave (like you’d see on an oscilloscope) is unbalanced, then the quote might be close to the truth.
It is clearly the EHX Platform causing this.
I just had a look at the ehx platform page, it does not give much technical spec, but I think it’s safe to say that is correct.
The buffer maybe? in bypass mode?
I have an EHX Platform too - only got it recently and have not done any recording yet. I’ll have a look later myself to see if I can shed any further light on the matter.
Weird thing. During recording, when I increase the Volume of the Drive circuit or the Main, the wave tends to realign symetrically.
No.
Platform is also known to cut off frequencies above 15-16kHz.
Yes, I’m aware of this fact. We did discuss it few years ago with some visual graphics. Do you think this may cause the shape of the wave?
