Although audio compression is often an indispensable tool in analog recording, it can present problems in the digital domain. If you compress an input signal at a very high ratio, you create a signal that contains a much higher overall power level compared to its transients. By recording a number of such signals at the highest possible level on multiple tracks, you create a scenario that is more likely to clip the mixed output signal.
High-power compressed signals, when mixed together, create an extremely high-level output. This output may rise above the full-code level, resulting in clipping.
To avoid this problem, watch the overall level of your program material—use a meter on a Master Fader, or use an external mastering deck’s meters to help identify clipping. If you are mastering to hard disk, avoid mixing full-code audio signals together at unity or “0” level, as this invariably causes clipping.