In electronics and signal processing, full scale represents the maximum amplitude a system can represent.
In digital systems, a signal is said to be at digital full scale when its magnitude has reached the maximum representable value. Once a signal has reached digital full scale, all headroom has been utilized, and any further increase in amplitude will result in an error known as clipping. The amplitude of a digital signal can be represented in percent; full scale; or decibels, full scale (dBFS).
In analog systems, full scale may be defined by the maximum voltage available, or the maximum deflection (full scale deflection or FSD) or indication of an analog instrument such as a moving coil meter or galvanometer.