Professional Analog Mastering.
Professional Analog Mastering.
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Reflex limiter has a cool premise but makes actual limiting more difficult than it needs to be.
If you don’t engage the clipper, then maintaining the level without any overs is difficult.
The compress function is the limiter - it’s what establishes a brick wall ceiling.
The fastest setting with a hard knee acts like your traditional limiter. Varying the knee adds a mild soft-knee near the threshold.
Additionally, altering the timing adjusts the limiter’s response to dynamics - this is probably where the main issue lies since this will allow for peaks over the ceiling.
With the settings needed to limit the signal, we can observe heavy distortion. Oversampling helps, but not in any significant way.
Observing an oscilloscope, we’ll notice that the plugin is more or less creating a square wave.
Adjusting the compression time helps retain the waveform’s shape; however, this causes overs as I mentioned earlier.
All-in-all it will work, but it’s really more of a clipper - ideally, we want to see very little distortion and minimal alterations to the waveform’s shape.
Let’s take a quick listen to the limiter, and let me know if you’re hearing some of that distortion.
Watch the video to learn more >
This is the newest limiter on this list - it’s easy to download and install, and simple to use with a Wave L1-like design.
It behaves how you’d expect. The ceiling keeps the peaks from exceeding 0dB, and it responds immediately to changes in dynamics. So unlike Reflex Limiter, you won’t run into issues with peaks. Another benefit is the stereo function which lets you process the left and right collectively or separately.
The downside is the harmonic distortion, which is pretty aggressive but can be reduced with a longer release time.
An immediate release results in significant distortion though, so if you want a transparent sound, this isn't the best choice.
Looking at the oscilloscope, again, it looks like the plugin is clipping the signal more than its limiting.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but ideally, a limiter will limit by reducing the peak’s amplitude, and a clipper will clip.
A 200ms release time greatly reduces waveshaping, but some squaring off of the waveform is still present.
So, let’s take a listen to the limiter. To me, it sounds more like a clipper, but it’s a decent option.
Watch the video to learn more >
This has been a favorite of mine and a lot of other engineers for a while. When all of the modules are combined, it’s arguably one of the best-sounding limiters.
That said, if we’re looking solely at the limiting functions it performs well but not as well as the next 2 limiters on this list.
It doesn’t respond as immediately as expected from a limiter and introduces some mild modulation, but nothing extreme.
Also, we’ll notice that no waveshaping occurs, at least to the peaks - so the timbre of the original signal should be preserved when limiting with this one.
That said, waveshaping is likely occurring to lower amplitude aspects of the waveform since we’re achieving a decent amount of distortion.
1/2 and 1/3 speed settings counterintuitively increase the release time, which can be used to reduce the distortion at the expense of altering the ADSR.
Additionally, you’ll notice that the plugin offers a lot of flexibility, including a high-frequency limiter, 4 limiting modes, 5 limiting types, and oversampling.
So, all in all, it’s a great limiter that still holds up even if it was released a decade ago. But in terms of cleanly attenuating the signal there are some limiters that do a slightly better job.
Let’s take a listen to just the 2 limiting functions and let me know if you think this plugin still holds up.
Watch the video to learn more >
I want to put this one in first place, since I think it sounds the best of all the plugins here; however, I have to admit that may be subjective.
Also, installing this plugin and getting it to run on a newer OS is difficult, so keep that in mind.
Limiter One does a fantastic job handling dynamics - the waveform is left alone aside from being turned down, and changes in dynamics are handled cleanly and without any modulation.
The harmonic distortion is low in amplitude even if it looks significant. If anything, having dense harmonics this low in amplitude should do a great job covering the noise floor when it's amplified by the limiter.
As you noticed, there’s very little in the way of functionality. There’s a threshold with auto makeup gain, a ceiling setting, and a release that varies from 200ms to 500ms.
As you’d imagine the higher the release the lower the level of distortion.
So, it’s super simple, and does the job well and without any unwanted artifacts, clipping, or overs.
Let’s take a listen. Personally, this limiter always sounds super clear punchy to me, but let me know how it sounds to you.
Watch the video to learn more >
If you want to use a free limiter, this one is by far your best option.
It’s cleaner than Limiter One, yet it’s easy to install and download, so you won’t have to spend 30 minutes trying to trick your computer into running it.
Waveshaping is at a minimum - Only super-low frequencies are shaped, and even then it's mild.
For the low range and above, the level of distortion is likely below the threshold for hearing.
In terms of functionality, the input can be compensated, and normalized to a specific dB.
When dynamic changes occur, some mild modulation is present, but nothing significant. Additionally, the preserve function affects the release time, with longer times resulting in less distortion at the expense of some ADSR changes.
Unlike the other limiters that add harmonic distortion no matter what, this plugin includes a saturate function - meaning you can find the exact amount of distortion that suits your track.So, not only does it do the best job at limiting, it also lets you add imperfections if you want.
Whether you’re new to engineering, or you’ve been doing it for a while, I’d recommend installing this one. It truly is the best free limiter currently available.
Let’s take a listen, and let me know in the comments which limiter sounded the best to you.