limiting on the output in the DAW world

DinosaurSR · Post by **DinosaurSR** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 5:40 pm

I record in Cubase and mix everything "in the box," and while I've gotten progressively better at getting everything to sit together nicely, I find that I'm constantly hitting 0 db and I have to back everything off. While I've changed my tracking and pre-mixing habits, it's still an issue.

I'd like to put a limiter on the final stereo output of my project as I mix, so that I won't have to worry about going over and can focus more on the actual sound of my mix. What do you suggest (VST-wise) for this? What settings seem to provide a natural and uncolored sound while taming the peaks? I tried the "Vanilla Compressor" and the included "Dynamics" VST effect in limiter mode, but both tend to color the sound and the Vanilla tends to pump and wheeze at the drop of a hat when used on the whole mix.

The Scum · Post by **The Scum** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 9:27 pm

I've got 2 things to suggest:

Try changing your technique a little. Stop trying to make the mix really loud while you're mixing. Concentrate on getting the balances right, and keep the levels reasonable. Turn the monitors up if it need to be louder. Err on the side of caution, and let things be a little low.

If you're working with a mastering engineer, stop here.

Otherwise, take that file and reprocess it, and concentrate solely on loudness. Clip it, shred it, compress, limit, whatever. Get it to tame the peaks without damaging the rest of the track.

And there are other plugs out there worth a try. A google search for "free VST compressor" yields lots of results. Here are a few I've used before:

http://www.yohng.com/w1limit.html
http://www.gvst.co.uk/gmulti.htm
http://www.soundhack.com/freeware.php

b3groover · Post by **b3groover** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 7:23 am

http://www.kjaerhusaudio.com/classic-master-limiter.php

chris harris · Post by **chris harris** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 8:17 am

pull down the master fader?

qball · Post by **qball** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 8:34 am

subatomic pieces wrote:pull down the master fader?

Bingo!

JamesHE · Post by **JamesHE** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 7:47 pm

better yet pull down ALL the track faders by a db or 3. Give the mix buss some room. your mixes will sound better too.

pandatone · Post by **pandatone** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 9:24 pm

indeed. i was under the impression, its better to pull all your faders down verse pulling down your mix / buss fader.. its some math related thing. not my teritory.
but these days if i have hot tracks.. i use a trim plugin to knock them down like 5 DB or so before i start adding plugins.. most of my faders (lets say on about a 32 track song) sit only half way up or less.. and i'm probably still hitting the top of my mix fader. but i think it does sound more open to hit tracks with gain reduction! before adding plugs and summing.. maybe its just in my head. but it works for me.

panda.

farview · Post by **farview** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 8:11 am

You can pull down the master fader. The culpret is probably compressor plugins with too much makeup gain. I very rarely run into this problem, but since I route everything through groups, I can just turn down the 6 or 7 group faders a few db and everything works out.

kronosonic · Post by **kronosonic** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 9:17 am

b3groover wrote:http://www.kjaerhusaudio.com/classic-master-limiter.php

+1

Excellent plug

inverseroom · Post by **inverseroom** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 10:43 am

It is a good plug, but I would get your levels under control before you slap something on the bus during mixing.

Once I've got a rough mix of a song, I like to put Voxengo Elephant on the master for some instant punch when I render it...but later, when I mix for real, I do it with nothing on there.

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limiting on the output in the DAW world

limiting on the output in the DAW world

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