Which brickwall mastering limiter?

[hibidy]

Well, I have to disagree with AC about that eareckon. I can't use it. It's pumpy, funky, and I can't figure out how to get any gain out of it. If anyone has any tricks that can get it to work right I'll give it another go.

@IK BWL: Even with it not adding any gain I'm getting a pumpy thing that TBH I never noticed before. I don't like to push the limiter output, I just want something to tame the few peaks I miss in a mix.

[wesleyt]

I agree re IK BWL; I could never get it to sound good. I think its sweet spot is program-specific, and I've not yet tried it on the right content.

Re Elephant: I sound design and mix into it, never intentionally pushing it - it's just there to protect me from mistakes. Regarding limiters, it is my first love.

For mastering/finalizing, I use Pro-L. On very rare occasions, I use Elephant instead. The new EL-4 algorithm is really, really good; if I didn't already have an love Pro-L, I think Elephant would be sufficient.

Why do I have both? Pro-L was so much better than EL-3, which was the best Elephant offered when I started mastering.

Re bx_XL and PSP Xenon, I have experience with neither. My gut tells me they're both worthy, and very different from each other and Elephant. They're worth your time to do research on (read KVR reviews, search the Effects forum for relevant threads) and to do your own comparison tests.

I don't think there's an easy answer. It depends on your mastering style and the music you're mastering. Enjoy the process.

[hibidy]

You know, I was going to demo the waves and never did (all of them) and now I don't even know if any of them are on sale.

[PatchAdamz]

I agree re IK BWL; ....PSP Xenon, I have experience with neither. My gut tells me they're both worthy...

PSP Xenon seems to be underrated.

It has a pleasantly analog sound but retains its clarity and is very musical.

[lacandon]

Tried almost all possible my favs are Barricade,Oxford ,MCDSP and the multi band from Brainworx.Pro L never did it for me when pushed sounds ugly..Slate never ever grew on me as well...The Uad Precision is not bad but start pumping ugly when pushed

[ftech]

I tried a few recently (WaveArts, Flux and Sonnox) and I went with the Sonnox, and I got it bundled with Inflator for a ridiculously good price at JRR Shop.

[krandr]

Hi.
I have bx_XL2.

Before buying I've compared it with :
1. Waves L1 (3/5)
2. eareckon Free Limit (3/5)
3. IK limiters (1/5)
4. Cubase BW Limiter (3/5)
5. valdg L6 (3/5)
6. Limiter One (4/5) (http://www.kvraudio.com/product/limiter ... ry/details)
7. bx_limiter (4/5)

My winners are:
1. bx_XL2 (4/5) (cons: high latency ~3000 samples)
2. bx_limiter (4/5) (cons: high CPU usage - waiting for bx_limiter V2)
2. Limiter One (4/5) (cons: ceil only -6dB, )

[hibidy]

I wonder if the waves L3-16 is worth 170 bucks? I guess I'll demo it this weekend. Honestly though, I'm kinda tired of demoing things But that is a "good price" for that limiter if it's kick ass. I'm worried about the latency though with all the linear phase malarkey. Especially in live where that can be an issue even further.

[codec_spurt]

Heebie Jeebies.

We are just going round in circles here.

Instead of my repeating myself, let me narrow it down:

LoudMax

http://www.kvraudio.com/product/loudmax-by-thomas-mundt

Hell, I even donated, and so should you if you use it.

I've got some amazing limiters. Don't need any more. Spent good money on them.

But LoudMax is clear/clean/transparent with massive amounts of gain reduction - I mean silly! It is super light and can be used per track if you want. Nice GUI too.

[hibidy]

Not everyone reads every single post, stuff gets missed, some people like discussing it

Thanks for the suggestion though. Not sure why I didn't notice it before.

[monkeymanx]

After going back and forth I have settled with AOM Invisible Limiter. For what I do, mostly Rock and Metal, it trumps all the others. I was using Barricade which is also very good but Invisible Limiter is just awesome and easy to use. It keeps the snare's snap even when pushed pretty hard which I have found a lot of other limiters lose that.

[AC222]

After going back and forth I have settled with AOM Invisible Limiter. For what I do, mostly Rock and Metal, it trumps all the others. I was using Barricade which is also very good but Invisible Limiter is just awesome and easy to use. It keeps the snare's snap even when pushed pretty hard which I have found a lot of other limiters lose that.

Thanks for your input. I am a rock and metal guy. I had heard that AOM didn't handle the high gain stuff as well when pushed but never tried it. It sounds like that might not be the case. Right now, Barricade is among my two favorites along with MD3, which is tied down to the TC dongle. I'm always hearing how transparent AOM - basically louder with few audible effects it is and on that basis, am considering picking this up. I'm a little bit concerned about the fixed attack/release though. I tried others with the fixed attack/release and they just killed the snare... Like the attack comes in too soon because of the lookahead or something. What others have you tried before deciding you liked it best?

[Eddie TX]

After going back and forth I have settled with AOM Invisible Limiter. For what I do, mostly Rock and Metal, it trumps all the others. I was using Barricade which is also very good but Invisible Limiter is just awesome and easy to use. It keeps the snare's snap even when pushed pretty hard which I have found a lot of other limiters lose that.

Good choice! I've tried lots of limiters and to my ears, nothing preserves the transients and punch as well as the AOM. I agree with your impressions of its performance. And with the minimalist control set it's pretty much foolproof in operation.

One cool thing about the AOM is the option to buy a one-year license for $30, then if you don't find anything better during that time you can upgrade to a lifetime license for $89. Same total outlay as buying the lifetime license to begin with ($119, which is quite reasonable given competitors' prices).

Cheers,
Eddie

[AC222]

After going back and forth I have settled with AOM Invisible Limiter. For what I do, mostly Rock and Metal, it trumps all the others. I was using Barricade which is also very good but Invisible Limiter is just awesome and easy to use. It keeps the snare's snap even when pushed pretty hard which I have found a lot of other limiters lose that.

Good choice! I've tried lots of limiters and to my ears, nothing preserves the transients and punch as well as the AOM. I agree with your impressions of its performance. And with the minimalist control set it's pretty much foolproof in operation.

One cool thing about the AOM is the option to buy a one-year license for $30, then if you don't find anything better during that time you can upgrade to a lifetime license for $89. Same total outlay as buying the lifetime license to begin with ($119, which is quite reasonable given competitors' prices).

Cheers,
Eddie

Hi Eddie! You've got me even more interested now... What other limiters have you tried? Don't you miss having a variable attack/release?

[Eddie TX]

Hi Eddie! You've got me even more interested now... What other limiters have you tried? Don't you miss having a variable attack/release?

As long as the limiter seems to be working and sounding good, fiddling with attack and release times is something I don't miss at all. Being simple to use is a plus in my book.

The limiters I've tried include Pro-L, Ozone 5, FG-X, Elephant (but not the newest version), Barricade, T-Racks, Nomad AMT, Waves L series, and a bunch of freebies like Limiter No. 6 and Loudmax. Probably more that I can't think of right now. Considering sound quality and ease of use, AOM is my favorite.

Cheers,
Eddie