KVR Audio

JoeCat · Post by **JoeCat** » Sun Dec 22, 2013 5:59 pm

Since I'm not producing professionally I've shied away from "pro" audio products - not because I didn't see the value, just because I don't have the self-control to spend as much on, say, a limiter (when I already have my DAW's built-in, a few freebies, etc.), when I could purchase some cool synth I don't need...

However, I bit the bullet and picked up the bx_limiter - on sale just today for over $100 off at plugin-alliance for their x-mas day of the month - given the necessity of a good track / stem limiter (I already have Ozone on the master, one of my only other nods to pro products).

Holy crap - you don't know what you've been missing until you have it. Especially for those of us messing with transient-heavy electronic kits, modular mayhem, etc.,

I'm trying hard to hear some unwanted distortion in the the 5db-6db extra headroom this thing is giving me, but no go. NOW I know what "transparent" really means. It's like I've been spending the last few years painting with awesome paints and a shitty brush. Plus, it comes with a little bx_saturation built-in for a little pleasant (or un-pleasant) coloring, should you desire it.

Of course there are other great pro limiters out there and I don't know enough to compare, but for $50 (normally $166!), I'm guessing this is a ridiculous bargain, especially given its utility and brainwork solid rep.

https://plugin-alliance.com/en/xmasc.html?door=22

heffus · Post by **heffus** » Sun Dec 22, 2013 6:42 pm

I agree, it's a really handy plug. I use it all the time to keep my kicks and bass lines loud without dominating the mix.

rasmusklump · Post by **rasmusklump** » Sun Dec 22, 2013 7:06 pm

Yep, its also great that it has so little latency.

Alex

Shy · Post by **Shy** » Sun Dec 22, 2013 7:26 pm

JoeCat wrote:Holy crap - you don't know what you've been missing until you have it. Especially for those of us messing with transient-heavy electronic kits, modular mayhem, etc.

I'm one of those. FG-X is much better, try it if you have an iLok.

waltercruz · Post by **waltercruz** » Sun Dec 22, 2013 8:02 pm

Sorry if my question is a bit naive, but there's some advantage in this limiter against, by example, my DAW limiter?

ObsoleteAcc99 · Post by **ObsoleteAcc99** » Sun Dec 22, 2013 8:11 pm

Shy wrote:
JoeCat wrote:Holy crap - you don't know what you've been missing until you have it. Especially for those of us messing with transient-heavy electronic kits, modular mayhem, etc.
I'm one of those. FG-X is much better, try it if you have an iLok.

No way. BX Limiter is a track limiter not a master limiter. I'd use it for individual stems over FGX any day, especially with the only 1ms latency at 44.1 and the Xl feature as well as wet/dry.

SWAN808 · Post by **SWAN808** » Sun Dec 22, 2013 9:40 pm

I just saw this also and have to say - its a cool plug...little bit of saturation - limiting - and you can back it up with the mix knob...

question is - how much do people use limiters on channels? Is this a reasonable idea? I dont want to spend money for the sake of it...

Shy · Post by **Shy** » Sun Dec 22, 2013 9:52 pm

TheoM wrote:
Shy wrote:
JoeCat wrote:Holy crap - you don't know what you've been missing until you have it. Especially for those of us messing with transient-heavy electronic kits, modular mayhem, etc.
I'm one of those. FG-X is much better, try it if you have an iLok.
No way. BX Limiter is a track limiter not a master limiter. I'd use it for individual stems over FGX any day, especially with the only 1ms latency at 44.1 and the Xl feature as well as wet/dry.

For me it's yes way, because when I reach the point of limiting or compressing a track, I render it, anyway, so I don't care whether during real-time usage the limiter has latency, high CPU resource requirements or other real-time usage limitations (and I use a hardware limiter, not FG-X, so it's a single instance limitation).

analoguesamples909 wrote:question is - how much do people use limiters on channels? Is this a reasonable idea? I dont want to spend money for the sake of it...

How much do YOU use limiters on channels?

Aiynzahev · Post by **Aiynzahev** » Sun Dec 22, 2013 10:16 pm

I agree, I don't use it that often but when I do I am always impressed by how good it sounds. I don't use it on the master because I have XL_2 and Pro-L

A number of times I've tried using it on individual channels and stems but limiting on channels is a bit too heavy handed for my tastes.

In theory it can work especially in this case because of the mix-knob and the excellent saturation. But I've yet to find the balance of it and make it part of my production.

It probably beats most free or DAW limiters so for $50 it is a very good deal. all the BX plugins are really good Imo.

SWAN808 · Post by **SWAN808** » Sun Dec 22, 2013 10:25 pm

Argh I dont know if Ill use it because Ive not had anything similar...and I got a day to decide. tbh Im tempted to leave it because Im concerned about squashing the life out of my mixes...

DJMaytag · Post by **DJMaytag** » Thu Jul 16, 2015 1:08 am

Just picked this up, and of course... the very next day Fabfilter has their summer sale (so I picked up Pro-L and Pro-MB.) I'm not 100% sure how I feel about this limiter. It seems a bit CPU heavy for a track limiter, and it's not nearly as intuitive as Pro-L, but FAR more useful than Waves L1 (what I had been using for track limiting with small amounts of limiting.)

I have about 10-11 days on my trial period before I have to activate it got $20 (I got it second-hand.) I'm not 100% sure I'm going to activate it yet. I've got some good saturation plugs already, and Pro-L actually seems to less of a CPU hog.

Anyone else had any thoughts on bx_limiter lately?

lofty · Post by **lofty** » Thu Jul 16, 2015 1:37 am

DJMaytag · Post by **DJMaytag** » Thu Jul 16, 2015 5:59 pm

lofty wrote:...

That good, eh?

Googly Smythe · Post by **Googly Smythe** » Thu Jul 16, 2015 6:24 pm

I got this in the same sale as the op. I tend to use it to see how my mixes sound when limited, even though it's intended for tracks and not buses.
I bought XL in the same sale and that still sits on my "master channel" for more controlled limiting.
Would I buy it again? Only if it was in a sale - but that goes for any plugin that retails at more than $100.
If you're comparing Pro-L and bx_limiter I think Pro-L wins hands down. (I demoed it and bought XL, hey ho).

DJMaytag · Post by **DJMaytag** » Fri Jul 17, 2015 12:50 am

It's so transparent that I had to load Pro-L in the chain right after it to visually see what it was doing. Seeing that helped determine how it worked, as the makeup gain wasn't doing what I had expected it to be doing. Also seeing the effect the XL saturation was having was nice. It's too bad it's so subtle that you could be left wondering if it was actually doing anything, while it was actually doing quite a lot.

If only for the CPU hogging problem, this would definitely go on a ton of individual tracks.

brainwox bx_limiter - i have seen the light...