KVR Audio

Exit Zero · Post by **Exit Zero** » Wed Mar 16, 2005 9:26 pm

To be used in a live performance context, what is the best sounding and most CPU efficient VST compressor or limiter for the final output bus?

I want to compress a stereo mix for more loudness and punch, and maybe some analogue warmth too if the CPU hit isn't too high. Again I need to emphasize, this is to be used in a live performance situation so I need a low CPU hit and most importantly - stability.

In other words, I wish to compress or limit material that contains many instruments and voices. The material is usually electronica based music (Drum n' bass, techno, etc.)

Thanks in advance.

kylen · Post by **kylen** » Thu Mar 17, 2005 12:11 am

In a live situation I would think you would want the final limiter (assuming a chain of compressor/limiters) to have a brick wall.

In other words last night I had a cool sound happening with Voxengo GlissEQ and Elephant Mastering Limiter. Due to the way I had Elephant set I still got a few 'overs' so instead of changing the cool sound I just put Kjaerhus Golden Peak Pressor (GPP-1) after Elephant and used it's brickwall (took it out of stereo link also).

This was just in my little treehouse studio though, not live. And it did eat some cpu, maybe 15-20% of a 2.6GHz P4.

slasi · Post by **slasi** » Thu Mar 17, 2005 1:00 am

You might also want to consider the latency introduced by the limiter. This is especially important if someone else is playig along with you. I tested three limiters, Voxengo Elephant, Kjaerhus Classic Limiter, and Wave Arts Final Plug. Final Plug had the lowest latency and also very efficient CPU usage. Elephant had the highest latency. Of course Elephant had great sound, but for simple limitimg of a live performance the difference in sound might not be that important.

multree · Post by **multree** » Thu Mar 17, 2005 1:11 am

W1 Limiter

kylen · Post by **kylen** » Thu Mar 17, 2005 1:14 am

slasi wrote:You might also want to consider the latency introduced by the limiter. This is especially important if someone else is playig along with you.

That would be a top priority!

The manual says that GPP-1 has a latency of .5ms (the time it takes sound to travel about 7 inches or 17 cm) but I haven't tested it myself - in my studio situation it doesn't trouble me.

bduffy · Post by **bduffy** » Thu Mar 17, 2005 1:18 am

Depending on budget, I'd say:

PAID:

Waves L2/L1
Elemental Audio Finalis (more transparent than Bush/Blair!)
TC Limiter(Native Bundle 3.1)

FREE:

Steinberg Peak Limiter
George Young's W1 Limiter
Sweetboy's Volcano Limiter

One of them things oughta do it.

multree · Post by **multree** » Thu Mar 17, 2005 1:21 am

bduffy wrote: FREE:

Steinberg Peak Limiter

link please....

Paulie Phonick · Post by **Paulie Phonick** » Thu Mar 17, 2005 1:27 am

Another vote for W1 limiter. If you want to add more warmth and character to the sound, try putting Endorphin before that. They both seem to be rock solid and I've never had any stability problems, CPU load peaks or strange sound artifacts with any of them. W1 eats around 3% of my Athlon 64 3.4+ and Endorphin around 8%.

9b0 · Post by **9b0** » Thu Mar 17, 2005 1:32 am

Hope, you don't take this as a flame, but this is what our plug-in Dynamix was made for. It creates no latency and is stable as a rock. (not a standard compressor or limiter at all, but able to create the same effects)

fac · Post by **fac** » Thu Mar 17, 2005 1:46 am

For stability and efficiency I would recommend the WaveArts FinalPlug or the db-audioware db-L limiter. Elephant is great but not suited for live use. I haven't tried the W1, though.

Left Headphone · Post by **Left Headphone** » Thu Mar 17, 2005 2:28 am

Elemental Audio Finalis is excellent!

bduffy · Post by **bduffy** » Thu Mar 17, 2005 2:54 am

multree wrote:
bduffy wrote: FREE:

Steinberg Peak Limiter

link please....

Sorry; Peak Master comes free with Wavelab, actually...but I think I downloaded it from somewhere (not sure about legality), cos I have it in SX at home, where I do not have Wavelab...let me look into it.

bduffy · Post by **bduffy** » Thu Mar 17, 2005 3:02 am

No, I couldn't find Peak Master anywhere...if you have Wlab, you can probably use it any VST app. (Legal Disclaimer to follow)

bduffy · Post by **bduffy** » Thu Mar 17, 2005 3:06 am

OH yeah: that Dynamix rocks, btw - nice plug-in, WWAYM!

brianbrian · Post by **brianbrian** » Thu Mar 17, 2005 5:06 am

Like others have mentioned, Endorphin by Sacha of DigitalFishPhones is excellent for a freebie and even stands up well against many commercial finalizer-type plugins. It has a very warm sound that I have found to work very well on electronic music.

If you want to preserve the punch, your best bet is honestly to not limit it at all! Or compress it for that matter. However, by fine tuning your master compressor you can kind of inject an artificial sense of impact that wasn't even there to begin with. But for live work, I wouldn't have any compression on your master outs, just a brickwall limiter (this is a must!).

Elephant in EL-3 mode is awesome as a limiter, it really preserves the bass better than almost anything I have heard in the software domain. It is very very transparent, so you will have to look elsewhere for adding "analog" color.

Best compressor/limiter for final output bus