Mixing with a limiter on

[StrifeII]

What do you think of this? I've heard people recommend it so you can get an idea of how things will sound when they're chunked up in the mastering stage, and you can iron out any problems of things being too loud/quiet...

 

[richie_stix]

nah mate... build in bad habbits imo! ive had this before where ive made an old track, put limiter/compressor/eq etc on the master, gone back to the track to work on it, and find it just creates a shit storm of problems

 

[logikz]

the masterbus affects whatever you play so i think its stupid because the sample doesnt sound the same in the daw as it does in the audio editor or sampler AND the song doesnt sound the same when you play an individual pattern as it does when you play the full arrangement. its a matter of of what youre used to and what works of course but this makes no sense at all to me.

 

[groelle]

i sometimes do it tbh. mixing without - chucking a limiter on and see what it does, adjust mabye, take it off and see what its done. try making it sound good with and without..

---------- Post added at 13:19 ---------- Previous post was at 13:18 ----------

oh and im often at like -8 when i start mixing down, so i just want things a little bit louder sometimes and chunk a limiter on there because of that. all depends really on the track etc..

 

[Freek]

its a bad habbit to get into tbh, u want to be able to perfect mixdowns before u hear what they sound like mastered. you'll always end up with better results as u will always aim higher. if u hear ur tune mastered as u make it you'll be complacent with the mixdown as it will already sound tiptop.

i think that makes sense, i no what im tryin to say jus not sure im saying it right lol

 

[miszt]

ditto bad habbit!! louder always sounds better, even if it doesnt sound good

the only time i have a limiter switched on is towards the end, when all the EQ is sorted, everything is compressed up just right and the mixdown is as tight as i can get it, sumtimes i will mix split bass into a limiter, but only when the EQ and compression is finished, and usually only if I am tweeking a sidechain (after the limiter)

also...mastering isnt just about Limiting, mostly its about getting a 2nd set of ears, with lots of experience, that can pick out all the details and polish your track up to perfection, its really quite amazing what a good mastering engineer can do to a track!

 

[Highstate]

I use a soft clipper on my master out whilst producing, and disable it when im exporting. i find it sounds closer to what you end up with after running it through a digital limiter at the end of your mastering chain. Just my preference like.

 

[StrifeII]

well, my point is that a large majority of modern electronic music is going to become very loud after mastering, despite the eq/compression/space stages etc, and a limiter gives you an idea of how certain things will sound once they've been mastered - background elements being way too loud, for example.

interesting ideas tho!

 

[miszt]

well, my point is that a large majority of modern electronic music is going to become very loud after mastering, despite the eq/compression/space stages etc, and a limiter gives you an idea of how certain things will sound once they've been mastered - background elements being way too loud, for example.

interesting ideas tho!

nah it doesnt, it confuses things like EQ, compression and mixdown levels, a single spike at 120hz for eg, will massivly alter the way that the limiter reacts to the rest of the sound, espcially the kick and bass and will confuse the rest of the mixdown, Limiting should definitly be done late in the process

 

[groelle]

nah it doesnt, it confuses things like EQ, compression and mixdown levels, a single spike at 120hz for eg, will massivly alter the way that the limiter reacts to the rest of the sound, espcially the kick and bass and will confuse the rest of the mixdown, Limiting should definitly be done late in the process

but thats the thing, it shows inaccuracies, spikes and muddiness pretty well, as it will enhance the problematic section - like when you got too much bass in it and youre monitoring is inaccurate - youll defo notice when youll whack a limiter on it and your drums get buried...

i turn some hard and soft limiting on during various points of a mixing session. fit the volume obviously and youll get some details you wouldnt have heard otherwise - at least for me. things like over-compression or over-distortion show themselves quite well with lots of limiting etc.

i quite like it as i said - and its the way labels are gonna hear it and youll play it out, so its defo something youll need to adjust anyways.

 

[miszt]

but thats the thing, it shows inaccuracies, spikes and muddiness pretty well, as it will enhance the problematic section - like when you got too much bass in it and youre monitoring is inaccurate - youll defo notice when youll whack a limiter on it and your drums get buried...

i turn some hard and soft limiting on during various points of a mixing session. fit the volume obviously and youll get some details you wouldnt have heard otherwise - at least for me. things like over-compression or over-distortion show themselves quite well with lots of limiting etc.

i quite like it as i said - and its the way labels are gonna hear it and youll play it out, so its defo something youll need to adjust anyways.

i sumtimes use (tempory) hard-compression to bring out dodgy details like that, but anyways everyone has diffrent ways of doin things an diffrent opinions on whats right n wrong

 

[groelle]

i sumtimes use (tempory) hard-compression to bring out dodgy details like that, but anyways everyone has diffrent ways of doin things an diffrent opinions on whats right n wrong

nothing's wrong as long as it sounds good

 

[Simply D.]

Ill A/B listen with a limiter on the master. I set the limiter ceiling at 0db and adjust the gain only until random spikes are cleaned up.

Just a different perspective on the song i guess

 

[miszt]

nothing's wrong as long as it sounds good

definitly, n ur production shows it works

i do think it culd be counter productive for people with less experience, but hey, everyone learns eventually

 

[cw70]

Better to mix in to a compressor then the limiter.
The Big boys do it this way too!

 

[miszt]

Better to mix in to a compressor then the limiter.
The Big boys do it this way too!

'big boys' doing it isnt a great explantion, and i'd disagree for all the same reasons i posted about mixing into limiters, but if you can explain why its better...always want to learn...

 

[Sammy Dexcell]

I only just started mixing my tunes at -8 or so aswel get everything levelled how i want then export and up the volume and it brings up all the elements at the same volume, only then can i hear the faults, if sub is too big or drums too big etc may add a lil compression after but most of the time its gettin the tune sittin right before the export that is the key imo