Limiter Q - Studio One stock

andrushkiwt

Well-known member
if there was a sub for "PreSonus", i'd have posted this there. If this can be applied to other limiters, then feel free to answer too.

I'm wondering why the stock limiter in Studio One 2 Pro frequently clips when "true peak" is set on. I'm pretty sure this function enables absolutely no clipping, even if the track is squashed to smithereens. For now, I use a -0.01 threshold and end up pushing most songs up about 7-8db. But every once in awhile, not every song, the damn limiter lets stuff through. FYI - long release (300+), and TP function turned on.

I feel nothing should pass, no matter how smashed it becomes, when TP is on.
 
I usually set my limiters at -0.3db as an absolutely max volume, but I have ripped albums that actually peak.

Alan.
 
I usually set my limiters at -0.3db as an absolutely max volume, but I have ripped albums that actually peak.

Alan.

i'm just trying to squeeze out as much as i can. my environment isn't ideal, and i'm sure i'm not gain staging everything the best either. so, i go for as close to 0 as the thing lets me. i'll try it moving it a bit
 
Damn Never even occurred to me they go that low.
Shoot, run a series -.02, 03, 05 etc. see where it leads. Don't know why we'd need precision that tight, but maybe that's all it is?
 
A real hard limit creates very sharp corners. An LPF can't make sharp corners, and can often "go past the turn". True Peak anything means oversampling, and oversampling means an LPF and that means that you can't ever know for sure exactly where the loudest Peak is going to hit. It sucks, but it's a fact we have to live with. If you need to know for fucksure where that loudest sample is going to hit, then you need a hard limit with no filtering. Most likely you're only going over your "limit" for a sample or two at a time, and just hacking them off won't hardly be noticeable.
 
I'm not sure why everyone trys to max out the volume. There's a consequence for every action. Louder is only better if you're not killing your mix. IMO... -0.01 is asking for trouble especially if you're truncating to 16 bit or compressing to MP3 where -1db should be the minimun headroom allowed to avoid overshooting your file destination and -0.2 should be given for CD players to avoid clipping on some models.
The S1 limiter is ok but even the Waves L series will start to break up if you push them to the edge. Try using unity gain to make sure that your mix isn't being destroyed in the attempt to blast it to death.
 
I use a -0.01 threshold and end up pushing most songs up about 7-8db.

I'm not sure why everyone trys to max out the volume....Try using unity gain to make sure that your mix isn't being destroyed in the attempt to blast it to death.

7-8db isn't blasted "to death". It's nearly irrelevant if it's 0.01 or 0.1 when you're taking about 8db. It's practically arbitrary, in context.
 
You'll never hear the difference between -0.01 and -0.1

I never push anything above -0.2

that's what I was trying to say. since you can't hear that difference anyways, i don't see why it matters if i push the limiter to its edge or not. the only thing that matters, really, in terms of sound quality there, is the amount of GR happening. the ceiling number is arbitrary.
 
that's what I was trying to say. since you can't hear that difference anyways, i don't see why it matters if i push the limiter to its edge or not. the only thing that matters, really, in terms of sound quality there, is the amount of GR happening. the ceiling number is arbitrary.
i'm just trying to squeeze out as much as i can. my environment isn't ideal, and i'm sure i'm not gain staging everything the best either. so, i go for as close to 0 as the thing lets me. i'll try it moving it a bit
It seems.. the circle is completed. :>)
 
The ceiling number is not arbitrary. Some converters will clip between -1dbfs and 0. The mp3 encoding and decoding process can get fouled up when going beyond -1.

Yes, the actual audio doesn't clip until you hit 0dbfs on the digital side, but the converters and the analog signal path between the converter and the speakers can.

I never go above -0.5dbfs.
 
For MP3 I usually don't exceed -.2 and for CD at 16/44.1 my threshold is -0.5 so the I never over shoot the converters. Tiny steps of compression & automation/editing can get your RMS/Perceived Loudness to the approx. -10db average but anything below -8db can be trouble. Some headroom is essential.
 
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