using a limiter

M

myxedgyrl

New member
hey everybody,
i'm using pro tools 7.3.1 with mbox 2

my questions is about the compressor/limiter dyn 3. (its the basic limiter that comes with the software)

do i insert it on the master track only? or on various tracks if they're running hot?

and basically what are the settings to increase the overall volume of the finished song to get it comparable to professional songs out there.

say i choose the radio pre-set on that comp/lim dyn 3, it sounds horrible and distorty, and i always have to play around with the attack and release time (why would they make the pre-set like that?).
just wondering if there's a standard i don't know about.

cuz when i put my song on CD, its much lower in volume than a cd I buy at the store.
Can I only achieve that by investing in mastering?
Is there a plug-in anyone could recommend?

thanx much.
 
Working backwards - Granted, I'm biased. But IMO/E, there is no substitute for professional mastering. THAT SAID - VOLUME is NOT the point of the mastering phase. YES, it's the phase in the production process where the final volume is established - But it's not "the point" of the process.

Getting that out of the way, we're not hiding with our heads in the sane either. It takes gear that has absolutely obscene amounts of usable headroom to get those awful, awful levels that people now consider "normal" (when in reality, it's just taking perfectly decent recordings and messing them up terribly, but in a reasonably controlled manner).

Those CD's "in the store" have almost undoubtedly been produced by teams of industry professionals with aggregate decades of experience, likely in very good spaces with very good monitoring and very good gear. Don't think those things don't make a difference in the long run (especially the experience and the monitoring).

And even with those thing considered, even the most experienced mastering engineer with the greatest possible gear selection is limited (no pun intended) by the mix(es) he's given.

(A) It's very rarely as simple as throwing a limiter across the mix.

(B) Throwing a limiter across the mix should give a reasonable indication of how it will react to the abuse.

(C) You first need to understand the limiter. You don't use presets - You understand the tool and tell it what to do.
 
myxedgyrl said:
hey everybody,
i'm using pro tools 7.3.1 with mbox 2

my questions is about the compressor/limiter dyn 3. (its the basic limiter that comes with the software)

do i insert it on the master track only? or on various tracks if they're running hot?

and basically what are the settings to increase the overall volume of the finished song to get it comparable to professional songs out there.

say i choose the radio pre-set on that comp/lim dyn 3, it sounds horrible and distorty, and i always have to play around with the attack and release time (why would they make the pre-set like that?).
just wondering if there's a standard i don't know about.

cuz when i put my song on CD, its much lower in volume than a cd I buy at the store.
Can I only achieve that by investing in mastering?
Is there a plug-in anyone could recommend?

thanx much.
Click to expand...

You should definitely set reasonable expectations for what you're going to be able to achieve with a home setup and your experience level. Just try to learn something new with every song you record, and try to make every recording sound better than the last, and eventually you'll be off to the races.

http://www.kjaerhusaudio.com/classic-series.php

^^ this is a link to a set of free plug-ins that are pretty decent. One of them is a "Master Limiter" which I found useful for a nice volume boost when I was starting out. It's easy to work with because it has only one dial. Just don't go crazy with it.

MattDee
 
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