Precision Limiter distortion?

[Bulls Hit]

I'm trialling a demo version of this at the moment, just using the presets.
Wow, first time I've used a brickwall limiter. It's almost like magic the way it gets it so loud, but lets nothing into the red zone.

There's a preset on there called Super Heavy that I'm trying on a drums-heavy mix to see if I can get the guitars louder & more aggressive. It's applying up to 9db of gain reduction, but even though there's no red lights, it's actually distorting in places. Not a digital distortion, but more of a shredded speaker distortion that's not there (at least not that I can hear) on the unlimited mix.
The distortion is evident at all volumes, on monitors, headphones and on the car stereo.
It's actually not all that unpleasant, and after a while I don't notice it so much.

I'm guessing the distortion is already present, and the hard limiting is making it more obvious? Or is the squash and boost process introducing its own distortion?

Edit: Here's a link to the unlimited version (just some EQ and about 2db of GR via LA2A on the mix)

Here's a link to the limited version (no EQ or LA2A)

 

[Dogman]

Hey man, not sure of your dillema answer, but go to the buzzroom, http://www.x-buz.com/BuzMaxi3.html , and pick up this limiter, and try it. It's free, and simple to use, so you can try it, and see if the problem persists.

Listening to the 2 links, I'd say it just got too loud myself, but not sure.
Ed

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

I'm guessing the distortion is already present, and the hard limiting is making it more obvious? Or is the squash and boost process introducing its own distortion?

Well, it's actually a bit of both, depending upon how you wnat to look at it.

By definition, "distortion" is any change in the nature of the waveform. Even turning up the gain one dB is, by definition, "distorting" the signal simply because it's changing it. And as that example shows, not only are some distortions not unpleasant, but can actually be desired. We tend to think only of the bad-sounding and unrequested changes to our waveforms as "distortion".

Compression and limiting - which itself is really a specific form of compression - chages the nature of the waveform in increasingly dramatic ways the more the compression or limiting is applied; i.e. the more it distorts the waveform. At some point (different for different tastes and ears) the waveform gets so distorted and so little resembles the original waveform as to become unpleasant.

This unpleasant distortion effect is often referred to by engineering types as the point where a track or mix starts "falling apart".

G.

 

[Bulls Hit]

Ed thanks for that link. I'll check out that limiter, it will be interesting to see how it compares to the Precision.

Glen, if I understand you correctly, even a so-called transparent limiter like the Precision will introduce some kind of distortion, even if only limiting and boosting a 'reasonable' amount?

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

Glen, if I understand you correctly, even a so-called transparent limiter like the Precision will introduce some kind of distortion, even if only limiting and boosting a 'reasonable' amount?

By the definition of "distortion" that you are probably thinking - unwanted and audible noise and coloraion - then, no, a quality limiter used properly will not introduce much of that.

G.