Using limiters on Mix busses?!

[bouldersoundguy]

Yes, it sounds somewhat crushed. But the True Peak measurement I'm getting (using Youlean) is -3.2, so you can simply raise the level by about 2.1-2.2 dB without changing anything else and still have 1 dB of headroom.

 

[Svemir]

Yes, it sounds somewhat crushed. But the True Peak measurement I'm getting (using Youlean) is -3.2, so you can simply raise the level by about 2.1-2.2 dB without changing anything else and still have 1 dB of headroom.

Thanks! Can you tell if also the Mix version sounds squashed or not? Just to understand whether the issue is at master level or at mix level https://drive.google.com/file/d/1v9bPy1GxTQsFVWAZK9xJO44TiL3KgQug/view?usp=sharing

 

[Mark Merid]

Did you try using mix buss compressor on the master channel within your mix?

 

[eq7]

I don't think limiters on the mix bus is a good practice.

 

[JamEZmusic]

I don't see a problem with it. A limiter always goes on my mix buss even if I am only limiting 1 peak by half a db in the entire song.

 

[Mr. ROUSH]

My apologies if any of this has already been said. I didn't read all of the replies. It's not unusual to use a limiter on a bus or even an individual track. My first piece of advice is to try a soft clipper before using a limiter. But, even before trying either one, I would definitely look at the relative levels of your track and use velocity changes or volume automation. Your mix doesn't have to be loud. You can get to the loud part during the mastering process. Just make sure that your mix is relative in terms of the individual levels in each part of the song and leaves some headroom overall. Use the loudest part of your song to set your starting level. Leave yourself some headroom. Now, turn down things relative to that starting point in sections where the drums or other elements are supposed to be lower in level. The more you squash things in the mix, the less dynamics you'll have to work with on the master bus, so try to avoid it if you can. A more simple and common approach to this would be to mix the entire song without any change in the levels and then just automate the volume up by a db or 2 in just the sections you want to be louder. You could automate individual tracks, the bus, or even the master fader.

It's become pretty common among rap producers these days to clip the kick drum and/or the 808. It's an easy way to get hard hitting drums. You literally boost the kick well into the red and then use a soft clipper. It's easier to get away with in rap music, but a littler harder with genres that typically have a higher dynamic range. In any event, lots of rap producers will often put a soft clipper or limiter on the kick. At the end of the day, you could leave all of that up to the limiter on the master channel. A lot of guys will mix with a soft clipper or limiter on the master, so they can have a better preview of how dynamic the track will be relative to the levels they're setting after clipping the low end. I would avoid this technique at all costs if you intend to send your mix off for professional mastering at any point.