Unlock
Limitless Sound: The Ultimate Guide to Limiter Plugins

What Is a Limiter Plugin?

Limiters are essential audio plugins, functioning as compressors with extreme ratios (often 10:1 or higher, even infinity:1). Unlike standard compressors that affect the entire signal, a limiter's primary function is to prevent audio peaks from exceeding a defined threshold (the 'ceiling'). This critical function helps control loudness and prevent clipping, which is audio distortion. Limiters are often used on individual tracks or buses to shape the sound without destroying the overall balance or feel.

The key benefit of a limiter is its ability to boost the perceived loudness of a track or mix. However, it’s crucial to use limiters carefully, especially at the end of a mastering chain. Overusing a limiter can cause unwanted artifacts and a compressed, unnatural sound. Experienced engineers often prefer to increase loudness on individual elements and groups, before applying a final limiter.

Brickwall Understanding the Limiter

The brickwall limiter is the most prevalent type of limiter, and it's a cornerstone of audio mastering. You establish a 'ceiling' value — the absolute peak level you want your audio to reach (typically between -1 and -0.1 dBFS). The brickwall limiter then dynamically manages the incoming signal, keeping it below this ceiling. It prevents the signal from exceeding this preset peak level. This process allows you to increase the perceived loudness of a track or mix without introducing unwanted distortion.

It's vital to balance the input signal against the set ceiling, so the limiter effectively increases loudness without being pushed too hard. Pushing the limiter too aggressively can result in a compressed, harsh sound. Using the brickwall limiter as a part of a chain can drastically influence the end result.

True-Peak The Importance of True Peak Limiters

True peak limiters are designed to account for the digital-to-analog (D/A) conversion process. During this conversion, the reconstruction of the analog waveform can exceed the digital sample values within your Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). This means that even though your digital meters may not indicate clipping, the analog signal could still peak, leading to distortion. True peak limiters measure the maximum peaks of a waveform before it is converted and played through your speakers.

A quality true peak limiter ensures that no clipping occurs during playback, providing peace of mind for both mixing and mastering. It's essential for creating a polished and professional final product.

“

Limiters are essential tools for shaping the final sound, offering powerful control over dynamics while maintaining a professional sound.

Audio Engineer

Best Free Limiter Plugins to Try

Here are some of the top free limiter plugins available to enhance your audio projects, offering various options for different needs:

Kilohearts Limiter: This plugin provides a simple and intuitive interface with essential controls like input/output gain, threshold, and release. It’s user-friendly, making it a great option for beginners.

VladG Limiter No.6: A highly versatile free plugin with features found in premium offerings, it features different limiting styles, including peak, true peak, and clipping, and also offers M/S (Mid/Side) and multiband modes. Ideal for detailed mastering tasks.

LVC-Audio Clipshifter: This plugin offers a clipping style limiter for subtle and transparent dynamic control, and can produce hard clipping distortion, while the free version still has a lot to offer for creative limiting.

Sonic Anomaly Unlimited (Windows Only): Unlimited is a limiter and loudness maximizer for stereo and 5.1 surround. It even includes specific loudness metering for post-production purposes. Overall, Unlimited is balanced in its ability to achieve extra loudness without audible distortion or squash.

LoudMax VST: LoudMax is designed to be a brickwall loudness maximizer that's as clean and transparent as possible, preserving the original character of your mix, even at the highest levels of compression. It is a great choice for mastering and mixing.

Top Paid Limiter Plugins for Pro Results

These paid limiter plugins provide advanced features and exceptional quality for professional audio production:

T-RackS Classic Clipper: T-RackS Classic Clipper provides a transparent approach to taming peaks via clipping rather than limiting, which is why mastering engineers favor it. It can be used for end-stage level control or as a subtle harmonic saturation tool.

FabFilter Pro-L 2: An industry-leading true peak limiter known for its transparency, loudness, and comprehensive metering options. It's a top choice for mastering and mixing, and it boasts an array of meters.

Oxford Limiter: Offers a combination of maximum loudness, density, and presence while maintaining transparency. Oxford Limiter helps to not ruin the mix character.

Waves L1 Limiter: An industry standard for almost three decades, the Waves L1 offers limiting, maximizing, and re-quantization capabilities for enhanced output resolution.

Nugen ISL 2: Nugen’s ISL is a precision true peak limiter for mixing, mastering, post-production, and broadcast. It's designed to allow engineers to stay creative while handling all of the true peak compliance for different formats.