How To Use a Limiter on Vocals

[@5piece]

There's a few things I didn't include in this video, but wanted to cover in this pinned comment here (keep reading): 1) Buy the Waves L1 here: waves.alzt.net/jr1r95 2) DISCLAIMER This is just ONE approach to vocal limiting and is by no means the end-all-be-all or ONLY approach, nor is it something you ALWAYS have to do. Sometimes folks interpret my videos as such so I'm putting this friendly reminder here to remind you that I'm just giving you mixing strategies and ideas here, not absolute laws. 3) DITHER, OVERSAMPLING AND OTHER PARAMETERS NOT MENTIONED - SHOULD I USE THEM? DITHER basically adds a small amount of random noise to your signal to cover up any artifacts, noise and/or distortion that may be created when you are reducing the bit depth of a digital audio signal, such as when exporting a 24-bit audio file to a 16-bit audio file. Dithering is most commonly used when mastering, and applied only once in the final stage of the process. In the case of applying this limiter directly to a vocal track during the mixing process like we are here, I’d avoid using dither altogether for that reason. OVERSAMPLING is a process some plugins use to improve the accuracy and quality of digital audio processing. It involves increasing the sampling rate of the audio signal before applying any processing or effects, and then downsampling it back to the original sampling rate. By applying oversampling to an audio signal process, higher-frequency content is captured with greater accuracy, allowing for more precise processing with less artifacts. Oversampling can be a great thing to utilize if your limiter has it and your computer can handle it as it does tend to utilize a lot of processing power. It can also induce latency and create other problems, so while it's obviously an ideal feature to take advantage of, sometimes it's more trouble than it's worth if you can't apply it to everything without your computer exploding (LOL) LOOKAHEAD is a parameter that allows the limiter to anticipate and react to audio peaks before they happen. It provides a window of time for the limiter to analyze the incoming audio signal and apply the necessary gain reduction in advance, ensuring that excessive peaks are controlled effectively and accurately. Similar to Oversampling - this is a great feature to take advantage of BUT it also can add latency to your signal due to the predictive analysis nature of it. Assuming it isn't adding latency or bogging down your hardware too much, I recommend you take advantage of it where possible. What other parameters do you guys want to know about? 4) SHOULD I ADJUST MY VOCAL CHAIN AFTER PUTTING IN THE LIMITER? Most likely, yes. It's not uncommon for a limiter to change harmonic and dynamic relationships in a mix which may therefore need corrective treatment. For example, sometimes after applying a limiter, the sibilant frequencies of a vocal will become more present and therefore need correction. Often you won't notice these problems until after the limiter has been applied. In these situations, I'll revisit my vocal chain and make adjustments where required to mitigate these problems, such as applying an EQ or de-esser before the limiter so when the level gets raised, they don't poke out as much. For clarity, we always want to keep the limiter in the last plugin insert slot - therefore we should pre-treat these issues earlier in the process so when it hits the limiter, the end result is much cleaner and problem-free. Doesn't mean you can't problem-solve AFTER the limiter, but you'll run into those issues I mentioned around 2:38 Obviously if the limiter is creating TOO many problems, then we'll have to re-evaluate if using it is worth it, which also happens sometimes. Use your judgement and ears here above all else. I may update this comment from time-to-time based on what's going on in the comment section but feel free to share your own vocal limiting techniques below so we can explore them in future videos. I appreciate you all for tuning in!

[@kbasemuzik]

Use mv2

[@JosefwitdaCoatOn]

Great vid… when’s the next one.. DO I GOTTA WAIT😂😂😂

[@JTFuller]

Man, I just stumbled on your channel today.. Glad I did.. Outstanding info young man..

[@driftingskymusic351]

Nice work. I’ve rarely used a limiter on vocals but I’m implementing this on my next mix. Cheers🎉

[@Zottyworld]

That’s my biggest issue is knowing if my levels are right . Gonna watch the other video you linked ! Good work I subbed

[@Dane_Riazer]

I love your video. I wanted to mention around 2:49 that this process works so well with parallel processing. Most Pop vocals like Ariana or The Weeknd have a range (from peak to the body) of about 3-4 ratio of dynamics visually in a compressor for example: using the focusrite fast compressor -in detail mode- look at how much dynamics are there. If you just have one compressed track/bus and have another parallel bus/track without the compression but the high shelving boost (lets say 8+ dB or more) use soothe and a de-esser, then blend that in with the compressed version, omg . MAGIC!!!! I love the way you took this direction more people need to know about this! Shout out to you JJ, and Luca Pretolesi for all the things i've learned over the last 10 years 🙌

[@5piece]

Great insight here and definitely something to test out in future videos. Thank you for the love and for sharing 🙏🏼

[@DazhDrews6tothe4]

Good job sir! Appreciate your efforts and presentation! You have a knack for this, I wish you full power in your endeavors. Thank you.

[@5piece]

Thank you dash! 🙏🏼

[@R3CO.69]

Great video ❤

[@africanrevolution3551]

The Professor is BACK!!!!! Salute 👊👊👊💯

[@5piece]

Salute my G! 🙏🏼

[@g11even]

great tutorial, rly opened my eyes with that one

[@empresssunbow]

Great explaination of the limiter! Good job! Thanks :-)

[@5piece]

Glad it was helpful!

[@josrud8939]

Yes sir

[@vancenichols9490]

Awesome tips! Thanks!!!

[@ivonthafloor1343]

Thank you. So much.

[@tdulpeeplesshawdy2101]

DOPEEEEEEE and explained perfectly

[@Germanynews1]

Thanks for your help men great tutorial

[@5piece]

Anytime. Thank you for watching!

[@Diamo.officiel]

Thanks Man 🔥🇲🇦💖

[@petebass4959]

Awesome

[@PapaCalle]

Good stuff

[@itsjuzito7651]

i appreciate you!

[@5piece]

Likewise 👊🏼

[@Zottyworld]

Are you framilar with the presets on the limiters on fl21? Would love to see a video of you explaining some of the pre sets and why they are set up like that

[@BigLew4Christ]

Pro tip

[@FlowerBoyH]

When to use limiting over compression

[@FoarteMisto]

I want to know what's the font you used in the titles from the video !

[@tncdrobdadoc]

I feel like factory limiter actually don't do anything I out them at the end and it still peaks on some parts but learning what Lil tweaks you can do are nice

[@CarloCabiling-r6r]

so.. to gainmatch the volume is to move the fader itself not the output ceiling of the limiter? please reply. thank you!

[@nom5808]

W video

[@Mark-bv2kq]

If I send my main vocal, ad libs, layers, etc. to a vocal bus, should I have the limiter at the end of the bus or still on the main vocals?

[@5piece]

While this video focuses mostly on applying it directly to the individual vocal tracks - you can apply a limiter to both. I usually do. The way you’d set it on the group master will be a bit more delicate since you’re affecting multiple tracks but the same general approach could work 👍🏻

[@BigLew4Christ]

Limit the lead and adjust the volume fader accordingly on the backing vocals or a add a slight bit more compression to the backing vocals

[@bunnybolte]

Sir why can't u use pro L 2 it gives more control and transparency

[@5piece]

@@bunnybolte you absolutely can! I’m just using the L1 in this case, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use something else. I regularly use the FF Pro L2 as well 😎

[@bunnybolte]

@@5piece actually sir my question is what if we export our audio file suppose vocal which was inconsistentaly peaking (which u tame down by L1 limiter in the mix) I put a Sir clipper then with the help of -6 db cieling and dialing less input gain , I trimmed very the peaks very subtly and to safe side I used the maximum oversampling (all though its heavy on CPU but I didnt use this to hear live output I just used it to bounce and back ) so my question Is using clipper that way on vocals , is it bad I use chat gpt to clear these types of doubt of mine since I don't have any teacher for this what are ur thoughts on that Did in final gain push is there any chance of distortion by this method

[@JackFrancis-q1u]

how would i find the loudest peak in my vocals if I'm on FL Studio?

[@5piece]

This process is pretty much the same regardless of DAW. Loudest peaks will typically happen during the loudest / most dynamic part of a performance. Generally you can just HEAR when something is louder, let alone by looking at the waveform and visually seeing that a certain section is louder (bigger) than a quieter (smaller) section. Hopefully this makes sense.

[@JackFrancis-q1u]

@@5piece Thank you so much for your response> However I was just wondering how to find the loudest part of the song (in decibels)? in your video it is -2.8 decibels. Do you know how to find the peak volume (in decibels) in FL Studio??

[@chuckfriebe843]

Although this video is somewhat helpful, Maybe you should've use someone that was actually singing a melody with a dynamic voice.

[@robshrock-shirakbari1862]

Too many ads to even watch your video

[@5piece]

Wish I could help you, but you gotta take it up with KZbin my friend. Even if I wasn't monetizing my channel, you'd be seeing the same level of ads on my videos so I encourage you to pay for a premium subscription if you don't want to see ads on KZbin at all ;)

[@JPrim3]

Kinda fly for a white guy😅