Ableton Live 12.1 Limiter: Better Than FabFilter Pro-L2?

[@CezaryWójcik-r5l]

it can be very tricky to the ears when you switch one limiter off and then another on -- if you use CTRL/CMD + K, you can assign a temporary hotkey to both so that one button press simultaneously switches one off when switching another on

[@Cosmonaut1999]

Or you could put the 2 devices in parallel in a rack. turn one device off with the speaker icon on the rack and a-b with the solo button of that device compared to the device which is left on. Advantage being you could add more devices if you needed.

[@shinyisshiny7780]

i love this trick. use it all the time to compare plugs.

[@Jay-sl9jo]

this is the best way to reference tracks as well.

[@Randuski]

I’ve never liked true peak on limiters. But you can do the math to bypass needing true peak. At 48k, with true peak off, you set the output to -1.2db, which means the intersample peaks will hit just shy of 0db. Also this limiter doesn’t have oversampling, which could have something to do with why there are still overages when true peak is enabled. But I’m not sure

[@samsmyers]

What do y'all think of Ableton Live's new limiter?

[@pywidem5823]

From my experience, really technical things are not Ableton‘s strong suit. That’s also why I won’t use their limiter, they definitely haven’t figured that out sadly

[@Hogboy345]

@@pywidem5823 What's wrong with it? Sounds great to me

[@BoringThings2069]

@@pywidem5823 any recommendation to try some other limiters from your experience ?

[@mattbukovski92]

I think I'll stick to my favorite combo: Newfangled Saturate for clipping + Invisible Limiter for final limiting

[@bfreitas456]

​@@pywidem5823 I used this settings and it honestly sounded pretty good to me: turn link down to 0%, release to auto, lookahead to 6 in maximize and true peak mode (or standard if you don't care about that, I was just trying to replicate the sound of bx_limiter true peak)

[@geeblock6789]

Enjoying these comparisons bro

[@Inhalesrecords]

Thanks for these insights 🙌🏻

[@LuchoFerro]

I use Limitless and I also got surprised by this update. I'm starting to use more the Ableton limiter, with less CPU cycles with great results as well.

[@andrewlux]

Latency would be why I always stick with ableton stock stuff. Super detailed vid!

[@samsmyers]

thanks!

[@same.different]

@@samsmyersthe new Limiter is good enough to export a good master with, finally. But had you tried the M4L Color Limter?

[@same.different]

Its been there the whole time

[@Randuski]

The one thing I wish abletons limiter had was the attack control from fabfilter. That’s the main reason I still use fabfilter. For limiting purposes, I’m totally happy with abletons new limiter. But for compression purposes, I still use pro L, because of the attack parameter

[@joshuaschmalle_vlogs]

Ya i was also thinking to myself wtf were they thinking omitting an attack

[@Randuski]

@@joshuaschmalle_vlogs idk, most limiters don’t have it. It doesn’t work the way it works in a compressor, I think it’s unique to fabfilter. The attack parameter controls the attack of the release action. So it’s how much time passes before the release kicks in. But it’s incredibly powerful and is a key part of my bus processing haha

[@frydac]

@@Randuski It is more like a hold then.. interesting. yeah, an 'regular' attack like a compressor on a limiter doesn't really make sense, a limiter's primary (afaik) function is to limit the peaks in order to prevent clipping. With a regular attack, the transients could still get above the ceiling/threshold, effectively still allowing for clipping. However, these definitions aren't written in stone and you should use whatever sounds good to you of course. With 0 attack you really need the lookahead, otherwise there will always be artifacts due to sudden (attenuation) gain change on the first sample that comes over the threshold. Come to think of it, an attack on a limiter could mean a parameter that is used for the gain attenuation curve during the lookahead time maybe.. Again, many many ways to do similar things, all viable depending on the circumstance. FYI, if you want to see the effect of a compressor/limiter in time you can use a DC offset signal, so a constant amplitude signal that has a constant amplitude below the threshold, then jumps to a constant amplitude above the threshold, and then a section with a constand amplitude below the threshold, after processing with the compressor, the output then shows the attack and release curves nicely. I work in audio processing software company, tho we make immersive sound processing for embedded devices, but these effect chains do include an extremely simple and heavily optimized compressor/limiter at some point, and I used this method (among others) for automated regression testing the integration of that compressor (i.e. make sure nothing changes in different versions of the effect chain it is part of).

[@rsearle1000]

You had the Ableton limiter in Midside mode but not on the L2.

[@prodnickrue]

great video!

[@TeslaOsiris]

My mastering limiting is a combo of Newfangled Elevate followed by sonible smart:limit, and I don’t think the new Ableton limiter will replace that. But it is an improvement that some may find useful.

[@hello123457567]

pro L sounds more natural maintaining the low end and transients , but Ableton sounds much louder taming the lows and pushing the mids, squashing the transients far more

[@nomaddigitalmusic]

thanks Sam

[@alvarthechemist]

Is there latency correction possibility in Pro-L 2?

[@MikeDeanOfficials]

It might be oversampling causing the peaks.

[@johnviera3884]

why would latency matter on a limiter?

[@like7Y50N]

the live limiter sounds a little juicier or saturated.

[@Sivart713]

OH MAN I WANTED TO TAKE OFF MY SHIRT AND GET SWEATY HEARING THAT BEAT. HOOooOOoo YEAAA?

[@RJ1J]

Run the session at 96k or higher to improve the Ableton limiter's sound. Oversampling can introduce issues.

[@CheloScotti]

but ableton is true peaking at +0.9 (!) this is 1db louder than L2

[@shinyisshiny7780]

the answer is no lol. they added some nice features, but its not pro L. Pro L is getting replaced in many of my sessions anyways. Acustica Lace, Limitless, Smart Limit, Ozone 11, TDR Limiter 6 (super slept on)

[@ghfjfghjasdfasdf]

Silly comparison… FabFilter’s L2 is way more powerful. Live’s limiter is amazing mid mix on a per track or bussed basis… but not on the master bus for the final version.

[@Satwamassive]

It's called clickbait.....wake up

[@ghfjfghjasdfasdf]

Didn’t even cross my mind, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you were right..

[@SNKSAR]

that thumbnail tho.... :D Nice

[@RIKI77777]

answer: no

[@NeoNezz4217]

Fl Studio!!!!

[@LABACKmusic]

NEVER

[@EclectusFMB]

🤌ableton live ✌️FL studio 🤏other daw... 😂😂😂