How to get loud masters with a few clicks using SONIBLE SMART LIMIT

[@PaulThird]

FYI this video is NOT sponsored by sonible. Below is the soundcloud link for the full wav's of my shootout Listen to LIMITER SHOOTOUT soundcloud.app.goo.gl/7Gexc And below is the link to the unlisted video of another engineers 10 limiter shootout which includes smart limit kzbin.info/www/bejne/iJS2hWOkapecqc0

[@ronnielad1928]

been using it for a short spell n really happy with the results.. another grt vid my dude

[@PaulThird]

🤓🤓

[@hansvos5897]

I'm not used to give comments but thanks so much for this review. I've Been enjoying all your reviews until now, keep 'm coming. I've. learned a lot...

[@PaulThird]

Glad the videos have been helping 🤜🤛

[@CreativeMindsAudio]

This video shows how far behind waves is. i own everything in this video. my go to for my heavy handed limiter is the pro L2 though. but i think that's gonna change. The lows on the smart limit sounded better and in general the smart limit sounded more gentle and subtle limiting, while still delivering the same loudness and having extra features (saturation). Good video!

[@PaulThird]

🤓🤓

[@misterniceshoes2888]

Definitely wouldn't use Waves L1 on a master but I do find it great as a tool for single tracks as a quick way to pin tracks.

[@CreativeMindsAudio]

@@misterniceshoes2888 oh i agree! though i use the L2 for that and RARELY these days. I'll often choose sonnox inflator over it now. The classic waves stuff just feels like old tech, colors the sound negatively more than I'd like, and just isn't as transparent as I'd like. Also the latency and CPU power waves plugins use is just so above other brands.

[@닥터최]

Your hard work and respect.

[@PaulThird]

🤜🤛

[@IMAWriterRobJ]

Clean baby! His vocal already has all the saturation one needs. Same with the synth. I go 8xs oversampling with FF L2. I'm working at 96k. I've downloaded the demo. Nice video, terrific way to reference multiple limiters using the SAME segment multi times.

[@PaulThird]

I think purely for engagement purposes it needs to be split as by the time you've listened to a full track youve lost any real perception and most likely switch off. Its a bit annoying setting it up but I'm happy looking back. Paints a good picture of the track whilst still giving you context to how each compare. YT is a labor of love 🤣

[@IMAWriterRobJ]

@@PaulThird Much appreciated. For me, the GUI seems a bit disorganized. But, like anything, I suppose once familiarized, LESS disorganized.

[@DarrenAudioguy]

Nice review. As always thanks for the candour - certainly very refreshing.

[@PaulThird]

🤓🤓

[@hrorm]

Another win for A.I, Great video, as always with you :)

[@PaulThird]

🤜🤛

[@LUXXLY]

Sonible replied to a comment I had regarding oversampling, "smart:limt is based on a quite complex (and unique) multi-stage limiting process. Different stages are running at different resolutions - so listing a single oversampling factor simply doesn’t really make sense for our design. So while there's no single reference value to calm your mind, rest assured that smart:limit is using high-resolution oversampling throughout the whole limiting chain where necessary."

[@PaulThird]

So only certain elements are oversampled 🤷‍♂️

[@chrisibbetson]

Nice vid as usual. I can hear the aliasing straight away! Yes! I'm still kinda learning what it sounds like and how to recognise it but this was night and day. The sonible is much more open sounding like you say.

[@PaulThird]

I'm still really surprised that nobody else checked for it before doing their reviews but maybe I'm just 'that aliasing guy' 🤣🤣

[@jimmytaberner5187]

love your videos

[@PaulThird]

🤓🤓

[@americanantagon1st]

I added this to my plugin arsenal last night, but I prefer Newfangled Elevate. It's way more dynamic, from my quick tests. I do feel like the Smart feature is perfect for mastering stuff quickly and getting great results at the same time. I do use both, now that I've learned that they work very well together. Great video, peace!

[@PaulThird]

🤓🤓

[@documentingordinarythoughts]

Plus one for oversampling ! Hope Sonible sees this video ..

[@PaulThird]

I imagine they'll be keeping an eye on all the reviews so I'd like to think it'd be in a future update.. Well I hope anyway as I'm not touching that saturation until they do 🤣

[@documentingordinarythoughts]

@@PaulThird same here !

[@IMAWriterRobJ]

@@documentingordinarythoughts Also having a clue as to whether there ARE settings with programmed look-ahead. Paul, did you say that 96k (I'm 64 bit floating) one could use a "we bit" of saturation With less aliasing?

[@PaulThird]

Yeah you'd get away with a wee bit at 96k id imagine. Never tested it but I guess it woudnt be audible till about 15-25% at 96k 🤷‍♂️

[@documentingordinarythoughts]

@@PaulThird i am going to try it with metaplugin .. see what happens ..

[@wrathofmaitreya3229]

Good timing. I am demo-ing this at the moment. You are my favourite Dundee Cake. And I do love me that Dundee cake Paul.

[@PaulThird]

🤜🤛

[@auralsunrays9229]

I agree with all of your findings, including the lack of oversampling and how you rank these limiters you tested. However, in my own blind-tests on 4 different songs with like 8 different limiters, there was one i always liked even more than smartLimit: Ozone Maximizer. In these tests i pushed them quite hard, setting them so they all hit like -6.2 LUFS at -0,1 TP. The smartLimit was actually the 2nd best for me, very close to Ozone. I think for the pure limiting task, Ozone is just amazing. However, if you need/want the additional AI, shaping and metering tools the smartLimit has to offer, it's a great choice. What i also noticed again is that quite a few of these true peak limiters (the bx for instance) can actually shoot over the ceiling you set... I was taking part in a mastering contest with Mastering The Mix and used the bx as my limiter. Since you could deliver a .wav i just went for a ceiling of 0.0 TP. But when i got feedback for my master they told me that my file exceeded 0 db :( The sonible is accurate though in that regard. So i learned the lesson: always check the final output with a meter you trust (for me that's Youlean).

[@PaulThird]

I use youlean as well 🤓

[@nathanyang1218]

Before dither for 16bit wav's I usually ceiling at -0.2db with true peak on. -0.4db or -0.5db to be safe ;)

[@kaisersoze9488]

True Peak is nonsense when mastering what really matters is the RMS Value and Short Term Lufs

[@rafyahu]

Wow! I came to the same conclusion - Ozone Maximizer sounds richer. Don't like Neutron or Nectar nor most of Ozone in particular, so I was really surprised by the limiter comparison.

[@mixphantom0101]

I'm very impressed with Smart Limit... beats the BX limiter easily (I'd be surprised if any "pros" use the BX... I found it very disappointing). My initial tests have Smart "neck and neck" with Pro-L2 but I'm still leaning FabFilter! (or Softube's Weiss Compressor/Limiter!) Also, in this day and age a "mastering compressor" without lookahead is a non-starter in my books!

[@akagerhard]

Have you heard it in the other comparison yet? I think Smart Limit is best suited for Jazz-ish music, not so great for electronic or hip-hop (that's my first impression). I usually use the StealthLimiter (IK) and if that doesn't seem to work either Ozones Maximizer or Weiss Limiter. However I don't usually use the Weiss as a Limiter. It's more of a compressor to me (especially for lowendspecific compression) - although I have no doubt that you can use it as Limiter once you truely master that thing. I don't (yet) The Sonible does not really intrigue me, I have my eyes on the elevate from eventide (demoing it, but I think there are more relevant things to spend my money on atm - although it is great!)

[@PaulThird]

I don't know what's truly going on under the hood though so there may be lookahead going on in the presets and in the learning process but I couldn't say for sure. I'm not viewing this a one stop shop limiter but it's extremely quick and gives me a very transparent and open sound when limiting. Really good limiter to check my mixes on or even mix through (without any of the added features). If I was actually mastering a track or mastering for a living then I'd probably look around and have a few options but this would definitely be one I'd try out but I know that it's not gonna be the best on every track. Perfect for my needs though as I'm not mastering

[@mixphantom0101]

@@akagerhard I haven't heard the other comparisons yet... primarily as I've been "planning" on starting a KZbin channel with a serious limiter battle - so I'm very familiar with all the ones you mentioned (sadly, I own all of them!). My torture tests revealed many surprises - first of which is that StealthLimiter is not a limiter at all, but a clipper! Maximizer is not a limiter either, but oddly, a maximizer! It's like a combination of Sonnox Inflator and a True Peak limiter - probably why people love it, and I don't 😉 Elevate "was" interesting but ultimately disappointing when compared to Pro-L2 and Weiss Comp/Limiter. I also battled DMG Limitless, BX True Peak, TC Brickwall and a couple of others I've forgotten. The biggest surprise and in the "top 5" was Melda Production's MLimiterX and MLimiterMB. Hopefully I'll get around to putting the video online... the goal was the "cleanest and most transparent" which most of them were not.

[@mixphantom0101]

@@PaulThird I totally agree... normally I buy Sonible products without even demoing - but I've got a stupid amount of limiters, and frankly, I always defer to Pro-L2. I think I'll save my money for the Pro-L3 upgrade - no idea if it's on the cards but it'll be worth the wait! 😎

[@akagerhard]

@@mixphantom0101 that sounds really intriguing! I subbed and I'll be sure to check your video out. I am a producer, not a mastering-engineer - but I do dabble in mixing and mastering a little bit, as most producers I know do. Stealth-Limiter sounds very different than my clipper. A clipper "shaves off", a Limiter "redraws" the transient right? By that definition Stealth-Limiter seems to be a Limiter to me (at normal levels) - and I've heard plenty of engineers use it as a Limiter too! But since I won't act like I know a lot about limiters, I'll be happy to learn something. By what I've just read the definitions seem to be pretty.. flowing. I've seen Stealth Limiter and FF L2 listed as maximizers at sonarworks (at the end of an article about the differences between limiter and maximizer). Inflator is a saturator and clipper to me - and I do wonder what you don't like about Elevator. I've seen you mention Melda Production routinely. MLimiterMB is a Multiband-Limiter I assume? So basically what Elevate is with less bands? If I may give advice: Be very clear about your definition of "Clipper/Limiter/Maximizer" - because without that info that might be problematic. Manufacturers AND engineers have varying definitions - to me everything that limits but is not saturating as much - nor clipping instantly - is a limiter, everything else that gives a ceiling to audio is a clipper. I guess I'll see and learn more once you post your video!

[@BayanChacra]

Thanks Paul, I like your videos.

[@PaulThird]

🤓🤓

[@darrellroseborough7275]

Thanks Paul, at the end of the day as you mentioned is all subjective but your advice is priceless and for the most part dead on. The Soniible is fucking great especially for the quick fast and a hurry type of workflow in getting good quality stuff to the clients without much compromising the sound. Keep up the good work your songs sound awesome.

[@PaulThird]

🤜🤛

[@umanoid1523]

I Downloaded the demo immediatly. reviews have been good and I dropped it at the end of my mastering chain on a new track I'm working on. Seems good to me. Was hoping you'd do a review.

[@PaulThird]

As soon as sonible sent me the email 2 weeks ago I knew I was going to do this haha I love all this geeky AI stuff haha

[@Worgram]

Damn dude, beside the video the song is hella catchy! (the pocketknife one) looking forward to add it to my spotify playlist man!

[@PaulThird]

It's not my song but the original mix should be on Spotify I imagine 🤓

[@Worgram]

@@PaulThird oooh okay sad^^ do you know the complete name of it? :)

[@PaulThird]

Pretty sure it's pocket knife. Band is Bronze ready return or something like that. I got it as a free multitrack from the telefunken site

[@mathyoooo2]

the sonible really does sound great, transparent and punchy at the same time. The bx has good low end but as you said pushes the other elements to the background

[@PaulThird]

Yeah Ive been quite disappointed with bx but I suppose it's maybe more tailored to certain genres or specific tracks. I can't see me ever finding a use for it with the genres I like to work in

[@michaelhonormusic]

(I bought into the hype, now I have really changed my mind about this limiter) I have used Izotope maximizer for a while and have got good results. But you and others speaks good about Smart Limiter so I bought it with intro price. I must say its a very clever and great sounding limiter that is worth the high asking price even if I think it should not cost over 100 bucks. So far my nr.1 limiter 👍😊🍻

[@PaulThird]

👌👌

[@PharaohLawLess1]

After just purchasing the Acustica Audio HWMC I thought I was done buying plugins. Now I think I have to go to the till 1 last time to get this plugin. I have the Smart EQ already too

[@akagerhard]

the amount of times I thought "this is the last plugin I buy" is just as heartbreaking as the number of times I went back into a mix after I told myself "final bounce" :'(

[@PaulThird]

I use a smart eq on every mix now to give me a flat tonal balance to mix on top of. Killer plugins 👌

[@BottleneckMoses]

Thanks Paul 🙂

[@PaulThird]

🤓🤓

[@matthewmessner1105]

BX True Limiter has a low end problem, I demo'd it and it just loses all low end in all genres. I bought Smart Limit and I'm in love. I was eyeing L2 for a bit but this met my needs and more

[@PaulThird]

Sonible are on a roll.. Just give me some oversampling in the next update and it will be perfect 👌 Tbh I might not use the saturation anyway even with oversampling but its still nice to have

[@carlosp.1846]

bought it, its good for certain songs, but Elevate is much more dynamic and keeps impact of drums. Still nice to have it in the arsenal

[@PaulThird]

🤓🤓

[@aviatedviewssound4798]

I agree but the only things that is lacking in the elevate bundle is the true peak algo but everything is sonic bliss but the smart limit true peak is amazing placed after a limiter for some slight shaving.

[@akagerhard]

Insane how good the smart limiter sounded on that little Jazz-track. It really has a light touch. You went above and beyond for us and I'll reward you with a like! Now to the 10 others.. Also if anyone cares: Sonible has a sale right now. Smart EQ is 50 Bucks off. Just sayin..

[@PaulThird]

I do try my best haha

[@musicman8942]

Just did a trial between smart:limit and FabFilter Pro L (the latter being my go-to limiter on the 2 bus) on the same piece of music. With the same settings on both limiters where I could match them I found that smart:limit actually shaved off about 2 dB on transients that Pro L2 let through. Nothing went above the levels I set so it wasn't limiting. I use limiters mainly to catch possible overs and not to raise levels if I don't have to. Same attacks on both with using the slowest attack on Pro L and matching that on smart:limit. Couple of things I don't like with smart:limit is no oversampling (yes I read the answer from sonible on that) and no look ahead. Given those 2 things took smart:limit out of the picture. They may not matter much to anyone else but for me they're biggies.

[@theweaz9975]

Great vid .. I got it a few days ago

[@PaulThird]

Happy with the purchase so far? 🤓

[@kaisersoze9488]

I would've love to see a null test in the fabfilter and the smart limiter to compare their differences

[@PaulThird]

I could go back to it if I've time but I think the smart limiter will have a bit more top. Definitely won't null anyway haha

[@mixphantom0101]

I just did a torture/null test to see how close they are... actually very close if you don't use the "assorted spices". The main difference is their release curves and the stereo "link" settings... ie. at 50% Smart sounds slightly wider.

[@mbombaby]

I agree..Sonible clean.

[@ronson795]

Would be interesting to see a best of limiter shoot out. FF L2, Smart Limit, DMG Limitless, Ursa DSP Boost, Ozone Limiter.

[@PaulThird]

Tbh its too contextual in my book. I can see why so many mastering engineers have like 6 or 7 different limiters. Loads can have their use on specific genres of music. After hearing quite a few now I'd say that there probably isn't a 'one size fits all' limiter in reality but I may be wrong

[@IMAWriterRobJ]

@@PaulThird No, you are correct. No one size fits all...unl;ess it has a huge amount of sonic features...as does the Sonible..and under the hood, the FF L2

[@JoeyFTL]

That screencapture is buttery smooth my friend, do you mind if I ask what kind of software you're using?

[@PaulThird]

Streamlabs OBS 🤓

[@djtuff514]

Great video, who makes the pie max plugin you spoke of ?

[@PaulThird]

Arboreal Audio. Think he stuck it out today. I'm still editing the video

[@djtuff514]

Wicked thanks, gonna try out the demo, keep up the great work,

[@joechapman8208]

In the Clean/Sat/bx_TP test, you can really hear how the vocal gets lost in everything except the Clean Smart:Limit. The phrase "made of blades" in "I got a body made of blades" loses the vital bits of legibility.

[@PaulThird]

Yeah I really feel the mix is more present in the clean smart limit. Everythings more identifiable

[@mikelo303]

Smart Limit is cleanest limiter I tested. It;s toe to toe with my best limiter Newfangled Elevate. Elevate can be more dynamic sometimes but Smart is way easier to use and sounds almost as good as Elevate.

[@PaulThird]

I didn't realise just how popular elevate was till I did this video haha

[@isajoha9962]

Cool track !!! :-)

[@PaulThird]

It was a free live multitrack from the telefunken sessions. bit of a pain to mix as it was live so tons of bleed but a nice song to work on none the less 🤓

[@jan_07]

Hey Paul, thanks for the video! So I was wondering, and this might sound like a noob question (since I don't do any mastering stuff): if the saturation knob creates aliasing for 48k sample rates, would it be okay to just add a saturation plugin that has oversampling feature before the smart limiter (in clean settings) to mimic saturation without too much aliasing? Thanks!

[@PaulThird]

Depends where the saturation is in the chain of the Plugin and how it interacts with the rest of the features. I dunno if it's pre or post spectral eq 🤷‍♂️ Tbh id be extremely careful with saturation on a master as it can really alter the tone of a mix. As I'm not a mastering engineer I always go for transparent loudness as you just want your mix but louder. You can't really go wrong by maintaining your mix and simply making it louder. All saturation I do is on the tracks & busses and some slight saturation on the mixbus via lift 3 but the rest of my mixbus is clean. Be careful not to overdo saturation. Every mastering engineer I've spoken to tell me to chill on saturation during mixing and don't stack saturation on top of saturation on top of saturation. 1 or 2 instances of saturation on a track should be more than enough to give you vibe and perceived loudness if you use the right saturators / clippers

[@jan_07]

@@PaulThird I see, wow thanks for the explanation and some tips on not to overdo them! It's like a mini private tutorial but in the comments section for me haha, cheers!

[@AlistairKarim]

Paul, there was a very intriguing equalizer that came out recently. Kirchhoff-EQ by Three Body Technology. Its very description and details from the author's blog explained a lot to me about the work of digital equalizers. Like why its not enough to match the curves. I think he will be of interest to you. It has a demo version to try.

[@Rhuggins]

Review this!! Omg it looks amazing

[@PaulThird]

They mailed me when it first came out but after speaking to other engineers I struggled to see where it had an advantage of FF proq3 🤷‍♂️

[@jamesconraadtucker]

Absolutely Paul, there's no fix all saturation device. Global aliasing repairs are near worthless. Garbage in/garbage out. It's much better to locate specific harsh transients from tracks. Or several tracks producing such inter related harsh transients. Aliasing is best covered with quality cutoff frequency converters, proper "track(s) or bus limiting", or subtle compression, and not repaired after the fact (though some rpost repair can happen). It's like putting a band-aid on a sprained ankle. The user might have avoided the sprain in the first placr by loosening up before the injury. OK, bad example, but you get my drift. ; ) Case in point, the audio examples in some places had some bad guitar transients (crappy digital distortion) that nothing post will fix. Period. Only band aid (pardon the pun). The fix should have happened earlier. Then properly limited. If the user is limiting 8 dB or anywhere near that, then they're doing something wrong. Likely over working any limiter circuit or algorithm. Then a final brick wall limit of about 5 to 6 dB should be fine. The Sonible Smart Limit is an excellent choice. At 5 dB reduction (maximizing) so would the L1 be sufficient, though Im not a fan if it either. 10 dB maximizing is just bad medicine.

[@PaulThird]

Problem is modern day music is limited to -7/8 lufs on average. Loudness still reins supreme. I still cant believe some are even being limited to -4 lufs because "the perceived loudness" will sound better when normalised when in reality you've sacrificed a crap ton of your low end. But many like to tell me.. I'm not a full time working engineer so my opinion is completely invalid so what do I know eh haha 🤷‍♂️ In regards to aliasing. You can't fix aliasing after the fact. Once it's there it is there and needs fixed at the source. I dunno if we're talking about the same thing when I was talking about oversampling needed in the smart limit to combat the aliasing which is in the plugin itself, not the track when using the saturation. I'm more interested in what you mean by bad guitar transients/crappy digital distortion in some places. Do you mean this is something that was on the original stems? Just as when I processed the guitars there is no aliasing on them. I didn't use any plugins that cause audible aliasing. I'm getting a bit confused by your terminology a bit as mines is a bit different.

[@SoundSignals]

Can't handle it's own arse lol! 😂😂😂

[@PaulThird]

Nothing new there eh 🤣🤣

[@harkityon5879]

Their coming oot wae some braw plugins Paul eh... You ever looked into AAS player & packs? Fkn blinding & run in kontakt.. The new analogue orchestra is fkn class.. Their doing packs for 20 bucks... I've got them mate... Maybe you do too... Just a heads up for the troops... Cheers Paul...

[@PaulThird]

I'm pretty basic bitch when it comes to virtual instruments haha

[@harkityon5879]

@@PaulThird get the Aplied Acoustics player engine with one amazing pack to start.. The reggae pack, gypsy guitar, Analogue studio are great honest... Wee player is Standalone tae... Business honest...

[@bluematrix5001]

Man you should loop only one bar so the comparisons are way easier to identify

[@PaulThird]

Tried it. Engagement drops when I do that. People get annoyed or bored and switch off or skip

[@bluematrix5001]

@@PaulThird So if is all about the engagement, make a show with a baby Doll and your views will sky rocket!

[@JoeyFTL]

I thought they only had mixing wedNESdays up north ;)

[@PaulThird]

Every day is mixing wednesday in my house.. Unfortunately for my wife & kids 🤣

[@thisscottishaspie5961]

🤓🤓🤓

[@PaulThird]

Remember to check out my autism channel if you want to learn more about my life 🤓🤓

[@allenm]

Clean is better!

[@PaulThird]

🤓🤓

[@gmichaelhall]

Sonible handled the pokey bit on the word (FR) om. Thru the waves and bx, the FR in the word "from", sounded like an automation or compression mistake. But the sonible handled it to the point where it didn't stick out like dogs balls. And if that was a creative production choice, it translates best in sonible. But to me, it stuck out so much I couldn't unheard and listen objectively at that point. Stay safe and well ✌️ 🎶 🎶

[@PaulThird]

That vocal is probably the worst vocal I've ever worked on haha I threw everything at it, spiff, split eq, soothe, smart eq and stlll came out pretty harsh 😅

[@gmichaelhall]

@@PaulThird that may be, but in the context of the mix, I really really like the song. The only lumpy thing I heard that was that one word, and for the sake of the demonstration, it stood out as the phrase that best made your case for the sonible. I could hear precisely what each limiter was doing and in all honesty, I don't think I personally would have used any of the three on this particular track. I first would have tried stacking different limiters, both on light duty and one probably being a vintage style limiter like the UAD2 precision limiter for tone glue/shape and a smidgen of gain and minimum limiting, feeding into something like the FF limiter to deal with the final levels. I really like the song and mix, it just had a few wobblies that served the demonstration well, but may well deserve a mix review and tweak that would probably make the artist very proud to call that a single. Unique track, some great lyrics and a very signature arrangement, awesome excitement in the mix. Great work dude ✌️ 🎶 🎶

[@PaulThird]

🤓🤓

[@gmichaelhall]

@@PaulThird I apologise for my unnecessary summation, I hope I didn't over step mate. This video and example really got my attention and wanted to chat about it I tend to over talk when I'm in it ya know. Ah the spectrum shows itself. Be well kind man ✌️

[@PaulThird]

It's cool man. I actually took it more as a complement as it tells me I'm going in the right direction with my mixing 🤣

[@Studio987Rec]

🙂 Hello !!!!

[@PaulThird]

👋👋👋

[@ramspencer5492]

Wait. Sonible doesn't offer Oversampling????? How's that possible. I thought those guys were too smart for that. There must be some oversampling in the regular limiting settings or the clean wouldn't be so clean. But they completely ignore that in the saturation circuit???? Yeah the aliasing was really obvious and sounds bad. Maybe with Metaplugin and a ton of Oversampling. Otherwise, clean is the only option.

[@PaulThird]

My thought is cpu. They never oversample any of their plugins if I'm correct. Maybe the AI part of it or something, I have no Idea

[@saardean4481]

Well in short "Limiter that is not good for Mastering" = Not a good Limiter imho. Better used in a traditional Comp scenario but a Limiter should be "Good for Mastering" as it is ideally the last (or in some cases the second one from the end) in a mastering chain . Then again, thats just mho

[@PaulThird]

Very good point tbf

[@red-x2g]

Third

[@PaulThird]

🤓🤓

[@paulmistygatz7888]

Yes! Paul thank you! I’ve tested this thing today. Sonically to my ears it beats the Pro-L2 from Fabfilter. Just a bit more transparent and open. But I can’t follow the hype already. It’s just a mediocre limiter. The smart AI is, well, good, but man, no chance against Ozone’s limiter features like Transient emphasis, different release modes (IRC), timing response and so on. The smart limit is nice, and I would prefer it over the Fabfilter. But it’s not something that impressed me much. That said, as a straight limiter it has an almost warm sound to me. Which is something you might be aiming for.

[@PaulThird]

Tbh if you've got ozone you probably won't find a need for this unless you didn't like the sound of ozone. I dunno how different the 2 are in regards to sound

[@paulmistygatz7888]

@@PaulThird interestingly the Smart Limit sounds warmer and rounder. One might really like that. On the other hand, the Ozone doesn’t alter the sound in that manner, what might be a Mastering engineers first choice.

[@PaulThird]

Did you compare it clean and saturated?