You're Using Your Limiter WRONG

[@ThePhiCode]

you're that guy on KZbin who doesn't clickbait or waste time, straight to the point and very useful information, I really appreciate it

[@WillBorza]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed!

[@CarlyonProduction]

EVEYTHING you know about limiters is wrong. lol. Not hating but that’s def clickbait

[@Ikhthus777]

What useful did you learn from this video? I don't get it

[@EricDavisMusic]

the value to time ratio of this video is extraordinarily high. great work.

[@WillBorza]

Thank you so much!

[@SanRegret]

@@WillBorza Its about an 1 to 0.25 Ratio so would call this an Knowledge Enhancer. It's really transparent aswell!

[@MrFree-vj8qj]

Bs 4 fkin min of intro you must be trolling

[@iamgeorgesears]

This. No bullshit, no time wasting, straight to the point. Man that's refreshing.

[@newsyNL]

​@@SanRegret❤❤😊

[@clocks8137]

ngl i saw this video an was like oh here we go again but youre right, you are the first person to vocalize to my knowledge how important the release time is. I set my release based on the genre, bpm etc. mostly listening to the song and adjusting the release until it fits and sounds right. like you said, finding the pocket. its not some hard and set rule, its different every time

[@astralmooncat_jyro_Tenshi]

It makes so much sense. The chain order is so important, just like in sound design. I think mixing and mastering is as part of the overall design, and when mixing or producing a track, these steps should be taken in consideration.

[@cobraofearth]

love the historical context, that type of thing really helps me grasp the concept.

[@WillBorza]

Thanks for watching 😊

[@palegobit]

+1 on Cody Braden, the historical perspective was super helpful. Really great job! Thanks.

[@WillBorza]

Thank you so much!

[@stevenleonmusic]

I think I inadvertently stumbled upon this when I was messing around with the "Maximizer" in Cubase. With just the limiter it was sounding louder but that's it. With a combo of the maximizer with soft clipping enabled and the limiter with less input gain I was getting the same overall loudness but a much tighter sound, especially on the vocals.

[@ajlsoundwave]

The best part about audio is that there are so many different ways to get to the final end result. I think your explanation of "how you are getting there" was explained very well and extremely useful for anyone trying to master regarding of experience, knowledge and gear. Great stuff, and now subscribed. Cheers.

[@lukeblackwell7126]

Such a great video with genuine knowledge. Really love learning the historical origins as it helps me understand it better!

[@ShayneCutler]

Just used your master chain and "BOOM!!!"...Thats what I was looking for...Really helpful video...Thankyou.

[@Thatwouldbematt]

This has been one of the best explanations for how important and easy it is to dial in a master chain. Simple and bountiful in information.

[@WillBorza]

Glad it was helpful!

[@JiihaaS]

I often put a subtle clipper / limiter before the compressor too to make its job easier on transients.

[@WillBorza]

This is the way!

[@jayfblank]

@JS I was just thinking that, lol, gmta.. I have a few instrument tracks this could be perfect for.

[@Streaky_com]

Cool vid…loved the trip down memory lane….those tape to tape days were long!!!

[@WillBorza]

Thanks for watching Streaky! I love your channel!

[@Kwayjaye]

nomenclature is a very exclusive term i thought i only used!! wow im subbing now!! language within language

[@Downstream33]

I’m the student, you are the master. 🙏🏼

[@darrellroseborough7275]

I’m so glad that I stumbled upon this video. No frills spills or tricks just precise and to the point clear cut explanations. None of this you’re doing it all wrong bullshit. Everybody’s way is their way or the highway type vlog. You Will are a god sent. Thanks and keep up the great work for the recording community. I did check this method out and gotten some great results although I have been doing my own thing without any tutorials and also gotten good results. I think it’s called trial and error imo. The way you explained it I get more consistency I have to admit. Hey people subscribe this guy gets it.❤

[@WillBorza]

Thank you so much!

[@Rhuggins]

You are amazing, just discovered your channel. Love your way of speaking about these things and subtle sense of humor

[@WillBorza]

Thank you so much!

[@ShaneDobbie]

i use TDR limiter 6 GE most of the time. I think it's the default preset to have comp -> clipper -> limiter and i always got results i'm happy with.

[@kaveiros75]

A fan of TDR Limiter here also. Although I often do experiment with the order of the chain.

[@poindextertunes]

I just recently doubled up on clippers and limiters in my mastering chain. Its like having 4 people to move a heavy object, rather than just two. The clipper/limiters don’t have to work as hard and the signal stays clean longer before its clipped digitally out of the DAW

[@Ikhthus777]

You're saying that I need 4 limiters to master a track?

[@SpyderBlackOfficial]

Mike Dean does This as well. I started doing the same

[@RivenantOfficial]

You’re a scholar and a gentleman. Thank you for taking time to do these videos. They have helped immensely.

[@WillBorza]

Glad you like them!

[@thaDjMauz]

My tip as producer for producers is to try to be a producer and not an engineer. Make inventive, expressive and original music that should rightfully be supported by a label that will organize good mastering for you, then you only need to manage your gainstaging. I see too many producers lose themselves in the mastering rabbithole, and while it is valuable knowledge, make sure to maintain your enthusiasm for expressing yourself in your composition.

[@alexdjprod]

💯👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@stebeusmusic]

And if you still can't get a label, you just got to the minimum in the engineering parts, like just using the mix to enhance some sounds with volume adjustments, maybe some EQ to cut some stuff and compressor to remove some volume differences and stereo (panning, maybe reverb). Mastering should just be limiting to avoid some super loud part that could have. Just 1 day for mixing and in the day 1 hour in maximum for mastering

[@Yishinyourear]

I actually stumbled, quite recently, on that very last part about clipping before the limiter, my mouth hit the floor, you just confirmed it! 🙏

[@WillBorza]

Awesome!

[@artemyeden]

it's really helpful advice. i'm not a mastering engineer, but i do mastering just because my clients ask me to do it for them. years before i used to slam my stuff so it feels cluttered and unstable (it's so cringy for me to hear it on Spotify nowadays, damn). and i didn't even hear that, because my ears were so washed out after days of working on a song. until i start clipping in a different ways - soft clipping, digital clipping, wave shaping, sinoid folding etc... now my levels are consistent before limiting process and i have enough volume almost every time, especially when i produced and mixed everything wisely. now my limiting is not a "lufs tool" as it was before, it's more like a glue and and additional peak control to make sure that everything doesn't sound over -0.3dBFS. and my average limiting now is around -0-2dB with some extra peaks might be -3dB. but not more, except is an EDM track when the sound should be pumped extra. in this case i just use two limiters - one for pump and one for control at the end of a chain. i hope that more people got this mindset to make they tracks more solid after limiting

[@tyjuarez]

I think just throwing your mix into Ozone and following along the usual path _does_ work, and it makes a decent master. But I find there's a lot more care in chipping away at it effect by effect. Soft clip, saturate, filters, regular EQ, dynamic EQ/Compression, and THEN a limiter, it all works together making little 1-2dB adjustments, and you end up with a master that's -10 or -12 LUFS without sounding dynamically compromised.

[@WillBorza]

You’ve got it!

[@tyjuarez]

@@WillBorza oh and also i do all my mastering in audacity with free vsts

[@jabbo312]

After struggling to understand compression, finally an explanation I can understand and use. Thanks so much for making this.

[@jodextunez4908]

Hello Just seeing this video and I must confess you're a great teacher. Straight to the point and explicit. How about you make a video showing how you use that mastering chain?

[@DeltaWhiskeyBravo13579]

Excellent info once again. I'm doing my work in the box, Mac Mini M2 with Studio One 6.5 Artist. My 2 bus has 3 inserts, a Pulsar Audio W495 EQ, LVC Clipped-MAX and Limited-MAX. The limiter is only doing 1.5 - 2 dB gain reduction. The 2 bus also has a post section where I have a few Master meters. I picked up on the pointer to use a clipper harder than the limiter, but still using both. I like what I'm getting through this setup.

[@WillBorza]

Glad it's working for you! Thanks for watching!

[@daleonov]

That's an interesting concept! I've never used clipper before limiting, although seen people use it. Now it makes sense!

[@WillBorza]

Try it, you’ll love it!

[@StenIsaksson]

Finally someone who says vlog instead of v log V log, It's like saying b log instead of blog

[@BryceDoesLife]

could you explain how each of those plug ins in your chain emulate each zone/what they do?

[@starcata4801]

BRO! THAT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE! THANK YOU!

[@cholkymilkmirage4984]

solid, my chain for loudness and mastering at the end is always a inflator, into a kazrog clipper hard clipping, and them limiter.

[@Getemprod.]

isnt inflator a clipper ? so you are using 2 clipper ?

[@BLASTLYNX]

Very valuable info and it verifies something i heard the other day. The person was basically saying that they did their limiting in stages by putting limiters on all their mix busses before the master chain, that way their master chain didnt have all that range of transients constantly altering the "release" pocket. They didnt word it quite how you did here in this video but it makes a lot of sense. I would love to see a more in depth example of this technique at play.

[@bartjelories]

Clip to zero method maybe is what you wonna check.

[@TWEAKER01]

Traditionally (historically) it was actually: 1/2" or 1/4" tape > NR decode > console with 1 or 2 EQ's, *no compression, no limiting* > 1/4" (most often) or 1/2" tape. Key to all that (and still) is you make decisions listening from the end of the chain (off-tape), not to a section in isolation.

[@xanlosgames6270]

Thanks for the clear cut explainations, we need more content creators that gets straight to the point (while having fun, of course)

[@WillBorza]

Thanks! More to come!

[@xanlosgames6270]

@@WillBorza You just earned yourself a new sub, keep up the grind boss!

[@88bsides]

Thank you for the history, It helped me finally understand how to use a clipper correctly. I think you are right that this isn't talked about enough. Fire vid! Subbed.

[@WillBorza]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!

[@warpacademy]

Good content. I hope your channel does well. Video editing tip. When you do a hard cut on your video, make sure you crossfade your audio. Every time you do a hard cut, your audio clicks because you've sliced it at a non-zero crossing and haven't attended to the audio. Every NLVE has an audio crossfade option you can access for this. Cheers and thanks for the signal chain info!

[@WillBorza]

Thanks! I’m trying to improve with every video. One of these days hopefully I can just hire a video editor 😂

[@insert_moniker]

Adding this to my useful information playlist where many more of your videos will probably wind up as well. Thanks!

[@nathanweinstein2766]

The most transparent gain reduction on full spectrum material is hard clipping. So, this is correct advice, except I use two limiters… the first: 0 look ahead and max attack (preventing the limiting algorithm from engaging), minimum release (to only affect the transients)… Then use the second limiter as normal.

[@nathanweinstein2766]

If the material isn’t full spectrum, you’ll get some unpleasant farts if more than a couple of low frequency cycles are clipped 😬

[@klontjespap]

@@nathanweinstein2766 love myself a good series of farts

[@Juline1221]

I always come back to this video as a reminder for myself! Thank you!

[@Nick_Rowlett]

PLEASE make a video about oxford inflator and/or mastering really loud bass music. Both would be HUGE to learn about with this stuff!

[@MichaelTNewell]

Big amateur here. Don't have the plugins you listed but I got some that roughly serve the same purpose. Already noticing a very nice difference. Mainly from a clipper at the start of the chain. Haven't delved into release time yet.

[@ElbasBasslee]

Great info - but lots of studio noise in the recording, and mids causing distortion on my surround speakers

[@GalacticTravelers]

Extremely well put together video! I always use a clipper on individual tracks/groups this way the limiter doesn't have to work as hard to tame those rogue transients.

[@WillBorza]

Thanks for watching!

[@TheBinaryWolf]

Am I correct in understanding that dynamic range is lost in both limiting and compression but differently? Generally speaking a limiter affects mainly the loudest spikes, while a compressor affects the loudest and softest audio signals equally. No? Pop music lends itself to little dynamic range but orchestra music must preserve, say, parts at pppp and ffff; so I am inclined avoid compression in classical music but use a limiter...sparingly. Can you throw some light on this matter?

[@edwardkenemorales]

Hi Will, can you please share how you use Inflator in your mastering chain, like how you use it as a clipper? Thank you!

[@WillBorza]

Sure thing! The IRON and AMEK push into the clipper, or if they are being used with more headroom, I may use the gain fader on the left side of inflator just until I see the song pushing a little bit into the red (if you turn off the clipper you can see that the signal lights up just a few LEDs above 0). Once there, I'll use the Vintage Lim for more loudness if the song needs it. Sometimes program material can't hold up to hard clipping, so in those cases I'll make sure not to hit the red line on the inflator, and maybe choose to use the soft clip effect or not. If soft clip doesn't do great things and hard clip is too much, I'll bypass it entirely and opt for a cleaner limiter like Pro-L2 or Maximizer instead of Vintage Lim.

[@edwardkenemorales]

@@WillBorza Thank you so much! How about the process and curves amount? Do you leave it at 0? Also whats an example of a vintage limiter? Fairchild?

[@WillBorza]

Maybe I’ll do a video mastering a song or two with this chain. Hard to explain with words, easy to hear.

[@edwardkenemorales]

@@WillBorza That would be awesome! I will be on the look out for that video. Cheers!

[@SPEEDYANUJ]

You are right bro ..

[@GCPTheServant]

I hear what your saying and this was good info, but we have to take into consideration that not all limiters adjustable release control, and some do have it but it’s attack and release together like in ozone.

[@WillBorza]

If you pull up maximizer in plugin doctor, you don’t see the attack move or change at all. It’s more like “sustain” or “hold” and release

[@GCPTheServant]

@@WillBorza oh okay that makes sense. I always wondered exactly what izotope designed the attack/release to be. Been hearing a lot about plug-in doctor too, might need to cop that. Thanks for the info!

[@WillBorza]

Plugin Doctor is a godsend, and it’s only $39. It’s the best $39 you’ll spend this decade.

[@MrLarson]

I am bit confused, which plugin that you show in the example chain at the end is used as a clipper?

[@MixedByDotRob]

Very cool video! I always have a clipper before the limiter ... but I never used the Oxford Inflator as a clipper! Just tried it and it's great! Thaaanks!

[@WillBorza]

Thank you so much for watching! Inflator is a great clipper but it aliases like a mofo, just be aware and either use that sound deliberately or pick a cleaner clipper if it’s doing “too much”

[@sleepless2621]

@@WillBorza i personally really love kclip3 and blacksalt audio clipper

[@twitcheyspleen]

@@WillBorza PiMax plugin is similar to Inflator, but much cheaper, has oversampling (to help with aliasing issues) and other bells and whistles

[@incrediblechange]

skip to 4:40 and speed up to 1.5 and learn about release on a limiter

[@blackstacie_ibe]

Damn, this went well over my head. I'll be digging into your other videos.

[@chasecampan-thornburg1721]

Glad you hit record. This was helpful. I still need to understand more about limiters. Gonna comb your channel for more. Liked. Subscribed.

[@matlefflerschulman]

This was great. I love the history part and the outtakes at the end!

[@WillBorza]

Thank you so much!

[@uirehuigedkahds]

Great information, thanks.

[@onejohnonenine]

Thank you for this info. I was researching stacking limiters and this is the information I needed.

[@WillBorza]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Detroitdogg]

Great video. Do you recommend a limiter on the master buss during mixdown or just in mastering?

[@WillBorza]

Maybe compression on the mix buss and leave the limiter to the mastering engineer

[@jacksmith4460]

Interesting I have kind of done this with mine anyways (in terms of layout of chain) I master my own stuff in the Box and use Tape emulation into compression into EQ into clipper in to limiter (sometimes into 2 limiters both doing minimal 1-2 Db). I need to learn more about release times and how it affects the pocket in a practical sense but this is good to know the basic Idea of the chain I use is correct. Subbed

[@Bert_Fromarketin]

SoftTube tape ( Swiss Army knife of tape plugs imo) , FF Pro Q3, Weiss Maximizer (which does a bit of limiting and clippng and sounds open and very present dope plugin) or FF Pro L2 because it's open and transparent ( another dope plugin!). Im learning a lot and applying as i go...what i have learned is a little (a touch or two) goes a long way with these plugin's. Nice vid my guy....well done!

[@CraigAdams-s9i]

Technically, the Inflator isn’t a clipper.

[@yanmontoyamusic]

Wow i never thought about to use the inflator as a clipper. Thank you

[@REMRODFILMS]

Which clipper to you recommend bro

[@WillBorza]

Pro-L2: transparent/no lookahead/slowest attack/fastest release/stereo unlinked

[@REMRODFILMS]

@@WillBorza you the damn man!! 💯‼️

[@REMRODFILMS]

@@WillBorza bro do you still add a limiter after it? Or do u use it for clipper and limiter?

[@WillBorza]

If I need more loudness, I will add a limiter after the clipper.

[@REMRODFILMS]

@@WillBorza thank u!🙏🏾

[@CreativeMindsAudio]

Oh totally! People underestimate the power of a good clipper! Have you used the oven or the looptrotter stuff?

[@WillBorza]

I’m loving what I hear with the Oven but it’s still tbd whether it’ll make it into my daily chain or not. Waiting to see if I actually love it once it’s no longer the new hot thing.

[@CreativeMindsAudio]

@@WillBorza yeah I feel ya! I am not sure i'll use it in my mix bus chain but it does add something, but i need to try it on more mixes to know if that something is something i need and actually benefits the mixes.

[@DouglasWidick]

is there a pt2 with examples of this technique in action? Watched your perfect compression video and enjoyed it as well.

[@WillBorza]

I’ll make one!

[@mbynt]

Thank you for the info! Btw, the link to your instagram profile is not working

[@DreamTourTims]

What do you think of using a first limiter at the beginning of the mastering chain to control the peaks ? (like 1-1.5db of gain reduction) and after, compression etc.... and another limiter at the end.

[@WillBorza]

Shhhh don’t give away that trick!!!!

[@deejayprody]

Great info ❤ thank s

[@ProjectHMF]

Thank you for the advice 🙏🙏 Would appreciate if u could answer a quick question, you can do clipping with a limiter if u turn the relase time to 0 right?

[@WillBorza]

Usually no, release time at zero is “padded” on most limiters so that the actual speed is “very very fast, but not instant”. You can check your plugins in Plugin Doctor to see if you can get it to actually clip or just “very nearly” clip.

[@ProjectHMF]

@@WillBorza oh okay thank you I will

[@jwrxgd]

Just watched this video after mastering my latest EP, and I love the way it sounds but now I want to run an experiment of the clipped conversion (or re-creating that in the box) going into the limiter, and see what the difference in sound is compared to the mastered version I have now. Regardless, all this information is extremely helpful and very concise, thank you for this!

[@WillBorza]

Cheers! Thanks for watching!

[@bigjuice6206]

Bro what saw do you use?

[@Solanaar]

So... can someone explain? I understood it like this: (1) take a saturator that can set a clipping threshold (2) set the clipping threshold to where you get your desired lufs (3) send that to the limiter at +1db, set the limiter to -1db (4) play with the release to your liking

[@Solanaar]

for example I have a track at -14 lufs, i put it through gsat+ (peaking at around 9.5), then set the clip ceiling to -6 i run that into ozone maximizer with +1db input gain, with a -1db ceiling and -6db threshold. is this what he meant? edit: im completely selfthought when it comes to mixing and mastering.

[@nicholasbrecken7357]

why isn't every video like this, thank you

[@DavidTaylor-g3j]

RESPECK! Even when you think you know, the best thing to know, is that you know you can always know more - PUCKA stuff! Thanks.✅✅✅

[@NahTrust]

I’ve got one question, so how come you can use the clipper for the uneven reduction without that also ruining the groove? Is it the way a clipper works vs a limiter which makes it more suitable for these uses? Also, i wonder if there’s a limiter where it sets the release dynamically to keep the groove despite the different amounts of gain reduction. Thank you for these vids btw!! Heaps of knowledge in such a short time and always so well explained :)

[@WillBorza]

Yes! Because the clipper doesn’t have an attack or release time, it can trim off uneven transient peaks without changing the dynamics at all

[@NahTrust]

Ahh nice one thanks! Makes sense :)@@WillBorza

[@BryceDoesLife]

wait this is incredible

[@fremistudios]

Badass video buddy! Cheers from Venezuela! 🤓👏🏻

[@WillBorza]

Hey, thanks!

[@CarlosJannarelli]

Are you using the Inflator as a clipper? I'm asking this because you mention the use of a clipper before the limitter to tame the transients without loosing punch, but I didn't see a clipper on the suggested chain.

[@WillBorza]

Yes the inflator is a clipper 😁

[@dee-t7q]

should you place ad/da analgue flavour plugin last in the mixbus chain or before the limiter? Im trying to mimic signal flow of analgue

[@WillBorza]

1. An emulated DA 2. Analog emulated EQs and Compressors 3. An emulated AD 4. A digital Limiter 👍👍👍

[@theamazingkelly1]

The make it louder fader lol.

[@sgfdancecompany]

you are right, the release in Limiting is the cue factor, in my case (ITB), I'm also put before the limiting a clipper, but after using the inflator for many years a switch to the fantastic SIR Audio StandardCLIP, try it, you won´t be disappointed.

[@MichaelsPaintingChannel]

So I need a so called clipper in front of the limiter, right? Does Studio One has something like this?

[@nelio123]

Another awesome video that helped me so much

[@LloydMajor]

Thank you for the class!

[@navigatormoore]

Finally, a mastering engineer with math that is actually math'n👍 I came for the "In the beginning there was tape, and it was good!" Lol, yes indeed it was!

[@loidis9347]

thanks for your time. subscribed

[@WillBorza]

Thank you so much!

[@kayciecarryl3366]

Very good video. Thanks

[@sachetsofrelish]

You're watching this video all wrong. Start at 5:22.

[@producerintaipei]

This channel rocks.

[@jedimonkeystud8726]

When you say "clipper" for the wild transients... do you just mean a compressor to squish those transients and them a limiter after that on the chain? would like a little more detail on your example chain

[@WillBorza]

Clipper first, then limiter. It’s like clipping an A to D converter, then following that up with a digital limiter.

[@anyanwuuzoma6420]

You Sir are a gem!! Thank you

[@BrainDeadTX]

Great information, liked and subscribed, thank you!

[@sneaky_za3655]

love you bro thanks so much

[@WillBorza]

cheers!

[@ZeeCH_Music]

The important control on a limiter for me is the "ceiling" , but I have yet to finish the video if this is correct.

[@WillBorza]

Ceiling is important, but I think the release time is most important.

[@lightburning9693]

Ok guy, So i am intermediate at best but intelegent enough to know what you just shared was super important. Could you do a video where you go through this proccess on a couple channels and then how you finish up on the main? Maybe letting us hear what you mean my the pocket and if possible using stock pluggins like for abelton or whichever you perfer. I think it would be an awesome video and garner multple playthoughs. I could see myself searching it up everytime i finish a track until I got it memoriezed. I saw the chain but because i do not know the plugins value of the chain went right over my head.

[@McDoinky]

Best intro I've ever seen

[@Hellofreak]

the most important control on the limiter is the bypass button. Because it makes the sound larger!

[@Deluxeta]

Adds loads of dynamics too !

[@bachelorgamer8001]

Thanks, When using the dangerous Ad how does that work . Do you gain into it so it clips then you use a limiter ?

[@ThatGuyZion]

Straight to the point and informative I’m now a subscriber!

[@WillBorza]

Thank you so much!

[@RemyRAD]

What's the most important control on a limiter? The release time. Yup. Adjusting the release time truly allows one to, manipulate the character of the sound. As presented by the, release, time constant. Ultrafast to, ultra-slow. And everything in between.. That allows one to tweak for density. Making it nice and thick. Keeping the level front and center. And the release time control can, garner all of those variables. That creates a remarkable difference in the thickness of the sound. My favorite limiter has always been the,, 1176 series types. All different permutations,, flavor and alphanumeric version.. A through, H. Maybe a pair of UREI LA-3 A's? As I sold my LA-4's. Oh well.. Or my one of my numerous DBX's. But my 165 A's now also, gone. I already miss them.. I'm finding my downsizing extremely depressing. Sure.. Just get rid of my life. Pretend it never hhappened. Throw my life away. I might become a nomad vagabond soon. I've been there before. But I've recently taken up in a brick-and-morttar, obligation. And my life is completely on hold. For the rest of my retiirement TFN.. And this sucks! Not the plan! This was not the plan! Maybe I'll pretend I'm back in the early 1970s again? RemyRAD

[@AmbientGuitarWorks]

Excellent!

[@substan_music]

extremly helpfull .. thanks so much !!

[@TheColourAwesomer]

Legend, thank you

[@zeroblackstar]

Great video, love these

[@WillBorza]

Thanks so much!