Limiter Side Effects

Side Effects

1) Distortion = Try to Fix with Look Ahead or Less Limiting or Clipper Before Limiter or General Fixes of the Audio that Causes this Distortion

2) Pumping = Like with Compressors Limiters can Cause Pumping which Sounds Like a Hole in the Sound or Bouncing but Not with the Rhythm, Try to Fix with Correct Release Time

3) Softening of Transients = Also here Try Fix with Look Ahead, i.e. Too Short Look Ahead will Cause More Distortion (Break Transients) while Too Long Look Ahead will Softening Transients

4) Changes in Tonal Balance = Mostly Less Low Frequencies After Limiting, Try to Fix with SC or EQ in a Limiter

Setup Lookahead

• the Main Purpose of Lookahead is to Let the Limiter Look Ahead so the Limiter Already Sees the Peaks Before they Occur and can Control Them More Precisely and Without Artefacts

• thus a Short Lookahead Tends to Still Distort Because there is Simply Not Enough Time got the Limiter to Prepare for Fast Peak Changes, i.e. Limiter Might Not be Able to React on the Fast Transients and lets Them Partially Through and Reacts Too Late

• while a Long Lookahead Tends to Make the Transients Softer, i.e. Limiter Really has Enough Time to React on the Fast Transients but then Catches Them so Good that They Might Become Blurry or Smeared

• so the Goal of the Engineer is to Avoid Both Issues and Search for the Right Lookahead, Often you Hear the Distortion More Easily in the Difference Channel

• Sometimes it is Difficult to Find the Right Lookahead for the Whole Song, then you Need to Treat the Sections Different with 2 Limiters on 2 Different Tracks (i.e. Audio Split to 2 with Each Its Limiter), or Better a Limiter that Lets you Automate the Lookahead (Like DMG Limitless)

• e.g. Short Lookahead on Loudest Passage (e.g. Aggressive Guitar Part) and then Automate to Longer Lookahead for the Outro Sustain (Sustained Guitar Part)