You know the frustration – you’ve crafted a mix you’re proud of, rendered it out to a Wav or MP3 only to discover that it’s not nearly as loud as all your favorite music.
And no matter how good the mix actually sounds, if it’s not loud it comes across like, well, a home recording.
Good thing there’s a crazy easy (and fast!) way to get loud mixes in a pinch. Here’s how to do it.
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My name is Graham Cochrane and I'm the founder of The Recording Revolution, one of the world's most loved audio recording and mixing blogs with over 200,000 readers each month. 
Great tutorial again, Graham, mainly because by using three different limiters and showing the results you prove your point, that it is possible to achieve similar results with any of the three and that the stock plugin performs very well. So even a beginner can see, that the root cause of a good or bad mix is not mainly the price of the plugin of choice but the good or bad settings of the one that uses them. Esp the direct comparison should be a great jump in thr learning curve of everyone and may even help cure the desire to steal plugins that one may not be able to afford right for time being, because it proves to be unneccessary when everything you need for a good mix is onboard your daw.
Indeed
What are your thoughts about mixing through a limiter?
I’m sorry dear Graham, but as I created a master fader in order to input the last limiter plugin in Protools, the inserts are locked !!!
Wow… I got stuck mixing a track for a friend, I got to the end of my mix and though oh… It’s missing something, there isn’t that power in it that I felt when we recorded the track… This helped a lot to bring back the power and volume of the mix
Glad to help!
A. beginner.
Not sure I understand this comment.
Chris, not sure what the point of your comment is here, but it sounds smug and inappropriate. Rather, your pea-sized brain should take an open-minded view – esp when it comes to technical things like this. I always get great tips from Graham and find his instructional videos to be hands-on. Thanks again, Graham.
This is by far THE best tutorial about limiting I’ve ever seen. Thank you SO MUCH Graham!
You’re welcome!
Hi Graham…
Do you use ” Normalize” sometimes or never and why?…
Thank you
Francis
Graham, which version of Pro Tools are you using in this video? I found that when I went from PT 10 to PT 12, that the metering seems to be different. Even with Ozone really pushed I couldn’t get the PT meter into the yellow. Reference mixes also did not get into the yellow. Any thoughts?
The metering changed in 11 for sure. The colors are at different points along the meter now. Definitely took time for me to get used to.
Oh… there’s more than one type of meter in PT 12. Gotta pick the right one for the situation. Solved my own problem!
Very, very helpfull and very very clear.
Thanks Ronn
Awesome vid! Who’s the artist? Love the song!
Andy Kong
Excellent video, Graham. Maybe the best one in your series. I love the presentation you have. Thorough and substantive. And you have excellent voiceover skills with a communicative and friendly, approachable delivery.
Appreciate that Bob!
I am new to all of this, but I’ve been following you and mixing for about six months. This is an exceptionally helpful explanation and I really appreciate it. It does lead to a question, though. If I look at the gain reading on my master slider, after limiting with a third party plugin, do I trust the reading on the limiter or my master?
I’ll try to make that more clear with an example. The master fader read -11 db before I applied the limiter. I limited it to -1 db, and set the threshold so the song was louder, but still smooth. I played the song. On the Ozone plugin, the output meter shows that it never passed -1 db. But on Logic Pro X, the meter at the end of the song showed that it’s highest peak was +2db. Should I trust the readout from Ozone or turn it down based on Logic’s readout?
Thanks!
@Matthew, Trust the reading on your DAW, specially one like Logic Pro X. Then go back to your limiter and see if you got an intersample detection option you can apply, like in the Ozone used in the video. See if that re-aligns the readings. If not, check if you are using a “hard” or “brick wall” type of limiting. Though not recommended for all types of music, it could help here. If readings still don’t match within +/- 0.1 dB, play around with the other options, including dithering (also available on the Ozone plugin here). If that doesn’t work, check it out with another limiter and other level meters.
It is a complicated though rather uncommon issue. You may think it’s related to your sampling freq, i.e., more likely to happen with 44.1 than 48 kHz or higher. But it isn’t. The intersampling detection should take care of that. It’s more a question of data manipulation within the plugin. It shouldn’t happen if your Logic is running on a 64bit machine, and you’re using 24-bit depth tracks.
Thank you, Phil! I will check this out. I am on a 64 bit machine. I didn’t want to play around too much until I understood which number to trust. I’ll take your advice, trust Logic, and get to work figuring out the issue.
forgot to mention. The first thing to check is make sure you have nothing after your limiter that could create the difference. There are some plugins that can come after your limiter, it’s not an absolute rule that the limiter must come last in the chain. In that case, if it’s what you want, you can go back and readjust the limiter in consequence.
Thanks again, Phil. In case you were wondering, I was turning up the output of the limiter for volume, as well as lowering the threshold. Once I stopped touching that, my master fader shows everything as limited correctly.
Thanks for that answer. Hell ! That was too simple. I should have looked at the Ozone limiter a little more and noticed it. It should have come to mind. I’ve been reading Bob Katz’s book on Mastering for iTunes and my mind was more into all the little mishaps that data manipulation can provoke.
That said, Graham’s video was great because it helped me better understand and use Logic Pro X stock limiters (the adaptive and the standard one). It just works in reverse of what the limiters Graham talks about. Instead of choosing the kick-in threshold, you directly aim for the gain increase you want, and the plug-in chooses the threshold (but doesn’t display it). I also suspect that the adaptive version means the release time is adaptive, not the ratio or the knee. But can’t be sure. And its “Input scale” seems to just be a gain in input. The use of that is beyond me. The straight limiter is more to my liking.
But what I mainly use is the free Limiter No 6, because of the extra HF limiter which works great on snares.
Phil
Question!
Would you apply bus limiting during the mixing stage even if you knew the track was going to get actually mastered afterwards? So far, every project I’ve taken part in as an audio engineer has been mastered by myself. I’ve always opted for trying to bounce my mixes with the biggest possible headroom, and only even considered the use of a limiter on the mastering stage.
Thanks!
If sending it to mastering? I would take the limiter OFF.
Similar question here: I was always under the impression that leaving the mix buss “clean” was best if you were having a project mastered. So would you use this method with a limiter in lieu of mastering? I’m trying to understand why or when I would do this.
Great video explanation btw. Very informative.
I am a slow learner, have muddled on for a few years because mixing is a whole world that can seem scary to me. This video has been pretty much the biggest revelation in the last years by far! Thank you so unbelievably much for this rediculously simple yet cosmically useful nugget of advice. I am now off to add a limter to my entire backlog of tracks!
Glad to help Kevin!
Great video, Graham… clear explanation of limiting.
I also use a limiter on each track while mixing to avoid accidentally clipping while I am experimenting with volume balancing and processing (a very low latency limiter that ships with Sonar platinum), they rarely trigger but it lets me mess around without worrying about my speakers or ears!
Do you have a preferred limiter for your work flow?
I use quite a few. The the three I showed. Also Slate’s FG-X.
Hi Graham, a compressor is something that has put me off for a very long time, as, they are complicated and scrolling through mountains of online data is not that helpful, but seeing how it actually works helps and I am going to give it a bash, it’s just that out here not allot of people trust the home recording seen and so it is hard to come by material to try out on, plus to top it all, the price of GEAR, out here is astounding having a 14:1 ratio makes gear super expensive, for us poor dweebs,
Thanks for investing your time in us Graham we appreciate it big time.
blessings
Charles
Namibia
You’re welcome!
Hey Graham:
I’m at the mastering point of my latest CD and battling the different levels. I use the Massey plug in and love it! Thanks for posting this and clearing up the entire concept. GREAT VIDEO! This was very timely!
Cheers,
Charlie Glasgow
Tucson, AZ
Perfect!
Graham – excellent video, as usual! Thanks for the clear and cogent explanation. I’ve barely dipped my toe in the water with this kind of stuff but everything you’ve taught here and in the JumpStart series is more than enough for us amateurs to get good-sounding results. Thanks!
Glad to help!
perfect timing. i have what sounds like a good mix but it’s just too quiet. i did a remix whereby i made everything louder, but it changed the overall dynamics and just doesn’t sound as musical. so instead of feeling good about having achieved a decent mix, i’m bummed because it’s too quiet to sound convincing. going to try this limited trick and hopefully it’s the missing puzzle piece. thanks so much, Graham!
Yes!
As a Beginner this Tutorial was so very helpful. I’m Jumping out of the Audacity nest into Presonus Studio One and all your Tips & Video’s are incredibly Helpful. Thank You Graham.
You’re welcome Chuck!
HI Graham. You are a genius in reading my mind. I use Sony’s ACID Music Studio with wav loops. I get this very problem sometimes, but I use a plugin called ‘Dynamic Range Control’, from what you just showed me it’s that same as a limiter. I’ve never been one to read the instructions, I just play. Now I know how to use that tool more effectively.
Keep up the good work bro.
Excellent video as usual! That’s something I would always ask myself in the end of a mix, after checking it among other pro mixes. Hopefully it will help me get better results! Thanks a lot, Graham. You’re the best!
Hey Graham!
Thanks for the wonderful tutorial, as always. A problem I’ve encountered with limiting though is that when I limit, I often raise a background hissing sound in volume as well. Do you think this hissing is caused by the way that I recorded the tracks? Or is it just a natural byproduct of a noisy mic perhaps?
-Chris
Could be either. Most preamps don’t sound great when cranked past 85%. So perhaps you had the gain pretty hot on the way in. Not sure.
Hi Graham,
Thanks very much for an understandable explanation of how to use a limiter.
I have several and they always mess with me. Couple of things I have questions about though.
I’ve watched the Ian Shepherd videos on Mastering and he always make a point about NOT using limiters when he doesn’t have to. His reasoning is that it will kill certain dynamics (transients) that you actually want to come through. (He also used to use Ozone before he built his own Mastering Tools.) He stresses to use compressors I think if I remember right in series with EQ’s in the Master Output or Mix Bus. (I might be wrong I watch a lot of videos on this)
Okay I have:
1.) Limiter 6 which is a complicated Beast so I stay away from it most of the time…but it’s a combination of compressors, Limiters, “Protectors” (???) and Peak protection thingies. So if I go a bit too crazy my computer goes on strike. So more often than not I use….
2.) Loudbox. A very simple “Brick Wall” Limiter but it has the same things you spoke of in the video.
a.) Output or Gain
b.) Threshold.
I also have the TR Volume meters (??) that Ian also mentioned. And I never ever can keep it at the -1 peak level that Ian stresses. So while working a limiter I’m watching the levels on the master output, the Volume Meter, and of course the levels on the Loudbox as well. I hear the difference clearly but the other meters tell my eyes that I’m going way over 0 db
I do a lot of acoustic guitar and piano in my songs so always want to keep those sounds bright but not overbearing.
So which meters are the ones I want to really pay attention to. Like others have said the mixes always sound different once mixed down to MP3, or wav. Also if I have too much limiting and gain reduction things get muddy real quick and I lose the dynamics of the snare and other peaks.
With change of job and Holiday Season upon us funds are very limited (no pun intended) so can you suggest a free limiter plug in that will provide the quality without making my Laptop leave the county from too much work? (Ha ha)
Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
Marty
I would just experiment with 2 or 3 limiters, play with the settings and see which one gives you the most musical results and the loudness you’re after.
Thanks for a very clear explanation of this. I discovered the power of Ozone a couple of years ago when I first started mixing with a DAW (I use Reaper). I noticed that the “Maximizer” magically made everything sound “louder”, and gradually learned why after learning more about compression (especially your videos). My question is whether you recommend doing the mixing with the Ozone maximizer turned on, or if it’s best to try to get the best mix without the limiter, and then as a final step turn it on. I recall a previous video where you recommended mixing while keeping all the “final” processing turned on, since you want to see how each adjustment in the mix actually affects the final result.
Yes – this is a FINAL STEP. I don’t mix into the limiter or maximizer. Just add it at the end for loudness.
I tried this tip on a project I had in my DAW that when exported played at just below -3 when looking at VU meters… but when I try your tip in that same project I get something that plays right below -1 on those same meters… but when I turned up the volume to listen to it loud, it sounded harsh and painful to listen to…
But when I take the -3 export and load that into a mastering configured project and use a limiter the same way, it sounded so much better.
Personally, I think the difference is that when you have a fully mixed and automated project in your DAW you are consuming much more memory and processor power than when you have a single stereo track loaded into a Mastering configured project and only using 3 maybe 4 plugins on the output track.
My original mixed down and automated project had some 30 tracks and every track has an emulator on it and at least one plugin. So while I think this is a good tip to use, I would caution those with big projects to mix it down to a stereo track and then use a limiter as demonstrated here to achieve that extra couple db…
Technically with would be drive through mastering at best… but I feel that one extra step of avoiding additional memory and cpu load pays off!!!
Even with my near senior citizen ears I can hear quite a difference between the three limiters .
I’ve been using ozone 5 since it came out and it is my go to product. It is definitely a CPU hog though. The Avid plug sounds grainy to me but the Massey has a nice character.
The application of limiting really takes home studio mixes to a near pro (or true Pro level) One piece of advice though is to import a mastered track alone side your bounce to use as a reference. It is possible to have too much of a good thing. :<)
Referencing is critical, yes!
I spent 39 yrs teaching h.s.music. Different courses besides band and orchestra like theory , history of rock and roll., recording techniques. I loved my work. So much fun when students are interested and excited.
You seem to have that same joy.. It’s so warm on your website.
Thanks “main”.
Great tutorial as always Graham! I have a question: even when I apply heavy limiting, I can’t seem to achieve commercial volume levels. The real problem is how volume is defined here. It may sound very very loud but tinny and harsh. No ’roundness’ ad ‘fullness’ that is so common on commercial mixes.
What do I do?
Thanks in anticipation.
Might be something you need to fix in the mix itself. Some tonal balance that isn’t working.
That’s one of your very best segments! I’m a member of a group dedicated to the Yamaha AW4416 on Facebook (we have over 500 members) – and that’s one of the most common questions asked. Thanks again for your always great advice!! Hope you and your family have the best Thanksgiving ever!!!
Thanks Tom!
Hi, thanks for your advice, but here’s a follow-up question. In the last times I sent my mixes to LANDR to get them quickly mastered. They always say that they need headroom so they are free in the mastering process. So, correct me if I’m wrong, I can’t put the ceiling to -0.5 dB, there would be no headroom left?! Or do I avoid a limiter in case I’m sending it to mastering?
Thanks and all the bass-t from kayo
Kayo, that is correct. Save raising the loudness of the track for during the mastering process
Great tutorial learned quite a bit.
holy snapfish Graham I tried this with my new setup it is AWESOME……………………….
Haha. Awesome.
Thanks so much for remembering the people who are just starting out and need to know important impact stuff like you just gave in the limiting video!
You bet Jim!
Great and truly useful tutorial as usual, Graham! You got the point on how to blow my mind each and every time and with such an amazing simplicity. Thanks a lot, just keep it on!
You’re welcome!
Graham (or anyone),
In this case you applied the limiter rather than turning up the master fader beforehand. Is there any reason for/against turning up the master fader (as much as one can without clipping) BEFORE applying the limiter? I typically have a good bit of room to do so, since I’ve been mixing with the clip gains set to a relatively low level (thanks, Graham!). As such, I often pump up the master fader before bouncing down my final mix, and before any additional moves I might make in a separate mastering session. To put the question differently, is there an optimal time in the mixing/mastering process to push the overall level of the track?
As always, thanks for what you’re doing here.
It’s the same thing. The limiter can turn it up or the fader can. Either way it’s still doing the same amount of gain reduction.
You took the method right out my head . Graham you are a legend.
Just a man! But thanks.
Hello Graham,
You must be telepathic because for the past couple days I was working to address the same issue, how to get louder mixes without turning everything up, your advice was right on time.
Keep the the knowledge flowing, thanks much and keep posting.
Glad to help!
Hello Graham,
I tried your limiter trick on a project I just finished, and the client email back asking me to make it louder. How would you handle this?
Adrian
Ask the client for a reference – a song they like the loudness of. Then pull that into your session and see if you can match it.
Dear all,
by looking at your comments I would say there is nothing to do with professional mastering. Graham have said – no warries around your volume level till you start playing with mastering.
That is not true. Please be knowing the more limiting you add, the more TENSE/HECTIC your song become. What is more, hard limitting means you did not plan your frequency bands (individualy for every single track within your miks) well. Thus you have a lot of frequency conflicts, thus you must be carefull of your master fathers.
The more you practice, the beeter you get. Want you check what I am saying? Please be importing to your DAW for instance Norah Jones “Come Away…”. By looking at for instance Graham’s tutorials you can see that after mastering yor envelope up and down is cut/maximized (no dynamic). Now look at Norah’s song. Question – how was it possible to produce such a nice, not tense and loud song?
Graham, almost all what you teach to is great but maximizing. I think some essential lesson I am trying to depict above is missing from your TRR.
Thank you
Kind Regards
Tomek
Great post and really ooomphed my mix. Couple of questions, though. Have you explained somewhere the setup and purpose of a submit and mix buss? I’d like to see that. Also, my mastering guys tell me NOT to put a limiter on the master bus when submitting for mastering. Would that not matter after I’ve mixed down to a stereo wav? Thanks.
Correct from your mastering engineer – don’t put a limiter on the mix if you are sending it out to mastering. This is only for when you aren’t going to “have it mastered”.
The submix – mix buss thing is explained in this video: http://therecordingrevolution.com/2011/04/06/master-faders-in-pro-tools-video/
Hey Graham,
I normally mix into a mix bus compressor, its always on just doing a little bit of work, never more than 3db (usually less). I use Propellerhead Reason by the way just so you know I’m using the SSL desk compressor.
I consider the early light compression just a part of the mix process, should I take it into account when using limiting on top of this? (either as part of a mastering process or just getting it loud enough to compare and listen to) – or just go ahead and look to reduce 3-4db on the peaks?
Thanks
Yeah, just consider mix buss compression part of the mix process. But I would dial back the gain reduction on it though to closer to 1-2db.
Hi Graham,
Ive been on your mailing list for a few months now and I would just like to say thanks so much.
My mixes have improved considerably.
Tutorials like this one, make things very easy to understand.
Your work and method of teaching is VERY much appreciated.
Kind Regards
Matt
So happy to help Matthew!
Is this song for sale anywhere? It’s really good!!!
I use the limiter as sort of a sentinel for the drums. Considered that unbalanced or overboosted peaks will certainly affect how the limiter will affect the mix once it’s done, i chech how my drum buss behaves when i limit it. If i have more than 4 db of GR but it does not sound loud and punchy, then probably some surgical hpf cutoff for the kick drum is needed, or maybe the snare is too hot and I might apply a transient designer to reduce the attack and still keep it tight. Once that my drums (or drums + bass) work nicely even under heavy limiting, that it means that I found the right balance + eq+ compression settings and I can proceed with the mix.
Thank you for this.
Do you take into account that more and more playback systems (like streaming services and radio) are moving toward loudness-normalization, which will reward more dynamic mixes, and “punish” highly compressed and limited mixes by automatically reducing their volume?
The times are changing…and I hope the end is nigh for the ear-bleed inducing loudness war
Thank you sir
Hi Graham. Great tutorial. Do you have a tutorial on how to get a perfectly clean , smooth sounding mix ? My songs have been mastered but the sound is not crisp and clear sounding. Also the sound on some tracks are not heard clearly. What can i do to get them up to top 40 chart sound levels and quality ?
I would start here: http://therecordingrevolution.com/the-beginners-guide-to-mixing-part-1/
Fantastic! I’ve got the kit, now I’m getting the “Nouse” (knowledge – UK).
MANY thanks,
Francisco Delacroix.
Great vid as always, Graham.
Question, have you put out a video for Mastering?
Thanks.
Hello Graham, thank you so much for your tutorial. Got to say that this helped me tremendously.
As a “newbie”,could you please tell me why you didn’t/don’t put the limiter on the master chanel directly?
Many thanks in advance for your time and help.
This has more to do with the way Pro Tools operates. You could totally put it right on the master fader.
Thank You for this youtube clip. I like the way you explain about using a limiter with different plug-ins. I use Logic, Wave’s plug-ins and Ozone 5..do I just use only one then? After this tutorial, I did not realize but I actually use more than I limiter. I use Logic’s limiter plus Waves L2 or L3 and then for Mastering Ozone 5.
Yeah, just use one limiter each time.
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Thanks, this really cleared things up. I had no idea why they would have the option to turn down the output volume, but now I use it. I make electronic dance music so that calls for much heavier limiting, but the concepts are the same.
Hey Graham! Thank you very much for the tutorial. It helped me to understand this topic. I have one question, I want to do the same thing but with a free plugin (compatible with Pro Tools). Do you know a couple of plugins that could help me with this? Thank you!
Use Maxim – it’s a free limiter that comes with Pro Tools.
Thank you sir, for this helpful tutorial..it helped me out so much , and your whole course is very helpful ,it cleared all the topics whether it is recording or mixing or mastering etc i downloaded all the PDF you provide….thank you for your course
Graham,
Been doing the home/office recording thing for 25 years now, and still joyfully and painfully learning how to do it well. Thank you so much explaining things that even non-geeks can understand and implement. I’m new, and I’m in.
Grateful for your help. Blessings,
E
Pumped to have you Eric!
Great video explaining the finishing sound of a song. I am a composer for the classical guitar and record my own original music. But I also use ready made backing tracks as I do cover songs as well, so this will help a lot. Thanks Graham