Are You Listening? Ep. 5 | Limiting in Mastering (Part 2)

What should you consider when setting up a limiter in your mastering chain? How do you know when the limiter is working too hard, or what aspects of a mix are being impacted? Listen as professional mastering engineer and iZotope Director of Education Jonathan Wyner demonstrates how to set a track’s level, how to know when your limiter is working too hard, what to consider during limiter setup, what a limiter’s impact is across a mix, and a few bonus tips only a pro could give.

Note: Some audio examples you hear have been altered from their original recordings to bring attention to the core concepts highlighted in the 'Are You Listening?' series.

#AreYouListening #iZotope #Ozone

[RonWells-ervc]

I love the way Jonathan presents the material. I go back to the series occasionally and not only do I learn something new, it is like hearing from a much respected old friend.

[BeardedKingface]

That harmonic demo with the sine wave being limited was just...wow. good to see the science. Every new producer and mix/master engineer take note!

[kristianandreasen]

1:36 - comparison of original mix, louder mix and mastered mix
2:35 -
3:38
4:37
5:26 - before & after, with and without the limiter gain matched
7:28 - things to consider when setting up a limiter
9:47 -
11:34 -
12:20 -
14:57 - example: how a limiter affects the sound
17:44 - why meters matters
19:30 - the end

[NathanClearyMusic]

The Sine Wave example with the Limiter was fantastic. I didn't know that they shape the frequency so much, almost like saturation in increasing Harmonics. Thank you again! :)

[YASIR.K]

thank you much. really it is a great series.

[QuintSEnce]

Another Top class and very informative session, simply excellent. Thanks again for sharing your expertise.

[maurycy_gnc]

I have learned and understood more about limiting and mastering from these two videos (part 1 and 2) than from like a 50 previosuly watched youtube tutorials and trying to figure it out on the go. Now i am immediately going to apply another compressor and and another limiter for some initial gain to the track i've been trying to master for weeks. Thank you, you handsome, softspoken, handsome man. I love you. Nohomo.

[TheDilligan]

Technically, in many ways, this is a "MasterClass"

[rocioarce]

that sine wave example was really helpful

[YOURMUMISHENCH]

Momentary Max of 9LUFS can be useful if we are aiming to achieve a LUFS -14
Short Term LUFS is a reading of 3 seconds, whereas Momentary Max is a shorter reading.
Play your mix and see what your reading is. If your reading is at -14 Short Terms LUFS you know you need about +5db of gain.
If you feel your limiter is working too hard, perhaps we
If limiter working too hard, it will take out some punch in the kick
Level reading, but also pressure level in the room. Learn what 85dbspl sounds like in your room, and then you will have some sense when you playback
Sometimes using two seperate limiters instead of one, can work the limiters less and cause less artefacting, the same applies for different types of limiters
The first place you are going to hear the limiter work is in the kick drum. Secondly you will get some extra high frequency. If you get a little too much of both then it’s a good indication that the limiter is working too hard
Glancing at your meter and checking visual information can be a good way to try to protect yourself from being infallable

[joelluth]

The spectrum of the limited sine wave was a brilliant illustration

[RecordingStudio]

Golden information. I would have dreamed to learn this 20 years ago! Glad it's now available for free.

[pablov]

Thank you so much for another great episode of this serie.

[apenasmarcosfelipe]

Genius as usual!!! Thank you so much sir, you are an amazing professional

[sacharapin]

This tutorial is a great metaphor of what music is, its a dialogue
between people doing and people listening, also between the musicians
and the sound engineer. In that sens, being humble and aware of what
people are saying or want to listen seems to be the good foundation to
become an awesome sound engineer! Thanks for this guys

[dekeyzaudioproductions]

Thanks to Izotope & Mr Jonathan Wyner for this beautiful information.

[duncanmcneill]

One feature that I wish more plugin manufacturer would include in their limiters is the ability to listen to the difference between the input and the (level matched) output. I find that hearing exactly how much (and what type of) distortion you are adding to your track helps to prevent overdoing it.
Most of the time this distortion is masked by the transients in the track but when you get to 6dB of limiting, the distortion peaks generated to limit the track are only -6dB compared to the track itself.... is that 25%THD or 50% (I’m not sure)?
It’s also very useful to be able to hear the character of the distortion and where in the frequency spectrum and the time domain that energy is focussed.

[indieric]

This is a masterclass. Incredible information. Thanks and love izoTope!

[psmusicpro]

These videos are so amazing!! I’ve learned so much watching this.
Thank you very very much, because we need much more than companies only selling us plugins, we need accurate information about the tools we buy and use.
Fantastic.
Thank you once again.

[originalvonster]

0:15 strong kick drum in hip-hop
1:00 initial level set focus on hottest part of track
2:40 hottest part -9 LUFS not bad for average to be -14 LUFS
3:00 momentary vs short term
5:30 if limiter working too hard then kick won’t be punchy
11:00 more limiting stages less artifacts
12:45 if limiter working too hard the kick will sound pushed back will also get more high frequency content like sibilance and hihat
14:30 limiter last in chain
16:30 harmonics (distortion) added when using fast release on compressor or limiter
18:00 eyes vs ears argument in favour of meters