7.1.5 Limiter

Sets a hard ceiling that the track’s level never crosses. Catch stray peaks, stop clipping and make a track louder without it going over the top.

A limiter sets a ceiling. However loud the sound gets, nothing comes out above it. Use the Lite Limiter to catch the odd peak that jumps out, protect a track from clipping, or push a track louder while keeping its peaks under control.

7.1.5.1 Adding the Limiter

Select the track.
Right-click the Plugin Editor and choose Add Lite Plugin ▸ Limiter.
Make sure its power button is on (orange).
Play the track and set CEILING and GAIN (see Quick start).

Put the Limiter last in the rack, so it controls the level of everything before it. See Lite effects for how the rack works.

7.1.5.2 The window

Title bar: the drag dots (to move the Limiter in the rack), the power button, the name, and on the right GR: how much the Limiter is turning the sound down right now, in dB. It lights up while the Limiter is working, and reads OFF when the power is off.
Display: the last few seconds of your track, from 0 dB at the top to −24 dB at the bottom.
- The grey bars rising from the bottom are the level going in, after GAIN.
- The bars hanging from the top show when, and by how much, the Limiter turned the sound down.
- The orange line marked CEILING is the ceiling. Drag up or down inside the display to move it.
Under the display: GR again, with the current gain reduction in dB.
Knobs: GAIN and CEILING on the top row; RELEASE below.

7.1.5.3 Controls

Control	Range	Default	What it does
GAIN	0 to +18 dB	0 dB	Turns the track up before the ceiling. The more you add, the louder the track gets and the harder the Limiter works to hold the peaks down.
CEILING	−12 to 0 dB	−1 dB	The highest level that can come out. Nothing goes above it.
RELEASE	1 to 500 ms	150 ms	How quickly the level comes back up after a peak. Short keeps the track loud but can distort, especially on bass; longer is smoother but can make the level dip audibly after each peak.

A new Limiter only catches peaks. With GAIN at 0 dB and CEILING at −1 dB, it does nothing until the track goes above −1 dB. Raise GAIN to make the track louder.

7.1.5.4 Quick start

Put the Limiter last in the rack.
Leave CEILING at −1 dB.
Play the loudest part of the track and raise GAIN slowly while watching GR. Around −1 to −3 dB on the loudest peaks is usually clean; beyond −6 dB the track starts to lose punch.
If you hear distortion or the level pumping, lower GAIN or lengthen RELEASE.

Louder isn’t always better. A limiter makes a track louder by squashing its peaks. Compare with the power off at the same level before you decide it sounds better.

7.1.5.5 Good to know

A true ceiling. The Limiter reacts instantly, so even the fastest peak never goes above CEILING.
Leave some headroom. Converting a mix to MP3 or for streaming can push peaks slightly higher than they were. A ceiling of −1 dB leaves room for that.
Stereo stays put. Both sides are turned down together, so limiting never shifts a sound from side to side.
No delay. The Limiter adds no latency to your track.
Off means locked. While the power is off, the knobs and display don’t respond. Turn the power on to make changes.
Knobs. Drag up or down to turn a knob, hold Shift as you start the drag for fine steps, and double-click a knob to reset it.
Automation. Right-click any knob to automate it.

7.1.5.6 Recipes

Safety net

GAIN 0 dB, CEILING −1 dB, RELEASE 150 ms. The Limiter only acts if something jumps above the ceiling.

Louder vocal or instrument

GAIN +3 to +6 dB, CEILING −1 dB, RELEASE 100–200 ms. Aim for a few dB of GR on the loudest parts.

Tame drum peaks

GAIN +2 to +4 dB, CEILING −1 dB, RELEASE 30–80 ms, so the Limiter lets go between hits.

Bass

GAIN +2 to +4 dB, RELEASE 200–400 ms. A longer release avoids distortion on low notes.

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