Budget Master Bus Limiters?

[ghettosynth]

Hi All,

Other than George Yohng's W1 and ToneBooster's Barricade, are there any other budget/free master bus limiters that are worth looking at?

For a DIY mastering effort, and assuming that there is a need for a limiter on the master bus, what is the lowest priced limiter that YOU would use on a project? If you answer that question, what exactly is it about cheaper options that rule them out for you? Bonus points if you can provide technical specifics or sound examples that demonstrate problems with cheaper options.

[Mudcat007]

Bus Driver from Nomad Factory which is currently free.

Limiter No.6 which is also free.

[transmetropolitan]

I think Limiter no. 6 is excellent.

[spacekid]

I would/and do sometimes use eaReckon Analog87 Bw-limit. It's 29 euros. http://eareckon.com/en/products/analog8 ... strip.html

[Zexila]

Lesha mentioned Hornet Magnus in Limitless thread, which sparked my interest in it, gonna check it out myself as soon as possible, so check that out for sure

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp3eHPcNxHA

For my own humble DIY needs Pocket Limiter is ace, I don't squash things that much for my own listening pleasure, but there's some future project in which I might need to squash things quite a bit, so looking at something better personally too, that's where Magnus kicks in for me, it's fitting the bill and on first look, that's it, I quite like what I see, simplistic approach, so my pocket, eyes and taste are in, just need to consult my ears

[comfortablynick]

I think LoudMax is pretty good...I only notice a difference between it and the "premium" limiters when hitting it REALLY hard.

http://loudmax.blogspot.com/

[ghettosynth]

I think LoudMax is pretty good...I only notice a difference between it and the "premium" limiters when hitting it REALLY hard.

http://loudmax.blogspot.com/

Tnx, I found that this morning, it's good to hear some user reports. I also found Limited-Z by LVC Audio.

http://lvcaudio.com/plugins/limited-z/

[sbj]

I use the M1 limiter from Finalmix: http://www.finalmix.biz/Final_Mix_Software/Home.html

It's only 19$ and does a good job IMO. I like that it is a
very simple plugin.

[clintmartin]

LimiterNo.6 may be free, but it's one of the best IMHO.
Loudmax is very good too.

[bmrzycki]

You can download the ReaPlugs (http://www.reaper.fm/reaplugs/) for free. In there you have ReaJS (bet you thought I was going to say ReaComp).

In the full install of Reaper there's a JS script called "eventhorizon". http://wiki.cockos.com/wiki/index.php/J ... Collection

You can just copy the script out and use with any DAW and ReaJS. It's more CPU heavy than the real Event Horizon plugin but sounds just as nice. It can be driven HARD and has a pleasing sound to my ears. Definitely worth the little bit of work it takes to set everything up.

[pattonfreak1]

Tls_maximizer yo.
It's the only one I'll ever use on my master bus

[MogwaiBoy]

Subscribed.

W1 and Barricade are great choices - I'm also keen to see what is out there on the budget/free end of the scale.

I can also recommend:

MaxwellSmart
Very transparent clipping safety. Free but unfortunately 32-bit only.

SmootherLimiter
Made by a forum member. No GUI but works a treat and is being constantly updated.

[BDeep]

You might also try to use a clipper in conjunction with a limiter. Use moderately and it won't distort, well, not audibly
SIR and Kazrog make cheap ones. Forum member chokehold made a free one (don't remember the name nor have link. Sorry).

[camsr]

SmoothLimiter
Made by a forum member. No GUI but works a treat and is being constantly updated.

I'm still working on the algorithm, so the next update has been delayed, but expect better things from it

[TEKing66]

I really like the limiter that came with Studio One, actually most of the plugins that come with Studio One are pretty decent!

Of course, that is just my two cents.

But, I wouldn't over look any of the plugins that come with your DAW, sometimes you might be surprised with what you find.