trouble using BC Dynamics as a peak limiter

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As the title says I am struggling to get BC Dynamics to chop peaks off at a set level (say -6dB for example) It does not seem fast enough to catch the smallest spikes. I use the preset 6dB squash wall without gain compensation and that leaves the thinnest spikes untouched. I can achieve what I want easily with the freebie Limiter no.6 from TDR/Vladg but not with BC Dynamics. - nothing changing except all the peaks above -6 dB reduced to -6dB

Is there any setting in BC Dynamics to give me what I want?

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I am not sure how this preset is setup, but if you want to fully catch peaks, you need to set the attack time to 0 ms and set the peak-RMS control to 0% (peak only). In this case it is strongly advised to use the new lookahead feature (10ms should be fine), to reduce the amount of distortion caused by hard clipping.

Alternatively, you can use the output limiter for this purpose. It is set to limit at 0 dBFS. But if you increase the input gain to +6 dB and reduce the output gain to -6dB, it will just do the same as hard limiting at -6dB.

Hope this helps!

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thanks I will try these tomorrow

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thanks, they both work - the first suggestion needs lookahead at 1ms, 10ms is close but not quite enough. The simpler input output gain method is so easy. Are both examples equivalent in terms of actual processing?

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The output brickwall limiter is optimized at catching peaks, whereas the other method works for both compression and expansion, so it's a bit less smoother when used specifically for brickwall limiting.

Another option for pure brickwall limiting is the Protector limiter plug-in. The algorithm is similar to Blue Cat's Dynamics's limiter, but if offers more control over it and more comprehensive visual feedback.

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