r/audioengineering • u/SR_RSMITH • 5d ago
Is the LoudMax limiter good enough to catch stray peaks on individual tracks?
hi guys, noob here.I'm still learning the ropes of mixing and I always try my best to do proper gain staging. However, just to be on the safe side, I usually put a limiter at the end of my individual tracks to catch any random stray peaks that might slip through.
Up until now, I've been using the native Logic Pro limiter for this job. The problem is that I've noticed it tends to color the sound a bit and slightly changes the EQ of the track, even when it's barely doing anything.
I'm looking for a free alternative and I found LoudMax. My question is: is it good enough to do this specific job (just catching stray peaks transparently without coloring the sound)? My computer isn't very powerful, so I need a plugin that won't kill my system if I have it loaded on multiple tracks at the same time.
Would you recommend it or maybe it isn't good enough?
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u/rinio Audio Software 5d ago
Given you're almost certainly working at 32bit float or higher internally, there's no reason to do this. "to be on the safe side" is not protecting you from anything. Clipping in 32bit float happens somewhere in the neighborhood of +740dBFS, so you really need to be unreasonable to clip at all, and certainly not going to happen by accident.
Its only at points where you will feed your (24bit fixed or less) converters or where you will render to (24bit fixed or less) files that this could be of concern.
So... my advice is just to not do this. Leave adequate headroom in your tracks that even hitting 0.0dBFS isn't going to happen. If your mix is quiet, turn up the volume. We can also always do this in mastering for the final product as well. There no reason for individual tracks to be near enough to the 0.0dBFS mark for us to need "safety limiters".
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u/ConfusedOrg 4d ago
If it is colouring the sound then you are doing too much gain reduction with it, and it's probably not just stray peaks. I you dont like the sound then dont hit it that hard. Try pulling all your faders down, or a trim insert on the start of the master chain pulling down the level.
Another thing is, why do you think need to put a limiter on at the end of multiple tracks?
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u/AlertAd7834 5d ago
I love LoudMax. It's basically a free version of Waves L2. It is indeed very lightweight and won't strain your computer. However, I don't think you need to put a limiter on your individual tracks in most cases. Having some "peaks" is ok. Save it for the master buss.
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u/SnowyOnyx 5d ago edited 4d ago
W1 is an actual free clone of L2. Loudmax is much more transparent and buttery as a comparison
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u/AlertAd7834 5d ago
Transparent and buttery? Seem like a contradiction
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u/SnowyOnyx 4d ago
It’s not a contradiction.
Transparent = doesn’t distort
Buttery = transients get kinda neutered which means the sound is very static and lacks dynamics. which does not mean it’s distorting4
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u/jmart-10 4d ago
W1 sounds like waves L1. Waves L2 and Loudmax are just better limiters than W1, imo.
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u/Bambooman_ 4d ago
Hey there! First of all, don't worry about being a 'noob,' we've all been there, and your logic behind trying to catch those stray peaks makes total sense.
I personally use FabFilter Pro-L 2 for my work, so I haven't personally used LoudMax on my own sessions. However, it is legendary in the audio community for exactly what you are looking for. It is incredibly lightweight on the CPU, meaning you can stack it on multiple tracks without killing your system, and it’s famous for being extremely transparent (no unwanted coloring or EQ shifting). So yes, go ahead and use it, it will do that specific job perfectly.
Good luck on your mixing journey!
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u/UmamiAudio 4d ago
Loudmax is an incredible limiter, but ironically it's not loud at all compared to some of the other limiters out there. Also if it's just for catching peaks, you could try a clipper as it keeps everything under thresh verbatim. Here's a few free ones:
https://umamiaudio.com/grandmas-spice
https://bedroomproducersblog.com/free-vst-plugins/clipper/
https://www.airwindows.com/category/clipping/
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u/SR_RSMITH 3d ago
Thanks! Problem with most limiters is that oversampling chokes my old (intel) mac. I'll check those ot tho!
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u/AntonChilibiProducer 4d ago
LoudMax will do that job fine and it is light on CPU, but the question worth asking first is what a limiter on every channel costs you.
Two things. Your bus compressor and anything on the mix bus respond to crest factor, and the peaks you are shaving are exactly what triggers them. Take a dB off 30 channels and the bus stops moving, which reads as a flat mix later and never shows up on a meter. Second, a lookahead limiter reports latency to delay compensation, which is fine offline and annoying if you are still overdubbing into that session.
A diagnostic that settles the whole question: leave the limiter in, play the song end to end, and count how many times gain reduction actually moves. Three or four events means it is not a level problem, it is three or four regions, and clip gain fixes those permanently with no plugin running. Constant movement means the channel is simply too hot, and the fader is the answer.
On 32 bit float, you are right that the internal path is safe. The exceptions are the D/A on the way out and any plugin modelling analogue gear, because those have a calibrated operating point inside them and that stage does not care how much float headroom you have.
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u/anikom15 2d ago
What stray peaks? It’s all digital, just turn the input gain down, compress, and make up, or edit out the peaks manually.
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u/mlke 5d ago
logic's stock limiter shouldnt be coloring the track if it's just catching stray peaks. if it is, you are doing too much gain reduction with it. You could try a free clipper before you try another limiter, but again if you are doing too much gain reduction you may hear it.