Settings for Audio Limiter?

emmrecs wrote on 6/7/2017, 6:46 AM

This question applies to both MEP Premium 16.0.4.98 and Video Pro X 15.0.4.164, i.e the latest builds in both cases.

Why does the Audio Mastering Suite Limiter have NO user-settable controls or indication of effect?

This is all that is shown in both programs.

The help file is not really a lot of help(!) in determining at what level the limiter actually operates. As someone who does quite a lot of audio-only work (clearly NOT in VPX or MEP) I am used to the facility to set my own choice of threshold for the operation of a limiter; I find it baffling that MAGIX seems to have chosen to take this choice away, or at least give some indication of when limiting starts and "how much" is being applied.

Just out of interest I booted up VPX5 and its Mastering Suite Limiter gives at least some greater level of information.

Jeff

Comments

browj2 wrote on 6/7/2017, 9:17 AM

Hi Jeff,

As far as I can figure, there never was any choice; the Limiter is off or on. All that was there before was the graphic that you showed, but nothing could be done with it.

Just to see what the various programs say:

AML: The limiter can be switched on to reduce clipping. This device works sound-neutrally and provides a final guard against extreme levels. It is off or on.
AML: DeClipper has a Limiter but only on/off.
AML: Loudness adjustment - This function unifies the volume of the individual tracks in
the project. First all of the levels for every object are increased separately
to the maximum without clipping the material (see Normalization). Depending on the musical production, however, each title may have a different volume at full level, since the relation between
loud and quiet sequences within the track also influences how we perceive volume. In the second step, the average loudness of the song is determined and the object level is adapted accordingly.
1. Tracks with higher peak values but lower loudness may be normalized at a level above 0 dB (full clipping). To avoid overloads, the limiter is automatically activated (see MultiMax).
2. A target loudness can be given in dB. Since this is the average value, the loudness value is always less than 0dB; -15 is the preset.
VPX: The limiter prevents clipping by automatically lowering the level if it is too high. Quiet parts remain unaffected. In contrast to the compressor it tries to leave the basic sound as unaffected as possible.
Samplitude - there are many instances of Limiter use, but here is some text:
1. Limiter: Only the loudest passages are limited (above the threshold). Quiet passages remain unchanged. Limiters are used to reduce the occurrence of big level peaks without reducing the master dynamics.
2. Limiter 100%: Performs the same editing as the Limiter, but the level is immediately raised to 0 dB - this corresponds to a subsequent normalization. This corresponds to a subsequent normalization.
3. Hint: If you want to use the Limiter as protection against overmodulation, you should take into account that the Limiter can only reliably prevent overmodulation in a single band. If the bands are mixed together, the sum can again result in overstepping the threshold level set for the bands.
essentialFX Limiter: This plug-in is a simple yet effective tool for increasing the loudness of your audio signal. This creates a compressed but loud signal without allowing the defined output volume to be exceeded.
1. The limiter operates with a soft curve and an adaptive regulator that ensures that the sound remains absolutely musical. You can also use a separate input (external sidechain signal) to define the source for the regulation.
2. LIMITER PARAMETERS IN / OUT: Here you can set the input and output level.
  1. Threshold: This sets the threshold; the effect will be applied above this level.
  2. Release: This sets the time frame between the point when the signal drops below the threshold and the complete reduction of the effect.
  3. Clip Gain: This sets the amplification factor.
3. Link to manual where you can see what the essentialFX Limiter does, including all of the tweaks.

Note that there have been many complaints on the Samplitude site about some of the essentialFX plugins turning themselves off. I haven't noticed this, but then I don't use any very often, except for eFX_VocalStrip which I find the most useful. It has highpass, gate, deEsser, compression and tone settings. It should come with VPX, which would be a no-cost addition to the program on the part of Magix. I doubt that many people buy this as a standalone for MEP or VPX.

Note that AML is on sale for 40$, an excellent price IMHO. It includes 6 essentialFX: eFX_VocalStrip, eFX_Chorusflanger, eFX_Reverb, eFX_deEsser, eFX_Gate, eFX_Tubestage, plus the Spectral Cleaning tool.

I have linked AML to VPX as the external audio editor instead of Music Editor 3. It functions the same; the object is mixed down (if necessary), opened in the external editor, modified, saved upon exit, and the modified object is now alive in VPX. Undo puts back the unmodified audio object.

emmrecs wrote on 6/7/2017, 9:38 AM

Hi John.

Thanks for all the research! I already have a range of audio "tools", including iZotope's Ozone 7 Advanced and RX6 Advanced, plus numerous VSTs so AML would be rather superfluous for me, I think.

I'm pretty sure you're spot on when you say there never was any choice, a reasonable position for most occasions when one might reasonably need to use a limiter but I do think that at least the former situation (as in VPX 5), where one could see fairly accurately the amount of limiting being done, ought to be the norm for VPX, if not for MEP. It is not always possible to "hear" the effect in action (the ideal scenario) but it can be reassuring to "see" it is working!

I fully understand how limiting "works" (I very occasionally need to use it for my audio-only jobs) but I still would like to know what threshold is pre-determined by Magix. Even a threshold difference of 1dB or less can have a noticeable effect (pun intended) on the resulting audio.

When you said, with reference to at least some of the essentialFX plugins It should come with VPX I assume this was a "wish/hope"?

Jeff

browj2 wrote on 6/7/2017, 10:13 AM

Hi Jeff,

I am still and probably will always be grappling with understanding audio, so whenever the topic comes, I revisit it and try to understand. Still a mystery for the most part.

I agree about the visual that used to be there; it should be put back in, and preferable with some tweaking à la eFXLimiter.

As for eFX_VocalStrip, it is a wish. Magix has not upgraded the audio portion at all in VPX and it is the same as what is in MEP Plus so far as I know. As a minimum, Magix should replace Music Editor 3 with VSCL including the same essentialFX that are In AML, or better still, just replace ME3 with AML.

John