Limiters & Compressors

Advantages of using a limiter

Which limiter should you choose?

Here you will find our entire selection of limiters and compressors. An audio compressor or an audio limiter is an automatic volume control that reduces the volume when the input signal becomes too high. Also see audio level meter.

Advantages and disadvantages of a compressor

The compressor is a dynamic audio tool whose main purpose is to even out different levels of sound pressure, making the sound source more consistent in its volume, and thus easier to place in a mix. The compressor can therefore contribute to better understanding of lyrics in both speech and song, and it can also mean that instruments in the mix become easier to define, both in the mixing process for the sound engineer and later for the listener. The compressor can also be used on an entire mix to control the peaks present in the mix and thereby achieve a higher level for the entire mix and a more compact, overall sound image. 

It sounds like all positive things, but the compressor also has its negative sides. When the sound pressure is compressed and leveled out, it becomes more tiring for the listener to hear, because the sound pressure becomes overwhelming and unnatural. In a musical context, the definition of swing or groove is how each individual beat or note is played by the musician, both in terms of timing, but certainly also in terms of volume. Therefore, excessive use of a compressor can be a "swing killer" and mean that the music ultimately becomes stereotypical and less interesting to listen to; even though both the intention and execution from the musician's side were in fact the opposite. Heavy use of the compressor will also, for better or worse, highlight the ambience present in a recording, and it will øge the background noise that comes from microphones and other equipment. 

You can use the compressor in two different ways. On the one hand, it can be used as transparent leveler, where the unwanted notes are minimal, and where the compressor practically only evens out the sound level a little. Or it can be used more powerfully, where the compressor helps create a specific, desired, and characterful sound. Of course, there is also a large range between these two extremes, so it is in no way either-or.

When you work and set the compressor, it can be difficult as a beginner to hear exactly what the compressor is doing. Therefore, it is important that you focus on listening for differences in volume. When a compressor works, the soft and loud parts of the recording will be less pronounced, and the volume will be more even. Remember to consider what you want to achieve with the compressor before you set it; and keep that in mind when you adjust the compressor.

The use of a compressor is also genre-dependent when we talk about music production. In classical, jazz, and to some extent folk music, there is only limited use of compressors. Here, the interest lies in the pure, acoustic sound, and the intentions that the musicians have placed around the volume for each note and nuance are not up for discussion. In live contexts, soloists within these genres may have a very varying distance to the microphone, and here the compressor can help if the signal suddenly becomes very loud because the soloist is too close to the microphone. In this case, the threshold is set so high that the compressor only kicks in if there is an issue regarding the distance to the microphone.

In pop, rock, electronic, and commercial music, the agenda around the compressor is entirely different. The compressor is used so diligently here that it helps define the sound within the genre. Especially in the last 20 years, the compressor has become such an important tool that many who work with sound engineering apply it to almost all instruments and sound sources (in some cases, entirely uncritically).

In a compact sound image with many tracks and instruments, the compressor is necessary for it to be possible to hear and define the many roles that the different instruments have. If the instruments have a large dynamic variation, the softest parts will disappear in the mix due to the overall high sound pressure and the many details that the listener has to deal with. When you apply a compressor to an instrument in such a mix, start by listening to the instrument solo, set the parameters correctly in relation to what is being played, and then listen to the instrument in the overall mix. Then try to adjust the compressor so that there is still dynamic variation, but at the same time ensuring that the softest notes/passages do not disappear in the mix. In slow music with more sparse instrumentation, you can hold back on the compressor and only use it on the most obvious sound sources.

The Relationship Between Limiter and Compressor

Ratio is a fractional value, and it determines the degree of attenuation that occurs with the part of the sound that exceeds the threshold value in volume. For example, if a value of 2:1 is chosen, the volume above the threshold value will be attenuated by 50%. If, on the other hand, a ratio value of 5:1 is chosen, the sound is attenuated by 80%, and only 20% of the volume above the threshold value is maintained. One could say that the sound pressure ceiling becomes more and more impenetrable the higher the ratio value becomes. When the ratio value is 10:1 or higher, the compressor changes its name and becomes a limiter. A limiter is therefore a compressor with a defined and fixed volume ceiling.