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Originally Posted by goldphinga how much is too much compression with the L1 or L2? I usually go 3db max. doesnt seem to mess with the sound at that level. |
Remember the difference between compression and limiting. L1 and L2 are limiters.
How much limiting with L1/L2 is too much? If you are mixing and are going to be sending it to mastering, then any at all is too much. Compression is a different story. Feel free to compress the mix bus if it helps. Limiting for level is thing you want to avoid in mixing. If you are in a project studio environment, it's never going to see mastering, and you need to get the level up for the CD, then some L2 may be indicated. The obvious answer is that every case is different and you use as much as you need as long as it sounds good. To try to get a little more hands on: as little as possible is the best answer, but you are on the right track in that most material starts to suffer from obtrusive artifacts after 3dB.
Sometimes you have no choice but to go beyond 3, but a good mastering engineer will use a combination EQ, compression, and possibly more than one limiter to spread out the work and optimise the chain to get more level with less audible distortion. Achieving lots of level without obvious distortion and other harmful side-effects is not as simple as turning up the L2.