Which plugin Mastering Limiter is your fav??

[jdjustice]

Just wondering what you guys are using on a regular basis. L2? L3? Sony Oxford? Massey L2007?

[bugs]

Voxengo's Elephant 2

[Poplab Studios]

none of them above. i love the UAD-Precission limiter.....

[Chevy-Rec]

UAD-1 PL for me too.

[Chevy-Rec]

Hooo!! Hi all.

First Post.

Poor english

[jdjustice]

...bump

[marcan]

Izotope Ozone (just limiter and dithering) or L2. Stay away from L3.

[RoundBadge]

Massey kills em all!

[baikonour]

Originally Posted by Poplab Studios

none of them above. i love the UAD-Precission limiter.....

same here

[mixerguy]

Originally Posted by RoundBadge

Massey kills em all!

I hate to disagree... but I did a very careful shootout with some dynamic acoustic music today, and in my opinion, the L2 was clearly better than the L2007

I had another engineer pal with me (who has great ears) and he came to exactly the same conclusion.

[elambo]

Originally Posted by mixerguy

I hate to disagree...

I doubt that you "hate" to disagree...

You're in a minority, you and your friend. This poll is one piece of evidence. Massey has shown that a less-expensive plugin can whoop the big boys. Not only has L2 only been used one time since I bought L2007, all the other engineers where I work have separately come to the same conclusion. They mentioned it to their friends, who then bought it and did a shootout, and NOT ONE of all of us preferred the L2 anymore. Not telling anyone what to do, but I do think this is becoming a common story with Masseys plugs.

[Lagerfeldt]

But isn't the Massey restricted to RTAS & TDM?

[jdjustice]

Originally Posted by Lagerfeldt

But isn't the Massey restricted to RTAS & TDM?

yep. i don't think that Mr. Massey has considered making VST/AU versions; maybe because he worked as a digi development partner in the past??

BTW i deliberately left out the plugs that require PCI cards and the Windows-only Voxengo etc... in the poll.


J.D.

[Jesse Skeens]

I'm a fan of the Massey as well but demoing the Sony right now and it seems to preserve more transients than any other limiter I've used while still reaching the same levels. Because of that it sounds more open and the music breathes a bit while still getting loud.

Also maybe I need to read the Massey manual but it never seemed to be a brickwall limiter, always got overs but I could be using it incorrectly.

Jesse

[Lagerfeldt]

I think that even though the Voxengo is limited to PCs, that should have been included.

Also the Izotope one should be on the list (not very good though IMO).

I think a very common combination is limiter + clipping or straight clipping (which isn't "limiting" per se, but another option you might have included).

:-)

[RadioMoo]

Originally Posted by Jesse Skeens

I'm a fan of the Massey as well but demoing the Sony right now and it seems to preserve more transients than any other limiter I've used while still reaching the same levels. Because of that it sounds more open and the music breathes a bit while still getting loud.

Have you tried the Smooth mode with slower release times?

Also maybe I need to read the Massey manual but it never seemed to be a brickwall limiter, always got overs but I could be using it incorrectly.
Jesse

???

[jdjustice]

Originally Posted by Jesse Skeens

I'm a fan of the Massey as well but demoing the Sony right now and it seems to preserve more transients than any other limiter I've used while still reaching the same levels. Because of that it sounds more open and the music breathes a bit while still getting loud.

I, too, use the Sony and prefer it over the other options. I still use the L2 which is about in a dead-heat right now with the Sony as far as my personal choice. I need more experience with the Massey; I will be going ahead and purchasing it since it is such a steal. Then I can enter precision values and perhaps with the increased functionality I will use it more often and be able to come to more of a conclusion about how it stacks up. I will say, for $89 USD, that it is a best buy and I am generally quite impressed with it.

It will be interesting to see how the McDSP MC4000 Mastering Brickwall Limiter stacks up to the rest if they EVER get it out for demoing... was supposed to be available in August... oh, well

J.D.

[mixerguy]

Originally Posted by elambo

I doubt that you "hate" to disagree...

You're in a minority, you and your friend. This poll is one piece of evidence. Massey has shown that a less-expensive plugin can whoop the big boys. Not only has L2 only been used one time since I bought L2007, all the other engineers where I work have separately come to the same conclusion. They mentioned it to their friends, who then bought it and did a shootout, and NOT ONE of all of us preferred the L2 anymore. Not telling anyone what to do, but I do think this is becoming a common story with Masseys plugs.

"I hate to disagree" is a common expression.

Maybe for other types of music the L2007 is great. We were using dynamic acoustic music.

I'm glad the L2007 works for you and your pals. It lost out TO US in our comparison with our source material yesterday.

You telling me we can't hear properly?

Why do you care what conclusion we came to?

[redroom]

UAD Precision limiter doe sit for me

[mixerguy]

Originally Posted by elambo

..... (snip)....
You're in a minority, you and your friend. This poll is one piece of evidence. Massey has shown that a less-expensive plugin can whoop the big boys. Not only has L2 only been used one time since I bought L2007, all the other engineers where I work have separately come to the same conclusion. They mentioned it to their friends, who then bought it and did a shootout, and NOT ONE of all of us preferred the L2 anymore. Not telling anyone what to do, but I do think this is becoming a common story with Masseys plugs.

You say we're in the minority - that is a pretty sweeping statement.... you've polled a statistically significant number of people who have directly compared the L2 to the L2007 and we're in the minority? I don't think you have. I think you’re blowing hot air about “were in the minority”..... you can say lots of people like the L2007 - that is fine.

[azwun25]

UAD-1 Precision Limiter here

[carloff]

Brickwall limiter from MD3 pack for TC Poco...tried everything and the only winner

[RoundBadge]

Originally Posted by mixerguy

I hate to disagree... but I did a very careful shootout with some dynamic acoustic music today, and in my opinion, the L2 was clearly better than the L2007

I had another engineer pal with me (who has great ears) and he came to exactly the same conclusion.

Thats cool..

Yeah ..I was kinda a little over the top with my dumbass little statement..
the Sony and L2 work on different things..
But the Sony and Massey pretty much cover it here..


I find the Massey seems to hold up better for the rock then the L2..less destructive.

i'm just barely shaving the peaks whenever I use these things ..
if i'm mastering I get most my gian via outboard then hit the Lavry's back into the DAw

[norman_nomad]

The UAD PL is the most musical limiter I've worked with...

Try the Timeworks Limiter if you're going for sheer volume and transient integrity... it can get a bit "crunchy" when pushed...

The Sony was nice, but buckled when pushed and didn't really have much of a personality...

L2 can be good, but I'm never really happy with it one anything that has a prominent drum track...

[elambo]

Originally Posted by mixerguy

You say we're in the minority - that is a pretty sweeping statement.... you've polled a statistically significant number of people who have directly compared the L2 to the L2007 and we're in the minority? I don't think you have. I think you’re blowing hot air about “were in the minority”..... you can say lots of people like the L2007 - that is fine.

You're passion and persistance explains your aggression and therefore your defensiveness. I wouldn't change anything I said as it is all true. I also noticed that the Massey has taken an even further lead in this poll than it had yesterday. People seem to agree.

[elambo]

Originally Posted by mixerguy

"I hate to disagree" is a common expression.

Maybe for other types of music the L2007 is great. We were using dynamic acoustic music.

I'm glad the L2007 works for you and your pals. It lost out TO US in our comparison with our source material yesterday.

You telling me we can't hear properly?

Why do you care what conclusion we came to?

I don't care at all what conclusion you came to. I WOULD care if a nube to audio read your response and felt that Massey wouldn't have a chance when in fact it has earned more fans in a shorter amount of time than most plugins I've ever come across. Waves is a staple of the plugin folder, but they're being eclipsed by many new quality, not quantity plugins. I was careful not to mention to anyone how much the 2007 cost out of fear that they'd feel it was cheap. My coworkers and their respective industry friends, many of which are 1st-tier engineers, ALL (again, ALL) prefered the Massey over the L2 and it wasn't based on musical genre - it was all genres.

You seem to think that I'm attacking Waves, or you, but this is simply me relating an overwhelming result of a cheap plugin that toppled the mighty L2, which makes it a thread-worthy story.

Which begs the question: what makes you feel the need to defend your results so much? I've never said that you were lying. That your opinion doesn't fit anywhere into my experience or the experience of anyone I know is just an observation. No need to grab your shotgun.

[turk sanchez]

I have to agree...the Massey just sounds great...much better than the l2 to my ears....without a doubt. I like his "tape head" too.

[Geert van den Berg]

I think these polls are usefull but it resembles only a small fraction of 'limiter plugin users'... so take it with a grain of salt, no need to get emotional over it and certainly no need to go in defensive mode, because all the plugs listed here have gotten public attention.

I would always demo a plugin prior to purchasing.

I can't really choose for this poll, because I like both the L2 and the Massey and I haven't tried the L3 yet. The L2 is around for a longer time, so logically I've used it more than the Massey. I will continue to compare both on every material I'll put through it, they might excell on different material.

[jdjustice]

Originally Posted by Geert van den Berg

I can't really choose for this poll, because I like both the L2 and the Massey and I haven't tried the L3 yet. The L2 is around for a longer time, so logically I've used it more than the Massey. I will continue to compare both on every material I'll put through it, they might excell on different material.

Geert, do you also own or have experience with the Sony Oxford?? personally it's my favorite, but the L2 gets used still quite often, depending on the programme material. And I love the Massey as well; it takes some fiddling around to find the right settings but it sounds *great*, ESP for $89 USD!!

Just wondered if you have used the Oxford.

[jdjustice]

Originally Posted by elambo

.....this is simply me relating an overwhelming result of a cheap plugin that toppled the mighty L2, which makes it a thread-worthy story.

it really is a thread-worthy story when this kind of thing happens. i am glad that i did this poll and pleasantly surprised to find how many Massey devotees there are out there. My personal choice is the Sony Oxford, but I find use for the Massey AND the L2. Steve Massey is an incredibly talented programmer/engineer, and from what dealings I have had with him I can say he is a genuinely helpful and nice person too. We all win when someone like Mr. Massey can succeed at what he is doing.


J.D.