Limiter or clipper? (Distorting kick on master)
If there's one topic that's raving around in music production circles, it's limiting and/versus clipping.
Those of you who have been following me know that I have definitely covered on my Patreon this a bit and you know my stance already.
This week, when mixing and mastering a song, I came across a distorting scenario where I haven't been before, and it was clear to me which one I should use: limiter or clipper.
I'll show you the scenario and let you hear too - this was actually a first for me, and I haven't done this before, but will do in the future when needed!
I learned something, too.
Hear and see the magic at 2:30-3:00 if you're busy.
🎧 Do use headphones for this, as technically this is master-level honing where I am dealing with distortion on kick, which I often need to eliminate to deliver a clean master.
✨ COMING UP ✨
Well first let me say I'm feeling good!
🥳 In May, it's my Patreon's sixth birthday (I started this in 2020) and sure enough growth has been solid, and I've been doing this non-stop, so thanks to everyone for the support!
COMING UP:
• John Summit: "Don't Believe It" - it's a song I recently mixed, so let's talk about it.
• Going through old/classic DNB songs and their structures. What makes these songs great: sounds, vibe, breaks etc. Song structures especially is what is less often discussed, and I like doing that.
• More DNB stuff. I mean of course - that's where my background is.
• More drum chop talk…no need to explain ;)
• More tech house.
• Mix/master nuggets.
…so in other words, the usual will continue!
Comments (6)
mind blowing - thx! I got that soo often & I never recognise it on my Adams AV7 - only on headphones it´s clear my kick sounds different (distorting)
Yeah headphones checks are often crucial!
Curious, was the kick distorting on its own (stem) from the client? or after the master limiters? I definitely will try this out when I'm getting distortion issues. Would just turning the kick down get this same effect here? noticed you didn't add any gain from kick limiter. Feels like wizardary :) Never also tried those longer limiter times so thanks for the tip there too.
Kick is clean. I did try turning down 2 dB which helped but I did feel I lose too much desired level!
Way to sweep the 500 sub milestone under the rug haha. Congrats, very keen for the DnB structure one!
Thanks Stephen! I'm the type that pushes on - let's raise a glass at 1K! 🍸😏
