#L2 ULTRAMAXIMIZER 4SHARED HOW TO#
#L2 ULTRAMAXIMIZER 4SHARED FULL#

Not only can you set the release time for each band individually, but thereРІР‚в„ўs also the option of setting the Master Release control to ARC (if you want the computer to do the work) or several other styles, including my favourite: РІР‚СљWarm.РІР‚Сњ That, indeed it is. The Waves РµвЂ¦С“ Multimaximizer essentially has three components: the look-ahead peak limiting juiciness of the L2, it gives you five individually manipulable bands of limiting with adjustable crossover points and a five-band graphic EQ РІР‚вЂњ all in a really intuitive interface. Therefore, it stands to reason that we might want to apply different amounts of limiting or compression to different bands of frequencies. But as we know from Equal-loudness contours, we perceive loudness differently depending on frequency. ThatРІР‚в„ўs fine for when youРІР‚в„ўre dealing with audio thatРІР‚в„ўs already been properly mixed and just needs a boost in perceived volume. The biggest difference between the best on-air processors and the L2 is that the L2 treats the entire frequency spectrum equally. The great news for the bigger stations (with their bigger wallets) is that their high-end processors are specifically designed to handle highly-compressed audio (read: pop music), so this extra boost will automatically be accounted for. And since most smaller radio stations donРІР‚в„ўt have the budget for the really high-end stuff, I like to throw about 3 dB of L2 across the master bus of our radio shows each week to normalize everything and make the music and our host (AJ) really punch through. The L2 isnРІР‚в„ўt as full-featured or as flexible as, say, an $18,000 Omnia or a $12,000 Optimod (two hardware-based on-air processors widely used in big market radio), but it does a lot of the same work and does it well. The best-sounding radio stations, however, send all of their audio through several more stages of carefully set (and expensive) processing to get that big radio sound. Chances are, it may already have been mastered with some L2 (the plugin has been around for some time and is now an industry standard in recording studios). In theory, professionally-mastered music is good to go right out of the box РІР‚вЂњ itРІР‚в„ўs already been given all the processing and fine-tuning it needs to sound great on almost any playback device. Waves calls this particular sound РІР‚Сљhot and pumpy.РІР‚Сњ I call it РІР‚Сљawesome.РІР‚Сњ I tend to prefer a longer release time (somewhere in the vicinity of 100 ms), as that smooths out the sound and accentuates bass hits and other rhythm components РІР‚вЂњ crucial elements in pop music.

By tweaking the release settings of the L2 manually, you can subtly change your overall sound, depending on the style of music. Couple that with the ARC (automatic release control РІР‚вЂњ this determines the best time to РІР‚СљreleaseРІР‚Сњ the limiter function after it has caught a peak) and youРІР‚в„ўve got the L2 РІР‚вЂњ essentially a smart limiter (ah, the wonders of digital technology).

#L2 ULTRAMAXIMIZER 4SHARED HOW TO#

Look-ahead peak limiting is what it sounds like: an algorithm continuously searches ahead on the incoming signal to determine how to maximize the average sound level without creating noticeable distortion. What the L2 does that fixes this problem is whatРІР‚в„ўs called РІР‚Сљlook-ahead.РІР‚Сњ If it a limiter is being overused, youРІР‚в„ўll hear it pretty quickly and chances are, the result wonРІР‚в„ўt sound great. TheyРІР‚в„ўre either РІР‚СљonРІР‚Сњ or РІР‚Сљoff.РІР‚Сњ Limiters are great for catching stray peaks, but should only be used sparingly. an instantaneous attack time) rather than reducing the amplitude of the signal that passes above the set threshold, they flatten everything above that threshold completely.

Traditional limiters (also known as brickwalls) are basically compressors set to an infinite compression ratio and a hard knee (ie. But in reality, itРІР‚в„ўs much more than that. The L2 is, in its simplest form, a limiter.

#L2 ULTRAMAXIMIZER 4SHARED FULL#

ItРІР‚в„ўs full name is the Waves L2 Ultramaximizer, but since IРІР‚в„ўm pretty confident that that isnРІР‚в„ўt a real word, IРІР‚в„ўll try to explain it a bit better. One of my favourite digital processors is the Waves L2.

L2 ultramaximizer 4shared