Limiting — What It Means in Music Production
Limiting is a form of extreme compression with a very high ratio (typically infinity:1) that prevents an audio signal from exceeding a set ceiling. Limiters are the final stage in the mastering chain, used to maximize perceived loudness by catching and attenuating peaks while keeping the output below 0 dBFS (or a specified true peak ceiling).
Full Explanation
A limiter is essentially a compressor with an infinite (or very high) ratio and a fast attack time, creating a hard ceiling that the signal cannot exceed. Modern mastering limiters use look-ahead processing to anticipate peaks before they arrive, allowing for transparent gain reduction with minimal distortion artifacts.
The amount of gain reduction applied by a limiter directly determines how much louder the track will sound. Pushing a limiter harder increases loudness but reduces dynamic range and introduces distortion artifacts like pumping, loss of transient detail, and intermodulation distortion. The goal is to find the point where maximum loudness is achieved with acceptable artifact levels.
Different limiter algorithms handle peaks differently: some use waveshaping, others use multiband processing, and others use oversampled clipping. The choice of limiter and its settings significantly affect the final character of a master. Gentle limiting (2-3 dB of gain reduction) is transparent; heavy limiting (6+ dB) is audible and shapes the character of the master.
In Electronic Music
Limiting is the final step in electronic music mastering, and the amount you can push depends entirely on your genre. Ambient and deep house tracks need gentle limiting (1-3 dB gain reduction) to preserve dynamics. Tech house and techno can handle more aggressive limiting (3-6 dB). Hard techno and dubstep push even harder. Set your true peak ceiling to -1.0 dBTP, use a limiter with oversampling enabled, and always A/B compare your limited master against the unlimited mix to ensure you are adding loudness without destroying musicality.