Software limiters

The IK Multimedia T racks 'Brickwall Limiter' is available for both Windows and MAC and was totally compatible with my OSX 10.6.8 system with 4GB of RAM using Logic Pro 9. The setup process is sort of straight forward, but it is highly useful if you are installing it on a computer with internet access, otherwise you will be given a code to save to your desktop and transfer onto a computer with internet access so that IK Multimedia's installer can verify you have a legitimate serial number, then you have to transfer more data give to you back to the computer you want to use the plugin on and this will authorise the plugin for that computer. It is understandable given that they want to protect against mass piracy of their product. Once authorised, you just select the plugin from the menu in your DAW and you are good to go, the GUI of the plugin on it's own is simple, clear and easily accessible - unless you are using it within the T racks full skin in which case it might take 10 or 15 minutes to figure the setup out properly. When it comes to T racks plugins and the discussion about the GUI arises, you will always hear people complain about 'that damn dinosaur logo!', in this case i would suggest to suck it up and get used to it because it is here to stay so you might as well learn to love it along with the sound quality of their plugins like this one.

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

The Brickwall Limiter supports sampling rates up to 192 kHz, ideal for Mastering situations when high sampling rates are benefitial and is fully functioning with 64-bit applications and operating systems. Personally i use it in 32 bit mode in Logic Pro 9 and have never had an unstable moment with the plugin. I have been using it on and off for over a year now, taking time to put it through it's paces as well as trying other limiters at the same time to compare and contrast.

T racks plugins give you the option of turning oversampling mode on or off for most of their plugins these days, and the Brickwall Limiter plugin is no different. However with oversampling turned on the Brickwall Limiter becomes a CPU hog, it can be hard to tell the difference but listen closely and it is there, a smoother high end with a touch of roll off normally but whether your computer's processor will be happy about it is a different matter. If you are going to use it then i would suggest to save the oversampling for mastering only, but in a busy mix with lots of plugins and VST's going on then keeping it off is the way forward to save valuable processing power.

OVERALL OPINION

Very good quality for the price, but not the clear, outright winner in this department as the FabFilter Pro-L, Sonnox Limiter, PSP Xenon, Waves L2 and Ozone 5 Limiter (in my experience) all jostle for the top limiter prize, but the T Racks Brickwall limiter can certainly hold it's own and is especially effective in 'Clean' mode for the stereo output bus due to it's transparency and safety. Other modes such as 'advanced' and 'saturation' seem to make a full mix a bit cloudier and roll high end from the top especially when pushed, which is not always ideal for the final output of your mix but can work in some scenarios, it really is dependant on the music like a lot of things and i would suggest trying these on individual tracks and experimenting with exaggerated input levels to give something dull and lifeless a bit of OTT energy to spark things up.

The GUI is impressive in it's fresh, clear and simple look, with large buttons and controls clearly labelled across a futuristic oven like background. It instills confidence in you before you've even heard what it can do which is a plus for the graphic design team at IK Multimedia, but for some people that dinosaur is just too distracting and 'child like' to be considered a serious grown up product, my response to that is to just get over that hurdle and accept the fact that it will never change and realise you are missing out on the quality and options the T Racks plugins provide. If you are on the hunt for clean and loud limiting with flexible but not overbearing alternate options, then you definitely should check out the T Racks Brickwall Limiter.

I use it with Cubase6
It is very stable.
Big and clear GUI makes it easy to use.
It is Mouse-controllable.
Definitely not CPU-hungry.
Very efficient, and delivers an accurate sound.
Can't do without it on each and every track to normalize the signal (and boost it if/when necessary).

Overall, it's a great expander/limiter, full of features and easy to use.
Very quick learning time.

What configuration, software and musical style or context do you use with this plug-in? What do you think of its stability and overall performance?
Intel I5 4460, Presonus studio one 3
After 1 week testing it, no bug, a riduculously low CPU use (2%) compared with ozone 6 IRC 3 which takes up 25%, and a 3ms latency (Ozone IRC3’s latency is 167 ms)

Is the plug-in easy to use? Is the user manual comprehensive?
The plugin is very simple, the manual is OK

Is it efficient? Do its functionalities and features perform as expected?
That’s its biggest asset, especially considering its 30€ price tag.
Except for the realbuss I’ve never been a big tonebooster fan, I never quite liked their EQ, Isone… And with Barricade I couldn’t reach the results I got from an old PSP Xenon or Izotope Ozone.

But I must admit the dev has raised the quality of its limiter in this new version, it doesn’t pale in any way compared with the most expensive models (it’s almost the other way around).

I’ve owned a lot of VST limiters:
- AOM for one year
- IK Stealth, used at a coworker’s: it first comes with a WAHOOOOO factor, but after a few months on projects involving more complex limitations an in spite of keeping awesome punch, you can hear light saturations and it doesn’t please your ear as AOM does)
- Nugen, which I tried for a long while: it tends to have the sub frequencies disappear, apart from it it’s a good limiter
- Fabfilter Pro L: very nice GUI, but it tends to provide a “flat”, sometimes saturated sound
- Ozone 5 and 6 IRC3, which remains my favourite limiter, keeps the signal punchy but takes up a lot of CPU resource. It replaced the old PSP Xenon.
And many others…
But the Tonebooster’s V4 is very surprising, as for its consumption it provides a really great sound, and used in auto clean mode it almost doesn’t saturate at all on a drum loop which I use to test all limiters – a test which many of them fail.
Compared with the others, I’d put it in-between Ozone and Xenon.

What are the pros and cons of this plug-in?
+ ease of use
+ auto modes with the 4.1 update
+ its sound
+ CPU consumption
+ ergonomy
+ true peak , which certainly is the most efficient on all limiters
- lost options such as stereo link

(as for the compressor, I never understood why it was there)

Audio samples of limited loop in the media section (with Ozone used as a reference) at a 3dB reduction – which is not much.