Electric guitar limiting

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lost tears music
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2008/05/06 12:45:12 (permalink)

Electric guitar limiting

Hello!!

I know this might sound funny but I would like to ask what does a limiter do to the sound of an electric guitar? What is the purpose of aplying a limiter? Do you aply it on solo's, hard rythm guitar?. If you are recording a guitar using an effects processor with really good presets do you need to use it?

Thanks!!
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    mcourter
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    RE: Electric guitar limiting 2008/05/06 15:31:01 (permalink)
    I've never used a limiter on a guitar track, only on the Master bus. Bit if I wanted to find out how it would sound..........I'd try it and find out.

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    CJaysMusic
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    RE: Electric guitar limiting 2008/05/06 17:13:01 (permalink)

    ORIGINAL: lost tears music

    Hello!!

    I know this might sound funny but I would like to ask what does a limiter do to the sound of an electric guitar? What is the purpose of aplying a limiter? Do you aply it on solo's, hard rythm guitar?. If you are recording a guitar using an effects processor with really good presets do you need to use it?

    Thanks!!

    you should look into what a limiter does and how the threshold and release and the gain and gain reduction and the attack and sometimes the ratio all do to the sound or sounds.
    In very very short, a limiter limits the signal, it can also lower the dynamic range of a sound and it can also increase or raise the noise floor of a sound.
    Just learn what a limiter does first, before wanting to throw it on a track. It can ruin the track if its set wrong. also, the limiter has many many many functions.
    also, no one can say if you need one or dont need one when using effect processors, only you can make that judgement by using your ears and your eyes
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    Guitarhacker
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    RE: Electric guitar limiting 2008/05/06 17:19:42 (permalink)
    Same thing...I rarely use limiting at all. Just a bit of compression on final mix. In place of limiting.....turn down the faders a bit, use pop filters on mics, watch the track levels like a hawk and keep them out of the red (clipping) and you should be alright without a limiter in the studio.

    Limiting basically turns the volume down on spikes when the level exceeds a certain "limit point" it can be a soft limit or a hard limit. Hard limiting basically clips the tops of the spikes....

    Using a limiter in a studio is not really necessary most of the time.

    Live sound...different story... singers drop mics, flash pots explode, and many other sources of spikes that are destructive to amps & speakers exist in live sound that are not as prevelent in the studio. We ran a limiter all the time on our PA system....and it saved our speakers....as a matter of fact, after we put it into service, we did not blow out as many speakers & horn drivers. And after a flash pot literally exploded, we only lost 1 speaker in our PA, but we lost every single monitor & onstage speaker from the blast..either the shockwave or the sound going through the monitors..... it was bad....but the limiter saved over 14 speakers & 6 horn drivers in our main system.

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    Rbh
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    RE: Electric guitar limiting 2008/05/07 01:27:22 (permalink)
    Limiting as compared to compression is usually geared as a high ratio with fast attack and release times used mostly for taming fast transients. It can be useful for limiting very plucky parts with a clean guitar. I think of it more like a subset of a compressor function. You can boost the overall signal level and keep the fast transient from over shooting... or you can use a lower level and adjust an expander to increase gain after the transient... but that can increase lower level noise so it depends on the material.

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    lost tears music
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    RE: Electric guitar limiting 2008/05/07 02:34:47 (permalink)
    Hey!!!

    Thanks a lot for the info. I guess I dont really need the limiter in most projects. I have never used it. But now I understand what it does. I have posted 2 tracks at www.soundclick.com/losttearsmusic. I would like opinion on how the mixing sounds and sugestions on how to make it better.

    Thanks a lot!!!

    www.soundclick.com/losttearsmusic
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    Lanceindastudio
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    RE: Electric guitar limiting 2008/05/07 07:27:25 (permalink)
    Well said Cjay. A limiter can act as a compressor really.

    If I were to use one on guitars, it would be to make it loud without peaking, or to control the dynamics of a guitar or multiple guitars.

    I would use sonitus compressor though personally. I only use a limiter to master usually, in particular, voxengo elephant.

    But I will put kick and bass through one and tweak to make it where when they both hit, they "merge"

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    Jessie Sammler
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    RE: Electric guitar limiting 2008/05/07 19:49:22 (permalink)
    .
    post edited by Jessie Sammler - 2008/07/09 22:20:49
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