Use of 442/302 Limiters

[Rob Lewis]

There are a lot of 442's & 302's out there and I'm wonder how all of you are using your limiters.  Where do you set them for digital vs. analog cameras (yes analog is still used)!  I understand that SD used a 20:1 limiting ratio which is pretty much a brick wall peak limiter, where as the typical reality Wendt X5 has a soft knee limiter which begins limiting at +8dbu and can still clip the mixer or recorder if pushed too hard.  How are you guys peaking with your SD mixers in relation to your limiter settings ?

[Philip Perkins]

There are a lot of 442's & 302's out there and I'm wonder how all of you are using your limiters.  Where do you set them for digital vs. analog cameras (yes analog is still used)!  I understand that SD used a 20:1 limiting ratio which is pretty much a brick wall peak limiter, where as the typical reality Wendt X5 has a soft knee limiter which begins limiting at +8dbu and can still clip the mixer or recorder if pushed too hard.  How are you guys peaking with your SD mixers in relation to your limiter settings ?

Output limit @ +10.  I have at times had them cranked down much harder, but if you do that the SD limiters will distort on certain kinds of speech transients (not necessarily the loudest either).  This setting has worked well for me with all the cameras I've worked w/ in the past few years, a pretty wide variety incl. mini DV, HD and even BSP cams.

Philip Perkins

[Eric Burge]

keep the limiters as high as possible , usially around + 16 db , with proper camera/ recorder setting i barely kick it one .

usially mix around +12.+14 .

Guess I'm running just slightly more conservative. I set my 442 limiters at +14 and hold the peaks at around +10-12. Seems to work fine for most any cam send and gives me a couple extra dB piece of mind for the occasional bumped camera pot or whatever. I know some guys who set at +18 or even +20 for analog, but the 442 mic pres are pretty darn quiet and I don't see any need to push beyond.

-EB

[SoundHound]

Most so called "Limiters" have a 5:1 (or "softer"") slope, a slow release and can easily be heard-screwing up the dialogue while they "protect" some poorly designed circuit.  For over 25 years I used the Audio and Design "Compex Limiter" following my mixer.  I found that the ideal settings to protect the recorder from overload were a 20:1 slope and a fast, fast (vital for dialogue no good with music) 20ms release.  Set the threshold 4/6 db before your recorder's peak overload even lower for 16 bit digital. 

One thing to avoid-always-with any kind of gain reduction is to compress/limit anywhere except at the loudest (peak) levels. 

Get used to watching the limiter's indicator rather than the VU/Modulometer for the sign that you are peaking and adjust levels downward.  Remember if you do this part of your job right you will get better transfers because you have conformed the dynamic range to more reliably pass thru the chain.  Don't worry in ReRe the dynamic range will be reduced even more.  There the mixers are looking for repeatable average recording levels.  The limiter (properly set up) helps you do this.