getting rid of built in limiter

[erineclipse]

How do you get rid of the built in FL limiter? It's really annoying, I want it to sound like anvil studio or your basic midi writer, I am using the simplest of sounds and they interfere with each other's frequencies and the due to lag or reverb the mix becomes quiet long after the interfering instruments are finished playing. I am not very good at EQ, can't I just have all the sounds add into each other I don't care about clipping? Also, this interferes with limiters I add to the mixer.

[eilios]

Turn it off from the mixer by clicking the little green dot to the right of it. Or just get rid of it altogether by clicking the arrow to the left of the name of the mixer in the master channel and selecting replace and then (none).

I recommend you leave a limiter on in some way to protect your ears in-case you mess up and some really loud high pitched squeal escapes some how.

[Amphibious]

Eilios pretty much has it right. Disabling the green dot light next to pretty much anything in FL Studio will essentially mute / disable it.

However, why wouldn't you care about clipping? That's probably one of the things that matters most when it comes to making music. I look back at all my old music back when I sucked at FL Studio, and while I may have had some decent musical ideas there's just loads of clipping and it sounds extremely amateur. A clean, clipping-free mix is something you should strive for.

[Neblix]

To answer your first question, either click the arrow and select "none" from the list. Or, to never have to deal with it again, start a new project with the "Empty" or "Basic" template.

However, to answer you second question:

What a limiter does is take any frequencies above a threshold and push them down (i.e. a compressor).

When your instruments are interfering with each other like that, it's not the limiter's fault. It's the fault of your composition technique. I say this as specifically your composition technique because you are using simple sounds. You need to learn how to write full music with instruments that have their own space.

Two instruments should never be occupying the same frequency range. If they do that, they'll be fighting for the range. In some cases it means the loudness goes above your limiter's threshold, which causes it to just push the offending stuff down. (overcompression on the offending instruments)

If a limiter is the problem, your mix is too loud or some specific instruments are too loud.
Removing the limiter in this situation will cause distortion/clipping and make your music sound even worse.

[erineclipse]

i will keep that in mind. although, the limiter i am talking about can't be disabled from the mixer, I have a completely empty mixer and there is still some sort of limiting going on. i forgot where i found this out but it was googling for an unrelated problem, and i found a bunch of threads that said fl had a built in limiter.

On a side note, how does anvil studio produce better sound without frequency and overlap problems when there are multiple instruments?

[Neblix]

If you are experiencing the effect of FL Studio's built-in limiter than your music is really frikkin loud and you need to turn down the volume.

Most likely you are just mixing too loud in FL Studio as opposed to Anvil Studio.

how does anvil studio produce better sound without frequency and overlap problems when there are multiple instruments?

Again, it's not the program's fault, it's YOURS. It's impossible for Anvil to produce "better sound" if you are using the SAME EXACT INSTRUMENTS in both FL Studio and Anvil. If you aren't using the same ones, the answer is quite obvious: because you're using instruments in FL that overlap and you're not in Anvil.

[eilios]

Also, some music programs sound better out-of-the-box because the samples are designed specifically to be mixed well. While this can be good for newbs because they already have pre-mixed samples, it can be limiting as well because you're stuck with what they think something should sound like.

[big giant circles]

The FL Limiter on the master channel by default does suck, yes. I recommend using TLS Pocket Limiter (http://www.kvraudio.com/db/tls_pocket_limiter_by_tbt) instead. Open a new project, go to the Fruity Limiter, click arrow, replace > TLS Pocket Limiter. Now Save As - Templates > Minimal > Basic with limiter > Basic with limiter.flp and you're done.

Now open a project with that template, and every time you start up FL, it will use the Pocket Limiter instead of the FL one.

[Tensei]

I think the main reason the default config sucks is because the limiter is set to boost by like 5.5 dB which is completely insane. It's fine if you just turn down the gain to 0 and set the threshold to -0.2 (which is pretty much the standard).

If it's not the default limiter like you're claiming, then I don't know what to say. You're probably doing something else wrong.

[PROTO·DOME]

How do you get rid of the built in FL limiter? It's really annoying, I want it to sound like anvil studio or your basic midi writer, I am using the simplest of sounds and they interfere with each other's frequencies and the due to lag or reverb the mix becomes quiet long after the interfering instruments are finished playing. I am not very good at EQ, can't I just have all the sounds add into each other I don't care about clipping? Also, this interferes with limiters I add to the mixer.What the hell. If you're using MIDI sounds to the point where you are getting a noticeable compression effect with the limiter, you're doing it severely wrong.

Yeah, get TLs Pocket Limiter because it's bitchin', but my advice is just turn the instruments down.

EDIT- Ah, or it could be what Tensei said. I always boot up with an empty project.

[Zephyr]

Do you have a sound example of something exported from anvil studio and something done in FL Studio. I'm sorry to say it but it sounds as though you're confused in terminology or the specifics behind what the limiter is doing. A sound example may help us to help you.

[Neblix]

He's not talking about the actual plug in on the mixer, he's talking about the limiter that FL Studio has built-in to automatically brickwall stuff when it's too loud (I notice this when I'm rendering)

[Tensei]

He's not talking about the actual plug in on the mixer, he's talking about the limiter that FL Studio has built-in to automatically brickwall stuff when it's too loud (I notice this when I'm rendering)

I have used FL for ages and I have literally never noticed this. Then again, the first thing I do when starting a new project is turning everything down so I might have never run into it.

That said, doesn't stuff in FL just clip if it's too loud?

[Neblix]

I have used FL for ages and I have literally never noticed this. Then again, the first thing I do when starting a new project is turning everything down so I might have never run into it.

That said, doesn't stuff in FL just clip if it's too loud?

I don't exactly know how it works, but you can mix stuff in FL Studio a little louder than 0 Db (without a limiter). When you look at it in a spectrum analyzer like Winamp, you just see frequencies hitting a wall but there isn't any noticeable (audible) clipping. When you reach past the "little past 0 mark", though, then you hear clipping AND overcompression.

[PROTO·DOME]

That said, doesn't stuff in FL just clip if it's too loud?As far as I am aware, yes.

Neblix, wat u on bout sport? The waveform is visibly cut when it goes past 0.

[Neblix]

As far as I am aware, yes.

Neblix, wat u on bout sport? The waveform is visibly cut when it goes past 0.

That's exactly what I just said... *headdesk*

[PROTO·DOME]

That's exactly what I just said... *headdesk*...
You do know what a clipped waveform means right kiddo?

[Neblix]

...
You do know what a clipped waveform means right kiddo?
That's not what I'm talking about.

If you mix too loudly in FL Studio you will hear compression with or without a limiter (you'll hear clipping too). And that's what erine is talking about.

[erineclipse]

the bass starts off audible but once the fantasia synth comes in it completely drowns it out. worse is the loud cymbal completely mutes everything and even though it has a short decay the song seems quieter.

http://tindeck.com/image/ydyc/stats.png (http://tindeck.com/listen/ydyc)

[Neblix]

the bass starts off audible but once the fantasia synth comes in it completely drowns it out. worse is the loud cymbal completely mutes everything and even though it has a short decay the song seems quieter.

http://tindeck.com/image/ydyc/stats.png (http://tindeck.com/listen/ydyc)

Try mixing quieter.

[eilios]

the bass starts off audible but once the fantasia synth comes in it completely drowns it out. worse is the loud cymbal completely mutes everything and even though it has a short decay the song seems quieter.

http://tindeck.com/image/ydyc/stats.png (http://tindeck.com/listen/ydyc)
The problem here is your mixing. That synth is too loud and overbearing, quiet it down, EQ out some of the bass frequencies. Crash cymbals can actually be a hell of a lot quieter than you think and still be powerful, so don't even worry about that and just mix it down a bit.

[Ectogemia]

Neblix is actually right... I think. I'm kinda sure (for what that's worth) that FL has a built-in limiter irrespective of the new project master track limiter that has a pretty serious and hard compression ratio at a threshold of -0.2 dB or something like that. If your mix is just entirely too loud, it'll beat the compression ratio and still clip.

erin's problem seems like it's just an EQ thing. You must understand, whether you like it or not, that a quality mix -- that is, a combination of several voices sounding at once -- need not be composed of quality-sounding individual voices. When you properly EQ a mix, often you end up with weirdo sounding individual instruments because of the frequency cutting or shelving you had to do to to each one to improve the sum mix, especially if you used a lot of synths. Combine said "crappy" instruments, and you have a complete soundscape with distinct parts that sound awesome together. ... or you could just skip that step, have awesome-sounding individual instruments and live with a crappy mix once combined.

tl;dr: boost your crash's high, cut the lows, turn it down entirely. Cut your fantastia's lows, boost its high-mid. Boost your bass's lows, cut its high and high-mid. Weeee, you now have a quality early 90s MIDI mix that sounds like it could have come with Windows 95. Canyon, anyone?

[erineclipse]

Neblix is actually right... I think. I'm kinda sure (for what that's worth) that FL has a built-in limiter irrespective of the new project master track limiter that has a pretty serious and hard compression ratio at a threshold of -0.2 dB or something like that. If your mix is just entirely too loud, it'll beat the compression ratio and still clip.

erin's problem seems like it's just an EQ thing. You must understand, whether you like it or not, that a quality mix -- that is, a combination of several voices sounding at once -- need not be composed of quality-sounding individual voices. When you properly EQ a mix, often you end up with weirdo sounding individual instruments because of the frequency cutting or shelving you had to do to to each one to improve the sum mix, especially if you used a lot of synths. Combine said "crappy" instruments, and you have a complete soundscape with distinct parts that sound awesome together. ... or you could just skip that step, have awesome-sounding individual instruments and live with a crappy mix once combined.

tl;dr: boost your crash's high, cut the lows, turn it down entirely. Cut your fantastia's lows, boost its high-mid. Boost your bass's lows, cut its high and high-mid. Weeee, you now have a quality early 90s MIDI mix that sounds like it could have come with Windows 95. Canyon, anyone?

lol, windows 95, awesome ;)

thanks a lot for the advice, i knew fl had a built in limiter (or those other threads must have been lies. They were about recording using Audacity because fl export sounded different than asio4all and even the basic output and how you had to set the onboard mic to 23 or else there would be clipping.)

[Tensei]

Also why is everything panned to the middle?

[erineclipse]

Also why is everything panned to the middle?

sorry, i just have a thing, where i want it to sound good on all speakers, even on stereos with a broken speaker...i am afraid if i pan it, they will miss some of the song. Also, I'm not sure if I pan on the left or right, what emotions will it evoke.

[eilios]

sorry, i just have a thing, where i want it to sound good on all speakers, even on stereos with a broken speaker...i am afraid if i pan it, they will miss some of the song. Also, I'm not sure if I pan on the left or right, what emotions will it evoke.
Panning everything to the middle makes compositions feel kinda bleh. Panning everything hard-left/hard-right can make compositions feel really bleh. In moderation, you can use panning to widen a mix and make everything sound fippy sippy pippy. The trick is to have a balance even when you use panning, so even though one instrument may be a deal more on the right side, the left side doesn't feel like it's empty.

[PROTO·DOME]

Also, I'm not sure if I pan on the left or right, what emotions will it evoke.A left pan is generally an indication of hate or fear. Hardpanning to the right has connotations of lust and sexuality.

[Neblix]

A left pan is generally an indication of hate or fear. Hardpanning to the right has connotations of lust and sexuality.
Do not give in to the left panning, Luke!

Or the right, for that matter...

[PrototypeRaptor]

A left pan is generally an indication of hate or fear. Hardpanning to the right has connotations of lust and sexuality.

this is one of the best posts I have ever read

...but you owe me a new keyboard, I got sprite all over mine

on topic,

40% is usually as far as I pan individual instruments unless I'm specifically trying to get a separated sound: guitar multi-tracking, pads, backing vocals, etc

though there are lots of tricks to make the stereo field seem wider as a whole

[Skrypnyk]

a left pan is generally an indication of hate or fear. Hardpanning to the right has connotations of lust and sexuality.
. .
this is one of the best posts i have ever read