Limiter No6
Limiter No6
Limiter No6 is a free, mastering-focused limiter designed around a modular signal chain rather than a single do-it-all process.
Instead of relying on aggressive gain reduction in one stage, it splits the workload across multiple specialised modules, allowing higher loudness targets to be reached while keeping distortion and pumping under control.
It’s a technical, deliberate limiter aimed squarely at engineers who want control over every stage of peak and loudness management.
System Requirements:
- 32-bit
- 64-bit
- VST 2 & 3/ AU
- Windows
- MacOs
Five-Stage Limiting Architecture
Limiter No6 is built around five serially connected modules: an RMS compressor, peak limiter, high-frequency limiter, clipper, and true peak limiter. Each stage is designed to do a small amount of work, reducing the need for heavy-handed processing in any single module.
This cumulative approach allows loudness to be pushed further while maintaining clarity and low subjective distortion.
The peak limiter and clipper both support M/S and multiband operation, making it possible to control centre and side energy independently or manage frequency-dependent peaks without resorting to external processors.
This makes Limiter No6 particularly effective on complex mixes where transients, low-end, and stereo width all need careful balancing.
Precision, Oversampling & True Peak Control
Limiter No6 includes true inter-sample peak (ISP) limiting, ensuring that final output levels remain safe after DA conversion and streaming encoders.
Optional 4× oversampling is available for the peak limiter, high-frequency limiter, and clipper, reducing aliasing and improving accuracy when pushing levels harder.
A fixed-latency mode avoids artefacts caused by real-time latency changes, which is critical in mastering scenarios.
Visual feedback is handled through analogue-style gain reduction meters for each module, offering clear insight into where and how much processing is taking place.
Key Features:
Modular loudness control built for transparency, not shortcuts.
- Five-stage limiting chain: RMS comp, peak limiter, HF limiter, clipper, true peak limiter.
- Designed for mastering-grade loudness control.
- Brickwall and soft limiting with adjustable timing.
- Optional 4× oversampling.
- True inter-sample peak limiting.
- Analogue-style gain reduction meters per module.
FAQ
Splitting gain reduction across stages reduces audible distortion and pumping, allowing higher loudness with cleaner results.
The clipper is best used to shave fast transients before final limiting, reducing the workload of the true peak limiter.
Yes. With true peak limiting and precise control, it’s well suited for mastering to streaming-safe levels.
While designed for mastering, it can be used on mix bus material when carefully configured with minimal gain reduction per stage.
