Does Reaper have a built-in limiter on the master bus?

[StuhRAH]

And if so (which it sounds like it does) what is there to be known about it? If I put a JS Volume Adjust on the master bus, it seems to override the limiter that's built in (probably because JS is getting clipped) but without it, the sound is clean and unclipped, albeit with a some slightly audible compression/limiting.

[planetnine]

I think by default it's set to +18dBFSD just to prevent monitor damage if you accidentally create a feedback loop. It mutes the output rather than "limits"...


Edit: if you're hearing limiting, maybe you've something in your interface catching the overs. What are you using?

REAPER uses floating-point maths, so won't clip, but fixed-point audio interfaces receiving the audio feed will, unless they have some mechanism to counter it...



>

[serr]

Originally Posted by StuhRAH

And if so (which it sounds like it does) what is there to be known about it? If I put a JS Volume Adjust on the master bus, it seems to override the limiter that's built in (probably because JS is getting clipped) but without it, the sound is clean and unclipped, albeit with a some slightly audible compression/limiting.

Absolutely positively no.

Look at your connected audio interface. It basically has a mini DAW system built into it for its monitor board. Intended to use for low latency input monitoring so you can set the host computer to high latency and save processing power for mixing. This built-in monitor mixer might have a limiter available. If you are certain you are hearing something, check there.


Reaper also has a "monitor fx" feature that lets you insert plugins after the master fader and this can hide out of sight and out of mind. It's global, not saved per project. So sometimes people dial up stuff and forget or don't realize it's global.

[lolilol1975]

Originally Posted by serr

Reaper also has a "monitor fx" feature that lets you insert plugins after the master fader and this can hide out of sight and out of mind. It's global, not saved per project. So sometimes people dial up stuff and forget or don't realize it's global.

Wait, what ? I Didn't know that.
Where is this ?

[ashcat_lt]

Originally Posted by lolilol1975

Wait, what ? I Didn't know that.
Where is this ?

Shift+Click on the Master FX button. It's global - affects every project - so make sure you want it forever before you put there.

And yeah, Reaper itself doesn't clip until you ask it to render to fixed point format*. JS Volume has a Max Volume Parameter which is a hard digital clipper and you should probably just whack it all the way up and use something else to control your peaks.


*Ok it will, but it'll be WAY too loud for your converters (and everything else) by then.

[artao]

No it does not. Why would it? o.O

[karbomusic]

Originally Posted by lolilol1975

Wait, what ? I Didn't know that.
Where is this ?

Also be aware it affects monitoring only, not what you render. That's it's primary use. Mostly all my metering and even an instance of reatune lives there (because I can hit solo and tune any instrument I'm recording).

If you 'had' to make some adjustment that was only required of your particular monitoring environment, it would go there as well but I hesitate personally because being global and not necessarily in your face as a reminder, creates a risk of being bitten in the ass when you forget it's there. I added a button for it in my main toolbar FWIW. It should also, show up on the very top-right of Reaper just to the right/above where it lists the sound card information.

[ashcat_lt]

I use Monitor FX in my mixroom to half-ass correct for the overlap between my mains and my subs. I also use it to condition the signal going to my surface transducers. In my live rig I put a soft clipper and "bookend" EQ on all four outputs as a safety.