mrockett

Q: Limiter, Normalizer, or Both?

Hey guys, I am editing a long "speech", a sermon.  There's tons of inflections but I want to keep his regular speaking voice db levels at -6db and not let it peak out.  Should I use a limiter, normalizer, or both (or anything else)?  If more than one of these, what order should I apply them in?  Thanks in advance!

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.5), 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo; 1067 MHz RAM; FCS 4

Posted on May 27, 2014 2:37 PM

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Q: Limiter, Normalizer, or Both?

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  • by David Harbsmeier,Helpful

    David Harbsmeier David Harbsmeier May 27, 2014 5:32 PM in response to mrockett
    Level 7 (29,984 points)
    May 27, 2014 5:32 PM in response to mrockett

    I know many people that prefer using the normalization method, but personally, I prefer using a compressor/limiter filter.  Levels below the threshold you set won't be affected; only those above the threshold will be compressed at the ratio you set.

     

    If you want to keep an average of -12db with peaks at -6db or below, a threshold setting of -18db or -16db and a compression ratio of 8:1 works well with most speech.

     

    -DH

  • by Jim Cookman,

    Jim Cookman Jim Cookman May 28, 2014 1:53 PM in response to mrockett
    Level 7 (23,435 points)
    May 28, 2014 1:53 PM in response to mrockett

    Just try not to destroy the dynamics of the speech by stepping on it too hard.  Some of those windbags are really good at working the room by controlling the volume of their voices.