Topic: Apogee mini me; soft limit or no?

[Cobiwan]

I just picked up a Apogee mini me and was wondering if I should use the soft limit feature or not. I usually don't filter or limit anything but wanted to ask if it's actually a good idea or not. Thanks for your help!

[hi and lo]

The soft limiter on the mini-me is the absolute shit! It sounds really good and is super useful for music like bluegrass. I wouldn't necessarily use it at a rock concert, but anytime there is wide dynamic range it will come in very handy.

Experiment the 3 (?) curves and use it liberally!

[Cobiwan]

So it's good for acoustic/quieter music but not necessary for something like Phish?

[page]

I too like it. I'd use it at a rock show personally, but I'd be careful about how much I pound it there. I can't remember the settings but it's the one without compression is what I'd use in most cases. (although I've heard some metal/hard rock with that compression setting that sounded epic. I personally wouldn't use that though)

[Brian Skalinder]

Why use it at all (except in rare situations when it's particularly difficult to set levels without fear of clipping)?

Unless you have a specific need (to help prevent clipping in challenging situations) or desire (if you especially like the sonic signature the feature imparts), I'd skip it:  set levels so, even at peaks, you don't clip.  Then apply any "soft limiting" in post when you have more control over the results.

[microburst]

I used to run the soft limiter on the AD-1000 and liked it for a while, but then found that I would push the levels too much and began to dislike the feature.  Once I got the mini-me a few years ago I have never used the soft limiter and never will.  As Brian indicated, one can always limit or apply compression in post with more precision and control.

[capnhook]

Soft limit all the time (SL, not SLC) for me.

You can put more "under the curve".  I find that many spurious peaks are tamed just nicely.

Haven't found a compressor that duplicates what SL does.

[hawghunter]

I run it all the time and support the message above. 

[it-goes-to-eleven]

I find that many spurious peaks wooks are tamed just nicely.

Ftfy.

[capnhook]

I find that many spurious peaks wooks are tamed just nicely.

Ftfy.

  yeahyouright it-goes-to-eleven

[capnhook]

I run it all the time and support the message above. 

yeahyouright hawghunter