Recently, I happened upon a video shootout of mastering limiter plug-ins that included Big Clipper.
The video appears on the popular YouTube channel, Mixbus TV, created and hosted by David Gnozzi, platinum engineer, producer, audio educator, and mastering engineer in residence at Bob Horn’s world-class “hit factory,” EchoBar Studios, in North Hollywood, CA.
Experiencing Big Clipper for the very first time, David had downloaded a demo and put it up against some very stiff (and expensive) competition, including plug-ins he uses regularly in his mastering chain. Among the main contenders were the Weiss MM1, which features the same algorithms as their $10,000 hardware unit, and the Sonnox Limiter, created by Paul Frindle, designer of the groundbreaking SSL E-4000 series analog console and the $1M Sony OXF-R3 Oxford digital console.
Other notable entries residing in Gnozzi’s toolbox were FabFilter’s
Pro-L2, Waves L2 Ultramaximizer, and iZotope Ozone, which he counted among his favorites. Also included in the shootout were DMG Audio’s Limitless, T-Racks Stealth, Vladgsound Limiter No6, Kazrog KClip 3, Soundspot Velo2, Signum Audio Bute Limiter, TDR Limiter 6 GE, Venomode Maximal 2, and Voxengo’s Elephant. But the real elephant in the room was that after running A/B comparisons between all limiter plug-ins on two mixes being prepared for release, Boz Digital Labs’ Big Clipper brought home the bacon in both instances.
Download a demo of Big Clipper and hear for yourself
what it can do for both individual tracks and mastering.
Pushing the limits
To put the limiters through their paces, David chose a level setting beyond that which he would normally use in a mastering session (-9dB) to create a stress test that would push the limiter’s limits (so to speak). Ultimately, the goal was to find a new limiter that would capture his attention (and by extension, a listener’s) to add to his arsenal.
The first mix was an aggressive dance track with a four-on-the-floor kick. After hearing Big Clipper in action, David remarked, “Whoa, this is a big surprise. This sounds really good—like really good.” “ . . . you can hear the difference (as opposed to FabFilter Pro-L2), it’s pretty obvious, and I’m really pushing it. The Pro-L2 sounds pillowy in comparison.” After putting Big Clipper up against the other limiters, Gnozzi concluded, “Big Clipper is the winner for me . . . Big Clipper is a really nice surprise.”
The second mix was a more dynamic R&B track with a heavier low end and slower tempo.
After putting all the limiters through their paces, this time with the Weiss MM1 providing the main competition, David once again chose Big Clipper as the clear winner and the next limiter he would be adding to his mastering chain. Said David, “Big Clipper, big win!”
