Most modern digital limiters are designed to be sonically neutral, with maximum transparency and minimal coloration. In other words, they’re created to do one job (to limit a signal’s level) without changing the overall sound too much or imparting any specific sonic signature. Inevitably, though, digital peak limiters do have a sound of their own — especially when pushed hard — and, when exposed, that sound can be truly awful: harsh, brittle high end; squashed transients; & thin or mangled low end. Rather than build another “transparent” brickwall limiter, we thought we’d make something different: something dynamic, colorful, and inspiring; something you could use for more than just pure loudness.

Named after the inventor of the electrical transformer, Faraday Limiter’s analog-modeled input/output transformers are responsible for its beefy, harmonically-rich sound. The limiter circuit is smooth yet lively — it can pump faster and further than any limiter we’ve ever heard while retaining its characteristic punch and warmth. Faraday Limiter sounds great on buses, individual instruments, vocals, dialog, etc. and allows for a level of timbral shaping and tonal coloration that can’t be achieved with any other dynamics processor.

Controls

Primary Controls

Threshold

Threshold

Controls the point at which limiting and more pronounced saturation will occur (the saturation intensity depends on the Color setting).

Threshold includes a level meter embedded in the slider. This meter shows the peak level of the input signal before Faraday Limiter’s processing, which can be helpful when choosing a threshold.

If the signal peak exceeds or equals 0.0dB the meter color turns red, indicating that clipping could occur. Faraday Limiter will never clip internally, due to its double-precision floating-point processing, but the signal might be clipped at a later stage (by the host/DAW or DAC).

Threshold also has a triangular indicator floating to the left of the slider. This shows the threshold value where compression would begin, based on the peaks of the detector signal. When Threshold is set below these peaks, the triangle will disappear. If you see the triangle, no compression is occurring.

  • Min -36.0dB
  • Max 0.0dB
  • Default 0.0dB

Ratio

Ratio

Controls the ratio of Faraday Limiter’s gain reduction.

Ratio Compression Style
2:1 Mild compression
4:1 Moderate compression
8:1 Soft limiting
20:1 Harder limiting (not brickwall)

The ratio changes the severity of the gain reduction. For example, a ratio of 8:1 means that for every 8 dB the input signal is above the Threshold, the output signal will only increase by 1 dB.

  • Min 2:1
  • Max 20:1
  • Default 20:1

Vibe

Color

Controls the amount of analog coloration and transformer saturation.

At 0%, Faraday Limiter is rather clean sounding. 100% is a nice analog middle-ground, and 200% gives you fully-saturated transformer growl.

The perceived analog coloration is greatly influenced by the Threshold. As the threshold decreases, the Color character becomes more tape-like, with increasingly pronounced odd-order harmonics.

  • Min 0%
  • Max 200%
  • Default 100%

Warmth

Alters the frequency-dependant characteristics of the limiter’s detector circuit.

A big part of Faraday Limiter’s thick, punchy sound is its frequency-dependent gain reduction. Low and high frequency sounds hit the limiter differently, and — depending on the Warmth setting — will exhibit different attack/release characteristics. High values, such as 100%, generally sound thicker and punchier, while low values, like -100%, have a quick, bright limiter sound.

For example, you can often use the warmth control to emphasize different aspects of a snare drum: more Warmth gives more thud & low end; less Warmth gives more stick & snare presence.

The Warmth control is not EQ, and will not change the frequency response of the plugin.

  • Min -100%
  • Max 100%
  • Default 0%

Speed

Attack Time Constant

Modifies the speed of the limiter’s attack.

This control is unitless (i.e. not specified in seconds or milliseconds) because Faraday Limiter does not have a traditional fixed attack time. Smaller Attack Time Constant’s will clamp down quickly, dampen transients. Larger Attack Time Constant’s cause the limiter to react more slowly, emphasizing the attack and punch of the incoming signal.

  • Min 0.1x
  • Max 8.0x
  • Default 1.0x

Release Time Constant

Modifies the speed of the limiter’s release.

Like the Attack Time Constant, this control is unitless (i.e. not specified in seconds or milliseconds). Smaller Release Time Constant’s cause the limiter to release more quickly, often sounding louder and causing more audible pumping. Larger Release Time Constant’s cause the limiter to release more slowly and smoothly.

  • Min 0.1x
  • Max 8.0x
  • Default 1.0x

Output

Output Gain

Varies the output gain.

Output Gain includes a level meter embedded in the slider. This meter shows the peak level of the signal both pre (lighter color) and post (darker color) Faraday Limiter’s processing.

Output Gain also has a triangular indicator floating to the right side of the slider. This triangle’s location is based on the peaks of the input and output signals, and indicates approximately where Output Gain would need to be set in order to match the input and output volume.

  • Min -36.0dB
  • Max 18.0dB
  • Default 0.0dB

Auto Gain

Sets the reference peak level used by the auto gain algorithm.

Faraday Limiter’s automatic gain compensation attempts to automatically make up for the gain lost during compression & limiting so that the output volume remains approximately constant for different Threshold and Ratio settings.

It works best when the Auto Gain setting matches the peak level hitting the sidechain. For example, if your detector signal consistently peaks at -6.0dB, set Auto Gain to -6.0dB.

The maximum gain compensation is applied when Auto Gain is set to 0.0 dB. At -20.0dB, Auto Gain is turned off completely.

The automatic gain compensation in Faraday Limiter is not based on the input (or sidechain) signal. Instead, a combination of the settings of the Threshold, Ratio, and Auto Gain determine the amount of gain compensation.

  • Min -20.0dB
  • Max 0.0dB
  • Default 0.0dB

Master Mix

Overall Faraday Limiter mix.

0% is all dry signal and 100% is all Faraday Limiter

Setting Master Mix anywhere between 0% and 100% layers dry and compressed signal — an easy way to do parallel compression.

  • Min 0%
  • Max 100%
  • Default 100%

Master On/Off

Bypasses Faraday Limiter’s processing.

We recommend using the Master On/Off instead of your DAW’s plugin bypass to avoid digital artifacts.

  • Default On

Advanced Controls

The Advanced section offers more precise control and fine adjustment options.

To access Faraday Limiter’s advanced controls, click the ••• icon in the sidebar.

Sidechain

Sidechain Listen

Listen to the detector signal instead of the output of Faraday Limiter.

This is what Faraday Limiter is “listening” to when detecting threshold crossings.

  • Default Off

Sidechain Source

Select the source of the detector signal(sidechain), which Faraday Limiter uses when detecting threshold crossings.

Source Behavior
Int. (Internal) The default behaviour, where the signal being limited is also used as the detector signal.
Ext. (External) Threshold detection will be based on different audio than the signal being compressed.

To route audio to Faraday Limiter’s external input, use the host/DAW’s built-in sidechain selection method.

  • Default Internal

Sidechain Trim

Adjust the level of the detector signal before threshold detection occurs.

  • Min -36.0dB
  • Max 24.0dB
  • Default 0.0dB

Sidechain HPF

Sidechain HPF controls a high pass filter (HPF) for the limiter’s detector signal only.

The Sidechain HPF is useful for controlling how the limiter reacts to low end and bass frequencies. At higher frequencies, like 250Hz, more low end will be removed from the sidechain signal, which in turn means the that the low end will undergo less limiting/compression.

This can be useful if you want to allow the low end to “breathe” or if you want to avoid triggering the limiter with a bass instrument (kick drum, bass synth/guitar, etc). Conversely, if you want the limiter to pump with a kick drum or low end instrument, leave the Sidechain HPF at 20Hz.

  • Min 20Hz
  • Max 250Hz
  • Default 20Hz

HQ Mode

HQ Mode is our no-holds-barred processing mode where super high quality audio is given priority over CPU usage.

When HQ Mode is turned On, Faraday Limiter uses a higher precision algorithm, providing better spectral resolution at the expense of some added latency (~50 ms) and higher CPU usage.

We recommend using HQ Mode when you need the highest possible quality and don’t mind 2-4x higher CPU usage. An important lead instrument, vocal, or a mastering session is a great place for HQ Mode.

HQ Mode will require more CPU resources and result in a slightly higher processing delay (latency). To ensure proper delay compensation in your host/DAW, automating HQ Mode is not recommended.

  • Default Off

Specs

Supported Channel Configurations

Input Channel # Output Channel #
1 1
1 2
2 2

Acknowledgements

Annlie Huang / Chris Conover / Diana Zheng / Jack Stratton / James Clerk Maxwell / Joseph Henry / Michael Faraday / TaeHo Park / Tyler Duncan

Authors

Devin Kerr / Rob Stenson / Jasper Duba / Noah Dayan

Translators

TaeHo Park / Tiago Frúgoli / Gustavo Guzmán / Reda Kermach / Noah Dayan

About Goodhertz Plugins

User Interface

Goodhertz plugins are made to be workhorse tools that sound amazing. We’ve put a lot of thought and care into the audio quality and plugin usability, and for that reason, we’ve opted for simple and direct controls & interfaces that don’t rely on photorealistic knobs or ornamental screw heads to communicate their meaning.

We’ve also decided to only include meters and graphs when we feel they will directly lead to a better sonic result. Meters/graphs can consume significant CPU resources, and we firmly believe that if it sounds good, it is good.

Our meters can be manually enabled or disabled via the “Enable Metering” User Preference.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Action Keyboard Shortcut
Enter New Parameter Value Once you’ve tapped or double-tapped a control, type in a value, then hit Enter, Return, or Tab
Increment Parameter Value or arrow keys
Decrement Parameter Value or arrow keys
Jump to Next Parameter Tab
Jump to Previous Parameter Shift + Tab or ` (backtick)
Escape Parameter Focus / Close any Open Drawers Esc
Toggle A/B A (N.B. For this to work, you must have a control selected.)
Shift A to B / Shift B to A Shift + A — this “shifts” the current settings to the opposite A/B state; i.e. if you’re on the A state, hitting Shift+A will copy those settings to the B state. (N.B. For this to work, you must have a control selected.)

Right-Click Actions

Action Instruction
Reset Control to Default Right-Click & select “Reset [control] to Default”
Read about Control in Manual Right-Click & select “Read about [control]”
Lock a control when Switching Presets Right-Click & select “Lock [control] When Switching Presets”
Copy all current plugin settings Right-Click & select “Copy all settings as URL to Clipboard”
Paste all plugin settings Right-Click & select “Paste all settings from Clipboard”
Reset all plugin settings to default Right-Click & select “Reset all settings to default”
Go to the plugin’s product page Right-Click & select “Goodhertz [plugin name]”

Right-Click Preferences

Action Explanation
Language Switch the display language of text elements in Goodhertz plugins. We currently support the following languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), and Arabic.
Always Open Advanced Pane By default, this is Off — i.e. when the plugins open, they do not show you the advanced controls available by hitting the ••• button in the sidebar. If you’d like to always see the advanced controls, enable this preference.
Dark Mode Allows you to choose the color palette used for displaying the interface. If you prefer the look of dark colors (or work in a darker environment) enable this option. The Auto option will automatically adjust the color scheme depending on the system preferences of your machine (Mac only).
Enable Metering By default, this is On — i.e. in normal operation, all audio meters and visualizations available in Goodhertz plugins are enabled and running. If you’d like to turn them off and disable all metering and visualization, deselect this option. And to turn them back on, simply reselect it. N.B. If you’re struggling to use a large number of Goodhertz plugins on an older processor with an integrated GPU, sometimes disabling metering can help.
Enable Scroll Input By default, all Goodhertz sliders can be scrolled in addition to dragged. If you find this behavior unnecessary, deselect this option and no scrolling events will be used to control Goodhertz sliders.
Require Double-Click for Keyboard Focus By default, you can get keyboard focus on any Goodhertz control with a single click. Enable this option to ensure keyboard focus only occurs on double clicks.
Window Size Enlarge or shrink the Goodhertz plugin window by selecting an option here. This will save your preference for all instances of this plugin.

Mouse Modifiers

Action Combination (Mac) Combination (Windows)
Reset Parameter to Default Value Option + Click Alt + Click
Move Control with Coarse Precision Shift + Drag Shift + Drag
Move Control with Fine Precision Command + Drag Ctrl + Drag
Move Control with Normal Precision Drag Drag

Automation

Unintentional digital clicks and pops are the worst. They happen for lots of reasons and often end up wasting your time with needless revisions or mastering surgery. When they go unnoticed, they can make their way onto commercial albums and releases.

Plugin automation is a common cause of clicks and pops. Sweeping an EQ band, changing a delay setting, and even automating a plugin bypass can cause digital artifacts if poorly handled.

This is not true for Goodhertz plugins. Any parameter in a Goodhertz plugin, even on/off switches, can be automated freely and smoothly without clicks, pops, or zipper noises (unless otherwise noted). You can push them, pull them, LFO them — whatever you do, they’ll handle it gracefully.

Since our Master On/Off controls won’t create artifacts, we recommend that you use them rather than your DAW-supplied plugin bypass if you want to disable plugin processing.

Plugin Settings

Goodhertz plugin settings can be copied and pasted as text urls, which look like this: https://goodhertz.co/vulf-comp/3.0.9?cm=0&wf=0&lf=100&lfc=50

To copy and paste, right click anywhere on the plugin interface and select either the copy or the paste option.

E.g. If you paste “https://goodhertz.co/vulf-comp/3.0.9?cm=0&wf=0&lf=100&lfc=50” into Vulf Compressor it will recall the settings associated with that url. This way you can easily send an exact plugin setting to someone — in an email or even a tweet — without any guesswork or screenshots.”

System Requirements

Mac OS X ≥ 10.9

Audio Unit 64-Bit, VST 64-Bit, VST3 64-Bit, or AAX 64-Bit host

Windows ≥ 7

VST 64-Bit, VST3 64-Bit, or AAX 64-Bit host” Contact Support “To send plugin feedback, please e-mail us at feedback@goodhertz.com.

If you have a quick question, send us a tweet @Goodhertz. We’re often able to respond faster to tweets than emails.

If you’re having trouble, experiencing a technical issue, or you think you’ve found a bug, please email support@goodhertz.com.

Find all our contact info & bug-reporting protocol on the contact page.