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Limiter is, to a degree, another variation of the compressor. We speak of a limiter when the compression ratio is set to a value equal to or greater than 10:1, sometimes even ?:1, meaning that after exceeding the threshold the signal does not increase, but stays at the threshold while the rest of it is just cut off. It is used with very low attack and release times, which allows for a very quick transient or other immediate sound reduction. The limiter serves the purpose of saving the recording from distortion caused by high-energy transients. In its basic form we get access to the threshold and gain knobs, in more complex ones we can also adjust the attack and release knobs or greater control.

When will we be using the compressor and when we will be better off with a limiter? Due to significant differences in the compression ratio between the two devices we can assume that the compressor will be more useful for evening the signal while maintaining its liveliness without eliminating the transients, while the limiter will fare better working on signals’ peaks and it is mostly used for their elimination in order to increase the volume of the quieter sounds.