Lets have a look at the latest Limiter from Tokyo Dawn Labs in our TDR Limiter 6 GE review.
There is always room in my plugin library for TDR products. The free versions of what they offer are unique plugins offering incredible value. The GE (or Gentleman’s Edition) versions only build on that and offer so much more.
Previously you may have seen my TDR Molot review and I’m excited to be able to take a look at their latest offering in my TDR Limiter 6 GE Review.
Contents
Installation & Setup
The plugin was a quick and simple download from the Tokyo Dawn Labs portal (a link is provided if you buy via Plugin Boutique) and once the code is added to the account the plugin is in your portal available for download.
Options are a plenty for types of plugin. I opted (as usual) for the VST3 version. There is AAX and VST2 options also available at the point of installation. I am using the Windows installer but there is a Mac installer package avaialbel too supporting AU and VST.
Once installed, I fire up my trusty Bitwig Studio now using version 3.3.10 and the auto scan runs and detects the plugin.
First Impressions
The lay of the land is a familiar look for the TDR range of products. Smart style, dark colours and clear instructions about where things are and what they do.
There are 5 sections in total which are available within the limiter:
Each of these sections can be turned on or off using the Modules section. Next to Modules there is also the ability to run in Stereo or Mono.
For keeping an eye on CPU resources, the ‘Precise’ button allows for the limiter to be run in a less resource hogging mode. This is particularly useful when multiple audio plugins are being run at the time.
Presenting Presets
There are a nice selection of presets available to start you off. For my Limiter 6 GE review I opened up a track I’ve been working on but struggling with the overall mix due to it having differing areas of the mix when some heavy drums kick in.
I wanted to test what function the limiter would play dealing with the heavy handedness of the drum track in balance with the overall mix.
I popped the limiter on the end of the master buss chain and cycled through the modes to see if a preset would work for me. There were some excellent visuals with the metering and this let me see what was going on in addition to hearing it.
To my surprise I was quite lucky with the presets to solve my issue. Both the Fat Maximiser and the Raw Maximiser were able to complement my mix nicely and deal with the drums.
I delved in a it further with these and decided the Raw Maximiser was the best fit for the mix. The drums were handled with the clipper element of this – use of the compressor was not needed so that was settled.
Final Thoughts
I was impressed with the simplicity of this plugin. TDR on thier website say the following:
A collection of sensible starting points allows for quick, yet precise loudness maximization. If needed, a wide range of options offer endless creative possibilities for getting that optimal setting.
Tokyo Dawn Labs on their TDR Limiter 6 GE plugin
I could not agree any more with this statement. That was exactly how I used it. I can also see this is how I will use it in the future too.
