maxim|digital audio Limiter [Freeware]

The Maxim Digital Limiter is a free plug-in designed to give your sound more warmth and presence.  I didn't have any issues with it as far as installation was concerned as it only took a few minutes.  The interface of the software is one of its best features since it is so easy to follow and to use.  It simply has sliders for input, output, effect, and curve, as well as buttons for clipping and band split.  I haven't seen the manual for this plug-in so I can't say too much about it, but I don't think that one is necessary as it is easy enough to figure out how to use on its own.


SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

I am currently running the Maxim Digital Limiter plug-in on a Mac Book Pro that has a 2.2 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 4 GB of RAM.  I run it in a Pro Tools LE system that runs with a Digi 002R audio interface and version 7.4 of Pro Tools LE.  I'm able to use this plug-in as much as I would like within this configuration, as it is a plug-in that won't take up much processing power at all.  This of course really depends on the type of system that you are running, but if you are currently able to run plug-ins without issues, you won't have any problems with this one in terms of performance. 


OVERALL OPINION

While the Maxim Digital Limiter plug-in isn't an essential to anyone's plug-in collection, it is a plug-in that comes in handy for me.  If I don't have any access to outboard gear to fatten up my signal, this plug-in works well to help me do so.  The price is reasonable for either the TDM or native version and is definitely accessible to both professional and home studio owners.  Again, while I don't think that this would be a good place to start your plug-in collection by any means, if you are looking for some new plug-ins to spice up your sound and capabilities a bit, definitely check out Maxim Digital Limiter .

The Maxim Digital Audio Limiter is a free plug-in that is compatible with any PC based system that will support VST plug-ins. I believe that this plug-in only comes in VST format, or at least that is what I was running it as. It should be an easy enough process to download and install this plug-in, as you should be able to download all of the Maxim Digital Audio plug-ins in one swoop if you want to. The make up of the plug-in definitely makes it easy to use, as it shares the same simple looking interface as most of the MDA plug-ins that I’ve used. This one just has parameters for threshold, output, release, attack, and knee, which are pretty standard applications for limiters and other dynamic processors. You won’t need any sort of manual to learn how to use this plug-in.


SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

I no longer have this plug-in running on my current system, as my Pro Tools rig isn’t compatible with it since I run it on a Mac. However, when I did run it, it was in Cubase SX on Hewlett Packard Pavilion dv8000 lap top that consisted of a 3.0 Ghz processor and 2 GB of RAM. I mostly ran it in Cubase SX 2.0, but also later ran it Cubase SX 3. It definitely isn’t a plug-in that will take up much processing power, so as long as you’re currently able to run plug-ins comfortably in your system, you shouldn’t be limited in how well you can run this plug-in. Every system is of course different, so I’d recommend downloading and trying it for yourself to see how well it will run on your individual system.


OVERALL OPINION

While the Maxim Digital Audio Limiter isn’t a plug-in that I ever would have bought, but being that it is free I ended up having it in my rig for as long as I had a PC running Cubase. I can’t say that it is a plug-in that I necessarily miss having since I didn’t use on a daily basis, but it was definitely decent enough to warrant having it in my plug-in suite just in case. The sound quality isn’t anything to write home about, but it certainly does sound like a limiter. For the time this was a much better sounding plug-in, but being that it’s all relative, by modern plug-in standards the MDA Limiter isn’t all that impressive. Having said all of that, there really isn’t any reason not to have this plug-in on hand if you’re system will allow you to.