Compression vs Clipping vs Limiting: The Real Difference

“I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.”

Your beat sounds great in FL Studio. Then you play it next to a song on Spotify and it’s quiet and flat, so you slap a limiter on the master and crank it. Now the kick pumps, the vocal jumps around and the whole thing sounds squashed.

That’s what happens when one tool does the job of three. Below you’ll see what each one actually does to your audio, how they sound different, and the order Max, the founder of Mix Elite, uses for a master that’s loud and still punches.

Compression vs clipping vs limiting: what’s the difference?

All three are tools for the loud moments in your audio, the peaks. What makes them different is how they bring those peaks down, and that changes the sound:

• A compressor turns loud parts down gradually. You choose where it starts (the threshold) and how hard it works (the ratio), and the shape of the sound stays natural.
• A limiter is a compressor turned all the way up. Nothing gets past its ceiling, no matter how loud the input is.
• A clipper doesn’t turn anything down. It cuts off whatever goes over the line, instantly, like a pair of scissors.

Max explains the split in Mix Elite’s free 4.5-hour FL Studio course: compression, “even in form of limiting is designed to keep the natural shape of the waveform,” while soft clipping “basically chops everything that exceeds the threshold but also rounds off the edge.” The rest of this guide shows each tool in FL Studio and when to reach for it.

What does a compressor do?

A compressor is an automatic volume knob. Max calls it “a magic volume control that automatically works for you, making the loud sounds quieter.” His picture for it: you’re watching TV, and the threshold is the volume where your mom steps in. The ratio is how much she makes you turn it down.

In FL Studio, the compressor used in Mix Elite’s free course is hiding inside Fruity Limiter, because it shows you the waveform while you work. Click COMP (1) to switch modes. THRES (2) sets where it starts working and RATIO (3) sets how hard it pushes back: at 2:1, a peak that goes 2 dB over the threshold only comes out 1 dB over. GAIN (4) is makeup gain, which brings the level back up afterward.

Start gentle. Use a ratio between 2:1 and 4:1, then move the threshold while you listen. On the drum bus in the course, Max settles on 2:1 with 3 to 4 dB of gain reduction and about 3 dB of makeup gain. Attack and release decide how fast it grabs and lets go, and our FL Studio compressor guide covers them knob by knob.

Compression is mostly a mixing tool. You use it to even out a vocal, glue a drum bus or keep a loud synth in place, and it’s one of the core steps in our guide on how to mix a song.

What does a limiter do?

A limiter is a compressor with the ratio pushed to the max. In his course, Max turns Fruity Limiter’s ratio up to 20:1 and explains that if it could go any further, it would be limiting: nothing gets through above the threshold.

The curve in Maximus shows it best, because it draws the level going in against the level coming out. A straight diagonal line (1) means nothing changes. When the line bends after a point (2), everything above that point gets compressed. When it goes flat (3), the output can’t rise any higher, however loud the input gets, and that’s limiting. In his Maximus video, Max calls that flat line infinite compression.

On a limiter the threshold is usually called the ceiling, but it works the same way. Its main job is to catch peaks before they pass 0 dBFS, the highest level digital audio can reach. For a finished master, keep the loudest peaks at about -0.3 or -0.1 dB, so the song survives the conversion to MP3 and streaming formats.

Pushed hard, a limiter sounds unnatural. Max rarely limits single sounds while mixing, because it gets harsh fast, and a 2:1 compressor is usually enough.

What does a clipper do?

Every digital system has a ceiling, 0 dBFS (decibels full scale). Push audio past it and the tops of the wave get cut off flat. That’s hard clipping, and Max describes it as an unpleasant, fuzzy sound, like the crunch you get when you record a mic too loud.

A clipper does the same thing on purpose, with control. A soft clipper rounds off the corners as it cuts, so a small amount sounds like warmth instead of fuzz. And because it cuts instantly, it doesn’t pump the level up and down the way a limiter can.

FL Studio has one built in, Fruity Soft Clipper. THRES (1) sets where it starts to clip and POST (2) sets the output level. The curve (3) shows what happens: a straight line up to the threshold, then a soft bend over the top. On the master in the course, Max sets the threshold to -0.3 dB.

What clipping does to the waveform

Here’s the course’s master before the soft clipper (1) and after it (2). Before, the peaks stick up at all different heights. After, every peak is shaved flat at the same line, which leaves room to push the whole song louder.

Clipper vs compressor: what’s the difference?

A compressor turns the whole sound down for a moment when it gets too loud, using attack and release times you set, so the wave keeps its natural shape. A clipper has no attack or release. It instantly cuts off only the part of the wave above the threshold, which changes that shape and adds distortion if you push it.

So they do different jobs. Compression evens out a vocal, a bass or a drum bus while you mix, and its attack setting decides how much of each hit gets through before it reacts. Clipping shaves off the short kick and snare spikes that get past, before they make the limiter grab too hard. On drums you’ll often use both: a gentle 2:1 compressor on the drum group for glue, and a clipper on single drums or groups for the peaks.

Clipper vs limiter: which one should you use?

A clipper cuts the top off every peak instantly, with no attack or release, so drums keep their punch, but push it too far and it distorts. A limiter turns the whole signal down for a moment around each peak: clean, but it can soften big hits and pump. On a loud master, use both: clipper first, limiter last.

In his loud master video, Max explains why: limiters try to be smart and stay as clean as possible, so when a huge snare hit comes along, a limiter softens the hit to fit it under the ceiling. A clipper does the opposite. “Clipper is dumb, and that’s why we love it,” Max says. “It just chops off the waveform.”

• Clipper: for short, spiky peaks like snare and kick hits, on drum groups while you mix or early in a mastering chain. It buys you loudness without pumping.
• Limiter: as the very last plugin on a master, so nothing passes the ceiling. A limiter built for loudness is often sold as a maximizer.
• Compressor: for shaping and evening out single sounds and groups while you mix.

Pushing a plain limiter for loudness is the mistake to avoid. A limiter keeps the waveform natural by turning everything up and down like a volume knob, and you hear that as a strange, automated pumping. On a budget, a soft clipper does the job better: Max has yet to find a free maximizer that beats one.

Soft clipping vs limiting: why does clipping keep more punch?

A soft clipper only touches the tips of the peaks, and it does it instantly, so the body of each kick and snare stays at full level. A limiter holds the level down for a moment after each peak, so it can duck the body of the hit too, and pushed hard, it pumps. Shaving those short peaks also frees room to turn the whole track up.

Image-Line’s Fruity Limiter manual explains why that last part works. The first ~10 ms of a sound mostly shapes its punch and clarity, while your ears judge loudness by averaging the last 600 to 1,000 ms. Short peaks count for little, so lowering them buys headroom for everything else.

The soft part adds a little color. The Fruity Soft Clipper manual notes that a little saturation brings warmth, while too much sounds distorted. So the trade is simple: a limiter pushed too hard pumps, and a clipper pushed too hard crackles. For the whole loud-mix process, see how to make your mix louder without losing dynamics.

Drums peaking in the red: compressor, limiter or clipper?

Turn the drums down first, then use a clipper. A red meter on a drum’s mixer track in FL Studio isn’t distortion yet, because Image-Line says insert tracks practically can’t clip; only the Master track can. If kick and snare peaks still poke out on the master, shave them with a clipper. A compressor’s attack lets the start of each hit through.

Fix it in this order:

1. Pull the drum faders down until the master meter stays out of the red with the whole song playing.
2. Take the limiter off the master if you started from FL Studio’s default template. Push the kick into it and the whole mix starts to pump (more on that below).
3. Clip the peaks. Put a clipper on the drum group or on single drums, and set it by ear the same way as the GClip step below.
4. Compress for glue, not for peaks. A gentle compressor on the drum group, around 2:1 with 3 to 4 dB of gain reduction, holds the kit together.

Keep the limiter for the very end of the master, where it catches whatever is left.

Should the clipper go before or after the limiter?

Before. The limiter always goes last, because its job is to be the final safety net. This is the mastering order from Mix Elite’s loud master video:

1. EQ with a low cut just under the lowest note your song plays.
2. Clipper to shave off the short peaks. Here it’s the small free GClip, with oversampling on and softness at 0%, which makes it a hard clipper. Push it until you just barely hear the knock of your drums change, then back it off 10%.
3. Multiband compression to even out the lows, mids and highs one band at a time, with makeup gain. Our OTT guide covers the one-knob version.
4. Limiter last. Here it’s the maximizer in Ozone with true peak mode on and the ceiling at -0.3 dB, then the gain goes up until you hear distortion.

The clipper also goes before a compressor on a master or a bus. It cuts the spikes that don’t add anything but would make the compressor and limiter grab too hard. Max also clips single groups of instruments while mixing, which he says is how some pros reach extremely loud masters. Our FL Studio mastering guide walks through the full chain.

How to clip and limit a master in FL Studio (free plugins only)

You don’t need paid plugins for this. Mix Elite’s free FL Studio course builds the loudness stage on the master from stock plugins:

1. Add Fruity Limiter (1) with its ceiling raised, so it only adds gain. You’ll use it to push the level into the clipper.
2. Add Fruity Soft Clipper (2) right after it and set the threshold to -0.3 dB.
3. Add a second Fruity Limiter (3) only to watch the waveform, so you can see the peaks getting shaved.
4. Play the loudest part of the song and raise the gain on the first limiter until you hear distortion. Then back it off a little.
5. Check the loudness with a meter such as the free Youlean Loudness Meter. The course lands at about -8 to -7 LUFS.

Maximus: compression, limiting and soft clipping in one plugin

Maximus is FL Studio’s multiband maximizer, and it can do all three jobs. The Maximus video opens by calling it a compressor, just like Fruity Limiter. Its curve (1) compresses or limits each band, POST (2) is the makeup gain, and the THRES, SAT and CEIL knobs (3) are its soft saturation, which Max says most people know as a soft clipper.

The course’s quick loudness recipe uses only the MASTER band. Turn the soft saturation threshold barely to the left, set the ceiling to -0.3 dB (or -0.1) and switch on Linear phase. Then raise POST until you hear distortion and back off 0.5 to 1 dB. In the course, distortion showed up at about 6.8 dB, so POST settled at 6.

The video goes through every Maximus control, including how to draw the curve for each band.

How loud should your master be?

Loudness is measured in LUFS, not by the peak meter in your DAW. The peak only tells you how high the wave goes, not how loud the song feels. For electronic music, the loud master video aims for at least -8 to -6 integrated LUFS, and the free course lands at about -8 to -7.

What about Spotify’s -14 LUFS? That’s the level Spotify plays songs back at, not a target you have to hit, and louder masters simply get turned down. So master as loud as you can before it starts to sound worse. Our LUFS vs RMS guide explains how to measure it and what the numbers mean.

What mistakes should you avoid?

• Limiting for loudness. A plain limiter pushed hard pumps. Shave the peaks with a clipper first, then let the limiter catch what’s left.
• Clipping until it crackles. Push until you just hear the drums change, then back off about 10%.
• Ignoring the MP3 and streaming conversion. A master that peaks right at 0 dB can clip after conversion. Keep peaks at -0.3 or -0.1 dB and use true peak mode. For loud masters, Spotify recommends a true peak below -2 dB.
• Compressing every drum hit. Single kicks, claps and hats are short hits, so set their volume and compress the drum group instead.
• Hoping mastering fixes the mix. Louder makes a good mix better and a bad mix worse, so fix the balance first.
• Letting the master clip while you mix. FL Studio’s mixer tracks practically can’t clip, but the Master track can, and so can your render. Watch the master meter and leave room.

Start with the free chain above on your next track: compress while you mix, clip the peaks, and limit last.

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