Description
Blue Cat's Protector is a 0dB stereo brickwall limiter with adjustable dynamics response. It will typically find its place on the master bus of your DAW to protect your audio output from overshoot, limit the general volume and improve the perceived loudness, thanks to a very transparent frequency response.
Despite its very simple set of controls, it offers a wide range of sounds and it is also suitable as a track limiter for more creative effects such as distortion, pumping or heavy limiting.
Beyond its powerful dynamics processing features, and like most of our plugins, Blue Cat's Protector also offers a powerful side chain capability thanks to its MIDI CC output. This unique technique not only lets you do side chain limiting but also parameters modulation: control any parameter of any plugin to create powerful side chain effects in real time.
If you are looking for a complete dynamics processing solution you might be interested in looking at Blue Cat's Dynamics plugin.
Typical applications: master limiting, loudness maximizing, distortion, clipping.
Features
Main Features:
- 0 dB brickwall peak limiter and waveshaper.
- Continuous control of the dynamics response from transparent limiting to colorful distortion.
- Stereo link control.
- Large audio levels and gain reduction meters for optimal monitoring.
- Side chaining capability: a unique way to perform side chain compression and much more.
- Plugin window transparency management.
- No latency.
Blue Cat Audio Standards:
- Available as: Mac-AAX, Mac-AU, Mac-RTAS, Mac-VST, Win-DX, Win-RTAS, Win-VST, Win x64-DX, Win x64-VST.
- Native DSP code for optimal performance.
- Skinnable user interface.
- Smooth Update: silent, zipper-free parameters update.
- Full automation support.
- No CPU load on idle: when the plug-in is fed with silence, the processing smoothly shuts down, to optimize the CPU usage of your Digital Audio Workstation.
- Real time MIDI control with advanced settings and MIDI learn.
- Automation and MIDI output: record output parameters as automation curves or send MIDI CC messages to other plug-ins for powerful side chain effects.
- Smooth Bypass: activate/deactivate the plug-in with absolutely no noise.
- Undo/Redo.
- Import/Export presets in a host independent format.
- Any sample rate supported.
Screenshots
Click on the thumbnail to enlarge.
You can find more skins for this product here.
User Comments & Reviews
After trying Protector, I dare say this is one of the most transparent limiters I've tried to date! This limiter is a perfect addition to the Blue Cat Audio lineup - great work!
-To add your own comment about this product, please contact us.
System Requirements
Windows
- SSE2-enabled processor (Pentium 4 or later).
- Microsoft Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7.
- Any DirectX / VST / RTAS / AAX compatible host software (32 or 64 bit).
Mac OS X
- An Intel or PowerPC processor.
- Mac OS X Leopard (10.5) or Snow Leopard (10.6).
- Any VST / Audio Unit (32/64-bit) / RTAS / AAX compatible application.
For more information about supported platforms, see our FAQ.
Demo Limitations
- One single instance of the plug-in per session.
- The effect is bypassed for 4 seconds every 45 seconds.
Used on the master bus, it catches loud incidental peaks and transparently softens them, preventing nasty digital clipping without the need to turn the volume of your entire project down.[...] But Protector has many other tricks up its sleeve [...]. As a mix effect, Protector has just as many creative uses as it does purely practical ones [...], offering anything from brickwall-style peak limiting to violent waveshaping when used with very fast times. [...]
The Stereo Link control facilitates both linked and unlinked operation, as well as any point in between.[...] The plug-in doesn't introduce latency, and requires an insignificant amount of processor power, so stacking multiple instances is no problem.
All of which means that it's a thumbs up from us.
"Verdict: More than a mere limiter, Protector has quite a range of applications. What's more, it sounds great and is very keenly-priced." - 9/10 rating and performance and value awards granted by Computer Music Magazine (CM), October 2008
- www.computermusic.co.uk - [read review on musicradar]