Manual

How to use ZL Limiter

About

ZL Limiter is a limiter plugin with the following key features:

  • Pristine Precision: True Peak limiting and up to 32x over-sampling prevent inter-sample clipping, ensuring exceptional clarity.
  • Transient Control: Protect and shape transient with adjustable lookahead, adaptive recovery, and flexible attack and release settings.
  • Stereo Integrity: Preserve spatial width with customizable channel delta control.
  • Intuitive Workflow: A carefully designed interface featuring a real-time scrolling waveform display and comprehensive loudness metering.

Top Panel

You can open the UI Setting Panel by clicking the logo.

You can open the Preset Manager Panel by clicking the icon.

Analyzer

You can open the Analyzer Setting Panel by clicking the text.

Ceiling

Adjusts the maximum output ceiling level.

Oversample

Selects the oversampling rate to reduce aliasing and inter-sample peaks, up to 32x.

  • Off is recommended as a the setting for safe-guardian
  • 4x is recommended as the setting for fine-tuning and exporting/rendering

Toggles True Peak limiting to prevent inter-sample clipping.

Toggles delta audition.

Toggles plugin bypass.

Analyzer Setting Panel

Peak Mode

Selects peak detection mode for the analyzer.

  • Peak
  • True Peak

Scrolling Mode

Selects the waveform scrolling mode.

  • Sync
  • Slow
  • Roll

Pre

Toggles display of the input magnitude curve.

Post

Toggles display of the output magnitude curve.

Delta

Toggles display of the limiter gain reduction curve.

Analyzer Time Duration

Selects the time duration displayed in the analyzer window.

Analyzer Min DB

Selects the minimum decibel floor for the analyzer display.

Toggles visibility of the level meter panel.

Toggles visibility of the Value Panel.

Center Panel

Input Gain Slider

The input gain slider is a vertical slider which lies at the left edge of the center panel.

Magnitude Analyzer

The magnitude analyzer occupies the whole center panel. It shows three curves:

  • the pre curve: magnitude of the input main-chain signal
  • the post curve: magnitude of the output main-chain signal
  • the reduction curve: magnitude of the gain reduction

Bottom Panel

Lookahead

Adjusts the lookahead time for the main envelope to anticipate transients.

Recovery

Adjusts the adaptive recovery time (in percent) for the main envelope.

Attack

Adjusts the attack time of the sustained support envelope.

Release

Adjusts the release time of the sustained support envelope.

Delta

Adjusts the maximum allowed gain reduction difference between channels.

Value Panel

The value panel displays loudness and numeric readouts.

True Peak

Displays the maximum held True Peak level.

Correlation

Displays current (left) and average (right) stereo phase correlation.

LUFS-M

Displays current (left) and maximum (right) momentary loudness.

LUFS-S

Displays current (left) and maximum (right) short-term loudness.

LRA

Displays the loudness range. Brackets indicate a provisional measurement.

LUFS-I

Displays the integrated loudness.

UI Setting Panel

The UI setting panel controls analyzer colors, slider operations, etc. Components will be introduced in the order from top to bottom.

Color

You can adjust the color by clicking on the left color block and change the transparency by dragging the right slider.

Text Color

Background Color

For better accessibility, please set Text/Background to colors with high contrast.

Shadow Color

Glow Color

Pre Color

Post Color

Reduction Color

Grid Color

Color Map 1

Color Map 2

Control

Wheel Sensitivity

  • Rough: mouse-wheel sensitivity when Shift is not pressed
  • Fine: mouse-wheel sensitivity when Shift is pressed
  • Menu: mouse-wheel sensitivity when adjust combobox items
  • Reverse: whether to reverse the direction of mouse-wheel when Shift is pressed

Slider Sensitivity

  • Rough: mouse-drag sensitivity when Shift is not pressed
  • Fine: mouse-drag sensitivity when Shift is pressed

Rotary Slider Style

  • Circular: A rotary control that you move by dragging the mouse in a circular motion, like a knob
  • Horizontal: A rotary control that you move by dragging the mouse left-to-right
  • Vertical: A rotary control that you move by dragging the mouse up-and-down
  • Horiz + Vert: A rotary control that you move by dragging the mouse up-and-down or left-to-right
  • Distance: the relative distance that the mouse has to move to drag the slider across the full extent of its range. It does not apply to the Circular style.

Slider Double Click

  • Return Default: when you double-click the slider, it returns to the default value; when you double-click the slider with Ctrl/Command, it opens the value editor.
  • Open Editor: when you double-click the slider, it opens the value editor; when you double-click the slider with Ctrl/Command, it returns to the default value.

Other

Refresh Rate

Set this to 1/n of your monitor refresh rate. For example,

  • If your monitor refresh rate is 120 Hz, set it to 120 Hz, 60 Hz (1/2), or 30 (1/4) Hz. DO NOT set it to 90 Hz.
  • If your monitor refresh rate is 90 Hz, set it to 90 Hz or 30 Hz (1/3). DO NOT set it to 60 Hz.

Combobox Alignment

  • Left: combobox items are left-aligned
  • Center: combobox items are center-aligned
  • Right: combobox items are right-aligned

Curve Thickness

Control the thickness of the curve of magnitude.

Tooltip

Choose the tooltip language. It will take effect when the plugin window is reopened.

UI Scaling

Choose the font size mode.

  • Scale: the font size scales with the window size. Control the relative ratio.
  • Static: the font size is fixed. Control the actual font size.

Window Size Fix

Choose whether to turn on Window Size Fix.

  • Off: plugin window size adjustment will be stored
  • On: plugin window size adjustment will NOT be stored, but open as it is currently every time the plugin is opened. The size can still be changed, but the changes will not be stored.

Preset Manager Panel

The preset manager panel let you manage(save/group/delete) presets.

Search Presets

Input a preset name and search it.

New Group

Input a new group name and press Enter to save it.

New Preset

Input a new preset name and press Enter to save it.

  • Press: delete the selected preset group (along with all presets in the group) or the selected preset

  • Press: reveal the preset folder

UI Controls

Generally, you can enable fine-adjustment with Shift and enable special adjustment with Ctrl/Command. If the direction of the mouse wheel is reversed when Shift is pressed, you can reverse it again (in the UI Setting Panel) to put it back to normal.

Sliders

  • You can enable fine-adjustment with Shift when using the mouse to drag / the mouse wheel to adjust sliders.
  • You can use the left/right mouse button to control the first/second value when there are two values on the slider.

Combobox

  • You can use the mouse wheel to change the selected item.

Window Size

  • You can drag a dragger at the bottom-right corner to adjust plugin window size.
  • Recommend way to set Windows Size
    1. Set Window Size Fix to OFF and press the store button.
    2. Adjust the plugin window to the size you prefer.
    3. Close the plugin window.
    4. Reopen the plugin window.
    5. Set Window Size Fix to ON and press the store button.
    6. Close the plugin window.
    7. Then, the plugin will be opened with the window size set in the Step 2 every time.