New Music Gear Monday: FabFilter Pro-L 2 Peak Limiter Plugin

It often takes plugins to catch hold of the market, and many times they fail to capture the attention of pro users no matter how good they are. That’s not been the case with FabFilter, as the company’s products have been used on countless hits almost since Frederik Slijkerman and Floris Klinkert, started the company in Amsterdam in 2002. Today, every new FabFilter product has an almost instant audience, but the company has continued to make its older plugins better as well. One that’s received a recent makeover is the Pro-L limiter which was recently released as the Pro-L 2.

There are many new features in the FabFilter Pro-L 2, and big one is the four new limiting algorithms. Modern is the new ‘best for all’ algorithm that produces even better results than the Transparent and Allround algorithms from version 1. Aggressive is great for maximum loudness — well suited for EDM or rock music. Bus has been designed specifically for drums and limiting of individual tracks, while Safe’s goal is not maximum loudness, but to avoid distortion at all times.

Yet another update is the new true peak limiting feature that makes it extremely easy to hit a maximum true peak target. Just set the output level to the desired value, enable True Peak Limiting, and that’s it! Combined with improved true peak metering and extensive loudness metering that’s compliant with the EBU R128, ITU-R BS.1770-4, and ATSC A/85 standards, Pro-L 2 makes worrying about loudness a thing of the past.

Pro-L 2 also has complete support for surround audio up to 7.1, with flexible channel linking and higher sound quality with up to 32x linear- phase oversampling. Other new features include a DC offset filter, external side chain triggering for stem mastering, and a Unity Gain option.

Finally, the very cool real-time level display that is the centerpiece of every FabFilter plugin is now even more effective with new display modes, including an Infinite mode that shows all audio for an entire session. Moments of significant gain reduction are highlighted with peak labels to give additional insight in the limiting process. Last but not least, the interface has been redesigned to be even more aesthetically pleasing than before. 

FabFilter Pro-L 2 is now available for EUR 169, USD 199 or GBP 149 from the FabFilter store. Existing owners of version one can also upgrade at a discount. The plugin supports both Windows and macOS in VST and VST 3, Audio Units, AAX, RTAS, and AudioSuite plug-in formats.

For more details go to the Pro-L 2 page or check out the video below.