The Overstratum Lautmacher v2.2 is a Mastering Limiter JSFX plugin for REAPER designed for maximum loudness with absolute transparency, crisp transients, and distortion-free low end.
Main Controls and Sections
- Drive: Controls the input gain driving the audio into the limiter, ranging from 0 to +36 dB.
- Mode: Switches between two processing engines. Multiband utilizes a phase-coherent 4-band crossover with adaptive hold phases to prevent intermodulation and deliver high density in the bass. Singleband uses classic broadband processing to preserve pure, natural transients, making it ideal for acoustic or classical material.
- Output Ceiling: Limits the maximum output level from -36 to 0 dB to prevent digital clipping.
Special Buttons
- Gain Link: Inversely links the Drive and Output Ceiling 1:1. When activated, the Output automatically jumps to the negative counterpart of your Drive, such as Drive at +6 dB setting Output to -6 dB. This maintains equal perceived loudness so you can evaluate the processing without the loudness bias where louder sounds better. Deactivating Gain Link leaves the Output at its current value to preserve dialed-in sweet spots.
- Delta Listen: Switches to delta mode so you can hear exclusively what the limiter is removing, which is the difference between the dry and wet signals. This allows you to check for artifacts or unwanted distortion.
Metering
- Gain Reduction Meter: Displays the amount of compression and limiting being applied to the signal in real time.
- LUFS-S Meter: Measures short-term loudness continuously. The metering is intelligently decoupled, meaning the LUFS display always shows the true master loudness regardless of whether Gain Link or Delta mode is active.
Typical Mastering Workflow
- Select your Mode, choosing Multiband for heavy bass electronic music, pop, or rock, and Singleband for acoustic material.
- Activate Gain Link to keep perceived loudness constant while tweaking.
- Turn up the Drive until you reach your desired level of loudness while watching the gain reduction and LUFS meters.
- Use Delta Listen to verify that the limiter is working cleanly without introducing pumping or distortion.
- Turn off Gain Link, set your final Output Ceiling to your target ceiling like -0.3 dB, and your master is ready.
Download Lautmacher v2.2 here: JSFX-Tools for Reaper