FabFilter User Forum
Pro-L2 Safe mode ?
In the L2's Safe mode - the Look Ahead and Attack dials are greyed out. So - are they variable? shifting Program dependent?
If so, why is this mode making less of a CPU hit that either the Transparent mode or the Modern mode?
And, while we're at it: if Safe mode does not induce any distortion at all, why wouldn't that be the default mode of choice?
Am I missing something here? Is there a trade-off I am not aware of?
PD — Jan 5, 2021
Yes, that's what I came here to find out PD.
Hopefully someone at Fabfilter will see us and answer us :D
Hi!
Safe mode does not have adjustable lookahead and attack parameters because these are crucial parameters to make the mode as "safe" as possible. Especially the attack/release settings make that it's almost impossible to distort this parameter.
In a lot of applications though, the distortion that is created during limiting will not or barely be noticeable. Especially on music using drums etc, a small amount of distorted will go unnoticed, or can even be wanted (hence the multiple styles). However, it's possible that on more acoustic music like a solo piano, or on vocals for a podcast e.g., heavy limiting can introduce some unwanted distortion. The safe style can be applied here. If you want you can always set the Safe mode to be your personal default setting.