Magnus Lite

Name: Magnus Lite
Author: HoRNet

by HoRNet · Limiter · Limiter and clipper

Not rated yet

Magnus Lite is a free HoRNet plugin that combines a brickwall limiter and a clipper, each with its own gain control.

The limiter has a release control, and the vector interface follows your system's light or dark mode.

Best for: Mastering, Mix Bus, Drum Bus. Genres: all genres.

Keywords: simple, bus processing, free, drum bus, set-and-forget, clean, full mix, beginner-friendly, drums, flat UI, mastering, minimal controls, mix bus, mixing, single-band, single knob.

What it does

Magnus Lite is HoRNet's "free limiter and clipper each with their gain control". It is a simple loudness tool: a clipper and a brickwall limiter side by side, with almost nothing to set.

Clipper: the left section, with a single gain knob into a fixed -0.2 dB ceiling.
Brickwall limiter: the right section, with gain and release controls and the same -0.2 dB ceiling.
Signal order: clip first, then limit, so the clipper shaves peaks before the limiter does the rest.
Interface: vector graphics that stay sharp at any size, with light and dark modes that follow your OS setting.
What it leaves out: no oversampling and no intersample (true) peak protection, according to Bedroom Producers Blog.

It is free.

Source: HoRNet product page

When to use it

Magnus Lite is the pick for fast, free loudness with a clip-then-limit chain and no settings to think about. Compared with Free Clip 2, it adds a clean brickwall limiter after the clipper but has no clipping shapes to choose from. Unlike Pro-L 2 or Ozone 12 Maximizer, it has no true peak limiting, oversampling, styles or loudness metering, so it is not built for final masters that must meet streaming targets. Compared with StandardCLIP, its clipper is simpler and closer to a hard clip, with little added saturation.

Best for: quick loudness on demos, drum buses and rough masters, and set-and-forget peak control.
Genres: any.
Look elsewhere if: you need true peak control or metering for release; Bedroom Producers Blog suggests the free LoudMax, and Pro-L 2 covers it all.
Tip: Bedroom Producers Blog found it most useful on the drum bus.

What producers say

Reviewers see it as a capable, very simple free clipper and limiter rather than a mastering tool.

Bedroom Producers Blog (William Frady, 2023) called it "a fine combination of a clipper and limiter", found the limiter "super clean" and liked it as a set-and-forget drum bus tool.
Criticisms: the same review noted no oversampling or intersample peak protection, and said the clipper "doesn't sound like a soft clipper".
Production Expert covered it as a free release and summed it up as: "If you want hot masters this will do it."

Where to buy

HoRNet: Free
Plugin Boutique: Free

Tutorials and reviews

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