Blue Tubes Limiter LM2S

Name: Blue Tubes Limiter LM2S
Price: 9 USD
Author: Nomad Factory

by Nomad Factory · Limiter · Tube-emulation limiter with 5-band EQ

Not rated yet

Blue Tubes Limiter LM2S by Nomad Factory

Blue Tubes Limiter LM2S is a tube-emulation limiter from Nomad Factory with a built-in five-band EQ for mastering-style tone shaping.

It has peak reduction, attack, release and output gain controls, and costs $99.

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

Keywords: tube, mastering, hardware emulation, warm, bus processing, mix bus, analog-sounding, full mix, simple, corrective, mixing, punchy, single-band, vocals.

What it does

The LM2S is a tube-emulation limiter with a built-in five-band EQ, aimed at mastering. Nomad Factory calls it a "Vintage Style Limiter & Master EQ" for mixes where loudness and warmth have to coexist.

Peak Reduction: sets how much the limiter clamps down on peaks.
Attack and Release: set the timing of the gain reduction, so it can grab peaks fast or let some transient through.
Output Gain: makeup gain after the limiter, to bring the level back up.
5-band EQ: tone shaping built into the same window, for final mastering-style adjustments without loading a separate EQ.
Character: aims to control peaks while keeping punch and a warm, analog feel, even at higher loudness.
Version 4 engine: the March 2026 update rebuilt the internal architecture of the whole Blue Tubes line.

Version 4 was released on 2 March 2026. It is also part of the Blue Tubes Dynamics Pack, the Blue Tubes Bundle and the Integral Studio Pack. Neither the product page nor KVR mentions a demo.

Source: Nomad Factory product page

When to use it

The LM2S puts tube-style limiting and a simple tone EQ in one window, for quick finishing passes with some analog colour. Compared with FabFilter Pro-L 2 or iZotope Ozone 12 Maximizer, it has no true-peak limiting, loudness metering or choice of limiting algorithms. TDR Limiter 6 GE offers far more stages and metering for detailed loudness work. Its built-in EQ saves loading a second plugin, but a pairing of Pro-L 2 and Pro-Q 4 is far more precise.

Best for: quick mastering passes, demo masters and mix-bus finishing where you want light EQ and limiting in one place.
Genres: general-purpose; Nomad Factory points to R&B, hip-hop, rap, pop and rock.
Look elsewhere if: you need true-peak limiting and loudness metering for streaming targets; Pro-L 2 or Ozone 12 Maximizer handle that.

What producers say

An older user review found it simple and warm-sounding but not in the class of premium limiters; no reviews of version 4 were found.

Audiofanzine user (moosers, 2010) rated it 4 out of 5, praised the "user friendly interface" and a "pretty warm and full" sound, and liked the five-band graphic EQ for fine-tuning.
Criticisms: next to higher-end limiters, "you can definitely notice the difference pretty quickly"; he used it for mixing rather than mastering.

Audiofanzine user review

Where to buy

PluginFox: $9 (regular $50)
AudioDeluxe: $9 (regular $50)
Best Service: $19.99
Nomad Factory: $99

Tutorials and reviews

Similar plugins

Blue Tubes Limiter FA770 by Nomad Factory · Vintage fixed-ratio limiter · $9
VM-Comp by Pulsar Audio · Tube compressor/limiter · $79
Blue Tubes BrickWall BW2S by Nomad Factory · Brickwall compressor/limiter · $9
CGII by Metric Halo · Mastering loudness processor · $89
Kevin's Limiter by Metric Halo · Preset character limiter · $29
L4 Ultramaximizer by Waves · Modern multi-algorithm · $29.99
L3-LL Ultramaximizer by Waves · Low-latency maximizer
IQ-Series Limiter V2 by HOFA · Mastering limiter · $172.90
FinalPlug 7 by Wave Arts · Mastering limiter with loudness metering · $99
Master Plan by Musik Hack · All-in-one mastering plugin · $119

All limiters