Maximus in FL Studio: Compression Without Guesswork

To use Maximus in FL Studio, load the Default patch, set LOW, MID and HIGH to COMP OFF so MASTER is the only active band, then shape the MASTER curve. Raise PRE until the loud parts cross the bend, set attack and release, and bring the output back with POST so you compare at a fair level. My rule is one band first, because Maximus has no threshold or ratio knobs and every extra band adds a curve you have to read.

Image-Line calls Maximus a multiband maximizer: three user-defined bands, LOW, MID and HIGH, feed a full-range MASTER stage, and the same plugin works as a compressor, limiter, noise gate, expander, ducker and de-esser. The official Maximus overview recommends it as the last effect on the Master Mixer Track for a final master and points to Fruity Limiter or Fruity Compressor for a single kick or bass. Maximus comes with Producer Edition and up, while the Image-Line pricing page lists Fruity Compressor, Fruity Limiter and Fruity Multiband Compressor in all editions; our FL Studio editions guide compares the rest.

The sections below cover the signal path, the curve that replaces threshold and ratio, a single-band setup, starting settings for each task preset, timing, crossovers, saturation, master options and fixes for common problems.

What Maximus does

Maximus rolls level control, compression, limiting, expansion, gating and saturation into one processor. There’s no fixed compressor ratio at its center. Instead, you draw how each input level should map to an output level, then decide how fast the gain envelope reacts.

There are four independent compression envelopes:

• LOW: processes the band below the low crossover.
• MID: processes the range between the two crossovers.
• HIGH: processes the band above the high crossover.
• MASTER: processes the three recombined bands as one full-range signal.

Each LOW/MID/HIGH band can also add saturation and level changes before the bands reach MASTER, which means a preset can change the signal in several places at once. When you need to understand a result, cut down the number of active stages and rebuild the chain on purpose.

Read the interface in five zones

The interface looks crowded, but its layout follows the signal path. Read it in these zones:

1. Analysis display and envelope: the large panel where you read level activity and edit the selected band’s input/output mapping.
2. Band tabs: LOW, MID, HIGH and MASTER select which compressor and band controls you are editing.
3. PRE, POST and saturation: level into the selected processing curve, level after it, and a separate nonlinear stage.
4. Envelope timing: attack, release, sustain and detection controls determine how the mapped gain change behaves over time.
5. Global and crossover controls: shared LMH mix/delay, crossover frequencies and input high-pass filtering define how the multiband path operates.

The selected tab matters. Turning PRE with MASTER selected isn’t the same as changing PRE on LOW. Before you touch any control, name the band you’re editing and the stage it feeds.

The analysis display has two modes, picked with the BANDS and MONITOR tabs at its lower right, and a click on the display pauses it. In the BANDS view, drag the boundaries between bands to change their cutoff and level; turn on Output Spectrum first, because it shows which part of the spectrum the sound occupies. With Show all gain envelopes on, each band gets its own color: red for LOW, orange for MID, yellow for HIGH and green for MASTER.

Follow the Maximus signal path

The documented path starts with a variable high-pass filter. The signal then splits into three user-defined frequency bands. LOW, MID and HIGH can each be processed independently, and then they’re recombined and sent through the MASTER compressor.

That order explains several common surprises. MASTER can still reduce or limit the sum even when a sub-band looks under control, and a boosted LOW band can make the recombined signal hit MASTER harder. Switching off a compression envelope with COMP OFF leaves the rest of that band active, so its saturation and level settings still shape the signal.

The band switches need care too. COMP OFF disables the selected compression envelope while the rest of that band stays active. The band OFF state takes the whole band out of the path. For a single-band setup, use COMP OFF on LOW, MID and HIGH so their audio still reaches MASTER without their compression envelopes working.

The band switch has five states: ON, COMP OFF, MUTED, OFF and SOLO. OFF hands the range to a neighbor: with LOW and HIGH OFF, MID covers the full bandwidth, and in the De-esser Split Band preset MID reaches up to 20 kHz because HIGH is OFF. I'd reach for COMP OFF to stop a band's compressor and OFF only when a neighboring band should take over that range, because OFF bypasses the band completely while COMP OFF still passes its signal through without processing it.

The compression envelope replaces threshold and ratio knobs

Maximus doesn’t use the usual compression threshold and ratio controls you’ll find on many compressors. Its compression threshold is the point where the editable curve leaves the 1:1 diagonal, and the slope after that point decides how extra input turns into output.

The graph maps input on the horizontal axis and output on the vertical axis:

• A 1:1 diagonal passes the level unchanged.
• A shallower slope above a point creates downward compression.
• A horizontal section creates limiting because more input no longer produces more output.
• A steeper section expands differences instead of reducing them.
• A low-level section that stays at the bottom can act as a gate.

The Maximus controls documentation describes four independent envelopes and how they interact with PRE, POST, attack and release. Draw the simplest curve that solves the problem. Every extra point adds level-dependent behavior that gets harder to diagnose.

In the tutorials' example the bend sits at 0 dB with a 2:1 ratio: above it, every extra dB of input raises the output by only 0.5 dB, so the line climbs half as fast as the diagonal. The controls page shows a soft knee that leaves the 1:1 line at about -3 dB and tops out at +3 dB. If a walkthrough tells you to start by setting threshold and ratio, skip that step: Maximus has neither knob, so you move the bend and the slope instead.

Editing the curve takes a few mouse moves:

• Add or delete a point: right-click where the new point belongs. To delete one, right-click it and choose Delete, or hold Alt and left-click it.
• Move a point: drag it; hold Shift to lock its vertical position or Ctrl to lock its horizontal position. Points snap to the grid unless SNAP is off.
• Bend a segment: drag the tension handle between two points up or down, hold Ctrl for fine adjustment and right-click the handle to reset it.
• Change the segment shape: right-click a point to pick one of 5 curve types; Hold makes a single step for an abrupt change.
• Lock or reuse a curve: FREEZE blocks edits, the state-file commands open or save envelope states, including several pre-defined ones, and Analyze audio file copies the volume envelope of a sound file.

Start Maximus as a single-band processor

Starting with a single band is the cleanest way to learn the plugin, and it suits one instrument, a drum bus or a controlled master.

1. Load Default. Start from the patch labeled Default, which sets every band to hard limiting, rather than a dramatic mastering preset.
2. Switch LOW, MID and HIGH to COMP OFF. Select each band and use the COMP OFF switch to the right of the band tabs, not OFF. MASTER is then the only active band.
3. Select MASTER and draw one bend. Default already sets a 0 dB brick-wall limiter; add one point where compression should begin and make the slope above it shallower.
4. Raise PRE. Push the input until the loud parts cross that point; a curve the input never reaches does nothing.
5. Set the timing. The tutorial leaves attack near its 2.0 ms default and works on release, which has the more dramatic effect: as release rises, the bass gets quieter.
6. Bring POST back. Lower POST by the amount you raised PRE so the uncompressed parts return to their original level, then compare with bypass.

PRE and the curve fix the same alignment problem from opposite sides: PRE moves the audio across the graph, and editing the curve moves the active region across the audio. The tutorials use that pairing to rescale the graph: the lowest label marks -18 dB, so raising PRE by 12 dB and lowering POST by 12 dB makes the curve start at -30 dB. If you can't hear the compressor working, stretch RELEASE to around 500 ms, which the tutorial calls bullet time, then pull it back once you know what to listen for.

Upstream balance still matters. The FL Studio gain-staging guide explains where to fix levels before a dynamics processor. Don’t use Maximus PRE to paper over a Mixer chain that’s already overloaded.

Set attack, release and look-ahead without mixing them up

Attack sets how quickly the selected envelope responds when the signal arrives, and release sets how it recovers after the level drops. When ATT, REL and SUSTAIN are shorter than the cycles of the waveform, the envelope acts as a waveshaper and you hear distortion; longer settings follow the volume envelope and give ordinary compression.

The practical questions are simple:

• If the transient disappears, slow the attack or soften the curve.
• If the next hit stays pulled down, shorten the release.
• If low-frequency hits make the whole mix breathe, use less gain reduction, retune release, or give the low end its own band.
• If the output chatters or sounds rough, lengthen the timing before adding more curve points.

The release has more shapes than one knob suggests. CURVE picks curve 1 (steep) to 8 (low slope) for both Attack and Release 2; REL accelerates and REL2 decelerates, and setting one to 0 lets you use the other alone. SUSTAIN averages the input over 0 to 1000 ms, which sets how long compression sustains and stops the envelope releasing too early. For a syncopated duck, time the release to the off-beat, half a beat after each hit.

PEAK and RMS decide how the envelope reads level. PEAK tracks the instantaneous peak, catches transients fastest and suits limiting; RMS lets transients pass while still reacting to longer sounds, which suits instruments and vocals. I keep MASTER on PEAK for any file that leaves the project, because the controls page warns against relying on RMS for final level control: those transients pass uncompressed.

Look-ahead is related to attack, but it doesn’t work the same way across the plugin. On MASTER, ATT also contributes to the look-ahead delay. The ATT controls for LOW, MID and HIGH don’t set their look-ahead; the shared LMH DEL control does that so the three bands stay in sync. Image-Line documents total Maximus look-ahead/latency as the MASTER ATT time plus LMH delay.

That delay helps with fast peaks, but it costs latency. Off the Master Mixer track with LMH set, Maximus needs delay compensation, and hovering over its FX slot shows the delay in the Hint Panel. For LOW, MID and HIGH limiting, set LMH DEL equal to the longest band attack; compression tolerates other settings because some transients can pass.

Starting settings for each Maximus task

Maximus ships with patches for the jobs Image-Line's tutorials walk through. The table collects their starting points; treat them as a place to begin, because the tutorials themselves say your ears, not the display, are the final judge.

LMH MIX is what makes the parallel row work: fully left passes only the dry input to MASTER, fully right passes 100 percent of the processed LOW, MID and HIGH bands, and anything between blends them. I prefer it to a separate parallel bus for NY-style compression, because Image-Line describes that blend as phase-free and it stays inside one plugin.

Maximus has no sidechain input. The tutorial workaround is Master Mid mode: it switches off the LOW and HIGH compressors and lets the MID band drive MASTER, so a MID band narrowed around the kick pumps every frequency. I'd use a real sidechain for a kick that ducks a separate bass or pad, because Maximus pumps everything it processes; Fruity Limiter has a sidechain input, and our FL Studio sidechain guide sets one up.

For a hard gate instead of the preset's slope, turn SNAP off, delete the point near -12 dB, then right-click the point where the curve touches the bottom of the graph and choose Hold, which turns that edge into a step.

Move to multiband only for a frequency-specific problem

Full-range compression reacts to whatever part of the signal crosses the curve. So a heavy kick can trigger gain reduction that also dulls the vocal brightness, the snare crack or the high-frequency detail. Multiband compression separates those regions so the low event doesn’t automatically control every frequency.

You pay for that benefit with more decisions and more ways to wreck the balance. Add a split only when you can finish this sentence: “When this frequency region becomes excessive, I want to change its dynamics without moving the other regions.” Good examples include taming intermittent low-end weight or reducing a narrow sibilant band. The dedicated FL Studio de-essing guide handles the complete sibilance workflow, and the broader FL Studio vocal-mixing guide shows where that decision sits in the full chain. Maximus is one split-band option within it.

If the problem is there all the time, not just when the level changes, reach for EQ first. A static tonal imbalance doesn’t automatically call for a compressor.

Each band also has its own stereo separation control. In the middle it is off; turn it left for more separation and right for less. It works on the difference between the left and right channels, so it has no effect on a mono signal. Image-Line suggests narrowing the bass and widening the highs; our FL Studio stereo separation guide covers width beyond Maximus.

Place crossovers around behavior, not round numbers

The LOW FREQ and HIGH FREQ controls set the boundaries feeding the three band envelopes. Start by finding the region whose dynamics behave differently from the rest of the material. Place the boundaries so that region sits inside one band, without splitting an important sound across bands for no reason.

Then check the result in context:

• Solo a band to hear its contents, but make the decision in the full mix.
• If a crossover makes a kick lose its body or splits consonants from the voice, move the boundary.
• If neighboring bands get nearly identical curves and timing, drop the split.
• If low-end transients feel smeared, compare the crossover filter modes below.

The default band-split filters are IIR. The LIN switch runs the low and high filters in linear phase, which leaves the phase of the underlying frequencies alone but adds latency, and the legacy linear-phase mode in the Options menu costs more CPU and about 2 ms more plugin delay than IIR. I'd stay on IIR unless the low end sounds smeared, because that's the case Image-Line names for switching, and linear phase costs CPU and delay. Low Band Slope and High Band Slope switch each crossover between 12 and 24 dB per octave, and LOW CUT, a high-pass on the input set to 20 Hz by default, frees headroom without thinning the audible bass.

Do not confuse saturation THRES with compression threshold

The saturation section has its own THRES and CEIL controls, and they don’t replace the threshold point in the compression envelope.

• Compression threshold: the point where the input/output envelope leaves the 1:1 line.
• Saturation THRES: the level at which the selected band enters the saturation behavior.
• Saturation CEIL: the soft saturation ceiling, representing the maximum amplitude of the modeled nonlinear stage.

Keep saturation neutral while you build the compression behavior. Once the envelope, PRE/POST and timing make sense, add saturation as a separate choice. Working in that order lets you tell whether a denser sound came from dynamic gain reduction, added nonlinear color, louder output or all three.

THRES picks the saturation type as well as its level: turn it left for type A and right for type B. Clicks while you adjust type A during playback are normal, because Maximus recalculates a look-up table. CEIL sets the soft ceiling, and a lower ceiling gives harsher saturation, but the stage stays subtle rather than guitar-pedal distortion. For soft clipping, Image-Line's suggestion is a hard-limiting envelope on the band, input peaking a little over 0 dB, and a blend of saturation on top.

Use Maximus on the master with a controlled sequence

On the master track, Maximus should fix a defined finishing problem instead of handing out instant loudness. A controlled sequence looks like this:

1. Correct the mix balance before Maximus. The wider FL Studio mastering guide covers the complete chain and monitoring decisions.
2. Start on MASTER in single-band mode.
3. Use a gentle curve or limiting section that only the intended peaks reach.
4. Set timing so transient control does not turn into constant gain movement.
5. Match POST output to a comparable bypass level.
6. Add LMH bands only if the full-range detector creates a clear frequency-dependent problem.
7. Recheck the master at normal listening level and at a lower level where loudness bias is less persuasive.

The official Maximus tutorials warn that extreme limiting can strip out dynamic information and bring in saturation-like effects. Catching the odd peak and hitting the curve constantly are very different results. If most of the song is living in the limiting section, go back to PRE, the curve and the mix feeding it.

Two settings in the Options menu matter for a master. Oversample runs the internal processing oversampled so the compressor stages respond to inter-sample peaks; it costs more CPU and helps exposed solo instruments more than dense mixes. 0.2 dB compressor safety adds 0.2 dB of extra headroom to help avoid peaks over 0 dB. I'd switch on 0.2 dB compressor safety for any master that leaves the project, because the tutorials tell you not to exceed 0 dB on MASTER for a render to wave format and the option builds that margin in. If someone else will master the track, skip heavy limiting so they keep room to work, and check loudness with our FL Studio LUFS loudness guide.

Make a fair bypass check and choose the simpler tool

Louder reads as better: a hotter output can sound clearer and more exciting even when the dynamics got worse. Use POST to bring the processed path close to the bypassed level, then compare transient shape, tonal balance and movement between hits or phrases. For settings, use the spare state: the down-arrow button stores your settings in the comparison bank, Flip with spare state swaps between the stored and the active settings, and Lock spare state stops the stored version from being overwritten when you change patches, since saved patches carry their own spare state.

Pick Maximus when you need an editable level map, independent band behavior, special release shapes, parallel LMH blending or one processor that slides from compression into limiting. Pick Fruity Limiter when you want THRESH and RATIO knobs on one signal, a sidechain input or a gate; the Fruity Limiter manual lists it as a single-band compressor, limiter and gate. My pick for a single kick or bass is Fruity Limiter, because its knobs do that job with fewer decisions, and Image-Line recommends it or Fruity Compressor there too. Without Producer Edition, multiband work goes to Fruity Multiband Compressor: the Fruity Multiband Compressor manual describes three bands split by IIR or linear-phase FIR filters plus a limiter. The Fruity Limiter compression guide covers that simpler control model in detail.

The broader FL Studio stock plugins guide helps when the real question is whether dynamics processing, EQ, clipping or another native tool suits the task.

Maximus troubleshooting by symptom

Nothing changes

Make sure the intended band is selected, its compression envelope is active, and the signal reaches the part of the curve that departs from 1:1; a curve the input never reaches does nothing. Raise PRE or move the curve into the signal's active range, and check that you didn't edit LOW while listening for a MASTER change.

The mix pumps with the kick

Cut back the full-range gain reduction and retune release first. That pumping is the kick triggering compression across the whole spectrum, so the highs dip in time with it. If the low end needs its own control, add a LOW split and keep MID and HIGH simpler; don't reach for three aggressive band curves at once.

The output is brighter, duller or tilted

Check PRE and POST on every active band, saturation, crossover placement and whether one band spends more time in compression. Curves that look the same won’t behave the same, because each band receives different material.

Transients still pass the limiter

On MASTER, look at ATT, because it also sets the look-ahead. For LOW, MID and HIGH limiting, set LMH DEL to the longest band attack. Keep MASTER on PEAK, since RMS lets transients through, and confirm the signal reaches the limiting section: a horizontal curve above the signal's peaks can't control them.

The result sounds distorted

Separate the possible causes: very short attack/release, a harsh curve, high PRE, active saturation, or limiting in a sub-band and again on MASTER. Neutralize saturation and go back to one active envelope, then bring stages back one at a time.

Bypass sounds weak even though the mix is better

Treat it as a comparison problem first. Lower POST until the active and bypassed paths are close enough in level to judge punch, balance and motion, then decide whether the processing deserves its place.

Clicks while you adjust LMH DEL or saturation

Both are normal. Changing LMH DEL during playback resets the delay, and adjusting type A saturation recalculates a look-up table, so each can click while audio runs. Set the knob, then judge the sound on the next pass.

Maximus delays the track

Total latency equals the MASTER ATT time plus LMH DEL, and linear-phase filters add to it: about 2 ms in the legacy linear-phase mode. Hover over the Maximus FX slot to read the delay in the Hint Panel; off the Master Mixer track with LMH set, plugin delay compensation has to cover it.

A practical Maximus checklist

• Name the exact problem before choosing bands.
• Start with MASTER and keep LOW/MID/HIGH compression off.
• Use one simple departure from the 1:1 envelope.
• Move the signal with PRE or move the curve; do not change both blindly.
• Set attack and release from transient and sustain behavior.
• Remember that MASTER ATT and LMH DEL handle different look-ahead paths.
• Add crossovers only for frequency-dependent dynamics.
• Treat saturation THRES/CEIL as a separate stage.
• Use POST for a fair active/bypass comparison.
• If a standard compressor explains the job more clearly, use Fruity Limiter.

Maximus is powerful because it lets you design the relationship between input level, output level, frequency and time. That same freedom makes it easy to create several problems that feed each other. Build from one band, one curve and one audible purpose, and add complexity only when the mix tells you exactly what the next stage needs to do.

Maximus FAQ

How do you use Maximus in FL Studio?

Load the Default patch, set LOW, MID and HIGH to COMP OFF so MASTER is the only active band, and shape the MASTER curve. Raise PRE until the loud parts cross the bend, set release, then lower POST by the amount you raised PRE and compare with bypass.

Does Maximus have threshold and ratio controls?

No. The point where the curve leaves the 1:1 diagonal acts as the threshold, and the slope above it acts as the ratio: at 2:1, each extra dB of input adds only 0.5 dB of output.

Which FL Studio edition includes Maximus?

Maximus comes with Producer Edition and up. Fruity Limiter, Fruity Compressor and Fruity Multiband Compressor are in all editions, so Fruity Edition users still have a multiband compressor and a limiter.

Can Maximus sidechain a kick?

Not from another track: Maximus has no sidechain input. Master Mid mode lets a MID band narrowed around the kick drive MASTER, which pumps the whole signal; for track-to-track ducking, use Fruity Limiter's sidechain.

What is the difference between COMP OFF and OFF?

COMP OFF switches off a band's compression envelope but still passes the band's signal through. OFF bypasses the band completely, and a neighboring band takes over its range, as MID does when LOW and HIGH are OFF.

Should Maximus go on the master or on single tracks?

Image-Line recommends it as the last effect on the Master Mixer Track and suggests Fruity Limiter or Fruity Compressor for a single kick or bass. On any other track with LMH set, Maximus needs delay compensation.

Eric Norris Nashville-based FL Studio producer and editor focused on practical workflow, mixer routing, troubleshooting, sampling and native Image-Line tools.