Ozone , tell me why

[LeVzi]

So my mastering isn't great, I have plenty of modules but when you create, mix then master your own stuff, never seems to be good enough, tired ears, whatever the reason.

But i've never used Ozone, and I know plenty of people do, so is it really that good for self mastering ? I know there cannot be any substitution for using a proper mastering engineer, but i'm a hobbyist producer, and just want the best master I can make.

So I see Ozone Standard and Ozone advanced. I can get one or the other on Splice so thats handy, but a) do I really need advanced
b) are they easy to understand and make a decent attempt at a master ?
c) do they actually help with the mastering process or do you need to be experienced ?

I have some basic knowledge of what im trying to achieve at mix level for a master, but I can't seem to achieve it the way I want it to sound. So if something like Ozone could help, I don't mind investing in this.

Thanks in advance.

[hlecram]

ozone is just a collection of effects. The ai mastering function can be a good starting point but you need to put your hands on. I don’t see more value in advanced for your use case. I think it’s just a matter of practice on your part and things become clear for your - ozone or not.
It might be best if you fiddle with the demo.

Cheers
Marcel

[LeVzi]

ozone is just a collection of effects. The ai mastering function can be a good starting point but you need to put your hands on. I don’t see more value in advanced for your use case. I think it’s just a matter of practice on your part and things become clear for your - ozone or not.
It might be best if you fiddle with the demo.

Cheers
Marcel

Yeah I had a feeling its going to require me to be better at mastering full stop lol but I guess its a case of if its easier to do it in once place like Ozone or use the various plugins I have and get better with them.

[martinjuenke]

Try CloudBounce. Use your own ears and don't hear on certain kind of comments.
For do it yourself artist it can be a time saving alternative.
PS: Sometimes they have very attractive sales.

[AKJ]

Ozone has one of the very few usably brickwall-limiters in the market. Also the other modules are quite good. Thus, it is a very good suite of fx. Advanced lets you load each module as a single plugin. But don't expect wonders.

[Dirk Diggler]

Yes I used to have my own process using several specific plugins, it was a manual process that worked great. Until I tried Ozone, it's so much better just using the assistant suggestions, to my ears it's not even close.

Plus of course you can tweak to your hearts content with each of the individual components.
Good luck,
Dirk

[hlecram]

ozone is just a collection of effects. The ai mastering function can be a good starting point but you need to put your hands on. I don’t see more value in advanced for your use case. I think it’s just a matter of practice on your part and things become clear for your - ozone or not.
It might be best if you fiddle with the demo.

Cheers
Marcel

Yeah I had a feeling its going to require me to be better at mastering full stop lol but I guess its a case of if its easier to do it in once place like Ozone or use the various plugins I have and get better with them.

Of course it can be easier to have it all in one place but i think it comes down to your workflow. Depending on what plugins you already own, ozone can add to your set of tools. Forget about their subscription shenanigans for a moment, all their stuff sound pretty darn good!

Cheers

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

Be careful when buying Ozone because perpetual license holders won't be receiving updates. Only subscribers will.

If you're cool with that, then by all means.

I'd also just caution that most issues in mastering start at the mix. If you're having trouble getting great sounding masters, the problems likely start in the mix and/or arrangement. Ozone would only do so much.

[_leras]

There are plenty of other choices for a quick and dirty mastering chain.

Waves Abbey Road mastering chain is also an all in one.

You don't need that many steps.

Corrective EQ if you don't have mix access
Character EQ
Compression
Saturation
Limiter

[LeVzi]

Be careful when buying Ozone because perpetual license holders won't be receiving updates. Only subscribers will.

If you're cool with that, then by all means.

I'd also just caution that most issues in mastering start at the mix. If you're having trouble getting great sounding masters, the problems likely start in the mix and/or arrangement. Ozone would only do so much.

Ah thank you for telling me that, that's a deal breaker.

[LeVzi]

There are plenty of other choices for a quick and dirty mastering chain.

Waves Abbey Road mastering chain is also an all in one.

You don't need that many steps.

Corrective EQ if you don't have mix access
Character EQ
Compression
Saturation
Limiter

It's mainly loudness where I fail. Getting things loud cleanly is something I struggle with

[Tj Shredder]

Loudness is rarely a problem. Unless you are in a loudness war with competing tracks. Just get a peaceful mind. There is always a volume knob which any listener can put to 11.
If you do want to fight in the loudness war, Ozone Elements will do: just crank up the limiter until it doesn’t sound good anymore and dial it back a bit… ; - )
If there are still too soft parts, go back to mix it properly…

[_leras]

Loudness starts in the mix. Specifically with the bass.
You can:
Arrange so parts don't overlap
Avoid layering up multiple bass tracks
EQ bass and kick drums so they don't clash, by finding the peak freq of each and cutting the other parts freq by a few dB
Ducking bass to kick
Maybe using a shorter kick when the bass is playing
Trimming off low end < 40-60Hz with a filter to remove unheard parts (for all parts)
Dipping EQ somewhere between 200-300, which removes some mud/wooliness and can make things sound louder psychoacousticly

Once you get your bass sat right, try really hard to set it peaking any somewhere between -10 to -18db. Then try even harder to leave it as is and mix everything else around it.

You can make individual parts louder with saturation or distortion, maybe in a parralel. Compression can raise a sounds volume z and or be used for more punch/attack, as can a transient shaper.

In the mids you can also avoid clashing frequencies and use small bits of panning to make more space for individual sounds. Of you dip 3db of a sound where it clashese with something else, you can raise the whole sound 3db and not have more clashing than you started with.

At the high-end of Freq if you roll of things that are not supposed to be bright, then the bright things will also pop out more.

Too much compression will flatten and can remove perceived volume.

Once you have a balanced mix, then parralel or inline saturation and compression can add some weight, you can use EQ to subtly boost midrange and also this can give more perceived volume by a few dB.

And very last a good limiter not pushed too hard...

You can squash a final track, but it's all in the mix really. A balanced mix, where you've tidied up the bass as much as possible without losing the vibe, should react ok to a limiter and allow a bit more boosting.

[LeVzi]

Loudness is rarely a problem. Unless you are in a loudness war with competing tracks. Just get a peaceful mind. There is always a volume knob which any listener can put to 11.
If you do want to fight in the loudness war, Ozone Elements will do: just crank up the limiter until it doesn’t sound good anymore and dial it back a bit… ; - )
If there are still too soft parts, go back to mix it properly…

That's exactly it, a loudness war compared to other tracks in the same genre. I am behind them but not by a great deal, but if I push it to their levels, I distort , they don't seem to. Its not a massive amount of difference either, and as you say, turn up the track a little bit and its loud and the mix is fine, its just that extra bit of loudness I want, without distorting the crap out of it.

I was thinking Ozone might give me that option, or maybe i'd be better off with something like Sonnox Inflator or a really good limiter.

[Azbest]

Loud masters are 90% arrangement and mixing.

Ozone Elements is given away for free from time to time btw, you could check that one out. It does the job for me.