I suck at mastering what is the best Multiband Compressor ==> Ozone vs Fabfilter vs Bitwig Compressor+

[jamcat]

It's not that you suck at mastering.
It's just that mastering is wholly unnecessary and pointless in 2024.
What you're really struggling with is 'why', not so much 'how'.

Just focus on what matters: writing a good song.
Then try to make that song sound the best you can, by always presenting your main musical themes clearly, uncluttered, and up front in your mix. the rest doesn't matter.

[damoog]

There is literally TONS of dance tracks released where the compression and mix is just all over the place so I wouldn’t worry to much about it

After years of trial and error I came to realize that working on the mix before hand is way more beneficial than the final task

[_leras]

The Ozone Assistant is quite good now. I usually just run it and then adjust the threshold of the Maximizer.

Really??

What type of music are you making and what genre are you telling Ozone it is?

I have found the assistant to be all over the place when I've used it, which is mainly electronic music.

[_leras]

It's not that you suck at mastering.
It's just that mastering is wholly unnecessary and pointless in 2024.

Sorry but this is absolute nonsense.

And it's total fud to throw out such bad advice and not even trying to explain why you are right and the tried and tested processes are wrong.

[_leras]

There is literally TONS of dance tracks released where the compression and mix is just all over the place so I wouldn’t worry to much about it

After years of trial and error I came to realize that working on the mix before hand is way more beneficial than the final task

Just because some stuff is all over the place it doesn't mean that's where you should aim for...!

After the music itself, plus extra production, sound design and arrangement... Yes for sure the mix is the most important thing.

I see it like this:

If your mix is bad, mastering can make a huge difference - but you'll only get so much of the full potential.

A decent mix, mastering will make less difference, but you'll be able to get a better overall track.

For a really good mix, the mastering will make less difference still, but will allow you to reach the tracks full potential.

Like it or not, theres stuff you can do in mastering that you just can't do as well when mixing.

[Uncle E]

I mean "best frequencies" what should I he looking for.

Look for problematic frequencies that are overrepresented (resonant or have frequency build up). Also look for ranges of frequencies that fit together, ie manage your bass without impacting your mids.

[jamcat]

It's not that you suck at mastering.
It's just that mastering is wholly unnecessary and pointless in 2024.

Sorry but this is absolute nonsense.

And it's total fud to throw out such bad advice and not even trying to explain why you are right and the tried and tested processes are wrong.

I’ve stated why many times here.
It’s because the purpose of mastering is to get all your album tracks prepared for reproduction on physical media.

The only reason whatsoever to take your track outside the DAW to apply global processing in 2024 is if you are sequencing an album and need to create consistency across all the tracks.

[Uncle E]

What type of music are you making and what genre are you telling Ozone it is?

I have found the assistant to be all over the place when I've used it, which is mainly electronic music.

I tell it EDM.

[_leras]

I’ve stated why many times here.
It’s because the purpose of mastering is to get all your album tracks prepared for reproduction on physical media.

The only reason whatsoever to take your track outside the DAW to apply global processing in 2024 is if you are sequencing an album and need to create consistency across all the tracks.

Well there's still an aspect of that, in terms of getting it ready for playback on a range of systems.

There is also the aspect that no one's mixing room or conditions are perfect so a master takes a fresh look at it and can correct for this and give better translation.

But there is also the key aspect of just pure sonic enhancement. Mastering can do things you just can't do very well when mixing - even to individual tracks

I'm not sure it's possible to have a mix that couldn't be sonically further improved by some good mastering

[jamcat]

I’ve stated why many times here.
It’s because the purpose of mastering is to get all your album tracks prepared for reproduction on physical media.

The only reason whatsoever to take your track outside the DAW to apply global processing in 2024 is if you are sequencing an album and need to create consistency across all the tracks.

Well there's still an aspect of that, in terms of getting it ready for playback on a range of systems.

Today, that simply means the export file format and LUFS target for streaming services. And at least in Studio One, these are just options in the export menu. You’re not cutting a lacquer for vinyl. Click a button and you’re done. No need to call in a brain surgeon for that.

There is also the aspect that no one's mixing room or conditions are perfect so a master takes a fresh look at it and can correct for this and give better translation.

But then you’re not mastering it yourself, so it’s a moot point for the purposes of this thread. And besides, we have room/speaker correction software that largely mitigates all of that now. With ARC4, you can fix your room and your monitors, and then make them sound like NS-10s (if you want.)

But there is also the key aspect of just pure sonic enhancement. Mastering can do things you just can't do very well when mixing - even to individual tracks

I'm not sure it's possible to have a mix that couldn't be sonically further improved by some good mastering

But at that point you’re just doing more of the same that was already done on the master buss. And it logically follows that your “master” could be remastered to sound even better, and then remastered again, ad infinitum.

Just get it right the first time. No need to play dress-up as a “mastering engineer” (even though it may be fun to pretend.)

[Jac459]

I mean "best frequencies" what should I he looking for.

Look for problematic frequencies that are overrepresented (resonant or have frequency build up). Also look for ranges of frequencies that fit together, ie manage your bass without impacting your mids.

Oh ok, this I do a lot, during my mixing. But not really with compressor. Range of frequencies I use side chaining or ozone tool, and dynamic EQ for resonant frequencies.

[Jac459]

I’ve stated why many times here.
It’s because the purpose of mastering is to get all your album tracks prepared for reproduction on physical media.

The only reason whatsoever to take your track outside the DAW to apply global processing in 2024 is if you are sequencing an album and need to create consistency across all the tracks.

Well there's still an aspect of that, in terms of getting it ready for playback on a range of systems.

Today, that simply means the export file format and LUFS target for streaming services. And at least in Studio One, these are just options in the export menu. You’re not cutting a lacquer for vinyl. Click a button and you’re done. No need to call in a brain surgeon for that.

There is also the aspect that no one's mixing room or conditions are perfect so a master takes a fresh look at it and can correct for this and give better translation.

But then you’re not mastering it yourself, so it’s a moot point for the purposes of this thread. And besides, we have room/speaker correction software that largely mitigates all of that now. With ARC4, you can fix your room and your monitors, and then make them sound like NS-10s (if you want.)

But there is also the key aspect of just pure sonic enhancement. Mastering can do things you just can't do very well when mixing - even to individual tracks

I'm not sure it's possible to have a mix that couldn't be sonically further improved by some good mastering

But at that point you’re just doing more of the same that was already done on the master buss. And it logically follows that your “master” could be remastered to sound even better, and then remastered again, ad infinitum.

Just get it right the first time. No need to play dress-up as a “mastering engineer” (even though it may be fun to pretend.)

Makes sense actually.

[jamcat]

Then when I am trying to master and add a bit of punch, with compression or not, I have no freaking idea of what I am doing...
(to be clear I know very well how a compressor work, I just can't make it do what I want)..

What you're describing is really still the role of the mixing engineer. It is literally the mix engineer's job to make the drums appropriately punchy, to make the bass well balanced, and to give the vocals clarity. If he's relying on the mastering engineer to do any of that, then he didn't do his job.

With that in mind, when you think you're ready to export your mix, ask yourself: "is there anything more that needs to be done?"

If the answer is yes, then identify what, and then do it. Then go back to step 1.

When you are finally totally happy with every aspect of the mix, you're done. And then there is nothing left to "master."

The problem, I believe, is that you have bought into this idea that tracks need "mastering" and that entails making them "louder and punchier." It's just something you're supposed to do, just because. So you're pursuing a process rather than an objective. Once you unburden yourself of such preconceptions, these dilemmas will evaporate.

[Jac459]

...
The problem, I believe, is that you have bought into this idea that tracks need "mastering" and that entails making them "louder and punchier." It's just something you're supposed to do, just because. So you're pursuing a process rather than an objective. Once you unburden yourself of such preconceptions, these dilemmas will evaporate.

Mmm, I pretty much feel you are spot on on this one.

[lobanov]

There is also the aspect that no one's mixing room or conditions are perfect so a master takes a fresh look at it and can correct for this and give better translation.

It's not mastering. You may change conditions and listen, somebody may listen to your music (under the same or different conditions) and make corrections. Not neсessarily a masterng engineer. Anyone who is able to do it.