Ozone Stereo Imager alternative

[Rik]

Just missed the promo on the Ozone 9 upgrade but I also realized that the only plugin that I really need in this new version is the new stereo widener. Don't see any use in the other Ozone 9 improvements (I have Ozone 7) so was wondering if anyone has a good multiband widener to recommend.

[jochicago]

There are a few, but you don't have to go far from that tree since the Ozone 8 Imager is also free:
https://www.izotope.com/en/products/ozone-imager.html

[SparkySpark]

That's lucky!

By the way, it is really useful. As it happens, I used it five mins ago. For example, you can put the bass in mono, and widen the vocals with it, just by setting the ranges correctly.

...and then there's the visualisation tools that keep you from overdoing it!

Good luck - it's a great tool!

(I have Ozone Standard 8, and perhaps the Exciter module is new for v 8? It's very useful. Also the Tonal Balance Control is worth an upgrade - though I wish it would have been even better.)

[Rik]

That's lucky!

By the way, it is really useful. As it happens, I used it five mins ago. For example, you can put the bass in mono, and widen the vocals with it, just by setting the ranges correctly.

...and then there's the visualisation tools that keep you from overdoing it!

Good luck - it's a great tool!

(I have Ozone Standard 8, and perhaps the Exciter module is new for v 8? It's very useful. Also the Tonal Balance Control is worth an upgrade - though I wish it would have been even better.)

I'm still curious about alternatives - just noticed that the free one doesn't have multiband control. Although in Ozone 9, it has a new mode which does sound better IMO.
Exciter been there for ages, been using that one for a long time and even the EQ matching has actually been there since Ozone 5 or 6 but still can't find a real use for that one.
I use ADPTR A/B for comparing to other tracks and visualization and I find it thousand times more useful than Tonal Balance Control because you can pick specific sections of tracks to compare - not an average EQ...

[SparkySpark]

Hi,

Okay, you're right - that's the limitation of TBC I was referring to. I wish they would have included a library of say 1,000 famous songs from various styles to make comparisons easier and quicker (like Enjoy the Silence, Thriller, Halo or what have you), and I'm thinking the main choruses, that is, what is actually the setting of the master.

I also find it strange that I am to change the levels myself to follow the guideline of TBC: why isn't it done automatically if TBC already "has the answer"? ...or an even bigger question: if I choose to use Master Assistant in Ozone - why is TBC still saying the settings in Ozone are off at the specific point in time I have just used Master Assistant on??? I don't get it, to tell the truth. That being said, I'm happy to have such a check.

Still, I like the multiband control you are after - hope you find a good tool.

[jochicago]

I also find it strange that I am to change the levels myself to follow the guideline of TBC: why isn't it done automatically if TBC already "has the answer"? ...or an even bigger question: if I choose to use Master Assistant in Ozone - why is TBC still saying the settings in Ozone are off at the specific point in time I have just used Master Assistant on??? I don't get it, to tell the truth. That being said, I'm happy to have such a check.

On point. For me, add that TBC is a CPU hog. Something happens and it falls off realtime, starts showing me delayed data running for several seconds, so the visualization becomes less useful.

For all those reasons I tried it for a while and it was fun, but I'm not using it anymore. I get a reading and an actual eq curve from Hornet 31. I'm also getting an eq curve from Ozone. Another I would recommend to look into is TDR Slick Mastering that also gives you a read and applies an eq curve.

Re: Ozone widener multiband
I have 8 and 9 advanced. I just don't use it. I already had a widening system using a send, and I already had it how I liked it. With Ozone I couldn't get along with it, wasn't adding anything. At first I thought I could improve on my chain with the multiband, but it wasn't coming together.

I use a combination of: doubler, micro pitch shift, followed by bass mono-maker and saturator. If I'm feeling fancy I'll throw in an Ozone widener as extra sauce or replacement for one of those, but most of the time it's not there. (Also sometimes just a bit of compression going in).

This is an interesting free tool. I think it doesn't get a lot of attention because it's free:
http://www.alexhilton.net/A1AUDIO/index ... reocontrol
It has a widener with settings and a bass mono-maker built in.

For me, the mono-maker is the key "multiband" part. But if you really want to multi band beyond that, you could always throw in a multiband compressor at the end of the chain (or a dynamic eq for more detailed control). It might sound cumbersome to have 4 plugins in there, but for me it's a send and it's roughly configured the same every time, so once you set it to taste just make it part of a template. For me that has been better than just using the Ozone tool. It's faster and simpler because I get to tasty quicker, with the Ozone Advanced I'm fiddling for minutes and I'm not getting a sound that feels quite right (compared to the other chain).

[Rik]

I use a combination of: doubler, micro pitch shift, followed by bass mono-maker and saturator. If I'm feeling fancy I'll throw in an Ozone widener as extra sauce or replacement for one of those, but most of the time it's not there. (Also sometimes just a bit of compression going in).

This is an interesting free tool. I think it doesn't get a lot of attention because it's free:
http://www.alexhilton.net/A1AUDIO/index ... reocontrol
It has a widener with settings and a bass mono-maker built in.

Hey thanks for these pointers, I do have all these individual plugins (Soundtoys micro shift, Softube doubler), I'm going to try to build my own chain. And that A1Audio is quite interesting. Going to do so A/B testing with Ozone 9 since I have still the trial. Btw, I tried Voxengo Soniformer, I cannot understand much of what it does and the controls are the closest thing to rocket science but been really impressed with some of the presets.

FYI here are the other plugins I tried:
- stereo savage: in all the settings, the result sounded worse than what I had before widening.
- cableguys widthshaper: has the multiband controls but a little too complicated and its main purpose doesn't seem to be widening
- stageone: not bad but no multiband controls and a bit pricey, still did not sound as good as Ozone
- st3reo (2getheraudio): one of the best I tried, too wide sounded bad, might be able to achieve decent results with more tweaking

[NeonNightflyer]

TDR's SlickEQ M has multiband stereo imaging (in addition to being a great mastering EQ).

[Kinh]

I wouldn't call ozone stereo imager a widener as it doesn't really widen, it pushes mids highs up rather than to the side. It basically takes the stereo image as is and either brings it up or narrows

[jochicago]

Keep in mind that I have my thing set up as a send and sending to taste. If I I was going direct, or using it at full strength it would be easy to make it sound awful. For me the point of the send is a little goes a long way. I want enough widening secret sauce that someone listening might think "how does this sound so thick?", I don't want anyone thinking "why does it sound weird?"

Then I send vocals and guitars, and depending on the song: keys, the drum OHs and snare. Anything "tonal" in nature or supposed to have a rich stereo. This is why I use the mono-maker at the end of the send, so I can be liberal sending OHs and such without worrying that I'm slushing the low-end.

Also, when you play with wideners don't forget to occasionally check mono on the way out to make sure you are not messing something up.

[SparkySpark]

I wouldn't call ozone stereo imager a widener as it doesn't really widen, it pushes mids highs up rather than to the side. It basically takes the stereo image as is and either brings it up or narrows

Yes, this has been my feeling to. There _is_ the widening tool at the bottom of the window, but it is sort of detached from the EQ part - once again I am not sure about the suggested workflow. (What's good about Ozone's widener is that it's mono compliant, and that there is visual feedback when "safe" widening is left.)

Nice to hear the impressions re 2getheraudio's widener - I really dig their other tools and think they should get more exposure.

Great thread with lots of good info!

[Mushy Mushy]

Polyverse Wider is used constantly here.

[pleiser]

Softube Widener

[osiris]

You can do this with FL Maximus, just don't use any compression, but it widens bands quite nicely.

[mabian]

Talking about widener... partial hijack... what about replacing Vocal Doubler as well ?

- Mario