Printable Version of Topic

Posted by: The Uncreator Mar 29 2012, 01:59 AM

Something cool I discovered a month or so ago and have been abusing regularly. Using the "snapshot" function in iZotope's EQ you can take a picture of your mix before and after and see the results real-time. The white was the mix I am working on now, and the purple is after the "mastering" has been done (EQ, Multiband Dynamics (comp), stereo imaging, and limiting)



Although there is only two small boosts of 1.0 and 1.5 db, comparing the lines you can see how the purple mix has become more even. The low end has come down just a tad because its presence has decreased (at least in a perceived way). Learning more and more that the mix is everything and the mastering is the icing on the headphones (?).

I've also come to a rule of thumb for myself, if anything has to be boosted or cut by more than 2.5db, the mix must be redone. I thought years ago it wouldnt matter, but the drastic reduction led to an ungainly clash of frequencies. After a week of experimenting with just mixing, something I usually dont do that long, I have learned a lot. And although It takes me a day or two as opposed to a few hours to mix a song, the end result, which I will post before and afters, is quite excellent

Posted by: Todd Simpson Mar 29 2012, 04:56 AM

OZONE 5 just flat out RAWKS. I wasn't even going to buy it at first, as I have 3 and 4 but after seeing a friend of mine use the pro version on his projects and being blown away with the results I changed my mind. I thought the pro version seemed like a rip off at first, but after watching it in action I get it now. The cpu/ram footprint of using only part of OZONE (which is actually a suite of applications) can ramp up quick especially if you are using multiple instances. So the pro version lets you use only one section of the suite and save hardware resources. But you can get around it of course, so not everybody needs the pro and it is way more money.

For the standard version, it's hard to believe how much killer sounding stuff is in that plugin for the price. Of course, I've heard mixes killed/crushed by it, but I've heard mixes killed / crushed by all sorts of plugins so it's not OZONE's fault.

Yeah, the EQ printing feature is pretty darn handy. They really pulled out all the stops on this version. If you are working "In The Box" (using a computer/software as opposed to external racks of processors) it's just an incredible tool. I'm really glad I ended up getting it.

Also, I have found some of the presets are a good place to start on things in 5 where in previous versions most of the presets were a little ham fisted IMHO and I ended up building my own.

For anyone reading this that has not tried it, go download the demo. It can really make things sounds wads better when used properly. Recording at home, and in the box, without pricey preamps and such is a challenge. Tools like this make it a bit easier to get good results in that situation. Don't go nuts with it and crush the dynamics out of your mix, but turn it off and on and prepare to be shocked at how much better your tracks/mix can sound.



Todd

Posted by: The Uncreator Mar 30 2012, 12:27 AM

Yep, everything you said and more. Although I still feel the presets are way extreme mostly. I used to find one that sounded ok and work the settings down to make it less extreme and suitable.

Now I just start from scratch and think about what I really want to add to it. Ozone 5 is probably the cheapest mastering solution of this quality, T-Racks is also good, but a bit less colorful and lively than Ozone.

Highly recommend it.

Posted by: Todd Simpson Mar 30 2012, 01:17 AM

Everything you said plus 2! I have to agree all the way that the presets are still to extreme. But it does seem they are a little closer to usability than the last two version where I felt the presets bordered on comical in some cases. The OZONE 5 presets are finally getting to where you can use many as a starting point. I think you have the right idea on building from scratch. Once you get how to use the itnerface, you can build some amazong presets. It reminds me of guitar rig in that way. The stock presets really don't let you know the power of the software. You have to dig deeper.

And yeah, for the price you simply can't beat it. It's really several plugins, an entire mastering/processing suite, in one plugin. For "in the box" Mastering, for home recording I have not found anything that I like better.

Todd

Posted by: thefireball Mar 30 2012, 07:09 PM

How do you tame your snares, Brett? My snares is what seems to make all my spikes appear.

Posted by: The Uncreator Mar 30 2012, 10:11 PM

Compression can tame it easily. Or, if you lack a compressor, when you render your mixes exclude the snare, and render the snare to separate .wav file. Then when you master them, you can leave the snare untouched and adjust the level so the impact isn't as loud.

What are you using for drums anyway? EZDrummer?