So i buy Ozone 4

[mistasfx]

And to be honest, after watching a couple tutorials on youtube i can appreciate how it improved the guys track on there but when i put it into practice on my own tune, it just sounded worse.... louder deffo but sounded less clear than the original.

Anyone else use this?

[elmaruk]

Assuming your using it as a mastering tool;

Mastering can make or break a track very easily - Ozone is a seriously good piece of kit but it'll take time to learn how to use it effectively and each track is gonna require a different set of processing. Learn a little theory on each part of Ozone, like compressor, exciter ect and what they do, then just practice with it. Less is often more when it comes to mastering.

Don't try and do it all in one session either. A-B your track, The way i've always gone about it is spend 5 -> 10 minutes on some compression, then stop for 10 minutes, have a coffee, come back, A-B it, listen through headphones and hear what you need to add or take away. I find if you sit for an hour processing it then your ears just get used to it, you tell yourself it sounds good then when you listen to it the next day you wondering what you were thinking.

Hope that makes sense and was helpfull

[mistasfx]

my mate suggested it to be to beef up my drums n basslines. I just used it then ona whole track to demo the mastering side of it and it deffo broke the tune.

I think i just wanna use it on different parts of my track to beef up rather than a mastering tool

[elmaruk]

I think i just wanna use it on different parts of my track to beef up rather than a mastering tool

That's how i use it bud. Leave the mastering to the pro's, it's a whole other profession in it's self.

Remember less is more tho when it comes to processing dynamics. Not always, but often.

[Mr Fletch]

I used to use Ozone 3, and Have recently updated to Ozone 5! If you dont understand what you are doing with it then you can easily destroy your track. But I strongly suggest reading up on it, and learning the power behind this amazing piece of kit! It can improve the overall sound and dynamics of your track ten fold!

The trick is to actually take time and learn what it can do, dont rely on the presets that come with it, they're very basic. If you want to hear what it can do, send me a copy of your track (or a clip) and I'll work some magic on it!

[parsons19]

Hey man,

Totally agree with Fletch and Aid here. Leave mastering to the pros, although I must say Aid does a cracking job imo! And assuming most of Fletch's tunes are mastered by himself then he can do a cracking job also!

However, go ahead and use the presets man. However, NOT for a proper job. Say you are working on a new tune and want it to be loud enough to play out or something then I would use the presets for something like that Just a quick way of getting a tune (assuming you have a decent mixdown of course) to a loudness where it is playable! Thats what I use them for xD

Hope that helps ;D

[mistasfx]

i had no intention for using it to master m8 i was just sayin i tried and failed to put into practice what i saw on a tutorial and if anyone else uses it. Im not a fan of presets tbh as it takes away the learning curve and u dont fully understand the software. My mixdowns are pretty loud anyway but someone suggested that this would make them louder so here i am, learnign a new piece of kit that im excited about

[miszt]

I use 5 for dnb quite a bit, i like it allot, esp the multiband dynamics, tasty. takes time to learn mastering, try and keep things subtle, maybe start by getting to grips with the Multiband Dynamics section

[lostnthesound]

A bit of strong advice when it comes to using Ozone: you have to treat it as though it was a piece of hardware in that the signal you feed into must contain plenty of headroom. If you're master output (or sub mix) signal is anywhere near 0 dB and then you insert ozone, you're sending it a signal that is entirely too hot for it to properly process.

A long time ago when msmith222 and I used to disregard the notion of adequate headroom, we noticed that any quick and dirty mastering we did on a test track always sounded like shit. We eventually started turning up our monitors and headphones very loud so we could work at a low overall volume with our tracks (the increased volume in our monitors/headphones compensated for the low volume of the mixer). This would help us avoid the urge to push the volume faders.

What we found is that by having the master out peak between -12 and -9 and then adding an insert like Ozone or AdLimiter would produce an output that was not only punchy and clean, but extremely high in perceived loudness (RMS).

To conclude, keep those output levels low and be aware of the summing that occurs in your submix groups as well as your master output. Add those heavy processing tools where needed, bearing in mind that they are awaiting a signal with plenty of headroom.

Cheers.

[marcelkennard]

So Lost are you saying that when you produce a track you'll keep the volumes of all the tracks in your project low to have a low stereo output signal and just have your monitors up loud?

[lostnthesound]

So Lost are you saying that when you produce a track you'll keep the volumes of all the tracks in your project low to have a low stereo output signal and just have your monitors up loud?

Exactly!

I have the tendency to want to keep making things "louder," and by the time I've got a decent arrangement, my levels are all over the place. Rather than attempt to fight the urge to increase the volume in my DAW, I crank my headphones/monitors.

Specifically, I'll start with my kick hitting around -12 dB. Then I simply increase my audio interface volume until I have a pleasant thump coming through my monitors and headphones. Then, with every instrument/hit I add to the song, I try to keep each respective channel below my kick's -12db (either via channel volume fader, compression etc.) Even though my levels are quite low, my audio interface output has the track cranking–cutting off my urge to turn up volume faders or compression gains.

What ends up happening is that my master output has plenty of headroom. So I'll then lower my audio interface volume and add an instance of Ozone or AdLimiter to my master out to give me a rough idea of how the master will sound. This little workflow enhancement has proven to be extremely valuable to me.

Cheers!

[equilibrium]

I use this. http://www.slatedigital.com/fgx.php

[Bad Ace]

personaly i dont use it but i have seen emporer use it on his main output before he even starts a track

[mistasfx]

Lost, nice one for that advice. I aim to make my track loud before any mastering then i'd turn the final track down to -4db, tinker a bit and then thats my headroom. will try it ur way

[Elzerk]

Ohh looks complicated, gotta fuck around with that and study, sounds nasty.