Hi
I hope it’s okay to post threads about 3rd party plugins. I have recently tinkered a bit with ozone 11 in my mastering stage. I kind of like the sound, with some slight modifications. However, it seem the default setting i get when i let it suggest a mastering setting is kind of hot, in the sense the signal is very close to distortion. Are there any other ozone users here with more experience than me..?
You’re probably not giving Ozone much headroom to play with?
All my channels for instruments etc are set to -14db. My main out is +6db while I create the tune. When ready I set the main output (master bus) back to 0db then run Ozone. It gives Ozone headroom to master.
edit: also on the maximizer in Ozone. Set Lufs to something -8 or -9 and Click the learn threshold. Ozone does tend to smash everything when doing the assistant.
Hi,
the default output level of Ozone’s maximizier is set to 0dB. I would set it to a maximum of -0,1 dB True Peak (you need to activate True Peak - no idea why this isn’t the default) or even below depending on the algorithm and settings of the Maximizer, the way you drive your signal into it and most of all the results you are looking for.
The Maximizer is really decent with a lot of options although the proposed settings do not always deliver the best possible outcome - same applies for the suite in general. If you want to take mastering to the next level it makes sense to look at the mixing stage, first. That’s key. Mastering can only do so much if mistakes are made on the mixing stage.
Also, it is worth looking at the suite itself - not every plugin in the suite might be the preferred choice or maybe you want to consider creating your own mastering chain. However, this takes time and Izotope Ozone is a nice tool to get things done nice and easy depending on what you are looking for!
Have fun 
A lot of pro mastering engineers claim true peak limiting always sounds worse.
My ears aren’t good enough to confirm this for myself.
But it seems to be the case that a lot of commercial releases in typically loud genres have TP overs everywhere and it doesn’t seem to be a problem.
Yeah, it’s always the question where you want to land in the first place and what sort of genre you are in. I am not a huge fan of taking it to the limits dynamic-wise so I don’t mind. If we are talking about an EDM banger that’s a different story, of course. If you look at the way hardcore clipping is used as a deliberate tool to shape a specific sound - the occasional clipping on top will probably not matter that much…
At the end of the day it’s all about what sounds right to your ears. True peak is a safety measure for conversion processes and yet things got messed up pretty bad in the early digital days. Maybe sound paradigms have shifted so that true peak might not be the relevant ceiling than it was anymore? Or converters/algorithms are just much better in general? I am not an expert in the latter department so I’d better leave that with a question mark…
Excellent point, @Grim !
If you have Ozone on your master out channel you’d be advised to route all of your tracks to a ‘Mix Bus’ channel, then you can drop the volume level on that track using the fader until you are feeding Ozone with a lower level of output. Then you will have enough headroom to ensure the mastering can do its magic.
I’ve used Ozone for a few years, so shout out if you need any help.