Overwhelming Mastering Results

I feel that this is the worst purchase I ever did in terms of plug ins.

I am sure that this must be a matter of getting to know the product better. However the expert that I had in mind to call on for this is on personal leave until November I think.

While there are a lot of help videos and articles over at iZotope then perhaps someone has some expert advice to boost insight , @Jeremy_NI , do you have any advice here or any expert to call for ? (Ref. above post)

Mastering is such a wide subject, I’m not sure where to start, really.

As you say you are not a Pro, I’ll give you simple advice: don’t use AI, it’s overhyped and the results are (usually) overcooked.

Ozone is great, don’t let the initial impression dissuade you from learning it.

All the necessary tools (Equalizer, Compressor, Limiter) are in Ozone already. Just use them by yourself, using presets at the beginning, as starting points.

Equally, Logic has everything you need: equalizers, modern and vintage compressors, limiter. All of them have presets you can lean on.

Build your mastering chain in Logic and have fun. 👍

There are many free mastering courses online, too - if you want to gain deeper knowledge about it.

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/48157/overwhelming-mastering-results

Just to be clear , did you try using the different preset types including Expert Curated and Genre Specific ?

All comments

I feel that this is the worst purchase I ever did in terms of plug ins.

I am sure that this must be a matter of getting to know the product better. However the expert that I had in mind to call on for this is on personal leave until November I think.

Mastering is such a wide subject, I’m not sure where to start, really.

As you say you are not a Pro, I’ll give you simple advice: don’t use AI, it’s overhyped and the results are (usually) overcooked.

Equally, Logic has everything you need: equalizers, modern and vintage compressors, limiter. All of them have presets you can lean on.

Build your mastering chain in Logic and have fun. 👍

There are many free mastering courses online, too - if you want to gain deeper knowledge about it.

@Maciej Repetowski I couldn't agree more with what you said. But here is the problem:

The Ozone 11 has been advertised for the Ai capability and Clarity module among others. For someone who is new to Mastering and wants a quick Master for releasing his music to streaming platforms he will buy such a program to get a decent Master for his tracks without spending much time tweaking that only an experienced person can do without messing up the whole mix.

I have spent many hours watching videos on youtube and the official videos from iZotope on how to Master a track from beginning to the end with Ozone 11 and all start with the Ai Mastering assistant which was one of the biggest selling points.

In my case what Mastering assistant did is to make my song loud, distorted and I've noticed that the "good starting point" has same setting in all musical styles (pop, rock etc.) so instead of saving time to bring the Master where you need to you need to spend countless hours fatiguing your ears trying to fix first what the assistant mess with.

Yes it is packed with great features but for someone that can use them and create a Mastering chain from the beginning.

I will give it some time but first impression is not good.

Sure, I understand. In that case use Logic AI Mastering, as it tends to be more light touch. Or just start learning Ozone by using presets and then modifying them. I think Ozone still has CD Master preset, it’s very conservative preset in terms of loudness (mix is not squashed), very good starting point for further experimentation.

Please remember that Spotify requires integrated loudness of -14 LUFS and Peak Level of -1 dBFS. People are mastering their tracks much, much louder (squashing all life and dynamics from tracks) and then Spotify will make them quieter anyway (same with other streaming services). Lots depends on the genre, sometimes one needs just a feather touch (jazz, classical, ballad pop/rock) and sometimes the track needs to have loudness in realm of -10 to -8 LUFS (EDM, metal). What kind of music do you produce?

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/48157/overwhelming-mastering-results

Just to be clear , did you try using the different preset types including Expert Curated and Genre Specific ?

@PoorFellow No I didn't! I just did what I saw in the videos since I don't have experience with Mastering Chains I started with the Mastering Assistant analyzing my track. After the analysis completed it pop me the rock genre preset automatically which sounded horrible. I tried choosing another genre but the results I got were very similar. I didn't knew that there were expert curated presets and I will definitely try those to see if it makes any difference. I can see in your photo you have the Ozone 12 version, are you sure that these are available in Ozone 11 as well? Thanks for the assistance!

@Maciej Repetowski I'm producing an ambient rock music with heavy guitars, electronic elements and soft melodic vocals similar to Anathema, Porcupine Tree and The Pineapple Thief where dynamics between soft and loud parts are very important. Although I'm making discography since 1992 (in the good analogue days of tape) this is my first "own produced music" that it will get released digitally in streaming platforms. My songs currently are in the region of -10 LUFS integrated Loudness and Peak Level of -1 dBFS. Will I Have an issue with Spotify? Sorry for all these questions but any information is much appreciated at this stage.

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/243861#Comment_243861

Ooops , sorry , I overlooked the version info , so no I guess that you are stuck with switching targets , but that should also help. Sorry about that blunder.

Master Assistant - Ozone 11 Help

iZotope Product Manuals & Documentation

P.S. I have Ozone 11 also but un-installed it when I got Ozone 12 , I guess I could use a second rig , I might have to look into that at some point (when I have some more money 🤣).

The non-AI presets are available in Ozone since the very beginning of this software and the old ones are there for the sake of maintaining compatibility with previous versions. So yes, they are there in version 11 and in 12 and in all the previous versions.

I just double checked Ozone 12 manual and yes, the „normal” presets are still there, both global presets and presets for individual modules (like EQ, compressor and so on).

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/243864#Comment_243864

Ok, so now that you know where the regular presets are, it's a matter of finding the one(s) your track sounds the best with. I mentioned "CD Master" preset as good starting point, however best to try them all and see what works for your music.

Please make sure that your track has some headroom left before applying Ozone (this might also be reason why you hear distortion). The track before mastering should peak between -6 dBFS and -4 dBFS (True Peak). It will leave enough headroom for Ozone to do its magic.

As for Spotify and other streaming services, if your track is louder or quieter than their listed specs, they will digitally alter it to be within their guidelines, which is not desired, as it can be detrimental to your track's quality. So if your integrated LUFS level is -10 dBFS, Spotify will reduce the track's loudness to -14 dBFS. Better to be at -14 LUFS to begin with.

Any further questions, please ask. I've been doing mastering for my record label for a good 24 years now, initially due to necessity (cost reduction) and some time later it has become my main and favourite studio activity. I only came back to music production about 5 years ago, after 26 years hiatus 🤣 (I was too busy running the label to do my own music).

@PoorFellow I can confirm that the "All purpose Mastering" and the Expert Curated presets are available in my version. I found some interesting stuff there such as Craig Calibi's High detailed Compressed and High detail wide which are very suitable in my mix the only issue is that I get some distortion most likely coming from the exiter (I'm referring to the high detail wide preset) and when I switch it of there is no distortion anymore but part of this magic is lost with the exiter, and the track is clipping with this preset.

But yes it sounds better than logic Mastering Assistant

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/243880#Comment_243880

I can confirm that the "All purpose Mastering" and the Expert Curated presets are available in my version.

Thank you for confirming that. I couldn't see it in any of the help or presentation so I figured that it were not present.

But great that we got your mixing a little progress. I am not knowledgeable enough about all the details to also to be able to immediately offer any help with the 'exiter' and the 'track clipping' . Most likely there is a setting or something that will help you but that needs someone an expert or at least more of an expert than I .

mykejb

"Yes it can fix a a very bad Mix, but it can ruin a very good mix"

If the mix is bad, trying to master it is a bit like hoping you can fix a bad oil painting with a coat of varnish. It's still going to be bad underneath. Much better to get the mix right first then use mastering to polish it.