How to Master with iZotope Ozone

[@AriscoAriscoJay]

I REALLY WANT SAY THANK YOU, THANK ,YOU THANK YOU, YOU HAVE MADE IMPOSIBLE, POSSIBLE NOW

[@sageaudio]

Thanks Arisco! Great to hear the video is helpful! SageAudio.com

[@evaanbrevancoakley7586]

Gotta give credit for choosing the correct type of track to really showcase ozone’s best qualities. Like the Vintage Limiter (loosely modeled after the legendary Fairchild 670) and the Vintage Tape (based on a Studer A810 tape deck). The track was well suited for these applications. 🙏

[@Jisooee]

bruhh, it was just a dream before, telling you to do this video. Well, I'm so happy right now Sage Audio!

[@sageaudio]

Nice! Great to hear that you're happy we made the video, and glad that's hepful! SageAudio.com

[@compoundaudio]

Although this is one of the better ozone tutorials, its worth poiting out that when you was doing the before and after, it would have been better if you had gain match turned on, also the dither section and the DC OFFSET Is great too, I like using the exciter in midside when a track has a low level image, just to add that extra clarity in the sides

[@dylanlundgren]

Oh yeah? That sounds like an interesting move. Which exciter type will you use and on what range?

[@compoundaudio]

@@dylanlundgren depending on the track source, If I wanted to add more hi-end I would go for either Tape, or Tube, becarful and use the wet/dry as these can sound harsh if used to much... low end warmth or just to help bring out some freqs that are not truly there, use Dual Triode or Retro The freq crossover would depend again on the source but for topend. you will be looking around 6k to 10kHz, I find that at 12k it goes a little phased (in multiband settings) low end 80hz to 150hz seems to do well give it a try and see what you come up with ... it can help

[@dylanlundgren]

@@compoundaudio For sure, thanks for sharing! I thought Tape rolled off high end though?

[@compoundaudio]

@@dylanlundgren it could be arguable that it rolls the tops within ozone. But the end result is what counts To put it another way. In a single band mode maybe it does roll the tops but if ur just looking to "excite" the top end. Then it's a good call.

[@JohanDaniel]

okay i take credit for asking to do this video😂Thanks guys!

[@sageaudio]

haha nice Johan! Thanks for watching! SageAudio.com

[@Arawashj]

Ozone is my favorite for mastering...

[@marvybeats]

Great i work alot with izotope ozone 🔥👌

[@sageaudio]

Awesome! Thanks for watching! SageAudio.com

[@deadlockmusic9200]

every day your video is getting 10x better

[@sageaudio]

That's awesome! Thanks for watching! SageAudio.com

[@K-PopHarmonyHub]

Gain match would be good when comparing.Would like to see little bit deeper tutorial suing Ozone. Good overview, thx.

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts Hansba! SageAudio.com

[@JimijaymesProductions]

Love these videos, always learn something, I didnt even know ozone did upward compression tbh, good to know for that full thick edm sound I'm somtimes chasing.

[@sageaudio]

It'll definitely help with creating a full sound! Thanks for watching! SageAudio.com

[@shubhrasinha268]

I must say mate, you should have emphasized on Gain Match feature to truly show what the processing does to the track. This is without a doubt one of the most important tool, and Ozone/Neutron incorporate this really well in the mothership versions. I do like your content, so this is a constructive feedback: show everyone the importance of gain matching coz there are many beginners here and this is an important concept everyone should know. Cheers!

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching Shubhra! You're right - gain matching is helpful. I do purposefully choose not to use it though to preserve the signal as is. With preserving the signal in mind, it's best to try to mentally separate loudness from perceiving it as "better" which as we all know is not the case. Regardless, I may start including it in these videos if it helps make perceiving the differences easier. SageAudio.com

[@thegroove2000]

And you can also use your VSTS instead of the inbuilt ones. Fantastic little tut by the way.

[@sageaudio]

Nice I'll check that out! Thanks for watching! SageAudio.com

[@AlexLapugean]

What was the point of the BEFORE/AFTER comparison without gain matching? It's impossible to objectively hear what the processing is doing apart from the obvious loudness increase. Ozone has a gain match function, right next to the bypass button.

[@NimbusAbi]

Impress the viewer. It always amuses me when people bypass stuff in videos without gain match, see see it's better (louder)

[@Cosmin_TheMusicGuy]

That is my only objection too. But as i've noticed, the kick sounds somehow fuller.

[@AlexLapugean]

@@Cosmin_TheMusicGuy It very well might be. It's just really hard to tell if it's because of the volume increase or an actual sound change. I understand that some plugins don't have the possibility to gain match automatically, but this has, no reason not to use it.

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching Alexandru! You're right - gain matching is helpful. I do purposefully choose not to use it though to preserve the signal as is. With preserving the signal in mind, it's best to try to mentally separate loudness from perceiving it as "better" which as we all know is not the case. Regardless, I may start including it in these videos if it helps make perceiving the differences easier. SageAudio.com

[@AlexLapugean]

@@sageaudio That would be a great addition, to present both gain matched and non gain matched versions, I guess that would also help training the year to hear the difference. I know it's a useful skill, especially since plenty of plugins, and also HW do not have gain matching. It is just really difficult, I would bet most could not reliably do it with more subtle processing. And especially since your videos are mostly addressed to non-professionals, I would say it's an especially useful tool. Keep up the good work!

[@The_Gray_Man.]

I like working with Ozone. This video is what I need.

[@sageaudio]

Awesome glad it was helpful! SageAudio.com

[@LightSkySounds]

I'm still learning about mastering, but one thing I noticed is that the changes you make don't change a lot. Is this because mastering requires heavy ear training? What should I look for when mastering a track?

[@zerberk]

focus on the part before step one. Most of the times if a good engineer mixes it, it'll sound good. But because the mix engineer is a human and is focusing on a lot of small details, it's extremely HUMAN to mix the bigger picture to be able to properly add the final touches. As a mastering engineer your job is to listen to the track carefully and find those errors in the Big Picture and fix it OR as this is also an artform, make changes that you feel creatively will define the tone of the song better or different as opposed to "fixing" it. As for small changes, as I said, the mix engineer has taken care of a lot of things, especially the smaller details. Unless something went VERY wrong in the mixing phase, mastering engineers don't usually have to do a lot. Again, it all depends, it's an artform as I also said earlier. So yeah, focus on the part of this video where he makes notes after listening to the track. Hope I could properly explain and help!

[@LightSkySounds]

@@zerberk Thank you for the explanation! I still don't get what you mean by focusing on "the part". Could you tell me what that is?

[@zerberk]

@@LightSkySounds im talking about the section of the video where he takes notes of the song

[@LightSkySounds]

@@zerberk Okay, I appreciate your replies!

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching Ani! Yeah it requires a lot of time spent critically listening and being able to identify small details. The best thing to do at first is use references, and try to get your masters sounding closer to your favorite recordings. SageAudio.com

[@mparthiv4234]

Thank you for sharing this tutorial

[@christianpaga303]

I can't thank you enough...your channel is bloody AWESOME!!!

[@sageaudio]

That's great! Thanks Christian! SageAudio.com

[@itsisma6228]

The King 🤴 IZotop 🔥thank you for the video

[@menafalan9694]

thank you straight to the point

[@vijayrams5303]

Very useful mastering chain.. Thanku

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching Vijay! SageAudio.com

[@oviqru]

Thanks for posting the tutorial. Wouldn't it be better to engage Gain Match in order to hear the changes regardless of the volume difference?

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching! To be honest I typically avoid most gain matching (unpopular opinion) but I find it can alter the sound in more ways than simply lowering the gain, especially when it's responding dynamically to changes in amplitude. SageAudio.com

[@oviqru]

@@sageaudio No worries, thanks. Are you planning to re-do the tutorial with Ozone 10 since it has a number of new modules?

[@Keroser1983]

Wonderful!!!! What I needed.

[@sageaudio]

Awesome! Glad you enjoyed this one Keroser! SageAudio.com

[@diedoingitentertainment7707]

I love your videos and watch them all the time. It would be great if you had them as a preset for download.

[@sageaudio]

We might do that in the future! Thanks for watching! SageAudio.com

[@TheLeekyFeeder]

Thanks for the video!! ....but what is that tune??? I like it! Big Up!!

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching! Past Like by Kaptan SageAudio.com

[@balevel1407]

Is it good to master a track outside a daw but using a standalone ozone software?

[@MiracleDee]

Thankyou for another great video.

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching this one! SageAudio.com

[@eddyebenezer]

Thanks for the video 🙂

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching Eddy! SageAudio.com

[@DreamsongsProductions]

In the Ozone manual it says it only works with 44.1/16 bits in .wav. So what's the point in dithering if you're already importing a 16 bit 44.1 file in? Maybe I'm missing something....

[@simonturner1]

What are we supposed to be listening for with tape saturation because I never hear a difference?

[@zerberk]

Love this video!

[@sageaudio]

Awesome! Thank you for watching! SageAudio.com

[@KniteGraffiti]

I've heard that putting a HPF to cut out the low frequencies can create phase issues so have been avoiding doing this recently on a full mix. I try to only do it on upper range sounds like snare/vocals/hats/synth where I can visually see a lot of mud down there, otherwise I just use a low shelf. What are your thoughts on this? Does it depend on the EQ? I think I heard it was a problem with the Ableton stock EQ not sure if it's less of a problem in Ozone.

[@creapis]

I don't understand why you are using the (vintage) limiter. It seems to make the track louder, but so does the maximizer, so what's the difference? Also, in which scenario would you use the True Peak as I've seen in other video's that they are really emphasizing to enable that function. Thanks!

[@jamiebonsall430]

I think he is not using true peak limiting in that vintage stage, because it is turned on during the last stage (maximizer)

[@Proxima04]

It’s a mastering gain stage trick ( Using 2 limiters ) that help gain more overall volume without creating distortion. I’ve just been awoken to it and I’m finding it really useful.

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching! The vintage limiter gets hit on occasion and creates a slightly different timbre than the other limiter. As for true peak, I've been trying to avoid this and instead lower the ceiling as well as enable oversampling when available. SageAudio.com

[@kanieloutis9032]

hi, whats the vocal singing dejavu?? thanks

[@svengali5862]

I notice you're not dithering , which is very important in mastering as you already know , what's the reason you're not doing it here ? I use my maximizer before the limiter as I feel the maximizer is very transparent on "modern" mode , and that 1,35 , 1,45 attack/release time works best on modern day productions combined with transient emphasis around 40-50

[@AlexLapugean]

There are multiple places you could add dithering, it's not necessarily needed in Ozone and you only need it in one place. For example most (if not all) DAWs have that option for bouncing audio built in. Also, dither is not really needed when exporting 24bit files, that could also be the case. Secondly, in this case, the vintage limiter is added for character mostly and some mild limiting to ease the job of the maximizer, which is what actually gets to the final desired loudness in a more transparent way.

[@svengali5862]

@@AlexLapugean My Friend , If I want to dither , I want to use it in my last plugin which will be the maximizer , and I'll dither to 16bit as 24bit files aren't really necessary today. 16bit is just fine. I understand how and why he's using the limiter , I just have an approach of my own and disagree that it's more transparent doing it like this. I'm going to use a clipper and some compression before my limiters , so after I'm done with my maximizer , I'll throw on some the vintage limiter with a slower attack/release time just to avoid unnecessary pumping and glue the track together a bit more PLR-wise , adding a little punch as well

[@svengali5862]

@@AlexLapugean Of course most DAW's can dither , I just don't trust them lol :)

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching Svengali and sharing your thoughts on how you'd handle the master. These get exported at 24-bit so I avoid dithering. Also when mastering for streaming services, most accept 24-bit so it's a good idea to work at that bit-depth. SageAudio.com

[@svengali5862]

@@sageaudio I know streaming will dither but I want the dither that I want lol :) That's why I send 16-bit to streaming , I want to be in control lol

[@IndyVisuals]

Does the sequence matter? I did a lot of good mixes with different sequence

[@sageaudio]

If your sequence works then no need to change it! Thanks for watching! SageAudio.com

[@ForgivenJ7]

make a video on soothe please!

[@sageaudio]

That's a cool plugin! Here's on a while back where covered soothe 2: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lYuTiqRul9mcjtk

[@wltcs]

Thank you so much!

[@sageaudio]

Thank you for watching! SageAudio.com

[@slimproge1]

It's good that you are and do what you are doing. Thanks to this, People producing music at home will improve their skills. Personally, I would love to see the same movie but working with fast electronic music where a lot more is going on in one second, unlike the preview song from the movie. :) Greetings.

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching! Glad to hear you're enjoying the channel and this video. Thanks for the suggestion - maybe we'll do that in the future! SageAudio.com

[@Listosondabeat]

Love all your videos .can I use this mastering chain on afrobeats.?

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching Zoe! Yes you can! SageAudio.com

[@Hassan_Omer]

I like the song.

[@kodah7586]

Interesting, I didn't know that youc an use Ozone modules separately. Is this possible even for owners of Elements 8?

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching Kodah! Sorry but I'm not sure! SageAudio.com

[@dekoto9817]

Cool, but hard to listen how the traitements affect the signal because of the lack of gain matching.

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching Dekoto! Sorry to hear that - we may start using it in the future. SageAudio.com

[@rishabhkamal2865]

2nd comment...... Best channel for producers

[@Dankey_SHA]

Then what about first bruhh?

[@rishabhkamal2865]

@@Dankey_SHA no no bro....2nd is for 2nd comment on this video

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching this one so quick Rishabh! SageAudio.com

[@ryde2012]

Great work

[@sageaudio]

Thank you for watching DJ Ryde! SageAudio.com

[@shivjayvolvloikar]

Sit, in ozone 5 dynamics If I use the compressor for upward compression and what if I use the limiter of provided by ozone as compressor (by lowering the ratio and some soft knee)???

[@sageaudio]

Then you'll cause both upward and downward compression. It could have a good sound but use it carefully! SageAudio.com

[@APerson-jf2md]

Note to myself: The vintage limiter on 'modern' introduces some classic qualities.

[@martinmosetja6417]

Who's song is that?? Where can i find it?

[@D8i]

bro after finish mixing, use this tutorial on master bus or need to export full song as 1 file then master...?

[@D8i]

no answer :/

[@Sonic-elevation]

Hey sage love your channeling! But I have a question for you and that what preamp to you have your Tyler’s paired with??

[@sageaudio]

Using a limiter is the best option! SageAudio.com

[@vijayrams5303]

This master chain is excellent...Why don't use stero image in this chain

[@sageaudio]

Thanks Vijay! I used some subtle stereo expansion with M/S SageAudio.com

[@sinhalatechbytes2045]

i love your videos

[@sageaudio]

Awesome! Thanks for watching Sinhala! SageAudio.com

[@lun4rkid]

Why is it make a silence in the end.

[@lefianmusic]

Súper!!!!

[@JTFuller]

Man, this channel is EXTREMELY helpful.. Straight to the point and just get it in.. I thank you my friend.. Excellent work..

[@sageaudio]

Thanks JT! Great to hear you enjoyed the video! SageAudio.com

[@AKATrae]

Name of song?

[@tomascorredourareeves5690]

if you compare the master with diferent gains, itll allways the ouder sound better. i guess taht gain match its just for that

[@GamesRTech]

Ozone elements please ✌🏻✌🏻

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for the suggestion! SageAudio.com

[@mariamalova1012]

Is that plugin free?

[@osahenipaulamenordia3321]

You’re quick

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching! SageAudio.com

[@TheReal_E.IRIZARRY]

Sage, it's cool that you did this video, but after a lot of other developers making killer plugins, I just cannot use Ozone as a one-stop shop anymore for mastering. Mastering in Ozone was so late 2000s/early 2010s. Please take abSOULutely no offense to that.

[@sageaudio]

No offense taken at all! I typically use plugins from other developers as well, but this video was requested a lot! SageAudio.com

[@TheReal_E.IRIZARRY]

@@sageaudio Awwww okay I understand now.

[@lostynwonder9588]

After tons of comparison, a limiter and eq will do just as much as this entire software.

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Lostyn! SageAudio.com

[@KniteGraffiti]

that's true but every limiter or EQ has its own character. Ozone is just another of the same but its very high quality which makes a difference. you get what you pay for.

[@ZakOnTheBeatProductions]

Guys is Izotope ozone is free download??

[@sageaudio]

Unfortunately no it is not. SageAudio.com

[@bhuber77]

How does one learn how to master? Its a learned skill, just don't know where/ how to start:( thanks.

[@Ds7nike]

I also want to know the answer to this, I’m guessing you just try it and use what you learn along the way

[@sageaudio]

Here's a helpful introduction to it! kzbin.info/www/bejne/b3yTiWSoq8yeb5I

[@KniteGraffiti]

learn the difference between mixing and mastering. generally you should be as happy as possible with the mix before you even consider mastering. most of the dynamic/compression and EQ should be done in the mixing stage on individual tracks + busses, and mastering should really just be to get that final loudness and maybe some small overall adjustments to the harmonics using exciters or light compression like in this video. but at the end of the day if you want a true master you need to send it to a mastering engineer as a separate point of view and someone with a very good listening environment to make the right decisions. if you have a bad setup at home, don't expect to get a good master, the best you can do at that point is make your mix sound as good as you can then push it into a limiter just enough to make it loud but not too much to where it distorts or just doesn't sound like how you want it anymore.

[@Ds7nike]

@@KniteGraffiti yeah 2 months later I finally figured this out and your explanation is spot on haha thanks

[@KniteGraffiti]

@@Ds7nike Glad to hear : D

[@thabangmanyisa2082]

Why when i mix and do a bus processing when i do my mastering it sounds very bad but when i remove the bus it plays better...is it wrong processing or its cos theres two compressors,first for bus and another one for mastering? HELP PLEASE

[@sageaudio]

My guess is that too much compression is occurring with the bus processing. Bus processing can have a beneficial effect, so maybe rethink how much processing you're using on your bus, but don't abandon the concept of using bus processing altogether. Thanks for watching! SageAudio.com

[@justjohnmusicchannel8327]

just wish the music example was louder compared to the narration...definily off balance...

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for letting us know! SageAudio.com

[@deadlockmusic9200]

your voice is bang

[@sageaudio]

Thanks glad you like it! Thanks for watching! SageAudio.com

[@nikosdanelakis3613]

👍👍👍

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching Nikos! SageAudio.com

[@ErreGamer]

I wonder how would you master a Latin Urban pop song without exceeding LUFS but still sounding really "pumpy" xD

[@emilkey12]

Low Ceiling

[@sageaudio]

Try a compressor with an internal side chain that only triggers when the kick hits! SageAudio.com

[@larsthomasdenstad9082]

Are you available for one-on-one discussions? Paid, of course.

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching Lars! At the moment we are not but if that ever is the case we'll let you know! SageAudio.com

[@Zemm]

First!

[@sageaudio]

Nice Zemm! SageAudio.com

[@AjushiPhotography]

I would love to transfer just 1% of your audio knowledge over to my brain 😀

[@Jisooee]

do that one by watching all their videos

[@sageaudio]

Haha thanks Ajushi! SageAudio.com

[@itsisma6228]

The King 🤴 IZotop 🔥thank you for the video