Ozone Elements 8 with EQ only switched on and the Vintage Limiter working on the peaks.
Master-Chain:
Panipulater (take anything plug, which sums stereo to mono, checking for mono)
ADPTR Metering (LUFS etc.)
ProQ-3 for checking the overall frequency response.
This setup works quite well for me. But at the end of the day, itâs not the special sauce plugins or whatsoeverâŠitâs about finding new ways how to improve and simplify your working processes, so you can be fast, creative and productive at the same time.
If Iâm mastering my own work, Iâll do as much as possible in the mix. That way, the master chain only needs the stuff that can be done only there, like bus compression. Iâll usually put a subtle compressor on the master, add some tape (Slate VTM) and thatâs pretty much it.
If Iâm mastering someone elseâs work, then I just take and do whatever the track needs. Not all of it is necessarily in Ozone. It is indeed a dangerous tool if you donât know what youâre doing. You can easily end up, like you say, overcompensating.
Iâd say it just comes after mastering dozens and dozens and dozens of tracks. Have a clear goal in mind and know how to (roughly) get there. Then just make adjustments on the fly.
Personally, I use the limiter separately, since I drop Slate VTM after everything and right before the limiter. Same goes for other tapes or Retro Color - right in front of the master.
Good points Aaron, and for me I feel another potential pitfall is dynamic range differences as I like to compose many different genres from very dynamic orchestral music to over the top compressed trailer music etc. And since I am so fond of dynamic range I have a really hard time crushing the dynamics of any style of music even if I know it would serve me better due to the market demand for saucage mastering in some styles.
I agree, in orchestral music I never go to compression to reduce the actual dynamic range, but rather to give character to the sounds. So I just automate the threshold over the course of the track.
If punchiness is what youâre after, a transient shaper is a better tool to go for than a compressor.
Indeed, and what many orchestral/cinematic composers coming from EDM and other crazy compressed styles often miss is: Contrast is Power! How can you do a huge crescendo or big arc or swell, if you made a pancake of the mix?
Just a quick note to say that if you have any of the current versions of Ozone, you might find that itâs even cheaper if you login to the isotope website and look at your available upgrades.
EG. I have Ozone 8 Standard and the OP link has the upgrade price at ÂŁ89.50 whereas I get it for ÂŁ80 if I log in to the manufacturerâs website.
