Let me know if you would like me to have a go and see how you like that? Then I can tell you what I did if you like the result.īasically you have to turn everyting off in ozone. Mastering can’t be done with presets, every song is different. Ozone is very good, but you must know what you are doing. So - how do you go about mastering your mixes? Do you have any good tricks up your sleeve? What programs or techniques do you use? Listening now to a few tracks I just finished, the mastered vs the unmastered versions, I think I prefer the unmastered ones, even though they are lower in volume. I’ve tried it at his place on my own mixes, but ended up being very unsure about how the “mastered” mixes really sounded.
I have a friend who swears to using Ozone Isotope on pretty much everything he makes. I don’t see the point in paying a ‘professional’ to be ‘professional’ when you can be … ‘different’? The only suggestion I can make to anyone is ‘break those rules’ because mastering can be as equally creative as everything else that comes before it. I have no idea if it sounds ‘good’ or ‘right’ but I get a kick out of it.
(I did learn that reading about listening is stupid)īut hey, I use software - Ableton and almost only ever a little bit of PSP Vintage Warmer on pretty much everything I have ever made. Been in top end studios and read anything I can get my hands on to help me master audio and it’s still as mythical as a Unicorn eating gold plated rainbow oats. I’ve recorded all manner of acoustic instruments, twisted shit up electronically, microsampled and edited and mixed like a loon breaking all the ‘rules’ by panning kicks and bass all over the place. ‘Mastering’ is hella tricky unless you have patience, some amazing gear and ears like a Hobbit - I have neither. Wait until you have a group of songs you truly believe are your best and send them to someone with the gear and ear to make it worthwhile. Turn up the volume to listen to your two track mixes for gathering mixing notes. You can master yourself all day long, but you’d be working at an extreme disadvantage. It doesn’t give them a specific sound so much as make them friendlier to a broader range of playback systems.ī) It’s completed in a room built specifically for audio mastering using extremely expensive and beautiful sounding outboard gear that would have even the richest person in a temporary state of sticker shock. Mastering adds volume to your mixes, but the main goal is to polish them for better translation and get them sounding consistent with the other songs on the release. Mastering isn’t just for making tracks louder, which is where most people connect the dots because the “Loudness War” has become such a big debate lately. You can buy Ozone or Voxengo Elephant or some other compressor/limiter/magic wand and do it yourself, but it would completely miss the point of mastering.
His prices are fair, he’s mastered most every type of music (very pro releases), and he’s one of the nicest guys I can think of. Get Shawn Hatfield at Audible Oddities to do it.