recommendations for "mastering" app?

[dm_hawk]

I'm finishing up the mixdowns of 3 tracks for a netlabel release. I can't afford to send the tracks to a proper mastering studio, so I'll have to perform the final stage of sound treatment myself.

It's seems common for producers to compose in ableton, then apply the post-mixdown touches in another host, like Peak or something.

At this point, I own Izotope Ozone and Logic Express 7 (though I've never touched it).

Should I invest in a program like Peak? If so, what suggestions would you have?

thanks,
d

[Tarekith]

I do mastering for $30/track if that's cheap enough for you. Otherwise I'd say just read up as much as you can, it's by far the last thing you should be learning when it comes to music production. It requires a culmination of the skills and good gear that you used in all other parts of producing.

It's something I think anyone can learn, but you need to have a lot of practice and a good room to pull it off.

[evernaut]

I own Izotope Ozone

[dm_hawk]

I own Izotope Ozone

great advice... really helpful there

[evernaut]

The implication being...if you have Ozone, why not use it? It's a great mastering tool.

[Michael-SW]

Ozone + Live should be a great combination.

[krank]

Why wouldn't Live be as suitable as any other host for mastering? It's all about the plug-ins (or hardware) you use anyway - second to the room and speakers, of course.

[BDSS]

There's three rules for mastering;

1) Never master your own work
2) Never let an amateur master your work
3) If it sounds like your music needs mastering, it probably needs a better mix

This Izotope stuff is shit, it'll simply ruin your music. It's designed to give an instant 'wow' factor. There's a lot of critical listening involved in mastering, not just smiley face EQing and monstrous compression.
There are very few (actually, no) VSTs I would use in professional mastering. This is why mastering studios must pay a fortune for gear - it's certainly not because they want to. You think I would have paid $4,000 for a compressor when I could have downloaded one for free?!

At the end of the day, it's your music - but if you are going to release it in some format, you need a professional or else your results will not bad as good as possible.

[datapopstar]

There's three rules for mastering;
This Izotope stuff is shit, it'll simply ruin your music. It's designed to give an instant 'wow' factor. There's a lot of critical listening involved in mastering, not just smiley face EQing and monstrous compression.

thats bollocks...why not use ozone carefully and with critical listening?
no one forces you to use these presets.......

[BDSS]

There's three rules for mastering;
This Izotope stuff is shit, it'll simply ruin your music. It's designed to give an instant 'wow' factor. There's a lot of critical listening involved in mastering, not just smiley face EQing and monstrous compression.

thats bollocks...why not use ozone carefully and with critical listening?
no one forces you to use these presets.......

Because everything it offers is sub-par. No one said anything about presets... Get a good EQ, get a good compressor, get a good limiter.
You think a $250 all in one package can compete with a real studio and competent engineer? How many mastering studios use Ozone? None. Ozone is designed to give amateurs everything they "need to master the commercial sound in seconds" Quote taken from website.

[funky shit]

WAVES

[kiwipicker]

i picked up ozone for $150, and i think it is a great tool. i am not pretending to be a mastering engineer, but the fact is that for my amateur level, ozone has enough useful tools that i can use to make the track sound better to me quickly. the exciter, stereo imager, and eq are rather good value for a non professional who can not afford the more expensive mastering studios.

[dm_hawk]

The implication being...if you have Ozone, why not use it? It's a great mastering tool.

Oh, sorry... I was thinking that was another "ozone is poo-poo" post.

I'm pretty aware of the capabilities of Waves and Ozone - in this case, I'm specifically asking about hosts.

[dm_hawk]

OOPS!


i worded that original post very carefully in an effort to prevent people from hijacking it and turning it into a "proper-definition-of-mastering-ozone-sux-waves-sux" thread.

I'll reiterate the question:

I'm finishing up the (VERY good sounding) mixdowns of 3 tracks for a netlabel release. I can't afford to send the tracks to a proper mastering studio, so I'll have to perform the final stage of sound treatment myself.

It's seems common for producers to compose in ableton, then apply the post-mixdown touches to the rendered stereo file in another host, like Peak or something.

At this point, I have Izotope Ozone (which I use sometimes to juice things up in the mixdown stage) and Logic Express 7 (though I've never touched it).

Should I invest in a host program like Peak or Wavelab? If so, what suggestions would you have?

[krank]

There's three rules for mastering;
This Izotope stuff is shit, it'll simply ruin your music. It's designed to give an instant 'wow' factor. There's a lot of critical listening involved in mastering, not just smiley face EQing and monstrous compression.

thats bollocks...why not use ozone carefully and with critical listening?
no one forces you to use these presets.......

Because everything it offers is sub-par. No one said anything about presets... Get a good EQ, get a good compressor, get a good limiter.
You think a $250 all in one package can compete with a real studio and competent engineer? How many mastering studios use Ozone? None. Ozone is designed to give amateurs everything they "need to master the commercial sound in seconds" Quote taken from website.

You know, you're asking for dissent with us poor, home-based folks. What you said is true on the pro level, I just think you're fighting the wrong fight here, as per the (now re-stated) original post.

Some questions:

-Have you actually used Ozone? The EQ and limiter is very good for software. The dither is really good too. If working in a good room with good speakers (and good ears!), I honestly believe it should go a long way - not pro level of course, but that would mostly be due to the other factors of a home studio situation.

-I checked out your site, you do indeed have very decent hardware, and I'm not questioning your skills or competence at all. Your rates are quite on par with what I've seen elsewhere, they're not exorbitant by any means; so I'm actually wondering how mastering houses can stay in business without charging more than that. Does it require a pretty busy schedule and work pace?