ozone test drive

these forums seem to be really the only ones that praise Ozone 4, whereas gearslutz, homerecording, etc... just say it's just a waste of time.
 
Any rate, giving my $.02, using the trial and experimenting on final mixes for a couple days, I think I'm glad I use Sonar, because it seems I really have all the tools already.
 
I actually did't find the parametric any better than Harbal, and the mastering reverb, exciter, loudness maximizer and widener, I don't think I'd ever use.  Kinda in the BBE catagory, that sounds great the first day....next morning, even if subtle, you realize it isn't the direction you want to go in.
 
Admittedly, the first 20 minutes blew me away, and I was ready to pull the trigger, but thought I ought to be patient and let the 10 day demo play out.
 
AFTER careful volume matching, I think the Sonar tools are actually better.
 
It was a head scratcher if the MS processing was needed or not.... 
 
Why am I posting this>>  ??  Because I felt people that think they need to buy BOTH Sonar and Ozone at the same time, might purchase Sonar first...then make a decision.  Might save you 200 bananas.

My own experience was that I didn't start getting acceptable results with Ozone until I'd been using it for several months.

Not because it's hard, but because it's too easy! You throw it on and immediately think, "yeh, that sounds better". But before I could really get good results I had to dig into it, learn its subtleties and experiment, which took time. Certainly far more time than the trial period would have allowed. It's no surprise that many new users run through the presets and can't see what the big deal is.

It's no surprise that many new users run through the presets and can't see what the big deal is.

The presets are set up to show what they do and little else really.

It would be real easy to be sarcastic and say; "thanks for the tip", but gimme some credit guys.
The first thing I noticed WAS the presets were total garbage and that a fair test drive was to start from null... WITH careful volume matching.

Anyrate, I think Ozone has some definate value.  I just am giving Sonar the edge.  It's like a learning tool... the same many have said about Harbal.

If you want something S8.5 don't have go for T-Racks. The deluxe plugs offer some great vintage sound (that said I still love Sonar's TL64 when mixing).