Helpful ReplyOzone 5 vs Melda Productions Mastering Bundle

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dubdisciple
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2014/06/08 19:50:31 (permalink)

Ozone 5 vs Melda Productions Mastering Bundle

Both are regularly priced at $249. Does anyone have both and able to share a comparison. At face value, Melda offers more bang for the buck but I try to keep in mind that extra plugins are only as valuable to the degree they actually get used. One thing I don't understand about the melda bundle is why include Autondynamic eq and Dynamic eq since the former ( to my knowledge) is the exact same plugin with added features? It would seem that the latter could be swapped for the multianalyzer. In any case I am thinking about getting one or the other and trying to weigh pros and cons.

I know some already like the fact that Melda sales tend to offer deeper discounts. Melda also offers lifetime free updates. I also know Ozone has easier to grasp interface. Any thoughts?
#1
JohnKenn
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Re: Ozone 5 vs Melda Productions Mastering Bundle 2014/06/08 19:54:33 (permalink)
Dub,
 
Hell of a good question.
 
Maybe we can get Bitflipper to weigh in on this.
 
John
#2
bapu
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Re: Ozone 5 vs Melda Productions Mastering Bundle 2014/06/08 20:22:05 (permalink)
More presets with one vs. the other?
I only use Ozone 5 so I cannot comment on the comparison.
 
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Sidroe
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Re: Ozone 5 vs Melda Productions Mastering Bundle 2014/06/08 20:44:35 (permalink)
Ozone 5 here! Sometimes I use just the tools in X3e but mostly Ozone 5 finds it's way in to my master buss.

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dubdisciple
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Re: Ozone 5 vs Melda Productions Mastering Bundle 2014/06/08 21:47:19 (permalink)
I have an older version of ozone that came with sound forge and still use it. I'm sure the current version is even better. I have used some melda productsvand have had trials of others and was impressed. I would definitely like to hear bitflipper's take since I think he may have both or at least enough melda plugs to give an informeb opinion
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lawajava
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Re: Ozone 5 vs Melda Productions Mastering Bundle 2014/06/08 23:49:24 (permalink) ☄ Helpfulby dubdisciple 2014/06/09 00:42:04
Tough when you put versus in there.

I have Ozone 5. If you're a novice to an experienced user, either way, right out of the gate Ozone 5 works. Easy to get helpful results. The more you work with it the better it gets. It's very intuitive. So you'll get your money's worth for sure. The ample presets are a helpful starting point.

I'm just getting in to the Melda stuff now. BitFlipper helped throw out some reasons why it's powerful stuff. I've actually worked with some of the Melda tools now and can hear an exciting and extra special quality as a result of early experiments. But, the interface is taking some time to understand. And the depth of the tools seems like I'm just peeking at what's ahead in learning them. I think users need to be more experienced overall to take advantage of quite a few of the numerous features of Melda tools.

So if you're totally all in to audio engineering I would say both, or perhaps Ozone 5 and a selection of the tools from Melda. If you had to choose only one I'd say Ozone 5 because it's a slam dunk. And, if you're aiming for only the ultimate in best results you might want to go for Melda only instead, but be prepared for a slower ramp to understand its features and capabilities.

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dubdisciple
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Re: Ozone 5 vs Melda Productions Mastering Bundle 2014/06/09 00:51:47 (permalink)
"vs" does sound a little either or.  I realize both are great products and choosing one over the other does not necessarily make the other worse.  Great point about their learning curve on melda products.  i have found myself needing to invest a little more time  with their products in general but usually finding it worth it.  I suppose the learning curve on Melda is somewhat balanced by the lifetime free updates. 
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Eddie TX
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Re: Ozone 5 vs Melda Productions Mastering Bundle 2014/06/09 01:21:09 (permalink) ☄ Helpfulby dubdisciple 2014/06/09 01:34:21
Where are you seeing the Melda Mastering bundle for $249?  Unless my eyes are deceiving me, the price is a cool $615.  In which case, Ozone seems to be the better buy, particularly for beginning-to-intermediate level users. 
 
Sure, the Melda bundle has some great stuff, but before plunking down the cash I'd be sure to give the plugs a thorough demo.  Not everyone loves everything about them -- some say the GUI or the complexity puts them off.  And I've had some stability issues.  So try before you buy!
 
Cheers,
Eddie
 

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The future exists in all directions.
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dubdisciple
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Re: Ozone 5 vs Melda Productions Mastering Bundle 2014/06/09 01:38:06 (permalink)
Eddie TX
Where are you seeing the Melda Mastering bundle for $249?  Unless my eyes are deceiving me, the price is a cool $615.  In which case, Ozone seems to be the better buy, particularly for beginning-to-intermediate level users. 
 
Sure, the Melda bundle has some great stuff, but before plunking down the cash I'd be sure to give the plugs a thorough demo.  Not everyone loves everything about them -- some say the GUI or the complexity puts them off.  And I've had some stability issues.  So try before you buy!
 
Cheers,
Eddie
 


Thanks for catching my error. My bad..I was looking at wrong bundle.  Lack of sleep has me so off these days.  I was looking at the Euro price of $249 for another bundle.  I suppose getting in on one of the half price sales brings it closer to the same price. Maybe that is what  i was thinking in my sleepy head.  I suppose lifetime upgrades eventually balances that out but price now goes in the con category for short term.
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strikinglyhandsome1
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Re: Ozone 5 vs Melda Productions Mastering Bundle 2014/06/09 07:47:02 (permalink)
Ozone 5 is $199 at the moment but secondhand is a lot cheaper.
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bitflipper
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Re: Ozone 5 vs Melda Productions Mastering Bundle 2014/06/09 09:55:29 (permalink)
I'll second the opinions expressed by Eddie and lawajava. If by "mastering" we're talking primarily about limiting, then nothing beats Ozone for the novice-to-intermediate user. Even the advanced user will appreciate its ease-of-use and fast, consistent results. 
 
In terms of price, AFAIK Ozone is still $200. Less than Fabfilter Pro-L but more than Voxengo Elephant or Meldaproduction's MDynamicLimiter. Ozone may be the senior citizen of mastering plugins, but dollar-for-dollar, it remains a good value. Especially considering how easy it is to get good results without having the first clue about what limiters really do. Ozone's limiter can be severely abused before it destroys your mix, can be driven into the red without distorting, and will never alias.
 
Mastering involves more than just limiters, and all of the aforementioned competitors are just limiters. Ozone also gives you a great harmonic distortion module (better than Saturn on full mixes) and multi-band compressor included in the price. MDynamicsLimiter does have harmonic distortion and Limiter No. 6 has its clipper, but neither is in the same class as Ozone's exciter. Ozone also has the stereo-enhancer, often maligned because you can do damage with it, but still the best I've ever used (just apply it lightly if at all). And of course you get a pretty good equalizer that can do M/S, linear phase and spectrum matching. That's a LOT of quality functionality in one $200 plugin!
 
But here's what Ozone lacks and Meldaproduction plugins do extraordinarily well: dynamic equalization. Here at Casa del Bit, MDynamicEQ has permanently retired two of Ozone's modules: the EQ and the multi-band compressor. It's usable on both tracks and busses for a variety of tasks from basic equalization to compressor-type applications such as ducking, leveling and 2-bus glue. Even if Ozone could do all that it's too demanding on the CPU to have many instances in a project.
 
MAutoDynamicEQ is a lot of fun for spectrum matching, but IMO non-essential. It's a feature I use mostly as a sanity check on full mixes. Same for Ozone's spectrum-matching feature. There is no benefit to having both MAutoDynamicEQ and MDynamicEQ. If you don't desire the spectrum matching, grab the latter *RIGHT NOW* as it's half-price ($46) for today only.
 
Personally, I would not buy the Meldaproduction mastering bundle. There are too many redundant plugins. As dubdisciple pointed out, MDynamicEQ isn't needed if you have MAutoDynamicEQ. The bundle also includes MAutoEqualizer, which does offer linear-phase but otherwise is essentially MAutoDynamicEQ without the dynamics
 
There are also two limiters, two non-dynamic equalizers and two broadband compressors in the bundle. The multi-band compressor is, IMO, also redundant alongside MDynamicEQ. (I just see no need anymore for multi-band compressors now that I've seen the light of multi-band dynamic equalization.)
 
There is, however, one ultra-cool plugin in the bundle that Ozone cannot match: MSpectralDynamics. It's hard to describe what this plugin does because there are so few products like it. But I can tell you that it's become a standard part of my process for 80% of my projects. And it may be only 80% just because I don't understand it well enough yet to make it work the other 20% of the time. Watch for my detailed review in the September issue of SoundBytes.
 


All else is in doubt, so this is the truth I cling to. 

My Stuff
#11
strikinglyhandsome1
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Re: Ozone 5 vs Melda Productions Mastering Bundle 2014/06/09 10:47:31 (permalink)
Ozone 5 is $158.99 at audiodeluxe and may be cheaper at plugindiscounts or jrrshop.
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clintmartin
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Re: Ozone 5 vs Melda Productions Mastering Bundle 2014/06/09 12:35:36 (permalink)
You can get T-racks deluxe very cheap...and very often at KVR. I would still like to get Ozone at some point, but I got T-racks for $69 and you can use the plugins as individual vsts. Ozone advance allows that, but it's several more hundred dollars.

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