"You Mix, We Master" Video for 2017.10 Now Posted

Thank you very much, Craig!!

Actually, the Mastering Assistant did a pretty good job of it.
 
I'm assuming you used (mostly) Cake Pro Channel/plugins for your mastered version...?
 

Nice!
I was wondering if you kept it "in house" or had a smattering of 3rd party plugs on some tracks/busses.

But a key point you did not emphasize is that  the "Craig Mastering" involved a fair amount of tweaking to get it the way you wanted to sound.   Was there any tweaking done with the Ozone mastering?
My point is that with the same amount of tweaking you did on your own mastering take, you could have gotten the same or better results with Ozone 8.  Most people know that the presets and AI results in Ozone, are just the starting point, you'll almost always need to tweak no matter what tools you are using.

The "Craig Mastered" take is clearly the best one of the three, not too soft, not too hot.  Like Goldilocks and The Three Bears.
But each of the Ozone mastering takes, could have easily matched your take, with just a little bit of adjusting.
 

I've been finding Ozone's Master Assistant thing to be generally brilliant. But I agree with the makers that it provides a starting point rather than a finished master. But overall, Ozone 8 is amazing. And if you get Neutron 2 as well, and make use of the way the plugins can interact, you can get some astonishing results very quickly. It's a massive time saver.

Leee
But a key point you did not emphasize is that  the "Craig Mastering" involved a fair amount of tweaking to get it the way you wanted to sound.   Was there any tweaking done with the Ozone mastering?
My point is that with the same amount of tweaking you did on your own mastering take, you could have gotten the same or better results with Ozone 8.  Most people know that the presets and AI results in Ozone, are just the starting point, you'll almost always need to tweak no matter what tools you are using.

The "Craig Mastered" take is clearly the best one of the three, not too soft, not too hot.  Like Goldilocks and The Three Bears.
But each of the Ozone mastering takes, could have easily matched your take, with just a little bit of adjusting.

 
Okay, this requires further discussion...
 
The song I pitched to Ozone 8 was a softball - that song needed no edits, and pretty much mixed itself during the mixing process. This isn't the first time that an automated process pretty much matched what I did -- see this article on the frei:raum automatic processor. As long as all you need is a little EQ and some dynamics, not much needs to be done. For example, Ozone 8 bypassed the compression process completely because it didn't see the need for any (neither did I).
 
Ozone 8 essentially generates an "intelligent" preset. I already have a "preset" in my brain of what needs to be tweaked. It doesn't take me much time to get to the initial settings. 
 
But, REAL mastering is about more than a preset with some processors. Check out this video from "You Mix, We Master" in the 2017.07 issue of Tech+Music and read the accompanying article that starts on page 35. There's no way any automated process can replace the value judgments needed for many songs, as evidenced in this video...let along figure out the sequencing for an album, cutting out the overindulgent 4 measures in the middle of a guitar solo, surgically remove clicks, etc. 
 

 
Is Ozone 8 terrific at anything that doesn't need much fixing? Yes. Is it good at creating a preset for more challenging masters? Yes. For anything else, a good human will beat it every time. That's not a slam on Ozone 8...that's recognition that humans can make artistic decisions as well as technical ones.

I am still demoing the O8N2 release, and the mastering assistant stands out as the heaviest hitter amongst the new features. Bear in mind (unless the paid version is different than the trial, but I think that is isn't), that the Mastering Assistant defaults to only one signal chain (and will strip off anything else in place prior to usage), which is EQ->Dynamics->Dynamic EQ->Maximizer. It also defaults to IRC IV on the Maximizer, and does not use any other modules. Overall it is rather impressive unto itself, but is does create a semi-"cookie cutter" output that should be reviewed for intent.
 
The Visual Mixer (from N2) came in a close second since it taps into fader, pan, stereo width of individual tracks without the rigamarole of scrolling around the console and making sure you are on the right track (unintended pun). It came across as similar to channel tools in some ways, but definitely allows for a nice visual rendition of the sound stage.
 
The Tonal Balance Control still doesn't seem incredibly useful to me. Although the premise behind it is interesting, it doesn't give any insight into the contributors. Although it allows for tapping into the EQs of tracks, it is a bit unwieldy if a projects track/buss count is very high. If the Mastering Assistant is used, it will land inside the bands for the most part anyway, so only has "use" for mixing that I can tell.

jonboper
In regards to this kind of thing, I'm of two minds. What does it mean to the artistic process that I can press a button and have AI do some of the most difficult and tedious work of finishing off a song? Is it like an author pressing an 'auto-edit' button and receiving the edited version in moments instead of weeks? There is something truly distasteful about it.

I couldn't disagree more, you know. I think it's just like using a spell-checker. It's not going to definitely finish your book off to your satisfaction, and you're still going to have to proof-read, but you've just got rid of hours of donkey work.

Wow!
 
I am always looking for ways to reduce tinker-time and be more productive and THIS is turbo-LandR!
On my PC.
With accessibility.
 
I have looked at the Isotope website for reasons why I should move from Ozone 7 to 8.
It took this video to give me that reason.
 
I cannot understand why software companies put up videos that are either superficial and banal, or overly-long for product insiders only. Wow videos aimed at those with music software experience but no detailed product knowledge are rare. This is a Wow video. I can see in 3 minutes how Ozone8 will boost my creativity.
 
You have just made a sale.
 

twelvetone

I cannot understand why software companies put up videos that are either superficial and banal, or overly-long for product insiders only.
 

iZotope sorta jumped the gun with release versus adequate details, but they continue to honor their fairly gracious trial periods. I have taken to the mindset that if a trial is not available, then it won't get purchased (a lot of marketing is either highly biased or pure fluff anyway). These days customer reviews are easy to come by, so waiting if in doubt is always a good thing.

jonboper
In regards to this kind of thing, 

I can appreciate your point of view, that going through the process is part of the fun and learning challenge, i.e. the chase is better than the catch, or its the journey not necessarily the destination that's the most fulfilling. And may also come down to if your doing this as a hobby (like me), career or trying just to get a viral YouTube video song out ASAP to set you up for life (AKA a one hit wonder as it were, perhaps a bit like me, LOL). I guess in any case these days if your not still doing this with analog hardware and tape then you're already somewhat being assisted and taking advantage of digital technology, so why not go all the way and make good use of the tools available? Even with the AI factor there's still a lot of the journey to enjoy getting to your destination, for me its in writing lyrics and music and recording process that cant really be replaced artificially.
Oh and thanks Craig for your assessment, hopefully Izotope appreciate your sway, perhaps they'll be hiring you soon, LOL.
 
Cheers
 
 
    
. 

Leee
But a key point you did not emphasize is that  the "Craig Mastering" involved a fair amount of tweaking to get it the way you wanted to sound.   Was there any tweaking done with the Ozone mastering?
My point is that with the same amount of tweaking you did on your own mastering take, you could have gotten the same or better results with Ozone 8.  Most people know that the presets and AI results in Ozone, are just the starting point, you'll almost always need to tweak no matter what tools you are using.

The "Craig Mastered" take is clearly the best one of the three, not too soft, not too hot.  Like Goldilocks and The Three Bears.
But each of the Ozone mastering takes, could have easily matched your take, with just a little bit of adjusting.

Very true. In fact I do not think it is a fair comparison because Algorithms in general can't sense emotion, state of mind; or importantly, perception.

What I mean is, when mixing or mastering something as a human, there are many factors which will play into the "Why did i adjust this to here."

Craig knows this, you get goose bumps, you have a rush of excitement. But on the Machine side of things, and as you rightfully added, it's all about algorithms. Does the AI know you have hit a sweet spot?

I am not saying anything wrong is done here but I would rather not compare the two.

It's like this:

Hire two Chefs to cook you a meal. Provide all the ingredients, however, one is a robot who has no sense of tasting and simply goes based on calculation of measurements, this robot also has no sense of what makes people love food, like spices.

Who do you think will make a better meal or at least have the slightest advantage?

I still think it's extremely exciting but hands down, Craig will always be better because he understands the Human Musical Perceptions, unless the AI had Craig's state of mind. :)

Soundwise
 
Brilliant! I've watched many videos on mastering but none was nearly as instrumental as this. It never crossed my mind that one can add instrument parts during mastering. This simple yet effective approach is mind-blowing.

Glad you liked it! To be clear, this is not something most mastering engineers do, and if I change an arrangement or make other substantial changes, it's only after consulting with the client.
 
(BTW thanks for your offer to QC the 30 FX Chains for October, but Cakewalk said they would do them if I can retrieve them from my computer.)

I’m in the process of convincing myself I don’t need O8N2:)

kzmaier
Cool tune!!!

Thanks Ken! First time I've written a song with Spanish lyrics. I had to check with some native Spanish speakers to make sure I hadn't said "my toast is flying upside down" or something else by mistake.