This link came in the iZotope newsletter, and I thought it was worth passing on to those who are not Ozone users or who aren't on the mailing list. It's advice for DIY masterers from Adam Ayan. He's an accomplished pro, padawan to the legendary Bob Ludwig, and I am certain the guy's a frickin' genius because I agree heartily with everything he says, so he must be.

His #1 piece of advice is something I'm always harping on: "Listen to as many great recordings as you can, because it helps you learn what a good record sounds like in your listening environment." As Floyd Toole explains in his epiphany-packed book "Sound Reproduction", there is solid science behind that advice.

The article also lists some recommendations for reference material, including some that I've never heard, such as Rascal Flatts' Me and My Gang. I'll be looking into getting a copy of that one. 

One minor nitpick: in the article Ayan is quoted as saying he really likes Ozone. Not hard to believe, we all do. But the implication is that it's his primary mastering tool, which I seriously doubt.  

The newsletter also contained links to a two-part Ozone tips video, which I have not watched yet. Here's part one, and part two.

Hahahahah!  And I garbaged that email.  I'll check out your link ... despite my preference for other limiters (like: Slate, Pro-fab, and Xenon)

OK: the 'Pro' vs. 'Hobbyist' war is what I'm reading, on page 1, Sir.

Page 2: " the bass frequency–bass guitar and kick drum" are super important!
(Uh Oh!  An Rx-2 advertisement creeps in)

Ah the Ozone 5 maximizer advertisement (which is not as good as Slate, Pro-fab, nor Xenon, to my noob-ears)

"The Maximizer is another flavor for me because the intelligent algorithms do a really nice job of getting level fairly transparently, without adding artifacts. And in some cases, I find that depending on how I use it, I can get some edge and color that’s beneficial to a particular recording or song. Even going back to Ozone 4, I’ve been pretty impressed with how the Maximizer sounds."
-- hahahahahaha!

Page 3: Similar ads.

OK, Bit.  I'm putting Izotope on my spam list.  I don't care how many grammy awards the guy has.

I got that email too but didn't get around to reading it yet... now I have a jump on it. 

Good stuff.

Just watched the videos...if you've recently upgraded to Ozone 5 you may learn a new feature or two, but otherwise it's not so much a "tips" tutorial as a 10-minute advertisement.

The old iZotope Mastering Guide is still the best tutorial, and it has been updated for Ozone 5. 

Thank you sir.  I'm always exceeding grateful for your presence and excellent help!!!

I agree with this guy and I have been saying it for years. You don't have to be a famous mastering engineer to know this information. Even a mere mortal can take this on. Yes listening to stuff is very important and not only that keep listening to great recordings while you are mixing and mastering as well to keep you on track. If you do this the speakers and the room acoustics become less important in the equation. (It is interesting to note here that the people that say speakers and acoustics are just SO important don't actually listen to reference tracks very much)

Once you start listening to great things in your own monitoring environment you can really get a handle how those great things sound in your situation. Then you build a really strong frame of reference making it much easier to mix and master your own work. I agree with him also that today we have some great active monitors and even in a reasonable room you are 90% there in terms of a reasonably accurate monitoring situation.

Someone in that thread on the three most important aspects to mixing and mastering said the monitoring environment was the most important thing. Wrong! There are a million other things that can effect your final outcome long before the monitoring environment really comes into play. People can get too carried away with all this detailed monitoring accuracy stuff. I find I can mix well no matter where I am and on any speaker system. I spend a lot of time mixing on a mono 3" speaker at low volume and yet I can still pull a great mix on that. Explain that..The speaker is not that important. I am listening to something else not the speaker.

I also agree that compression and limiting is not just what mastering is about. That all important EQ stage right at the start of the mastering process is just vital. This is where many go wrong. They don't know how to EQ an overall mix. It is not easy actually. This is another reason why you cannot master at the same time as you mix. You need to leave it a week before you attempt that all important EQ phase. But listening to great reference material also makes this process much easier.

Jeff Evans


I agree with this guy and I have been saying it for years. You don't have to be a famous mastering engineer to know this information. Even a mere mortal can take this on. Yes listening to stuff is very important and not only that keep listening to great recordings while you are mixing and mastering as well to keep you on track. If you do this the speakers and the room acoustics become less important in the equation. (It is interesting to note here that the people that say speakers and acoustics are just SO important don't actually listen to reference tracks very much)

Once you start listening to great things in your own monitoring environment you can really get a handle how those great things sound in your situation. Then you build a really strong frame of reference making it much easier to mix and master your own work. I agree with him also that today we have some great active monitors and even in a reasonable room you are 90% there in terms of a reasonably accurate monitoring situation.

Someone in that thread on the three most important aspects to mixing and mastering said the monitoring environment was the most important thing. Wrong! There are a million other things that can effect your final outcome long before the monitoring environment really comes into play. People can get too carried away with all this detailed monitoring accuracy stuff. I find I can mix well no matter where I am and on any speaker system. I spend a lot of time mixing on a mono 3" speaker at low volume and yet I can still pull a great mix on that. Explain that..The speaker is not that important. I am listening to something else not the speaker.

I also agree that compression and limiting is not just what mastering is about. That all important EQ stage right at the start of the mastering process is just vital. This is where many go wrong. They don't know how to EQ an overall mix. It is not easy actually. This is another reason why you cannot master at the same time as you mix. You need to leave it a week before you attempt that all important EQ phase. But listening to great reference material also makes this process much easier.

I'm so glad you chimed.  I was thinking of you when Bit mentioned the importance of listening to references.  Also great to hear you validate the importance of 'other things' besides monitoring .. though you don't demean any of it.
-- Well spoken, IMHO.

Hi Philip Thanks for your words. I certainly am not saying that monitoring is not important, it is just that back when I was a Hi Fi enthusiast in the 70's finding a really accurate speaker was hard and expensive. But today we have got just so many great speakers that all sound very good and their specs are really great so in a way we don't have to stress anywhere near as much over getting a great speaker into our monitoring environments. And I think if you are careful and practical about how you set them up in your space you can obtain a very good result with just a little work.

In that article too he points out that we do have access to many great tools that were just not around then. Like great sounding EQ plugins and limiters too.

Yeah, but the Adam S4X-H's really do sound AMAZING... Mmmm, gonna be dreaming about them tonight haha

I just popped into SoundCorp the other day and they had a pair of these $20,000 monitors sitting there for a short demo! They were gone the next day :(

I think ultimately the whole issue of monitors can be significantly reduced by listening to reference material AND checking on multiple systems in different locations WITH your reference tracks as well. I really like hearing my stuff on systems I don't know as well, like friend's stereo systems. Real world set-ups and you can see how other non-audiophiles set up their systems and make sure it's gonna work for the average listener too!

mattplaysguitar


I think ultimately the whole issue of monitors can be significantly reduced by listening to reference material AND checking on multiple systems in different locations WITH your reference tracks as well. I really like hearing my stuff on systems I don't know as well, like friend's stereo systems. Real world set-ups and you can see how other non-audiophiles set up their systems and make sure it's gonna work for the average listener too!

+1 
 
Despite ARC and Adams ... there are target environments (including cans) that I myself always seem to eval: 
 
At a skating rink, for example, I'd expect increased subs and upper mids and some dancy vibe with hip-hop techniques.
 
In the car (and radio): increased comp to cut through the traffic
 
In the home: wide dynamics
 
Jogging with noise canceling cans: a strong bass line and balanced panning.
 
Workplace and most outdoor places: LCR (left-center-right) panning since stereo isn't a factor.
 
etc.