https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...ithOzone.pdf&usg=AOvVaw0A-EM3iqa2icpOJPYs-kSs

its an old article by izotope on ozone 5 but i guess it still applies today

my questions are written on picture above but i am trying to understand why they are talking from the perspective like the EQ during mixing raising the highs for example creates harshness...(meaning i guess their product ozone can do that better? or same for compressor point in the picture it says that it creates squasheness and probably that their compressor does not i guess?

can their EQ's and compressor create better results is what they mean?

i.e raise the highs of EQ without creating harshness
and compress without the sound becoming squashed?

how can they predict the type of EQ or compression used during mixing and say that i don't

or how do they mean it exactly?

thanks

 

Last edited: Aug 24, 2022

Every company does marketing to successfully sell their products to men or women.
A company always needs to sell high volumes and make a profit. make a profit.

If they want to stay in the market they have to be either cheaper than the competition or better than the competition.
Most companies work with psychology, that is, they suggest that only their product is indispensable to get a good sound.
In other words, how do I as a company get the customer's money.

Do not believe everything you read and be critical. iZotope is really a good company and makes really high end products.
However, other companies also have the know how and offer a lot of quality (we call that the competition).

It is better to invest about 20 - 30 dollars or about 20 - 30 EUR in a good reference book and learn mixing properly.
A reference book is also good to look up when you have a musical problem to solve.

 

Actually that "Diagnosing Common Problems" section does exactly that: identifies common problems without offering a solution to fix (they actually show that using "instictual" moves will usually lead to mediocre results). Is not even marketing. It's reality.

However, the next paragraph is this - and op casually didn't even bother to mention it because... it's about hard work -

What Do I Do Now? Mastering is a process that can, and with practice often does, take recordings to the next level. It might be the process that can address the problems listed above. What mastering shouldn’t be expected to do is completely reinvent the sound of your recording. Mastering is not a substitute for good mixing, or good arranging for that matter! “Loud” records are a result of good writing/arranging/mixing and mastering. They are made to sound good and loud (if loud is what you are after) from the get-go, not just at the end. Once you have reached the final step of mixing with something that represents your best effort, something that you are proud of, then it’s time to dig in and see how much further mastering can get you toward the sound that you hear in your mind’s ear. You won’t become Bob Ludwig overnight, but you can make dramatic improvements to the quality of your mastered recordings with a little work. In the end there are no right answers, no wrong answers, and no hard and fast rules. However, there are some well-known principles of audio production and mastering that are worth thinking through as you experiment. (And for goodness sake, have fun!)

Actually is a very good read that manual (for mastering in general and for how to understand how a song works). For whom has the intelligence to absorb and put to use that information, is quite a golden nugget

 

This is general guidelines. Not just Ozone 5.
First off, as you wrote, adding a limiter/maximizer doesn't neccessarily add "impact and clarity".

1) Harshness is around 4-6k. Same area as "clarity". You can attenuate/dip 4-6k and then up/boost the high-shelf above those frequencies. Pultec style.
It all depends on the mix. Harshness can be overall on the mix or individual elements in the mix. It's often a matter of compromising.

2) They mean in general. It could be that the mix lacks in mids and low-mids in the Mid channel, where most of the meat is. Maybe it needs corrective EQ in M/S (or even coloring/saturation, to bring out harmonics in the lower frequencies), before going into compressor/compressors.
If a mix is "thin" it will most likely become thinner when you insert a compressor, as the circuit reacts to lower frequencies (if the SC filter is turned off). Especially if you don't know how to work the parameters and how to make the track/song move/bounce/groove. If the settings are wrong you are "Just squashing it" and killing the vibe. I did that in the beginning and learned from it.

Learning mastering and learning how to listen takes time. Decades. Yes, most issues can (and should) be fixed in the recording, production and mixing. Not at the mastering stage. But people send mixes at their best abilities and it's up to the ME to hear these problems/issues and "correct" them or at least compensate them. Mastering is quality control. Mastering is maximizing the quality of the audio/music to as many playback systems (and thus as many people) as possible.

 

Last edited: Aug 24, 2022