I Have a quick question, over the past year I’ve purchased a few brainworx plug-ins for mastering like their Saturator V2, Limiter as well as their XL V2 mastering limiter. I also got a great deal on Vertigo VSM-3 but it seems quite touchy and can really distort/destroy the signal in a hurry.
easydrivingtest
Not to long after I was able to purchase their masterdesk plug-in on sale. Now, I had built up my library and got a few of those on sale and everything was going great. I figured I was pretty much set for mastering and had nearly all the regular email notices going straight to junk mail and I was not looking to buy any other plug ins and was ready to get to work.
easydrivingtest
Then a couple weeks ago Ozone Elements 8 was free to download, so I pulled the trigger.

Now I am going through some projects and am wondering what the best signal chain would be for these plug ins.

 

Last edited: Oct 18, 2019

the vertigo is a beast in need to be tamed... by the way... you can stick all that stuff together and take the best out of every single plugin that you have... maybe you should start with some surgical eq and an overall compression with Ozone... some de-essing (a stock one should do the trick)... some dynamics eq and compression (if ozone elements can do that...)... then you can put your Vertigo\Saturator in to the action very carefully... and finish it with the XL... this is the chain i will use in your scenario, maybe it wouldnt be the best one... but i think you can have a decent starting point...

 

As Ozone has been running pretty sluggish on my computer I was happy to replace some parts of it with other plugins. I'll mostly use its Vintage Limiter at the end of the chain and have been trying to put other EQs first, but I don't know much about it yet honestly. Take this with a grain of salt - I'd say, Ozone is best for beginners to get a nice grasp of what a mastering chain is, if you learn what all the modules do. Eventually though, it's fun to replace those modules with plugins that you actively choose for their specific advantages.

 

you can control the vertigo vsm-3 and use it as a "send" distortion unit to gain maximum control
usually if im ever using vsm-3 i'd solo the 2nd and 3rd harmonics then tweak to taste then multi-band compress the distortion. maybe limiting if

 

Some bx plugins are incredible, some are medicre, imho. In general, I believe their EQ Plugins are a lot better than anything they do with dynamics (except for the bx_console SSL4000 E/G and the townhouse compressor). Bx_digital v3 is my goto EQ on the mixbus. Not a fan of either bx_saturator or bx_XL. Ozones Limiter/Maximizer is definitely the better choice.

Since Ozone 8 Elements is a plugin container with a fixed set of processors and no inserts (EQ, Imager, Maximizer), I would insert the Ozone EQ in the beginning of the chain because bx does not have a graphic EQ. Then brainworx plugins like bx_saturator, a compressor and lastly another ozone container with the maximizer in IRC II Mode at at the end. It even has a setting for Target Loudnes in LUFS which is pretty awesome. It's a shame really that you have to own the advanced version to use it as a single plugin

 

Signal chains are a matter of taste. You should be able to choose what sounds best on whatever sound you're processing. With that being said, you made a good choice, the bx limiter is one of my favourites and while many people advice against using limiters on the mixing stage I've certainly used them with good results. It depends on what you want to do I prefer brainworx compared to Ozone but you should test them side by side and see what's best for you. If you are unsatisfied with you saturators I can recommend you Spectre by wavesfactory and RC-2o by xln. These two are fantastic and you will certainly get the sound you want, especially with the RC-20.

 

How many years have you been doing this? I mean the more you do the best you become. Talking about the topic there's not a preset for anything, because mabe your vocals are pretty up front, maybe you need some -.4 dbs here or there etc. Maybe is not a lot and is just a mid side eq and a limiter, etc. Always remember if your source is not good your end result won't be neither. (If recording is bad production will be bad, bad mixing bad mastering, etc). I don't use master desk, I only use gulfoos for that extra touch, a mb compressor, a mid side eq, camel crusher only applying the mech stuff and at the end a pro l2 for limiting.

The gullfoss because it gives that extra eq, mb compressor because it glues the mix pretty good, mid side eq for mono 50 hz and lower and increase the side image, camel crusher because I do electronic music and is a common technique to use a clipper before the limiter in order to have a short rms and the limiter for well just limit. (If you need a saturation use the one by izotope or saturn, Personally I use it after the eq compression because it will give you a more detailed sound).

Mastering should not be seen as a dark art, you must approach it with a mindset of doing almost nothing. Check this cannel out:

https://www.youtube.com/user/StreakyMasteringTV

 

Last edited: Oct 22, 2019