iZotope Ozone - multiband compressor?

[logancircle]

#masteringsoftware #multibandcompressors #fakemastering #inthebox

Please help me learn useful techniques for multi-band compressor plugins (for use in the ITB semi-professional realm).

I was sinning, listening at a ridiculously nice board whilst applying iZotope Ozone to the main mix on the big speakers (we'd dumped the tape into ones and zeros). I pulled up Ozone's MBC, which I had never used, and the engineer (one of those golden-ears guys) told me I should "never use a multiband compressor!" When he left the room, the other engineer said, "Don't listen to him. I use a multi-band to do most of the work when I'm software-mastering."

Anyone have tips for using Ozone's MBC? What to do, what not to do, etc.

What would you do if all you could use in fake mastering was a MBC?

[joninc]

I use the ozone software a lot and i think the MB is decent.

It's always good to ask yourself "what does the track need" or "what am i hoping to improve or change about this mix"?

You can really mess the balances up a lot if you are too heavy handed though so i'd watch to see how much GR you are doing on each band and try to bring up a little gain on that band to keep it even.

I found this video somewhat heloful: https://www.recordingrevolution.com/how ... rgy-video/

[Gregg Juke]

>>>>It's always good to ask yourself "what does the track need" or "what am i hoping to improve or change about this mix"?<<<<

The most important question with any mix or mastering adjustment, I'd say... Don't "fix" it if it ain't broke.

GJ

[losthighway]

Mastering is hard, and I don't really do it. That said, I figure frequency dependent compression is a really technical tool to allow a mastering engineer to try and contain something they wish the mixer with the multitracks would have done. I think of de-esser as a single-band version. The highs are all fine until the wrong 's' pops out so that activates the compressor. Maybe a bass guitar has uneven presence and pops out on a particular note, you might want the comp to only engage at that frequency when it crosses the threshold in order to leave an otherwise could set of lows in the mix, so as not to eq the whole frequency and rob power from something that didn't need to be touched.

Mastering engineers, how am I doing? More Spaceecho?

[Gregg Juke]

>>>>Mastering engineers, how am I doing? More Spaceecho?<<<<

Yeah, precisely. "We need a little More SpaceEcho, Right this very Minute! We need a little More SpaceEcho, Right this very Mi-hi-nut!" etc., etc., etc.
(Bound to be a seasonal classic, I say).

GJ

[MoreSpaceEcho]

well hi.

all i can say is i pretty much never use a multiband compressor in mastering.

i DO however use dynamic eq when the need arises. a desser is the classic example.

some other examples: you have a track with a lady diva type vocal, it's all sounding great until the last chorus where she really starts belting, and even that sounds fine except for one note where for whatever reason it just resonates like crazy and is a total ice pick at like 2.7k or whatever. the brainworx dyn-eq works great for just grabbing the painful note and nothing else.

i did a hip hop track today that sounded fine except for this one percussion thing that was ice-picking around 3.5k, i used dmg essence to pull that back a bit.

then i did a noisy psych rock ep where some of the guitars were just scathing between 3-6k, again i used essence, this time with more of a soft knee, to just kinda ride that stuff down a bit and mitigate the suffering.

you might have a country track with a guitar solo that's a tele on the bridge pickup through a twin with the treble cranked. so much misery. dynamic eq works great to tame that stuff without fucking up anything else.

also, booming subs. lots of times this can be fixed with just simple eq, but other times it works better to do it with a dynamic eq...i might use a slower attack to let the hit through, but then clamp down the release to calm the boom down. again, dmg essence works great for this. it's actually better at this than it is at straight up dessing (the venerable spitfish is still my fave for that).

anyway, that's what i do. afaik most pro ME's don't really use multiband compressors much at all.

but hey whatever works. i would say if you do use a multiband, don't just slap it on by default (don't slap anything on by default), use it to address a specific problem. use as few bands as possible. a/b with the source, make sure you're not making shit worse.

generally the simplest solution to any problem is what you want to go with. most of mastering is about eq more than anything else (yes even the limiter).

and while i won't discourage anyone from self-mastering (that's how i learned), be aware that if you're mastering in the same room/speakers as you mixed, you're not going to hear any of the problems your room/speakers have, which could be a pretty big disadvantage. just sayin'.

[MoreSpaceEcho]

ALSO!

Maybe a bass guitar has uneven presence and pops out on a particular note, you might want the comp to only engage at that frequency when it crosses the threshold in order to leave an otherwise could set of lows in the mix, so as not to eq the whole frequency and rob power from something that didn't need to be touched.

this is another good example of where dynamic eq is really helpful BUT you better be damn sure the problematic bass note(s) are actually a problem in the recording and NOT your room. this is why us ME's spend stupid amounts of money getting our rooms as flat as possible.

[losthighway]

ALSO!

Maybe a bass guitar has uneven presence and pops out on a particular note, you might want the comp to only engage at that frequency when it crosses the threshold in order to leave an otherwise could set of lows in the mix, so as not to eq the whole frequency and rob power from something that didn't need to be touched.

this is another good example of where dynamic eq is really helpful BUT you better be damn sure the problematic bass note(s) are actually a problem in the recording and NOT your room. this is why us ME's spend stupid amounts of money getting our rooms as flat as possible.

This thread has revealed a few things: I'm still not trying to use multi-band compression, I will continue to perfect my control room, and I'm still not mastering anything- I'll keep sending final mixes your way!

Also, I think there was some slippage in my thinking of multiband compression as frequency dependent compression. In fact, is there a difference between dynamic eq and frequency dependent compression, or are they two different names for the same basic thing?

[MoreSpaceEcho]

i am here to help!

as far as the difference betwixt dynamic eq and multi band compression...i believe it's to do with how the filters work, and i think dynamic eq is more transparent....but alas i am just a caveman so i can't explain it better than that.

but i never really got on with multibands, just never seemed to work for me. whereas i understood dynamic eq instinctively.

what i like about dynamic eq is you can set it up so it's not doing anything, except when it needs to do something. i suppose you can set up a multi band the same way, but i dunno if people do?

anyway the idea of a classic multi band compressor with 4 bands working on low, low mid, high mid, and high...i feel like a mix would have to have some really serious problems if that was the approach you were taking to fix it.

the vast majority of mixes don't need that kind of surgery. lots of things just need a little eq and graceful loudenizing.

[joninc]

some other examples: you have a track with a lady diva type vocal, it's all sounding great until the last chorus where she really starts belting, and even that sounds fine except for one note where for whatever reason it just resonates like crazy and is a total ice pick at like 2.7k or whatever. the brainworx dyn-eq works great for just grabbing the painful note and nothing else.

i did a hip hop track today that sounded fine except for this one percussion thing that was ice-picking around 3.5k, i used dmg essence to pull that back a bit.

then i did a noisy psych rock ep where some of the guitars were just scathing between 3-6k, again i used essence, this time with more of a soft knee, to just kinda ride that stuff down a bit and mitigate the suffering.

you might have a country track with a guitar solo that's a tele on the bridge pickup through a twin with the treble cranked. so much misery. dynamic eq works great to tame that stuff without fucking up anything else.

also, booming subs. lots of times this can be fixed with just simple eq, but other times it works better to do it with a dynamic eq...i might use a slower attack to let the hit through, but then clamp down the release to calm the boom down. again, dmg essence works great for this. it's actually better at this than it is at straight up dessing (the venerable spitfish is still my fave for that).

Some GREAT tips here !! I used this yesterday on a acoustic track with a particularly resonant bass note - Essence worked really well and keeping it reigned in but natural sounding

[logancircle]

I was at a nice studio* doing a super-fast "mastering" and the guy used Ozone like a champ. His process was this:

• Throw Ozone on the Master
  Sweep through the mix using the EQ, noting freq areas that sounded too crowded
  Subtract out a couple/few dB at each crowded freq
  Add a pinch of tube Exciter
  Apply Ozone's master limiter and get it really close
  Make a couple subtle tweaks in the EQ
  Bounce that shit

1) Is this order of operations a normal workflow for a quick fake mastering in Ozone?
2) Does anyone do something similar using just Pro Tools plugins?

*Note: We were listening on these insane Lipinski L-707A Signature monitors (with Dual Lipinski L-150 subwoofers 15” drivers)

[kslight]

I was at a nice studio* doing a super-fast "mastering" and the guy used Ozone like a champ. His process was this:

• Throw Ozone on the Master
  Sweep through the mix using the EQ, noting freq areas that sounded too crowded
  Subtract out a couple/few dB at each crowded freq
  Add a pinch of tube Exciter
  Apply Ozone's master limiter and get it really close
  Make a couple subtle tweaks in the EQ
  Bounce that shit

1) Is this order of operations a normal workflow for a quick fake mastering in Ozone?
2) Does anyone do something similar using just Pro Tools plugins?

*Note: We were listening on these insane Lipinski L-707A Signature monitors (with Dual Lipinski L-150 subwoofers 15” drivers)

I just got Ozone 8 and have been trying it out a bit, I did a super fast fake master just with the Master Assistant (completely automated) and I thought it did a fair job for what I was doing.

[MisterMark]

The most effective use of MBC I have found is applying it to the low end... by compressing just lows (say under 100Hz) you can really control those big low frequencies which will allow you to boost them to a point that really adds a sense of power to your masters. Of course you may need to balance at that point by simply boosting (not necessarily compressing) the higher end frequencies.

-Mark