Mastering Plug ins

[Lance Smith]

I am trying to figure out what plug-ins to invest in for that work best for Master tracks. Suggestions?

[JFreak]

Anything you need to get the job done. Mastering is not about tools, it's all about results. Experience and end product.

But here are few tips.

Want a great EQ? Buy Sonnox EQ with GML option.
Want a great limiter? Buy Sonnox Limiter or trust your ears and use Massey's.
Want some spice? Buy Waves Aphex Exciter.
Want some harmonics? Buy SPL TwinTube.
Want some reverb? Buy Lexicon PCM and use sparingly.

Most important of them all, calibrate your monitoring environment and buy a nice metering plugin, such as Waves Dorrough or BX Meter. Sometimes your ears don't tell the truth.

[SpongeBob]

Hi Lance ...

I've been pleased with Izotope's Ozone.

Their latest release, Ozone 5, has many refinements over previous versions but is CPU hungry.

I have Ozone 3, 4, & 5 and the CPU usage for Ozone 5 is about 10-15% greater than for the comparable setting in Ozone 4.

[JFreak]

With all due respect, whenever someone recommends Izotope Ozone, it feels to me like a handyman saying "I want to use a sledgehammer now. Where do you have the wall that you need to tear down"...

[ChazC]

If you're quick you'll still be able to grab a copy of T-Racks 3 Deluxe. It's on offer this month & has a group buy bonus of an extra plugin (which has already reached it's target).

If you already own an IK Multimedia product you can pick up the whole lot for $99. No brainer!

(No, I don't work for IK - I just know a great deal when I see one!)

[spenner]

IMO, the safest bet for self mastering (or what I call 2buss doodling) is an eq and limiter. The mix should already sound balanced and commercial ready, minus a limiter.

Ozone's eq and limiter are very good in this case. Be careful with a "mastering" plugin like Ozone though. Wondering into the land of exciters, multiband compression, and reverb (for non ME's) is more often than not a recipe for suck.

[capt kirk]

tools like Izotope stuff only suck, if you don't know how to use them. ANYTHING sucks if you don't how to use it. PRotools sucks, if you don't know how to use it. As a guy who knows EXACTLY what I'm doing, i need all kinds of potentially extreme tools, though i may need to use it once a year. I don't use a sawz-all to fix a balsa wood ship....

[spenner]

Originally Posted by capt kirk

tools like Izotope stuff only suck, if you don't know how to use them.

You basically said what I said, which is why I mentioned for anyone not knowing what they're doing to be careful. BTW, if you need extreme tools for mastering a mix then you are no doubt a ME receiving crappy mixes.

[The Dougfather]

If your new to mastering then something like Ozone is a good place to start but you will find it quite restricting in time, regardless, the mastering with Ozone is a killer guide, worth the read.

Comps >Waves Renn Comp, PSP Old Timer
Limiter > PSP Xenon
EQ > Massenburg MDW High Res Parametric EQ (Fantastic EQ)
Meters > PAZ Analyser, TT Dynamic Range meter

I've never been a huge fan of PSP plugin but the two above are worth checking out, i do have the Sonnox limiter but it IMHO it breaks up and colours the sound way too fast.

Try them and out and see what works for you, this is very subjective and what works for one might not work for another.

[lownotesinc]

Brainworx Digital v2
Brainworkx XL