Mastering Suite?

Howard Parker · Post by **Howard Parker** » 19 Jan 2016 6:59 pm

Anyone care to comment on a "basic" mastering suite?

I have been looking at T-Racks. Can operate either stand alone or vst within full blown Cubase 7.5.

Any experiences out there? Tall tales?

tia

hp

Rick Campbell · Post by **Rick Campbell** » 19 Jan 2016 8:01 pm

Isotopes Ozone is the best and most user friendly I've found.

RC

Howard Parker · Post by **Howard Parker** » 19 Jan 2016 8:07 pm

iZotope came recommended. A tad more then I want to spend. My requirements are modest.

h

Les Cargill · Post by **Les Cargill** » 19 Jan 2016 9:23 pm

There are many decent free EQ plugins - some are "line draw", some use a knob panel motif. Same difference - they're all n-band parametric EQ.

http://www.vst4free.com/

And don't forget the free Engineer's Filter. I use that quite a bit, especially as a highpass filter.

I've used GMax forever and it's free. It does lack some of the magic the Waves L1 Ultramaximizer has, but you can about dial in whatever crest factor you want with it.

Wish you'd asked this around the end of November - Waves had the Gold bundle on sale for 1/4 the price. Those are nice.

Rick Campbell · Post by **Rick Campbell** » 20 Jan 2016 5:55 pm

You can get Ozone 7 demo free for 10 days. The basic version is about $200-$250 depending on where you buy it. I have tried demos and after the demo period, the company would email me a good deal offer to buy it.

You can use free compressors, eq's, limiters, etc.... But you have to piece it all together. With Ozone, it has a lot of presets that usually work without much, if any, tweaking. You can also drop a reference mix (a song that you like the mix on) in the program and work toward getting a similar sound.

RC

Howard Parker · Post by **Howard Parker** » 20 Jan 2016 6:06 pm

Thanks all!

Rick, that sounds very appealing!!

h

Charlie McDonald · Post by **Charlie McDonald** » 21 Jan 2016 4:15 am

Is Ozone 7 something that can be used to capture tracks from a multi-track recorder and master?

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 21 Jan 2016 5:24 am

Ozone is a plug in for a recording program, its not a recording program. I think there is a standalone version that you can use to master with.

I use Ozone (I have 5 and 6 but haven't sprung for 7). I use 5 mainly. When I was looking at mastering programs I had demo versions of both Ozone and TRackS and Ozone won out, for me.

Howard Parker · Post by **Howard Parker** » 21 Jan 2016 7:08 am

Thanks Jack.

BTW, the BCF works flawlessly.

Charlie McDonald · Post by **Charlie McDonald** » 21 Jan 2016 8:28 am

Thank you, Jack. Sounds pretty cool.

Richard Tipple · Post by **Richard Tipple** » 21 Jan 2016 11:00 am

I have ,Ozone & T Racks3
I imported all of TRacks VST plugins, into Ozone3
& have the best of both worlds.
As for which program I like best ? Its a 50/50 deal.
I like Tracks for its ,Brick Wall Limiter & Clipper & Ozone for its Stereo Module & wide range of EQ controls. Again ,I like both programs

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 21 Jan 2016 11:46 am

either / or. There is no magic built in, you still need to listen and make the right "ear" call. Yes they both have starting points ( templates) but make no mistake Mastering is still a different world even with the these nice packages.

For me, the most vital processors in T-racks Standard (for me) are the Clipper and Multi-band Limiter. I also use the classic EQ to clean the bottom end and to limit the hi end to 16K which is where all the streaming sites we upload to limit the hi end frequencies.

Remember what they say, if you have to change too much in the mastering process send it back to the mixing engineer.

Howard Parker · Post by **Howard Parker** » 21 Jan 2016 12:36 pm

"Garbage in. Garbage out".

I have reasonable expectations.

h

Phillip Broste · Post by **Phillip Broste** » 25 Jan 2016 8:38 am

+1 for Ozone 7.

I have used both T-Racks and Ozone and I will say that ozone is a superior plugin by far, and I will add that I never use the presets. iZotope's eq and saturation shaping are fantastic and it is really easy to get huge improvements if you know what you are doing. But much can also be accomplished by setting up a preset and driving it less/more globally.

Incidentally, alloy is another one that I wouldn't like to do without. It can't be beat as a workhorse channel strip. If you can't do it with that thing it can't be done.

Howard Parker · Post by **Howard Parker** » 25 Jan 2016 11:26 am

Thanks guys!

A followup question.

Are there any worthwhile free plugins out there? Something I might use as a learning tool, doing no harm, until I decide which package to invest in.

I won't be offended if you suggest I not waste my time..

cheers

h

Les Cargill · Post by **Les Cargill** » 25 Jan 2016 6:18 pm

Howard Parker wrote:Thanks guys!

A followup question.

Are there any worthwhile free plugins out there? Something I might use as a learning tool, doing no harm, until I decide which package to invest in.

I won't be offended if you suggest I not waste my time..

cheers

h

I don't think it's a waste of time at all. The math for a parametric EQ is involved, but it's not rocket surgery.

The GVST plugins are all pretty good. No EQ there,
though. GMax is just fine for adjusting crest factor.

ObDisclosure: I do not have T-Racks nor Ozone and make do with the Waves setup. I use them in the master F/X slot to even things out just a tweeze.

http://www.vst4free.com/

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 26 Jan 2016 1:24 am

Phillip Broste wrote:+1 for Ozone 7.

I have used both T-Racks and Ozone and I will say that ozone is a superior plugin by far

superior by far , why ?

Phillip Broste · Post by **Phillip Broste** » 31 Jan 2016 10:07 am

Tony Prior wrote: superior by far , why ?

Ozone is a much more functional tool the way it is laid out. There aren't two or three different compressors with different functions, there is one compressor with all of the functionality built in to it. And iZotope is very innovative in how it fits all of that functionality in to its software. The interfaces are always very straightforward and economical. EQ's are rich with visual feedback and intuitive to control. Every module can be set to either standard or multi-band functionality.

Ozone allows one to make global changes with one slider that acts as a multiplier for the plugin's parameters. So if you have a multi-band compression setup that sounds good but is just 2DB too hot, you can turn down the slider for that module and suddenly you have a level-matched signal with less compression.

The brick wall limiter in Ozone is incredibly transparent and intelligent. If a mix is plenty hot, this is often the only compression you need, just protecting against the odd snare hit from clipping. And I don't know if T-Racks does this now but Ozone can detect and prevent inter-sample clipping.

T-Racks installs all of it's modules on your machine whether you own them or not, cluttering your plugins menu with junk that you can't use. It is totally insane and ridiculous. This alone is a good reason to pass it up.

Finally, Ozone has it's matching EQ feature, which can lead to some cool results if you have the patience to monkey with it. When I'm stuck trying to get a sound for a track sometimes it is just the thing.

My two cents. Both packages are capable of great stuff, but I've been using T-Racks since v01 and I prefer Ozone hands down.

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 31 Jan 2016 11:39 am

Interesting comments above:

lets just start here

T-tacks is installed as a Stand-alone on my machines, not plug-ins, actually on 3 PC's. It is NOT installed in my Pro Tools ( 2 pc's) as plug-ins, you have the option of doing that or not. The individual modules are NOT available in the effects BIN as I chose for them NOT to be. So there is no clutter...

I have T-Tacks 3, it has ONE compressor, ONE EQ, ONE Limiter and ONE Clipper. Yes there are other versions with multiple modules for CHOICE . I believe it is called choices, the additional modules emulate classic rack units from years back for the user to select.

Regarding layout, you can lay it out any way you prefer,or use one of the multiple pre-set configurations as a guide, not sure what you are referring to with that.

Sounds like you use Ozone and are pleased with it, it's a nice package but at the end of the day you still have to use your ears regardless of which package you decide to use.

If you prefer one package over another ,Ozone, great, but what you describe about T-Racks is not very accurate. But I am glad you like Ozone as it too is a very nice package.

One person sees a picture of the landscape and sky above and says it's a picture of the sky with the landscape underneath others see it a a picture of the landscape with the sky above...

Phillip Broste · Post by **Phillip Broste** » 31 Jan 2016 8:39 pm

Tony Prior wrote: T-tacks is installed as a Stand-alone on my machines, not plug-ins, actually on 3 PC's. It is NOT installed in my Pro Tools ( 2 pc's) as plug-ins, you have the option of doing that or not. The individual modules are NOT available in the effects BIN as I chose for them NOT to be. So there is no clutter...

I have T-Tacks 3, it has ONE compressor, ONE EQ, ONE Limiter and ONE Clipper. Yes there are other versions with multiple modules for CHOICE . I believe it is called choices, the additional modules emulate classic rack units from years back for the user to select.

Regarding layout, you can lay it out any way you prefer,or use one of the multiple pre-set configurations as a guide, not sure what you are referring to with that.

That may be true about using it as a stand alone, but I have other T-Racks plugins that I use (their vintage compressors are a really good deal when on sale) and as a result ALL of their plugins clutter my plugin list. It's an awful system they've chosen to use, and there are always threads on their forums about how crappy it is.

What you say about the multiple modules kinda makes my point. You would have to buy those other modules at extra cost, but Ozone contains all of its functionality out of the box. Instead of adding a vintage compressor in Ozone you just tick the vintage compressor switch. Instead of switching to an optical style compressor with a soft knee, you flick the soft knee switch. And if I remember correctly, I think you can control parameters like those on each band of EQ separately when using multiband compression.

When I refer to layout, I just mean that iZotope tends to pack a ton of parameters into a small, legible space. They have come up with ways of controlling and viewing things that are meant to be seen and manipulated on a computer screen rather than falling back on skeuomorphic knobs and faders. Being unbound by traditional physical convention frees them up to design an interface that is compact and information rich.

As I said, T-Racks is perfectly capable of getting great results, but for my money iZotope makes a better all around product. YMMV

Phillip Broste · Post by **Phillip Broste** » 31 Jan 2016 8:51 pm

Also, lest you think I'm too hard on IK for T-Racks, I use their Fairchild compressor on my mix bus every time I mix, and I use their LA-2A on just about every vocal that comes through my studio. Their stuff sounds great for sure.

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 1 Feb 2016 1:46 am

ok, whatever . My T-Racks3 came as one complete package and installed as stand-alone as ONE package,my choice, I can turn each module on/off with the flick of a switch as well.

It's very much true about installing as stand-alone, not a "could be true".

My intent is not to argue but to rather present counter conversation to your initial commentary, regarding a "home" package.

Many folks are reading...

Bill Terry · Post by **Bill Terry** » 1 Feb 2016 9:09 am

T-Racks installs all of it's modules on your machine whether you own them or not, cluttering your plugins menu with junk that you can't use.

Yeah, me too. That's a huge PIA. In my install it's somehow linked to some Custom Shop thing where it seems to let you go ahead and load 'anything' as a trial, but inserts an annoying noise burst at periodic intervals. It's been at least a couple of years since I installed it, and while I generally like the way it works and sounds, that particular aspect kinda cooled me a bit. I've sure learned what I own and what I don't though..

Very likely operator error on the install I suppose, but sheesh, why should I even have to worry about installing adware with a product I paid for?

Phillip Broste · Post by **Phillip Broste** » 1 Feb 2016 2:32 pm

Tony Prior wrote:ok, whatever . My T-Racks3 came as one complete package and installed as stand-alone as ONE package,my choice, I can turn each module on/off with the flick of a switch as well.

I think you still don't take my meaning. I'm saying that ozone's features are all accessible in one module.while T-Racks splits them up in to separate modules, many of which are an additional purchase. In my opinion as end user this is better design, that's all.

Tony Prior wrote:It's very much true about installing as stand-alone, not a "could be true".

It's just a figure of speech. No need to get upset. Perhaps a better way to say it would have been "I'll grant you that" or "that may well be the case." Regardless, my meaning is I can't verify either way but I do know that installing AAX (and I suspect VST) plugins for a host program leads to the clutter I mentioned. That is relevant for a lot of folks.

Bill Terry, don't blame yourself! This is very much by design. Ther developers defend this "feature" tirelessly on the IK forums. It boggles the mind...

Tony Prior wrote:My intent is not to argue but to rather present counter conversation to your initial commentary, regarding a "home" package.

Many folks are reading...

Hey that's good as I'm not trying to argue either! I figured since you asked me to elaborate on my opinion I would oblige. It's your perogative to like T-Racks better. I'd be interested in hearing why you do, if you've used both.

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 1 Feb 2016 2:47 pm

T-Racks ( program) has the option of installing Stand-alone or under the DAW. Maybe you guys missed it.

In fact, it's one of the listed features !

http://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/tr ... free-specs

I only bring this up as the comments above state it only loads under the DAW.

Personally I would not want them in the effects bin under the DAW either and that is why I loaded the program as Stand-Alone.

My pants are not in a knot. I am making a correction.

I get it about one screen shot , yes, T-racks ( as the name implies) is separate racks( modules). Some may see that as an issue , others may not. To me it doesn't matter one way or the other.