TABLE OF CONTENTS Intended Audience for this Guide ......................................................................................................5 About the 2013 Edition ...........................................................................................................................5 Additional Resources ...............................................................................................................................5 About iZotope ............................................................................................................................................5 1: INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................6 It All Begins with the Mix ........................................................................................................................6 Diagnosing Common Problems ...........................................................................................................6 What Do I Do Now? ..................................................................................................................................7 2: WHAT IS MASTERING? .................................................................................................8 The Sound of a “Record” ..........................................................................................................................8 Consistency Across an Album ...............................................................................................................8 Preparation for Distribution .................................................................................................................8 Approaches to Mastering .......................................................................................................................9 3: MASTERING BASICS ......................................................................................................10 Mixing vs Mastering .................................................................................................................................10 Mastering Effects .......................................................................................................................................10 Presets ...........................................................................................................................................................12 General Recommendations While Mastering ................................................................................12 4: WHAT IS OZONE? ...........................................................................................................15 Analog Modeling ......................................................................................................................................15 Digital Precision ........................................................................................................................................15 Meters and DSP .........................................................................................................................................16 5: EQUALIZER ....................................................................................................................17 What’s the Goal of EQ when Mastering? ..........................................................................................17 Principles of EQ ..........................................................................................................................................17 Using the Ozone Equalizer ....................................................................................................................20 General EQ Tips ..........................................................................................................................................27 2 6: DYNAMICS .....................................................................................................................30 What’s the Goal of Dynamics Processing when Mastering? .....................................................30 Principles of Dynamics Processing ......................................................................................................30 Using the Ozone Dynamics Module ...................................................................................................31 General Dynamics Processing Tips ....................................................................................................38 7: LOUDNESS MAXIMIZER (Limiting) ............................................................................39 What’s the Goal of Loudness Maximizing when Mastering? ....................................................39 Principles of Limiting ...............................................................................................................................39 Using the Ozone Loudness Maximizer ..............................................................................................40 General Maximizer Tips ..........................................................................................................................43 8: REVERB ...........................................................................................................................44 What’s the Goal of Reverb when Mastering? .................................................................................44 Principles of Reverb ..................................................................................................................................44 Using the Ozone Reverb ........................................................................................................................45 General Reverb Tips .................................................................................................................................48 9: STEREO IMAGING .........................................................................................................49 What’s the Goal of Stereo Imaging when Mastering? ..................................................................49 Principles of Stereo Imaging .................................................................................................................49 Using the Ozone Stereo Imager and Phase Meter .......................................................................50 General Stereo Imaging Tips ................................................................................................................53 10: HARMONIC EXCITER ..................................................................................................54 What’s the Goal of Harmonic Exciting when Mastering? ...........................................................54 Principles of Harmonic Excitation .......................................................................................................55 Using the Ozone Harmonic Exciter .....................................................................................................55 General Harmonic Exciter Tips .............................................................................................................57 11: METERS .........................................................................................................................58 Level Meters ................................................................................................................................................58 Spectrograms .............................................................................................................................................59 Vectorscope/Correlation/Stereo Image Metering .........................................................................59 3 12: A NOTE ON TARGET FORMATS ..................................................................................61 13: TIPS FROM MORE PROS .............................................................................................62 Greg Calbi .....................................................................................................................................................62 Adam Ayan .................................................................................................................................................63 Bob Ohlsson ................................................................................................................................................63 Marc-Dieter Einstmann ...........................................................................................................................64 Scott Hull ......................................................................................................................................................64 14: IN SUMMARY ...............................................................................................................66 APPENDIX A: GETTING SET UP FOR MASTERING ........................................................68 Software and Sound Card .....................................................................................................................68 Monitors ......................................................................................................................................................68 Headphones ...............................................................................................................................................70 APPENDIX B: GENERAL OZONE TOOLS .........................................................................71