Mixing & Mastering Tutorial Pt 1: Limiter in Ozone w/ Ableton Live

[Patritz]

would you put a limiter on the master whilst mixing?

[TheCapitanman]

Is that the adv. version ?

[NSSkyline]

Is it best to master a track that is in its production stage (with all the chanels and all the midi, etc) or to convert it into an mp3, then load it into ableton, and master it?

because in this tutorial, its a wave form, not the actual project file?

[DJJayV33]

Do you recommend exporting your track then mastering or master it while having all your sounds in each mixer & putting ozone in the master channel which works best?

[DJMikeDubstep]

How did you get that skin? :o

[crizthakidd]

do we add it to the master or individual instrument

[VirtualMark2]

Hi, thanks for the tutorial. Just one question - the limiter was taking off about 7db in this case, which seems like a lot. Would it not be better to turn down the kick volume? I might be totally wrong, but i don't know a lot about mastering and am just trying to clarify this, thanks.

[noxxing]

also are all the features on this video included in the standard version?..cuz i can't afford the advanced version...

[WANABGUITARIST221375]

I have that ozone thing :D

[DjNemes1s]

Awesome tutorial thank you! :)

[MPMOFFICIAL]

Hey, thanks for the video! I followed the tutorial exactly to a heavy sounding electro track I have and what it does is take down the volume and power of the song. When I turn off Ozone, it sounds much better than when it's on. It not only decreases the volume of the master track, but takes away the punch of the kick and snare. Why is this? Is there anything I can do to change this effect?

[hypergod3]

use ozone 5 is better !

[CVholik]

Great vid daniel! quick question though, ive read its not recomend to dither twice, say if i want to bounce my track at 16bit and i set the dither to that in ozone, i would still have to dither in ableton to make the file 16 bit, so whats the point of dithering in ozone if ableton already does it?

[PeterKeuneVideos]

Wow nice tutorial...I actually went to dubspot last June because I was interested in taking a course or two there.I spoke with a guy about what I was interested in doing. He wasn't a teacher but he said he would "Email me all the details about payment and other details"...And I NEVER Received that email. Dubspot does look like a good school...But Since he never emailed me it kind of showed me how things work there and which is why I didn't go there :P

[PeterKeuneVideos]

@PeterKeuneVideos It was just a very hard choice for me at that time to drop that kind of money without no Loans or FAFSA available there. But I wonder if he wouldve emailed me maybe I wouldve gone there. Oh well

[sailikaTV]

lol why im watching this after one year :(

[bahady30]

Thank you very much for this !! I'm slowly getting into mastering my band projects and now they become more alive....

[DarrenMalla]

Hi, do you think exporting your track on -6db, then master the audio file is better? and also does the track loose some of it's mastering when you export? Tell me the audio file sounds exactly as it sounds on ableton! Thanks.

[Patches]

@DarrenMalla i know right i compressed some instruments down and then when i exported it sounded like I was in a hallway or an empty club even though i know it didnt sound like that in ableton. super frustrating

[DarrenMalla]

@Patches I got a tip for you.. set up a new audio track, arm it, select the input as the master, select the output as Ext.out then record the whole song.. it should sound exactly as ableton :)

[Patches]

@DarrenMalla Hey thanks a ton man :D i was doing kinda the similar thing but running the audio through resampling instead i'll run through master now. Thanks a ton!

[DarrenMalla]

@Patches Cheers :)

[funinthesunfest]

Do YOOOOOU have any idea how long I have been looking for someone to just show me how the F*%K this thing works.

Thank you, you bloody beaut.

[UnSEENandUnHEARD1]

Check Out Our Page!! WE DO MIXING AND MASTERING FOR THE CHEAPEST!! WE ALSO HELP GETTING YOUR MUSIC OUT THERE... CHECK US OUT!

[8ii99ii8]

So before going in the mastering process, how loud should you get your tracks to? Like i heard no more than -3db on your master bus. How loud do you recommend?

[novanine9]

Do you also apply dithering when mixing down to 2 tracks, or is that done only at the mastering stage? Thanks

[KrackhauSwag]

great video mate, I am just wondering is it possible to just master tracks with software? or do i need professioinal sounding hardware ? thats the part where i am stuck and thinking of giving up. i dont have money to invest and have professionals master produce my tracks and I want to learn on my own! everyone says my tracks are good and even have been blogged on many websites even though they arent mastered :( So my question is could I possibly have everything mastered with izotope ? THANK YOU

[gameAap]

@KrackhauSwag most of the time when a label wants to release a track they hire an engineer to master they track(s), so you will have to get an label to release your music if you really want to get something going on!!

[oatmealclock]

how do u get ozone 4 into ableton

[DubSpot]

@oatmealclockAfter Installed, it will show up in your plugin list. Then you can simply drop Ozone onto a Track or Master channel.

[CloudySpike89]

@DubSpot Does this work with FL Studio as well?

[Alxbeginner]

@oatmealclock you buy it (or get it somewhere else) and install it :)

[Conscious]

Awesome tutorial as always. I love Ozone.

[TheSimolar]

I found a great mixing and mastering tutorial

audio-production . com

[ExclusivBL]

but i've heard everywere & from everyone that limiting is the last step of mastering o .o

[praterzensey]

HELP PLEASE!!!

using ableton's compressors EQs and limiters before using izotope ozone or ozone 's compressors EQs and limiters are enough?

thanks for the reply!

[cataclysmfree]

could you explain the reason why mine sounds all distorted? in between the trheshold bar and the margin bar, my meter is way higher than yours? what does this mean

[88res]

I dont understand. I've been told throughout my whole endeavor into production that limiting is your last step no exceptions... And youre saying this isnt true?

[codyblackv2]

tyvm

[lucasm191]

do you apply the effect on the whole track or just like on the drum track or piano etc ??

[DuBsTePsMyGaMe]

@lucasm191 he inserted Izotope Ozone 4 into the master channel of the mixer

[RoughTunersOfficial]

really good video. it helped us very much! now our Track Sounds better! Thx

[AceFire117]

Thank you so much for your videos ! helped me to learn a bit more on how to master. I had to do it quickly to master my metal band's EP Intro, it was a good practice !

But with the dithering beeing at "16 bit", When I Export it automaticly says "32 bit (float)" should i select "16 bit" instead ?

[hkim927]

is there any way to effectively cut below 30hz? a high pass at 30hz doesn't do much and my sub bass is causing too much mudding.

[evad520]

@hkim927 Do that in your mix. If your using Abelton throw the 8 EQ on your master track and drop off the bottom 40Hz.

[NickB33]

Question: Does ozone work in Logic aswell? And do you have any tutorials using logic instead of ableton? cheers mate!

[TheJonaslaursen]

@NickB33 You just need Ozone as an AU then youre good.

[lAciDz]

Does your song have to be rendered on 0 db before using this or wont it work cause i know to make a song not to load i have to let it peak at 0 db :P

[MenaceReloaded]

Thanks so much but I have a question: Does it matter if the master channel is clipping before I would add the Ozone plugin or should I adjust the level of the master before or even put another limiter before the Ozone plugin?

[DubSpot]

@MenaceReloaded Make sure you have at least -3 to -6db of headroom on your master channel before you start mixing/mastering at all, if you mix/master with a clipped signal, you are stuck with a digitally distorted piece of audio. it's a good rule of thumb to stay away from clipping completely so you're not losing any of your signal

[MenaceReloaded]

@DubSpot Thanks so much. I love your videos. I finally have better results.

[MenaceReloaded]

@DubSpot I still didn't find out why the volume of the master sounds like jumping up and down sometimes after following all from your 3 videos about Ozone.

[Onewerdy]

@bukkakebab I gotta agree with this....it went against my experience, but I tried it with Ozone anyways. It seems that that many Db's of attenuation is REAL extreme. Has never sounded good in my experience. I recall Bob Katz saying that he tried to avoid limiting as much as possible....that's an extremem case, but it certainly is at the opposite end of the spectrum from 8 Db's!

[dhyantechno]

@Simplistic7SalvatioN no theres for PC too :)

[joshuabigyoshi]

is there ever a time wen you have to automate the limiter to get the sound right

[danniweezi]

hi, my name daniel and i a very big problem in mastering and mixing including compressing. i have a small studio in ma house and i have lost client because of bad mastering

[Tablo0213]

Nice mixing! The "loud" sound you only showed is like commercial dubstep sound.

[DCDMastering]

This is some great info for all the home studio cats!

Get Free PROFESSIONAL mastering over the next 4 weeks from DCDM, Sydney! Check our channel for info!

[YungGuttaG1]

FINALLY A GOOD TUTORIAL THANKS MAN

[amiller90]

@Simplistic7SalvatioN Nope, its available for PC too :)

[xDet3rmin4tionx]

Ok so what if you still want it louder but it starts to sound like shit? Thats where I am at at my song :(, I was more volume but its sounding like ass atm :(. Any ideas anyone?

[amiller90]

@xDet3rmin4tionx Sounds like you're over limiting. You shouldn't really go over ~3 db of gain reduction or it'll start to distort and will actually sound a lot weaker. If you want to hear it louder then turn your speakers up, not your track's actual volume.

[xDet3rmin4tionx]

@amiller90 But how can I get the track louder? It's not the volume of commercial tracks yet :(?

[amiller90]

@xDet3rmin4tionx You might want to try EQing out certain frequencies where things are getting muddy. Try sweeping a notch filter from low to high to see which frequencies are causing the muddiness. By reducing some of these frequencies it can actually make other things sound louder. If the bass is too heavy it can just overpower everything else so try filtering out the lowest sub frequencies of the bass and play with filters in the mid/high range to see what sounds best/least muddy.

[xDet3rmin4tionx]

@amiller90 That makes sense and is really good advice, I had done sub bass but there is prob areas of "mush" taking up way to much "room" so if I drop some stuff that won't be missed maybe I can get it sounding louder with out being a mess. Thank you. I really appreciate that very much.

[amiller90]

@xDet3rmin4tionx No problem. Also, if you have a heavy kick you might want to try ducking the kick behind the bass with sidechaining. You can also use some compression on the master track to boost some of the quieter frequencies and make the overall track sound louder.

Send me the track on ytube or soundcloud (my username is amiller90) if you want and I'll have a listen.

[amiller90]

@xDet3rmin4tionx Sorry i meant ducking the bass behind the kick, lol.

[ImUnique651]

Great mixing...Im a beginner and running pro tools but looking at how different people mix and master.

[fazeunclegersh]

great advert at the end- what a voiceover... really really inviting shit.. 

[watisthis99]

nice sound brah

[TheFunkSyndicate]

Damn dubspot, where did you guys get the money for that room full of electronics lol?

btw, still great stuff ^^ keep it up =D

[ymmij126]

what tables do u recommend for beginners not so expnsive...

[youngTAGZ]

U helped me alot is there anyway I can get in ur online class and how much does it cost

[ymmij126]

@youngTAGZ ha its like from 1000 to 10000 fuk that!!!

[iDennedy]

LIKE THIS IF YOU WERE THE 9,000TH VIEWER!!!!....wait never mind...

[wakeboardude37]

Im not someone who even mixes dub music, but this video was still very helpful for simply improving my skills on ozone. Thank you.

[DubSpot]

@Menace030 tomorrow! Stay tuned

[FinalFragment]

Still waiting... :)

[hkim927]

when you begin mastering with ozone is the master track's volume at 100%?

also, great vid cant wait for pt 2 so my tracks can sound somewhat legit haha.

[DubSpot]

Yes, you want to begin mastering songs at 100% volume, making sure the original mixdown has -3 to -6db "headroom." Headroom means the track doesn't exceed a certain volume, that way when you master the track it won't clip when you limit/compress to make it sound louder & fuller.

That's an oversimplified answered for mastering haha To learn more stay tuned for part 2, and when you're ready for the next level take our Mixing & Mastering course here at Dubspot NYC!

[hkim927]

@DubSpot if only they had a class in chicago.

[DjEvolux]

@DubSpot Hello, Your demo sounds good! But then I tried directly in my Master, to apply a Sonalksis Free-G -12/-18db before the Ozone 4 (especially in Logic) and I have to admit that they have gained greater headroom than the value of -3/-6dB. What do you think about it? Have you ever tried to get off with more gain? I'm curious to know about it.

[StudioBrooklyn]

Glad your sharing some theroy w/ students. Personally I am not a fan of sending my tracks off to be mastered w/ any limiting. Some light (Outboard) stereo-bus compression to "glue" the music together, sure, but the more dynamic range you take out of the song will actually make the not as hot on the dance-floor ( glad you mentioned that ;) I think 2 major elements that are missing in the DJ/producer/electronic music world 1. Proper Monitoring and 2. Summing. (bit depth vs. volume) in/out of box

[pinksue]

@DubSpot wow -3 to -6db??? I was always told -12 to -15 for headroom... Is this a generational thing???

[dhyantechno]

@DubSpot what do you mean about "headroom" ....??? u mean that i need to put the levels of my audio / midi channels in a range of -3 to -6db? and work the entire track with that refference? but i ahve a question.. I use ableton live to make music and my goal is to make a live performance.. if y make the tracks at -3 to -6db range... when I play the clipsthe music will sounds lower... I dont understand that :S can u please help me with that?

[Absalohm]

Are these settings demonstrated in the video usable for other genres such as techno, trance or house music? I ask because most of your videos are based on dubstep/glitch-hop music so I was just wondering if i could apply those settings on a trance track for example. Thank you for your videos. Wish i was in NYC :(

[DubSpot]

@Absalohm yes definitely, start with the recommended settings and then tweak to taste to fit your song.

[laksemand]

This is great! I am also really impressed with Izotope's Ozone and Trash alike. Can't wait for the next part. Please keep them coming. (I'm willing to pay for them ;)

[DubSpot]

@laksemand be sure to check out our forthcoming online mixing and mastering course from dubspot.com, it should be launching in April and will be taught by Daniel Wyatt.

[FinalFragment]

Part 2 Please!?!

[DubSpot]

@FinalFragment we're working on it, subscribe to get notification when it comes in.

[FinalFragment]

@DubSpot Subscribed a looong time ago, freaking love you guys =)

[Tr0ll321]

How do I install VST's? I watched some tutorial vids but it didn't help, I somehow have 2 VST folders, I'm hitting scan on Ableton live but it doesnt recognize any VST's :(

[TheAzulureus]

@Tr0ll321 u gotta make sure the install or.dll file is in the vst folder located in your local disk.

[apollotm]

@Tr0ll321 The default folder for VST plugins is C:/Program Files/Steinberg/VstPlugIns. That is where you need to intall the VST's. It doesn't matter if the dll's are in a subfolder, just to bee there. You can choose to install them in a different folder, just make it consistent, meaning to have them all in the same location. Next, you neeh to activate the "Use VST Plug-In Custom Folder", hit browse underneath and point to the folder you installed all of the VST's. That's it! Good luck!

[apollotm]

The last 2 options were in Ableton Live's Preferences by the way.

[TheAzulureus]

wow ive been having problem with volume and compressing in music, i feel like im learning

[deprefuse]

The track in this video is RuOK? - Like That

available for free download here: soundcloud(dot)com/ruokmusic

[DubSpot]

@deprefuse Yes and it should also be mentioned that this is a collaboration between Boychuk and fellow former Dubspot student DJ Subset. The group name for their collaboration is RuOK?

[ClubdunnyTv]

do you export a wav with nothing on the master before this ? thanks

[DubSpot]

@ClubdunnyTv yes that's correct, export a 24bit wav with no clipping and some headroom (left over empty volume).

[bmd77]

nice one

[BillyLongacre]

I can't even find "Boychuck" on myspace, soundcloud, twitter, facebook, haaha....dope song!

[DubSpot]

@BillyLongacre Check out Daniel Boychuk's music at soundcloud user: dboychuk (sorry I can't paste links into YT)  He's got some tracks and mixes up there.

[DubSpot]

@DubSpot if you click on the link in the description you'll find a link to his soundcloud page.

[CharlesBr0ns0n]

Can one achieve the same quality using mastering plugins like the Izotope Ozone compared to hardware mastering chains (limiter, compressor etc)?

[DubSpot]

@CharlesBr0ns0n it's a matter of preference, some people prefer hardware and some prefer software. The basic principles and techniques are the same so if you learn to do it here you will have a head start if you want to do the same thing with hardware. It also makes a difference WHICH hardware mastering chain you use, if you use poor quality hardware you'll get a worse sound.

[CharlesBr0ns0n]

@DubSpot well, thank you. It's just because a lot of people told me that one cannot really reach the quality level of (expensive) hardware. Of course, the theory behind is pretty much the same. Appreciating your tutorials very much, greetings =)

[DubSpot]

@CharlesBr0ns0n you're welcome. The most important thing in the mastering process is using your ears and knowing what you're doing. Certainly there's a lot that can be done with expensive hardware that will sound great but software also has an important role to play.

[TheSpambomber]

great tut



[pandasecksi]

I NEED TO KNOW WHERE I CAN FIND THAT SONG

[calic0chamele0n]

very good vid. always thankful for the free knowledge. i want to go so bad

[karmagreen]

Awesome! Iv'e been waiting for a tutorial like this :D

[Capeau]

where are the other parts? :(

[DubSpot]

@Capeau other parts are coming soon, subscribe to our channel for updates on when they're released.

[3S0JJD]

How much auto gain makeup do you recommend? I usually use around 5dB, but I see you're using around 7dB.

[apollotm]

@3S0JJD there is no such thing as gain makeup in limiting ... what are you talking about?

[3S0JJD]

@apollotm

The bar that shows how much limiting is being done. He mentions it at 3:31.

I usually get around 5 in that bar.

[apollotm]

@3S0JJD yes, of course, but that is not makeup gain, that is gain reduction. You would find gain reduction in a compressor for example, where all the sounds above a threshold are reduced in volume, so afterwords you need to increase the gain to makeup for the loss in volume. A limiter on the other hand works by pushing up the volume while limiting the peaks at a designated target. It displays afterwards how much volume it decresed from the incoming peaks, which is gain reduction.

[apollotm]

I know you can do limiting with a compressor by setting the ratio to infinity, in which you need to use the makeup gain of the compressor like when you compress, and that there are compressors that also provide limiting, but I was talking in general :)

[apollotm]

But to answer your question, there is not a recommended gain reduction. It all depends on the track and personal preference. Some do not even use the limiter to reduce the dynamic range, but use the compressor, and the limiter just sits there with the threshold to 0 or -0.3dB to take out any peaks that the compressor misses. It all depends, just make sure you don't squash the sound to much so as to loose power or expressiveness due to a too narrow dynamic range. Cheers!

[DubSpot]

@apollotm Daniel Wyatt says: "i don't really measure by make-up gain...rather by gain reduction....for dance tracks 3-5 dB is usually good...for coffeeshop, downtempo....5-8 dB is usually about right..."

[Phantom71]

Great vid. Thanks!

[richguy77]

THank You.

[blissful0ne]

Aw dude I was really lookin forward to this tutorial, but I feel like I didn't learn much :/

[apollotm]

@blissful0ne what more to learn regarding limiting? And about other parts of the mastering there will be other videos ... hopefully :))

[DubSpot]

@apollotm thanks, we're working on part 2 going through some of the other sections of the plugin and explaining them.

[peen2k]

very very usefull..i want more! :)

[ElectricalConnection]

great tutorial,moarr please