Izotope Ozone 3 - help needed!

[georginasaint]

Well, Silvercord, Mojobone and Cameron, I took your advice and downloaded Izotope Ozone 3 and i've read most of the 60-odd page manual. Very ejukational and enlightening. However, nowhere does it tell you how to actually get to the thing and use it to master your track ... well I suspect I should open Cubase and load in an audio track, right? But then how do I call upon Ozone from there? Have I installed it into the wrong file (as usual)? Should it be under plug-in information? Any ideas? Is there no "Ozone 3 for dummies" anywhere?Thanks for any help you can throw my way, Georgina

[mojobone]

Don't have or use Ozone, meself, (I use Finalmix) but usually you click on the downloaded file (Maybe unzip it first if it's zipped) find the executable file (Usually it'll say setup.exe or something similar) double click that to start the installer. If you've done all that the plug should show up in the plugins menu.If it doesn't, you can drag and drop the .dll file in the plugins folder, or jes' put the whole unzipped file in there if it helps you keep track of the manual. I haven't used Cubase in forever, so someone else may be able to tell you where that is, but you can click on My Computer>[the drive your programs are on]>Program Files>Steinberg>VST Plugins if you're on a PC.

[georginasaint]

HI MJB, once again and thanks for replying. I have been on the site looking for more info cos I can't find an exe and i can't find a .dll - apparently there's no exe cos it's exe'd from within the DAW but as it's not appearing in my DAW I can't exe it Ah well, it's midnight and I've got two songs I want to submit over the next couple of days so I'm just going to add a little compression using Cubase and think about Ozone later on when I have time. My poor little head is spinning with all this new stuff I'm trying to learn at once. Thanks again, I've printed you instructions and will follow up...Georgie

[gatorjj]

Georgina,Ozone is a VST plugin. It should be installed wherever you usually install plugins (where Mojo says is the main place, Program Files\Vstplugins is usually another, though I haven't used Cubase in a good long time either). You may need to rescan the plugins in Cubase to have it be found.J.J.

[elser]

Aug 17, 2008, 11:31am, georginasaint wrote:However, nowhere does it tell you how to actually get to the thing and use it to master your track ... well I suspect I should open Cubase and load in an audio track, right? But then how do I call upon Ozone from there? Hi Georgina, I can't tell you about where to install it, I use a Mac, but once it's installed, rather than putting it on an audio track as you suggest, you would put it on either your output channels, probably 'output 1-2' or on your 'master' channel if it has a place for plugins.It's a good idea to mix the tune first and make it sound as good as you can without Ozone and then once that process is finished go back and try some of the presets in Ozone and see if they make it sound better.Best, Elser

[wodinlord]

I have and love OZ3 and use it on every mix, but if you start just trying presets, you will probably hate it. The presets are usually too extreme and the input level into and settings in each of them can make a huge difference. Open it up and turn all of the internal plugs off. Then try each one separately and get to know what each one does and won't do. The stereo expansion and exciter are very useful, but a tiny bit goes a long way. Get to know what the amount, mix and delay settings do. The loudness maximizer is very good. The parametric should be used lightly if at all. OZ3 is a very useful tool, but it will take some real study to use it to proper effect in mastering. It has a ton of parameters to learn, but that is what makes it so flexible. Unfortunately, IMHO, there is no magic mastering preset that will work for you. But, take some time to learn it well and it will give that final sheen to a mix. Good Luck!I tend to use only the exciter, stereo imaging and loudness maximizer. I get my mix together w/o it and then turn it on my master buss with an L2 behind it that I use to do final level setting and just barely pump the reduction meter on the L2. So, I record my final mix through it. Wodinlord

[mojobone]

Any tips on installing it, Wodinlord?

[wodinlord]

Aug 18, 2008, 12:16pm, mojobone wrote:Any tips on installing it, Wodinlord?Sorry, I only work in ProTools and it basically installs itself. You must have other plug-ins, I would assume, it should just be installed like all your others and called up just like other plugs. Wish I could be more help.Kerry

[gatorjj]

I just downloaded and installed the latest version (got screenshots too if you want them!). Basically it defaults to C:\Program Files\Vstplugins as it's install directory of the DLL file. If you merrily clicked your way through the install without changing anything, that's where it will end up.So....make sure you either have Cubase scan that folder (every plug I have seems to use it) or take the DLL out of it and move it to your VST folder of choice!