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I'm trying to use Izotope Ozone 8 for some amateur mastering. Need some advise on how to approach this in relation to Reason.

Should I just add the Ozone plugin in the master section insert FX slot? OR should I export the song and use standalone version? If so, is there some kind og checklist of how I should make sure to "leave" Reason - any settings I should be aware of before exporting with this purpose of importing to Ozone? I found that some say I should put master fader to -6db.. true? Stuff like that?

Rendering your song can be a good idea when it comes to efficient CPU and RAM usage.

It's 2018, not 1981, so as long as you don't clip, you should be fine, so no need for these headrooms these days in the digital domain.

Only use something when you need it, don't 'force' mastering. So, know what you really want to achieve and work accordingly.


Self-employed mastering engineers suggest: hire a mastering engineer.

Yes clipping is not good. But i think u must know what u want.

a complete mastering from your wavefile or every single channel.

there are different ways to master with ozone.

the best way is that your mix is good:

bounce your track or better all files seperatly.

1-EQ with mid/side
2-Imager
3-Maximizer
4-Compressor

you can do it with the wave file and or with all single channel

but donth dither your track bevor you do mastering.

and youtube is a great place to see videos how to make that as a not engeneer

Micha

Well...

Hire a mastering engineer, that would be the best.

If you want to try yourself, I suggest you work on the standalone application.

Important:
Render your song at 24 bit without dithering.
Make sure it is not clipping before rendering; you don't need -6 dB, but that's a fool proof number to make sure you don't clip at all (you can use a true peak meter that tells you exactly where your peaks are. As long as they are below 0, you are golden)

The better your mix, the better the quality of your master, so mix it really well. If not sure how, hiring a mix engineer error be the best. Or hiring a mastering engineer who will tell you what you could do to improve your mix before mastering.

Final notes:

The maximiser is the last step of the chain.
Don't be afraid to try the master assistant in ozone 8 to get a good starting point.
Don't be afraid to tweak the parameters suggested by the assistant.
If you want your song to be recorded onto a CD at any point, dither and revert at 16 bits. Otherwise leave at 24 bits and don't dither. You can bounce to MP3 right from the standalone as well, and also don't dither when you bounce to MP3.

Good luck!

Mandy Parnell has some great advices:
https://www.ableton.com/en/blog/mandy-p ... mastering/

Here's the actual video from Marco's post: