Sonible Studios Bundle

[wendylou]

Does anyone have experience with Sonible plugins? I'm thinking of replacing Ozone 10 Advanced because a lot of iZotope Ozone owners are having endless validation issues on M1/M2, whether in Rosetta or Native mode.

Izotope just informed me that the plugins won't work in Final Cut Pro, but they claim the AU should work in Logic, and the VST3 should work in Reason. However, it fails validation for Apple Silicon users in Logic, and in Reason 12, it seems to be enabled but will lock up Reason if you attempt to use any of the 17 plugins. Many iZotope users are having similar validation issues, and the consensus is that iZotope/Native Instruments tech support has no intention of addressing the problem.

So any advice on Sonible is welcome.

[WarStar]

They're great! A tad more user friendly than Ozone as far as mastering it seems.. I have a few of their vsts and I love them. Super streamlined and top notch gui design.. and they do what they say they do very well.. most of their stuff has AI behind it so it definitely quickens the pace especially if you're in the middle of writing a song or part and you need to make some quick eq or compression, etc, decisions to keep the creative flow going these are perfect

[moneykube]

Does anyone have experience with Sonible plugins? I'm thinking of replacing Ozone 10 Advanced because a lot of iZotope Ozone owners are having endless validation issues on M1/M2, whether in Rosetta or Native mode.

Izotope just informed me that the plugins won't work in Final Cut Pro, but they claim the AU should work in Logic, and the VST3 should work in Reason. However, it fails validation for Apple Silicon users in Logic, and in Reason 12, it seems to be enabled but will lock up Reason if you attempt to use any of the 17 plugins. Many iZotope users are having similar validation issues, and the consensus is that iZotope/Native Instruments tech support has no intention of addressing the problem.

So any advice on Sonible is welcome.

strange they don't address the issue... they be hanging with the big boys now

[Arpeg]

I picked up the pure:limit. A small device but, it will boost very nicely n' is well rounded as a limiter. It's a useful quick go to device with very good results. Got it free or it was cheap at PiB!? otherwise I wouldn't have bothered picking it up but it is smart.

[wendylou]

I see their Studio Bundle has everything but the pure:bundle AI plugins. Would the Studio Bundle be the best choice to replace Ozone Advanced, or would I also be missing out by not also getting the 3 AI-assist plugins in the pure:bundle?

[... ...] Many iZotope users are having similar validation issues, and the consensus is that iZotope/Native Instruments tech support has no intention of addressing the problem.

strange they don't address the issue... they be hanging with the big boys now

Yeah, on the Logic forums, there are other users getting the same runaround from iZotope after their plugins began failing validation. I agree that this is going to hurt iZotope if they brush it off because more and more people are having the problem.

[WarStar]

I see their Studio Bundle has everything but the pure:bundle AI plugins. Would the Studio Bundle be the best choice to replace Ozone Advanced, or would I also be missing out by not also getting the 3 AI-assist plugins in the pure:bundle?

strange they don't address the issue... they be hanging with the big boys now

Yeah, on the Logic forums, there are other users getting the same runaround from iZotope after their plugins began failing validation. I agree that this is going to hurt iZotope if they brush it off because more and more people are having the problem.

The smart: VSTs are the way to go.. I'd imagine they'll have a black Friday sale.. they have sales somewhat frequently

[wendylou]

I see their Studio Bundle has everything but the pure:bundle AI plugins. Would the Studio Bundle be the best choice to replace Ozone Advanced, or would I also be missing out by not also getting the 3 AI-assist plugins in the pure:bundle?

The smart: VSTs are the way to go.. I'd imagine they'll have a black Friday sale.. they have sales somewhat frequently

Thanks! I'll wait for a sale.

[dvdrtldg]

I've had frei:raum for ages and it's a great time-saving workhorse EQ. But it doesn't show up in Reason, and I have no idea why (I can use it in Reaper and WaveLab with no issues)

[antic604]

The smart: VSTs are the way to go.. I'd imagine they'll have a black Friday sale.. they have sales somewhat frequently

I doubt the Smart:Bundle will be any cheaper than it is right now ($223,98 at audiodeluxe.com today).

The regular price is $399 and - since 2 weeks - includes 6 plugins, i.e.
* de-esser,
* gate,
* limiter,
* compressor,
* EQ, and
* reverb

[antic604]

I tried some of the Smart plugins today and I was surprised how bad the workflow was for the EQ in particular! Compared to Pro-Q3, Neutron or even Bitwig's EQ+ the the options are very limited: not possible to double click in specific place to get shelf, filter or bell; no dynamic feature, no sidechain. If that's v3, then I'm scared to check what was(not available) in v1...

[raymondh]

I've been using Sonible for 2 years. Moved from Ozone 8, when izotope were ramping up their subscription pricing...

I really like the smart:EQ3, smart:comp2 and smart:limit. the smart:reverb came in the bundle but I never use it.

The AI modelling is great. I think it not only creates a good starter, but is also quite educational.

The AI on the comp and limiter create fantastic results. The limiter produces results way better than I could get with Ozone.

The devices are also more CPU efficient, and I use them liberally in my Reason songs, could never do that with Ozone 8.

Check out White Noise Studio's reviews on Youtube.

If you are treating yourself to new mix/mastering plug-ins, I also highly recommend Kazrog True Iron.

[wendylou]

Thanks for all the great info. I'll see if I end up going Sonible, as I was able to get Ozone 11 Advanced AUs and VST3s working in all hosts, including Reason 12. But it's only a trial, so I asked iZotope for either a discount or a refund if it fails after an update – just like v10 has failed. I'm waiting to hear back from iZotope... If they can't make such a guarantee, well, then it's time to say goodby to iZotope.

[wendylou]

By the way, the new Mastering Assistant in the latest Logic Pro update works really nicely. I love how the AI creates a detailed EQ curve to balance the spectral energy. Seems like Logic is trying to reduce the reliance on 3rd party mastering tools.

[raymondh]

Thanks for all the great info. I'll see if I end up going Sonible, as I was able to get Ozone 11 Advanced AUs and VST3s working in all hosts, including Reason 12. But it's only a trial, so I asked iZotope for either a discount or a refund if it fails after an update – just like v10 has failed. I'm waiting to hear back from iZotope... If they can't make such a guarantee, well, then it's time to say goodby to iZotope.

Sorry in the delay to your PM Wendy, I am on Windows PC so can't speak to the Mac experience unfortunately.
On Windows though, the Sonible experience has been great (both in Reason and Reaper DAWs).
I always found that Izotope was CPU heavy/clunky on Windows. Apart from the Stereo Imager, I normally used Ozone as standalone mastering tool, not as plugins to assist with mixing.

[Sengin]

Tossing my vote for smart:limit - it's quite nice. Got it last holiday season on a good sale, I recommend it. Very easy to use, sounds great, has lots of optional tweaks available too.