Mixing with Ozone 10 Explained
Although Ozone 10 is often used for audio mastering purposes, it excels for mixing purposes as well. In this Ozone 10 video course from mixing expert Larry Holcombe, you'll learn how to use the various tools of Ozone 10 to create the perfect mix - from gain-staging to bus processing and more. Learn how to treat and process each instrument (or group of instruments) and discover several tips and strategies for getting the most out of every element, whether it's a featured sound or a supportive one. What's better is that you'll have access to all the audio files from the session, so you can make all the same adjustments and hear the results in your own DAW. These videos are for intermediate mixing engineers and Ozone 10 users.
Videos
• Gain Staging the Mix (11:08) - In this first video, we introduce the series and gain stage the stems to ensure that we have a suitable level to work with. We also play through the finished mix so we can hear where the track is taken.
• Volume & Panning Pt. 1 (17:42) - Next up, we work on the volume balance of our sounds to ensure that we start out with a nice balance. We also introduce some panning for that all important stereo width.
• Volume & Panning Pt. 2 (06:58) - We continue to bring in the remaining sounds, ensuring that we focus on the initial control for front back perspective: our basic volume balance.
• EQ Pt. 1 (15:41) - We jump into EQ next, using Ozone 10's Equalizer module to focus our kick and snare sounds and bring out the necessary components of these foundational sounds while attenuating other areas to make space.
• EQ Pt. 2 (14:07) - Here, we use the Equalizer module and Vintage EQ to focus our bass and guitar parts, creating separation and clarity. We also tame some harshness using surgical EQ notches.
• EQ Pt. 3 (08:48) - We approach the synths next, again removing problem frequencies and boosting areas to help parts cut through.
• Vocal EQ (13:02) - For the vocal, we use a combination of Vintage EQ and Equalizer to lift the vocal up and create contrast with the guitars.
• Drum Compression (13:15) - We tackle drum compression next, including an explanation of how you can use transient levels to create front-back perspective. We demonstrate strategies to bring the drums forward or push them back and also discuss using musical release times to enhance the groove.
• Instrument Compression (09:12) - We continue compressing the other instruments next, both individually and as groups. Again, the focus is on creating front-back perspective to create a 3D mix space.
• Vocal Compression (07:48) - We use compression to create density in the vocal and then add Vintage Compressor to inject some hype and vibe.
• Additive EQ & Excitation (08:58) - Next, we employ some vintage processing to add harmonic excitation to various marquee sounds in the mix. This helps ensure our key sounds have the chance to shine.
• Parallel Compression (08:29) - In this video, we add some hype and energy into grouped sounds via parallel compression. This helps focus and bring out everything we have done up to this point.
• Bus Processing (11:26) - We use the Exciter module to increase the size and thickness of the drums and instruments next. This is done in mid-side mode, allowing us to push certain areas of the frequency spectrum to the sides for a nice stereo image.
• Master Chain (15:21) - For the last step, we add a basic master chain for some final processing to the mixdown. This is done using Ozone 10's various modules, with final limiting added at the bottom of the chain.
• Final Play Through (05:08) - Finally, we play through the final mix from start to finish so you can hear the finished product.