iZotope, Inc. launched Ozone 9, building on a seventeen year legacy in audio mastering. Ozone 9 brings balance to music with never-before seen processing for low end, new real-time instrument separation, and lightning-fast workflows powered by machine learning.
With features such as its expanded Master Assistant, creators can deliver the exact vibe they are looking for - from warm analog character to transparent loudness for streaming. Ozone 9’s Tonal Balance Control can now talk to more iZotope plug-ins in the session and plug-in performance is improved for faster work, smoother metering, and resizable windows, helping users get rid of any uncertainty on whether music is ready for release.
Master Rebalance gives Ozone 9 users the final say in a mix. Instrument levels can be corrected or changed without needing the original tracks. For example, users can add presence to vocals without affecting the midrange, or eliminate muddy low end by slightly lowering the bass guitar. Weak-sounding drums can be corrected with one small boost that can save hours of EQ surgery.
Low End Focus is the first line of defense against a muddy or blurry low end in a mix. Using Ozone 9’s new processing designed to enhance bass sounds, this feature brings clarity to a users’ low end and gives a well-defined foundation for each track. Creators can also tame unruly or clashing kick drums and boomy bass guitars without changing overall impact and go in-depth with surgical controls that shape tone and timbre, bringing out the best in the low end - with minimal artifacts - using this industry-first bass shaping tool.
“In Ozone 9, we focused heavily on delivering experiences that no one has ever seen to the world of mixing and mastering, while enhancing the innovations that version 8 introduced two years ago,” said iZotope Product Manager Dan Gonzalez. “With tools and workflows powered by source separation, spectral processing, inter-plugin communication and machine learning we aim to give our users confidence and inspiration at every stage of their mix and master with one suite of plugins. We can’t wait for everyone to try it out - it truly is the future of mastering.”
Ozone 9’s improved Tonal Balance Control allows tracks to be adjusted to targets based on thousands of professional masters, drawing on decades of mastering expertise. Now with faster performance and smooth metering, Tonal Balance Control also provides more ways to communicate with other iZotope plug-ins across a session. Users can call up any instance of Neutron, Nectar, Relay or Ozone, and make per-track adjustments to EQ and gain and accurately fine tune a mix in any listening environment or genre, while easily addressing balance issues without opening multiple plug-ins.
Ozone 9’s improved Master Assistant uses machine learning to create a custom preset in seconds. The new Vintage mode provides automatic adjustments for Vintage EQ, Vintage Limiter, and more, to allow users to quickly add the right combination of color and character. Master Assistant Intelligently sets loudness to meet CD or streaming targets, preparing a solid master for distribution in seconds. Or, users can load a reference track to have Master Assistant match the flavor and intensity of any audio.
Ozone 9 brings the tone and vibe of favorite artists to a track with the upgraded Match EQ. Match to any reference track with over 8000 separate bands to give the most precise snapshot possible. New region parameters now give more control over the end result by letting users choose what parts of the audio to match. They can also capture a reference from a track in a session, or a reference file loaded into Ozone 9 and save favorite results as presets for easy access.
Ozone 9 Key Features
- Master Rebalance: Adjust the levels of vocals and other instruments in a stereo audio file, solve balance issues without needing the original stems.
- Low End Focus: Quickly adjust the contrast and definition of low frequencies and get a hard hitting master every time, without needing a complex plug-in chain.
- Improved Tonal Balance Control: Tonal Balance Control is improved with smoother metering, resizability, new target curves, and inter-plugin communication with Relay and Nectar for quick and easy gain control across the mixing and mastering stages.
- Expanded Master Assistant: Choose from a modern or vintage vibe, with loudness targets for CD and streaming. Get a great starting point every time, no matter the style, format, or genre.
- Match EQ module: Ozone 9 offers a brand new experience for Match EQ, with a better preset workflow, the ability to match from a reference track, and deeper controls that let users match parts of the frequency spectrum.
- Vintage Modules: A colorful collection of Vintage modules add warmth, grit, and vibe to a creator’s music, now in Ozone 9 Standard.
- Updated UI/UX: Ozone 9 is faster and easier to use, with a modernized resizable interface, fluid metering, and an expanded module chain.
- Native Instruments NKS Support: NKS support puts Ozone directly into the creative production process. Easily access controls, presets and DSP from within an NKS supported environment, such as MASCHINE or a KOMPLETE KONTROL keyboard.
- Improved Performance: Experience faster performance and smoother workflows improved visualizations and fluid metering.
- Component plug-ins: Use any Ozone 9 Advanced module as a separate plug-in in a DAW, meaning users get more than 10 component module plugins.
With the release, iZotope is also pleased to introduce Music Production Suite 3, giving access to over thirty industry-standard plug-ins that interact across the session and provide time-saving assistive features, innovative new workflows, and cutting-edge visual analysis tools. It features the brand new Ozone 9, along with iZotope’s most musical stereo reverbs R4 and NIMBUS. Users will also take advantage of educational content with a one-year Groov3’s All-Access Pass.
iZotope’s Tonal Balance Bundle, which includes Neutron 3 now also includes Nectar, Ozone 9, and brings mixing and mastering into one interconnected workflow that will help creators achieve a professional, polished sound.
Different options for Ozone 9: Ozone 9 Advanced ($499 MSRP), Ozone 9 Standard ($249 MSRP), Ozone 9 Elements ($129 MSRP). Also included in Music Production Suite 3 ($999 MSRP) and Tonal Balance Bundle ($699 MSRP). More at www.izotope.com.