For me, the biggest difference is the level of control I have at my fingertips. Whether I’m processing my vocals remotely, prepping stems for my live show, or mixing down a live recording, Ozone lets me shape the sound exactly how I want it.
One of the most powerful features for me is the Stem Separation.
As a vocalist, being able to isolate and work on just the vocal mix is a game-changer. It allows me to bring my voice right to the front of the mix quickly and easily, which is essential for the kind of clarity and emotional delivery I want.
Spectral Shaper allows me to control things like sibilance in a vocal without having to layer multiple plugins.
When I’m preparing tracks for my live show, especially if I’m blending three or four tracks using grouped stems, I need to make sure nothing gets lost in the mix. Ozone helps me manage that beautifully. I can balance the low end across different tracks without sacrificing clarity or punch. With a live band involved, there are so many sonic elements happening at once, and Ozone allows me to keep everything clean, dynamic, and powerful, even in complex arrangements.
Ozone also speeds up my workflow. I can quickly apply a mastering preset or use the Master Assistant to get a sense of the finished mix and identify where level tweaks are needed. I love the fact that the controls are simple and it’s a really visual way of working, it doesn’t overcomplicate things, and you can achieve a clean sound quickly and easily without losing hours tweaking.
Pro tip from Ruth Royall: The Master Rebalance tool is really helpful for isolating parts of the track to then boost or reduce the gain. This is really helpful as you don’t have to go back into your project and tweak the mix. You can do it at the final stage.