Izotope Mixing And Mastering

[Marcelo Chaplin]

SoI have owned most Izotope plugs for years-presently 10 advanced, Neutron 4 adv, Nectar 4 adv and RX advanced- plus others. I cruise youtube often to watch and listen to videos about recording. also have quite a few waves plugs and many others.

FabFilter strives to produce user-friendly workhorse plugins you can use all over your mix. The Pro range, for instance, covers a majority of mixing/mastering needs, including EQ, compression, limiting, multiband compression, and reverb. The Total Bundle is a fantastic all-around kit you can use on every one of your mixes.

it does seem odd to compare niche tools like RX and Ozone with FabFilter - and i guess even the Nectar tools are generally a different mindset as opposed simply using discrete FabFilter EQ, Compression, and Reverb tools. i don't use Nectar often as it's simply too much stuff to deal with (same for some of the Slate presets - too much sometimes) if i need simple (like one or two things). but for complex sets of effects, it is handy in those rare cases where a number of layers of tweaking are needed. the RX and Ozone tools are (imho) very much focused on what they should be doing - fixes and mastering.

If you're comparing oranges to oranges, that is, an EQ or compressor made by FabFilter vs. ones made by iZotope, then it won't be a question of which one sounds "better," it'll be more a question of which one allows the user to do the job quickly and with a good understanding of what it's doing.

iZotope's (excellent sounding) processors mostly come bundled with other processors to make up suites like Ozone, oriented toward mastering, Neutron, oriented toward mixing, Nectar, oriented toward vocal processing, RX, oriented toward dialog cleanup and similar tasks. To my knowledge, you can't buy a license for just a compressor from iZotope. You'll get your compressor, but it will come as part of Ozone or Neutron or Nectar.

That, to me, is the big difference. I understand the appeal of both approaches. I have a license for iZotope's Music Production Suite that includes the latest versions of their stuff including Neutron, Ozone, Nectar and RX. I have no FabFilter, but I do have a license for MeldaProduction's MComplete bundle. Melda's approach is more like FabFilter's, where each plug-in stands alone, except for the one plug-in they have that allows you to use any of their other ones as a module.

The difference I see is that iZotope wants to help you get industry-standard results quick with the help of automatic analysis. FabFilter wants to sell you top notch tools that you can use in any way you wish. No guidance, results dependent on your skill level, ears, and taste.

At my house, MeldaProduction gets used way more often, hands down. I usually have an ideal sound in mind to start with, and I know how to set up processors to (I hope) get that sound. Most of the time. Sometimes I struggle to get the sound that I'm hearing in my mind.

That is an unfair assessment. My knowledge of the "standard processing tools", may not be as great as yours but I am not an idiot. I don't see Izotope RUINING my mixes. Your mileage obviously is different.

I really only asked about Fabfilter since so many videos use them as the tools when explaining recording etc. I also did the trial of the Fabfilter reverb and I did like that.

I understand the MAIN difference between the 2, AI versus do it yourself type process.

the FF products are very nice and when using discrete effects vs channel effects or other combined effects - are one of my first choices. just got the R-2 a few days ago but have not used it yet but i like some of the new controls (or the idea of them ? ) so i bought it. have a few mixes coming up which will use a fair amount of reverb effects so i'll be trying it out.

A lot comes down to personal preference, familiarity, and efficiency for what you are trying to do. Most tools have core features in common, if not outright identical, so it can become "six one way, half a dozen to the others" as far as usage very quickly.

I got MPS6 a few months back, but Nectar 4 in particular has a massive CPU hit for its analyze function... so much so that it seems to cause audio engines to hiccup on most machines running any sort of tracking buffers. New features are becoming fewer and further between, so that upgrade train has sort of run its course for me personally. O8N2 was the biggest jump in iZotope capability IMO; not a lot to get excited about since.

This comment is also the same boat I am in, so I cannot speak to FabFilter usage/performance at all. That said, I did make a joke just yesterday about upgrade trains, yada yada, and threw FF under the bus out as the first example that came to mind... synopsis was that I got the MCompleteBundle over 6 years ago, so use them as the litmus test for anything "new" I might consider... if I had bought into FF and upgraded I would have spent the same amount and been left with future paid updates coming some day anyway. As it stands, Melda has already given back rather substantially via free upgrades and new additions (over 100 plugins now) versus a handful of FF ones I "would have had" instead. Melda does have an aesthetic liability and lack of tutorials on some features that make them truly stellar, but neither of those have been an issue for me personally.

The MComplete license is, as far as I know, unparalleled in the software industry. I can't think of any other company that offers a single fee for every product of its type that the company will ever produce. Maybe Image Line, with the FL Studio license, but I'm not sure if the FL Studio Pro license covers everything in their line. Of course, Image Line owns a piece of MeldaProduction, so they are on board with that lifetime license.

It's so counter to the current industry trend toward maintaining cash flow via subscriptions (a la Pro Tools and Adobe's entire pro line), paid upgrade plans (a la Waves), and grubbing for upgrade licenses (a la most of the rest of the companies). I don't begrudge the upgrade licenses, people can choose whether they are interested in new features.

Anyway, about FabFilter, that FabFilter EQ is widely praised, but I have no experience with it, so I can't speak directly about it. It's said to be both aesthetically pleasing and straightforward to use. I'll hand it the crown just based on reviews and user descriptions. If I had unlimited funds for buying music software, I'd certainly take it for a test run.

MeldaProduction's products are, in contrast, not for everyone. Since I'm okay with tweaking colors and trying out different skins, I've gotten the look of them to be pleasing to the eye. They've started addressing the issue by creating "devices" within many plug-ins that offer simplified, more conventional task-specific UI's. If you prefer the spartan UI, you can switch them off.

And what mettelus says about the sparse documentation on the advanced features is true. I'll describe it as owning a car that can fly and float on water. The car is excellent at driving on the road, no problem there, but the owner's manual doesn't much describe how to access the flying and floating features. And when you ask the builder, he says he's not in the business of giving flying lessons.

Every company has guiding philosophies. Not all of them try to create ecosystems. Plugin Alliance is a company that doesn't, they create individual task-specific plug-ins that are often emulations of classic hardware. Although they do have a subscription plan, the plug-ins are designed for individual purchase, and their UI's have little in common with each other.

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If you're using Pro Tools, AAX plug-ins (or RTAS for older versions) are what you need. Most other Mac DAWs support AU plug-ins. VST is compatible with a number of Mac and Windows programs. Be sure you choose plug-ins that work with your DAW!

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