As predicted, iZotope has released Ozone 8 and Neutron 2, updates of two of its mixing and mastering plugins, and announced that the two products can now communicate with each other.
The big news as far as Ozone 8 is concerned is that it features machine learning technology. This powers the Master Assistant, which is designed to help you to reach “an optimal starting point” for your master in seconds.
Other additions include Track Referencing, a Spectral Shaper, improved signal processing and refinements to the interface and workflow.
New signal processing is also a hallmark of Neutron 2, which adds a Gate with Hysteresis for a smoother response, and improves the Track Assistant and Neutrino modes. There’s now a Visual Mixer that enables you to make adjustments on a soundstage, too.
Ozone 8 and Neutron 2 can be linked via the Tonal Balance Control, a visual analysis tool that measures the distribution of energy across frequencies, and compares your audio to targets created from tens of thousands of commercially-available tracks. The theory is that this will enable you to get a better tonal balance (hence the name), and you can also compare your audio to a custom upload to help you shape its sonic profile across listening environments.
Together at last
The plugin communication element of Tonal Balance manifests itself as interaction between any Equalizer instance of Neutron 2 or Ozone 2 within your project. iZotope says that it enables you to fix issues from one location in the mixing stage that could hinder mastering, providing a visual guide for more tonally-balanced mixes and masters throughout your production workflow.
“We see Tonal Balance Control as the missing piece between mixing and mastering,” says Dan Gonzalez, Product Manager at iZotope. “Mixing, and mastering especially, can often be difficult to understand, and getting your songs to sound like commercial releases can often be a struggle. With Tonal Balance Control, we created a new analysis tool that helps educate users on why their mixes and masters may be lacking in certain areas. And more importantly, we offered them the tools to help fix those issues, with communication and control between the mixing and mastering plug-ins.”
Ozone 8 and Neutron 2 are available now. The standard versions currently cost $199 each, while the Advanced versions can be had for $399 each. These prices will rise to $249 and $499 each at the start of November. You can currently buy the O8N2 bundle, which features the advanced versions of both products, for $499, with the price rising to $699 next month.
iZotope’s Music Production Suite, meanwhile, which contains Ozone 8 Advanced, Neutron 2 Advanced and several other plugins, is on offer at $699, rising to $999.
Find out more on the iZotope website.
