iZotope Ozone 8 and Neutron2 released, here’s what’s new
Just days after teasing with their O8N2 video, the new Izotope Ozone 8 and Neutron 2 has arrived.
Ozone is an all-in-one mixing and mastering plugin favoured by many home studio users working ‘in the box.’ You can achieve highly professional mixdowns if you know what you’re doing and the software has always been highly intuitive and easy to use.
Neutron an actual channel strip plugin with excellent processing tools such as EQ, compressor/limiter, stereo imaging etc.
What’s new in Ozone 8 & Neutron 2
Well the first significant update is their new Tonal Balance Control plugin as this is the piece of software that enables Ozone 8 and Neutron 2 to communicate with each other.
In a nutshell it means you can balance your channel mixing and your mastering together, seamlessly through its inter-plugin communicator.
But the key essence of Tonal Balance Control is that it is a visual analysis tool which measures the distribution of energy across frequencies, comparing your audio to targets created from analysis of tens of thousands of commercially available tracks spanning a variety of musical styles to help you achieve better tonal balance. Tonal Balance Control can also compare your audio to a custom upload to inform how you shape its sonic profile and across listening environments.
“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 Features at a glance
Ozone 8 Advanced lets you:
- Dial in the perfect tonal balance with the new Tonal Balance Control plug-in, which can access any instance of Ozone 8 (or Neutron 2) across all your tracks
- Communicate with Neutron 2 Advanced (sold separately) using the Tonal Balance Control plug-in for a seamless mixing and mastering workflow
- Tame problematic and harsh frequencies with the new Spectral Shaper module
- Quickly A/B track references right from any instance of Ozone or in its standalone application
- Twelve essential modern and vintage modules with component plug-ins: Spectral Shaper, EQ, Dynamic EQ, Post EQ, Maximizer (with IRC IV and new IRC Low Latency mode, Imager, Exciter, Dynamics, Vintage Limiter, Vintage Tape, Vintage EQ, Vintage Compressor
- Create a custom preset with Master Assistant and get your audio to an optimal starting point
- Have deeper control in Ozone’s Maximizer with new low-latency IRC mode, Transient/Sustain Stereo Independence, and Learn Threshold
- Apply any saturation mode (Warm, Retro, Tape, Tube, Triode, or Dual Triode) to any individual frequency band in the Exciter
- Use Ozone Advanced within your preferred host as a single plug-in, as individual component plug-ins, or work within the Ozone standalone application
- Redesigned user interface for an even better mastering experience
Neutron 2 Features at a glance
Neutron 2 Advanced lets you:
- Dial in the perfect mix with the new Tonal Balance Control plug-in, which can access any instance of Neutron across all your tracks
- Communicate with Ozone 8 (sold separately) using the Tonal Balance Control plug-in for a seamless mixing and mastering workflow with professional results
- Get to an optimal starting point in your mix with the improved Track Assistant
- Visualize your entire soundstage, controlling individual tracks including pan, width, and gain via the new Visual Mixer
- Easily identify perceptual frequency collisions across tracks with the Masking Meter
- Get to an optimal starting point in your mix with the improved Track Assistant
- Detect certain instruments automatically and apply Neutrino’s spectral shaping
- Mix with six award-winning processors including a new Gate with Hysteresis
- Mix in surround with a True Peak Limiter that is optimal for post-production
Pricing
For October Izotope Ozone 8 and Neutron 2 are available at discount prices.
- Ozone 8 – $199 USD (normal price: $249)
- Ozone 8 Advanced – $399 USD (normal price: $499))
- Neutron 2 – $199 USD (normal price: $249)
- Neutron 2 Advanced – $399 USD (normal price: $499)
- O8N2 (Ozone 8 Advanced and Neutron 2 Advanced) – $499 USD (normal price: $699)
- Music Production Suite – $699 USD (normal price: $999)
Visit the iZotope website for upgrade prices on Ozone 8 and Neutron 2.
