-- iZotope Ozone 7 Advanced----  Mouse Over To Pause--iPad and Smart Phone Refresh--

The latest version of Ozone 7 Advanced has been fully expanded to include four new modules for a total of ten processors available in the standalone application or as individual plug-ins in VST3, AU, AAX64 Mac and PC hosts. Also available in this version is the visually stunning Insight monitor in a separate plug-in. The four new modules are Vintage EQ, Vintage Compressor, Vintage Limiter and Vintage Tape.

Besides these additions, Ozone 7 Advanced now has Codec Preview for listening to your master as it will sound when data-compressed using various industry-standard codecs. Constant Bit Rate is supported and up to 320 kbps rates. Once satisfied with the sonic changes you may make in your mix or mastering whist listening in Codec Preview, you can now directly export (in faster than real time) using popular formats such as: MP3, WAV, or AAC.

iZotope Ozone 7 Advanced

In addition to its essential mastering and mixing tools, Ozone 7 Standard has been updated with a Dynamic EQ and an upgraded Maximizer algorithm with multi-band and frequency specific operation.

In general I found the new Ozone 7 Advanced to not stray far in its visual presentation from Ozone 6--Ozone 7's GUI might be very slightly lighter gray overall but everything is in the same location and the Module Browser has more choices now in Advanced.

Key to the new Ozone 7 Standard and Advanced are the vast number of worthwhile presets compared to Ozone 6. Ozone 7 brings back the module system from Ozone 5--you can load and save presets for individual modules. I liked this for establishing a sonic "theme" for an album project by naming modified presets the song's name and saving them to the album's folder.

I tried the Vintage EQ and found the interface and sound very much like an old Pultec EQP-1A or Pultec MEQ-5 complete with the ability to boost and cut the same frequency at the same time creating a complex filter shape. I would have liked to see old knobs on the GUI instead of siders but this EQ sounds very good and that is what counts.

I found the new Vintage Compressor awesome for big squashes to sound nearly "rubbery" if you push it and do manual make up gain. I liked the three-band side-chain EQ with its monitoring facility--it all worked easily with good results for program material. Vintage Tape offers 15 and 30-i.p.s tape speed colors but no 7.5-i.p.s. I used the Low Bias Crunch preset to good effect on a backing vocal track.

The new Vintage Limiter module loosely models an old Fairchild 670 tube limiter and works well to put a "lid" on dynamics in a smooth way. I liked using it on a male lead vocal to keep it steady and riding over the track in a smooth and colorful way.

Ozone 7 Advanced adds a vintage set of tools useful in mastering and as very useful as plug-ins in Pro Tools HDX. I've used previous versions of Ozone throughout my mixes and the standalone version for mastering music mixes. Adding the Codec Preview feature to check how my mixes translate to AAC or MP3 formats is icing on the cake!