Great detailed demo with a much appreciated balanced conclusion. BTW, the stem separation technology comes from Deezer, who developed and trained the Spleeter model which serves as a basis for iZotope.
Nice Video. Can you tell me, how you are using the Stem-Focus exactly at the end? When you are done with the Vocals you must bounce the whole thing before you go to the rest? Is it not possible to do different things at Vocals, Bass and Drums and then bounce the Stereomaster? I mean...: Is it not possible to master all thins at once?
For me the biggest selling point as someone who mix and masters my own shit is the audio lens and reference improvements. Also. It seems like mastering assistant is actually finally doing something…. The only thing I’ve EVER had it do for me is a slight eq curve and maximizer. That’s it. Didn’t even activate the dynamics module. And trust…. It’s not because the mix was so good to start
Breakthroughs have been made by Serato that allow for stem focus type technology. We are dealing with far more advanced detection and manipulation of audio.
Yeah I can definitely see how useful this can be for anyone that provides mastering as a service. For me it's not something that I currently require since I'm only mastering my own projects (my main objective being the fusion of DNB and metal) on a hobby level, but if I reach a point where I can leave my IT job to do music full time, then this would be a nice tool to help me earn some additional money by mastering. Great review!
I Disagree... The Additional Plugins In OZONE 11 ADVANCED, Makes it a MUST for OZONE 10 ADVANCED Owner's... Why ? Because Now All I Have To Do Is Make A Decent Mixdown STEREO Master and Then Tweak From The STEM FOCUS Section Of Ozone 11 ADVANCED and Whahlah...I Save Myself HOURS of What Use to be An Adventure of Figuring Things Out. As They SAY, TIME IS MONEY. IT IS TRULY A GAME CHANGER... And With NECTAR 4, I Feel Like The CEO Of MAJOR Record Label 😎 Great Tutorial Thou. 👍🏽👍🏽❗
Love your videos man! I’ve been looking at your videos about the M1/M2 series chips and how they would help for music production. Hope to see an M3 one soon! I’m currently using a Late 2015 27 iMac 4GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7. Just upgraded 32GB RAM from 24GB today. Really don’t think I NEED to upgrade…but not sure…Metalhead here as well 🤟🏼🔥
These guys are the Godfather of AI in the plugin music industry. Izotope is amazing as always! What do you think? Can one still use this for just mixing although I know it's a bit more CPU intensive? I still feel it's possible depending on how many tracks there are. I really don't like Nuetron lol.
Nothing is stopping you from using Ozone for mixing, but it's definitely more of a mastering tool. Like I said in the video, features like Stem Focus become much less useful when you do have direct access to the stems.
What Ozone 11 stands out is *how* stem focus is incorporated into a mastering workflow. The technology of instrument separation has been around for a while (to varying degrees of quality), but none has executed it for mastering as well as Ozone 11 did.
The stem separation technology is not quite there. You can still hear artifacts from other elements in the mix. same situation with all stem separation apps and plugins I have tried. maybe some day
Nope, doesn't seem like it. It will start to affect other elements in the mix when you do things that are way too drastic, but usually, in mastering, most of the time you are doing subtle changes.
Your video about stems would have been much easier to understand if you used a non metal screaming song. Nothing against the genre or the band. I just mean for the purpose of your video.
There is a one small problem with this great vocal new stuff. If you are pro mixer, a lot of times; 90% of times you have a lead vocal that is not stationary, meaning there is automation at play and if you do it like it should be in a mix, the whole structure collapses when you raise or lower that vocal ... Not to mention there are changes in EQ, compression, panning etc. the whole time, so good luck with that. It's a joke. This would be at best used as emergency tool for a really bad mixes or songs that are boring to start with. It's better to go back to your mix and fix the problem there. Because "the problem" is not occurring throughout the whole duration of the song, so you fix one problem and you get 10 new ones. 😄😄
I've mastered several mixes with automations across the board and Stem Focus works pretty well. Stem Focus is just trying to isolate the stems so you can process them separately without affecting other elements. It's not trying to change the automation done within a mix.
@@JamesZhan I understand, but when you "change" the vocal for example (with the tools presented) that has a ful automation circus around it, the vocal is not the same anymore, right? So, the whole "map" changes and dynamic between different "stems." The more complex the automation, song, the less this will work well the whole duration of the song. But also depends on the changes you apply. So if the change is minimal, just for example. you add some distortion, or fine tape simulation, not a big deal, it could work great, but going up or down with volume, I don't think so. I would be careful with that tool, just saying.
@@b.hornetiii.6771 I mean, yes of course it depends on how you use the feature. I don't think iZotope is expecting anyone to make drastic changes with Stem Focus, and like I said in the video, most of the time, mastering is all about subtle changes. As mastering engineers, we usually try to avoid drastically altering the tones that the mixing engineer already finalized with the band.
What’s new is that support no longer exists. An AI bot that understands nothing, a “create ticket bot that never completes, this is what you are buying into, beware! Expensive without support!!!
Very personal opinion. Surely this one is a useful tool. Being an old guy who is allergic to metal, I think that demoing these features would have been much easier with a different type of music. No offense to all metal fans!
No worries; I understand that not everyone likes metal. However, metal is one of the best examples to put Stem Focus to test. Metal mixes are very dense and chaotic, and a lot of instruments overlap in frequencies. There's also a ton of saturation and distortion that make it hard for software to identify and isolate specific elements.
It's a great video with the worst possible music choice for the demos. I'm not into Metal, and it's difficult to hear differences. Why not choose much better music examples for such an in-depth video?
Actually, metal is one of the best examples to put Stem Focus to test. Metal mixes are very dense and chaotic, and a lot of instruments overlap in frequencies. There's also a ton of saturation and distortion that make it hard for software to identify and isolate specific elements.
@@JamesZhan Yes, that is surely true. Maybe my ears are just not used to it because I never listen to Metal music and I have to adapt to this kind of "wall of sound".
@@sunnibird My ears are excellent, and I usually hear the slightest differences if I watch music production tutorials. It's just that I'm not used to Metal music. I also watched the PB Ozone 11 stream; their music examples are better for me. And I could hear any changes and minor adjustments they made in the demos.
I appreciate the technology, I really do. But, imho this just promotes novices to poorly record themselves then "fix" in the mix. Then once they have a a sub par mix they'll have someone fix everything in mastering.
It's WAAAAAY too late to try to prevent people from making poorly recordings and trying to fix it in post. Ever since home recording became widely accessible, this has been happening. That said, I'm of the opinion that it's a great thing that it's so easy to make music nowadays. Even OK sounding music is better than no music. A lot of people make music as a way to express themselves, not to create the world's best sounding record. And plus, if there's technology that allows mastering engineers to fix more things, why the hell not? A lack of such technology won't necessarily stop people from relying on "fixing it in the mix."
@@JamesZhan It’s never too late, that’s my point. Regardless. Just because one can fart in a microphone and call it art shouldn’t expect that it will be turned to gold in the end. Because it’s so it’s so easy to record these days it would be nice if there was a emphasis on making it sound great from the start. Such quality gear/equipment is so affordable these days there’s no excuse to get right at the source. Plus with tutorials online, the world is your oyster. Love your work James keep it up 👍🏼
So even you got the software for free and a T-shirt, you'd say it's utter crap, if it was? Honestly you're already biased even before making the video...
Of course I would, and I've done it multiple times on this channel. If you had been a regular, you would know :) Example: th-cam.com/video/cuB4jZN2cCM/w-d-xo.htmlsi=rstfDunT8rYQTuxu The library was sent to me for free, and I even personally know the guitarist behind the library, yet I did not hold back when it comes to the flaws of the sample library. This channel is all about providing unbiased (as much as a human can get) and balanced reviews/demos. If a product wows me, like in this case, I wouldn't hesitate to support/promote it. If a product has major pros and cons, I would discuss them both.
@@JamesZhan alright good. But I'm sure you know where I'm coming from. There's a big difference (to a lot of people) going from getting products for free and downloading a demo to review. One could claim that with minor vendors, you wouldn't care, but when it comes to the big guys like Native Instruments (izotope, plugin alliance etc) you'd navigate in another way..
@@eranddroory9987 I totally understand where you are coming from, and it's great you asked that question. Tbh, part of the reason why I started this channel was that I feel like most of the videos out there "reviewing" audio plugins/sample libraries are just doing marketing for the companies. Every video tells you why you need the plugin and why it's great and that's it. The way I do it is that I ALWAYS tell the company upfront that I will only make a video if I like it and if I can be honest about it. If they are not okay with that, then I won't make a video for it and/or I won't accept the NFR (not for resale license).
Hey James, get a haircut, lol. In any event thanks for the honest opinion on the new features of Ozone 11. Your explanations are to the point and with clear concise demonstration of the features you focus on. As always good stuff you present!
Honestly this is such a scam Isotope just put features from rx into ozone. The separation algorithm sounds exactly the same. It's not even an improvement.
saying "BUT they didnt' ask for a video in exchange for their goods" is not really worth any salt - any reviewer knows that it's an unwritten rule that if you shit on the people giving you free shit, they will stop giving you free shit. such a pointless comment
Hi, you must be new to the channel and it's natural that you think this way! In fact, you absolutely *should* question what bias the reviewer may have. However, I have an established track record of being absolutely honest about products I was given for free :) Shilling for an audio product is the last thing I intend to do. Take my latest video on the M3 Pro Mac as an example, I was given a FL Studio license for free, but it didn't stop me from reporting that FL studio does not run well on Apple Silicon chips. Being honest and transparent is what I pride my channel on.
Anyone else who's thinks 2000's metalcore is still the best metalcore? 🤘
That's why I love The Curse Within! Support the band ➡ solo.to/thecursewithin
100%
Great detailed demo with a much appreciated balanced conclusion. BTW, the stem separation technology comes from Deezer, who developed and trained the Spleeter model which serves as a basis for iZotope.
Man, I'm definitely in love with this song.
same
Nice Video. Can you tell me, how you are using the Stem-Focus exactly at the end? When you are done with the Vocals you must bounce the whole thing before you go to the rest? Is it not possible to do different things at Vocals, Bass and Drums and then bounce the Stereomaster? I mean...: Is it not possible to master all thins at once?
James you are an awesome educator - thanks for the detailed explanations
What do you think about ozone elevens limiter compared to fabfilter L2 sonically?
JAMES PLEASE DO A REVIEW ON M3 CHIPS
Are you testing any M3s? Are you expecting the M3 Pro to perform similar or worse to the M2 Pro due to the performance core reduction from 8 to 6?
Yeah I will definitely test the new Macs. Can’t say how they will perform until I can actually test them :)
Great deep dive into Stem Focus - so cool! 🔥🔥🔥
James, your video's looks and sounds so professional. Great content.
Appreciate that!
Thanks for the excellent walkthrough!
Can’t wait to upgrade to this! Stem focus seems awesome.
It really is!
For me the biggest selling point as someone who mix and masters my own shit is the audio lens and reference improvements. Also. It seems like mastering assistant is actually finally doing something…. The only thing I’ve EVER had it do for me is a slight eq curve and maximizer. That’s it. Didn’t even activate the dynamics module. And trust…. It’s not because the mix was so good to start
damn man, that new version is insane!
Time to upgrade! GREAT review!
Breakthroughs have been made by Serato that allow for stem focus type technology. We are dealing with far more advanced detection and manipulation of audio.
I’m aware of Serato but Serato is a beat-making DAW (AFAIK) and Ozone is a mastering tool. Completely different tools and targeted user base IMO!
Actually Virtual DJ came up with the stems first then serato went and adopt it… but this is more Mastering base so it abit different
Yeah I can definitely see how useful this can be for anyone that provides mastering as a service. For me it's not something that I currently require since I'm only mastering my own projects (my main objective being the fusion of DNB and metal) on a hobby level, but if I reach a point where I can leave my IT job to do music full time, then this would be a nice tool to help me earn some additional money by mastering. Great review!
I Disagree... The Additional Plugins In OZONE 11 ADVANCED, Makes it a MUST for OZONE 10 ADVANCED Owner's... Why ? Because Now All I Have To Do Is Make A Decent Mixdown STEREO Master and Then Tweak From The STEM FOCUS Section Of Ozone 11 ADVANCED and Whahlah...I Save Myself HOURS of What Use to be An Adventure of Figuring Things Out. As They SAY, TIME IS MONEY. IT IS TRULY A GAME CHANGER... And With NECTAR 4, I Feel Like The CEO Of MAJOR Record Label 😎 Great Tutorial Thou. 👍🏽👍🏽❗
Love your videos man! I’ve been looking at your videos about the M1/M2 series chips and how they would help for music production. Hope to see an M3 one soon! I’m currently using a Late 2015 27 iMac 4GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7. Just upgraded 32GB RAM from 24GB today. Really don’t think I NEED to upgrade…but not sure…Metalhead here as well 🤟🏼🔥
Just posted a video on the M3 Pro! th-cam.com/video/FSqX4bt9to4/w-d-xo.htmlsi=ZCU8BG-toWwNcJLu
I hope you realize we are all waiting for your M3 video.
New video for M3 is in the plans!
Toronto, here we are..
Is that Matt Schmidts vocals?
These guys are the Godfather of AI in the plugin music industry. Izotope is amazing as always!
What do you think? Can one still use this for just mixing although I know it's a bit more CPU intensive? I still feel it's possible depending on how many tracks there are.
I really don't like Nuetron lol.
Nothing is stopping you from using Ozone for mixing, but it's definitely more of a mastering tool. Like I said in the video, features like Stem Focus become much less useful when you do have direct access to the stems.
I thought I heard differences in the guitars when you changed the vocals
These upgrades are nice, but I paid a lot for Ozone 10 Advanced and the crossgrades don't give enough discount imo.
I paid 150 for ozone 11 standard and 80 (usually 198 for upgrade to advanced) for the advanced upgrade on plugin boutique. Def check them out
Acon Digital Remix can do "stem focus" too, for much cheaper
What Ozone 11 stands out is *how* stem focus is incorporated into a mastering workflow. The technology of instrument separation has been around for a while (to varying degrees of quality), but none has executed it for mastering as well as Ozone 11 did.
The stem separation technology is not quite there. You can still hear artifacts from other elements in the mix. same situation with all stem separation apps and plugins I have tried. maybe some day
Does this stem focus not Introduce new distortion? Looks too good to be true… Is it more like u win some loose some situation?
Nope, doesn't seem like it. It will start to affect other elements in the mix when you do things that are way too drastic, but usually, in mastering, most of the time you are doing subtle changes.
🙏🏼
That is black magic!
Your video about stems would have been much easier to understand if you used a non metal screaming song. Nothing against the genre or the band. I just mean for the purpose of your video.
There is a one small problem with this great vocal new stuff. If you are pro mixer, a lot of times; 90% of times you have a lead vocal that is not stationary, meaning there is automation at play and if you do it like it should be in a mix, the whole structure collapses when you raise or lower that vocal ... Not to mention there are changes in EQ, compression, panning etc. the whole time, so good luck with that. It's a joke. This would be at best used as emergency tool for a really bad mixes or songs that are boring to start with. It's better to go back to your mix and fix the problem there. Because "the problem" is not occurring throughout the whole duration of the song, so you fix one problem and you get 10 new ones. 😄😄
I've mastered several mixes with automations across the board and Stem Focus works pretty well. Stem Focus is just trying to isolate the stems so you can process them separately without affecting other elements. It's not trying to change the automation done within a mix.
@@JamesZhan I understand, but when you "change" the vocal for example (with the tools presented) that has a ful automation circus around it, the vocal is not the same anymore, right? So, the whole "map" changes and dynamic between different "stems." The more complex the automation, song, the less this will work well the whole duration of the song. But also depends on the changes you apply. So if the change is minimal, just for example. you add some distortion, or fine tape simulation, not a big deal, it could work great, but going up or down with volume, I don't think so. I would be careful with that tool, just saying.
@@b.hornetiii.6771 I mean, yes of course it depends on how you use the feature. I don't think iZotope is expecting anyone to make drastic changes with Stem Focus, and like I said in the video, most of the time, mastering is all about subtle changes. As mastering engineers, we usually try to avoid drastically altering the tones that the mixing engineer already finalized with the band.
@@JamesZhan Yes ... 👍
Catchy my asss
What’s new is that support no longer exists. An AI bot that understands nothing, a “create ticket bot that never completes, this is what you are buying into, beware! Expensive without support!!!
unfortunately still too small on 4k monitor
Very personal opinion. Surely this one is a useful tool. Being an old guy who is allergic to metal, I think that demoing these features would have been much easier with a different type of music. No offense to all metal fans!
Then I suggest taking benadryl and going to bed.
No worries; I understand that not everyone likes metal. However, metal is one of the best examples to put Stem Focus to test. Metal mixes are very dense and chaotic, and a lot of instruments overlap in frequencies. There's also a ton of saturation and distortion that make it hard for software to identify and isolate specific elements.
Dude, I think.
Doesn't resize on 4k screens! Can you believe it in 2024!?
It's a great video with the worst possible music choice for the demos. I'm not into Metal, and it's difficult to hear differences. Why not choose much better music examples for such an in-depth video?
In your opinion. Maybe your ears just aren't that good. This shows how effective this plugin can be with a mix that has overlap in the frequencies.
Actually, metal is one of the best examples to put Stem Focus to test. Metal mixes are very dense and chaotic, and a lot of instruments overlap in frequencies. There's also a ton of saturation and distortion that make it hard for software to identify and isolate specific elements.
@@JamesZhan Yes, that is surely true. Maybe my ears are just not used to it because I never listen to Metal music and I have to adapt to this kind of "wall of sound".
@@sunnibird My ears are excellent, and I usually hear the slightest differences if I watch music production tutorials. It's just that I'm not used to Metal music. I also watched the PB Ozone 11 stream; their music examples are better for me. And I could hear any changes and minor adjustments they made in the demos.
Why not leave a much better comment without a backhanded compliment. Why not make your own video with “better” music. 🤡
I appreciate the technology, I really do. But, imho this just promotes novices to poorly record themselves then "fix" in the mix. Then once they have a a sub par mix they'll have someone fix everything in mastering.
It's WAAAAAY too late to try to prevent people from making poorly recordings and trying to fix it in post. Ever since home recording became widely accessible, this has been happening. That said, I'm of the opinion that it's a great thing that it's so easy to make music nowadays. Even OK sounding music is better than no music. A lot of people make music as a way to express themselves, not to create the world's best sounding record. And plus, if there's technology that allows mastering engineers to fix more things, why the hell not? A lack of such technology won't necessarily stop people from relying on "fixing it in the mix."
@@JamesZhan It’s never too late, that’s my point. Regardless. Just because one can fart in a microphone and call it art shouldn’t expect that it will be turned to gold in the end. Because it’s so it’s so easy to record these days it would be nice if there was a emphasis on making it sound great from the start. Such quality gear/equipment is so affordable these days there’s no excuse to get right at the source. Plus with tutorials online, the world is your oyster. Love your work James keep it up 👍🏼
So even you got the software for free and a T-shirt, you'd say it's utter crap, if it was? Honestly you're already biased even before making the video...
Of course I would, and I've done it multiple times on this channel. If you had been a regular, you would know :)
Example: th-cam.com/video/cuB4jZN2cCM/w-d-xo.htmlsi=rstfDunT8rYQTuxu
The library was sent to me for free, and I even personally know the guitarist behind the library, yet I did not hold back when it comes to the flaws of the sample library.
This channel is all about providing unbiased (as much as a human can get) and balanced reviews/demos. If a product wows me, like in this case, I wouldn't hesitate to support/promote it. If a product has major pros and cons, I would discuss them both.
@@JamesZhan alright good. But I'm sure you know where I'm coming from. There's a big difference (to a lot of people) going from getting products for free and downloading a demo to review.
One could claim that with minor vendors, you wouldn't care, but when it comes to the big guys like Native Instruments (izotope, plugin alliance etc) you'd navigate in another way..
@@eranddroory9987 I totally understand where you are coming from, and it's great you asked that question. Tbh, part of the reason why I started this channel was that I feel like most of the videos out there "reviewing" audio plugins/sample libraries are just doing marketing for the companies. Every video tells you why you need the plugin and why it's great and that's it.
The way I do it is that I ALWAYS tell the company upfront that I will only make a video if I like it and if I can be honest about it. If they are not okay with that, then I won't make a video for it and/or I won't accept the NFR (not for resale license).
Hey James, get a haircut, lol. In any event thanks for the honest opinion on the new features of Ozone 11. Your explanations are to the point and with clear concise demonstration of the features you focus on. As always good stuff you present!
Believe it or not I have a haircut appointment this Saturday 😂 Though honestly I like when my hair is kind of whooshy haha. Glad you liked the video!
Lol James consider getting some pop smoke braids 😅
Honestly this is such a scam Isotope just put features from rx into ozone. The separation algorithm sounds exactly the same. It's not even an improvement.
I love you James and your reviews. But I can't listen to this one. See you in the next one!
is this guy just an ozone shill or is this an objective feedbak
saying "BUT they didnt' ask for a video in exchange for their goods" is not really worth any salt - any reviewer knows that it's an unwritten rule that if you shit on the people giving you free shit, they will stop giving you free shit. such a pointless comment
Hi, you must be new to the channel and it's natural that you think this way! In fact, you absolutely *should* question what bias the reviewer may have. However, I have an established track record of being absolutely honest about products I was given for free :) Shilling for an audio product is the last thing I intend to do. Take my latest video on the M3 Pro Mac as an example, I was given a FL Studio license for free, but it didn't stop me from reporting that FL studio does not run well on Apple Silicon chips. Being honest and transparent is what I pride my channel on.
Hold up.. not buying into that.. you can hear the texture of the whole song change in any effect you use. Sorry.