It’s plenty of good plugins that can be used for mastering work. Here I will give a few pointers on why I believe Ozone is the best all-around and most integrated software system to use, once you learn it’s interface.

1. iZotope Ozone for Mac/PC - 64-bit Integrated Mastering Suite
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Other tools that you can use for mastering include: Wave Arts plugs, Roger Nichols plugs, bx_Digital Brainworx, AAMS, Yamaha Final Master, Steinberg Mastering Suite and others (like Bias Peak Pro, Bias Master Perfection Suite, Aphex Aural Exciter, BBE Sonic Maximizer, Crysonic Spectra Live, PSP Vintage Warmer, Oxford, URS, Drawmer, etc.) that you can use for mastering or creative, saturated or distorted, tape-based vintage effects.

I’ve also heard someone say that the Sonalksis TBK3 Uber Compressor and iZotope’s Trash plugins can be used for mastering and can give you a gritty/overdriven/distressed effect similiar to Empirical Labs’ Distressor or Fatso Jr. hardware! I haven’t tried these yet, but I’ll experiment.

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Yes, yes I also love the Waves LinEQ’s, LinMB, API, SSL, S-1 Stereo Imager, PAZ analyzer and the L3’s but…

…overall IMHO, Ozone (bit for bit) has the highest quality dithering, multiband compression/limiting/expansion/gating/de-essing, digital and analog crossovers, Analog and Digital/Linear Phase EQ’s, EQ matching, phase coherence and correlation meters, stereo widening and multiband harmonic excitation available! Plus Ozone has the best workflow, because it is 6 or 7 mastering modules in one dope looking interface. Instead of chaining multiple plugs from different manufacturers (which can cause phase problems) on your master output channel, all you need is one tool…and that’s Ozone!!! Read the manual and you’ll see why Ozone has the deepest technology under the hood.

Some good advice for Ozone users:

- First of all, you need good ears, a good set of monitors and subs (for low frequencies) and even some headphones for critical listening.

- Remember, to have a good master requires a good flat, balanced mix that is properly equalized already. At the mastering stage, you shouldn’t have to add much EQ, because that is what the ‘Harmonic Exciter’ or enhancer effects are for (to add that sparkle and sheen)! If anything, you will be cutting or subtracting specific EQ frequencies at this stage.

- Read the included Ozone manual and/or download the mastering guide from their website — it contains a wealth of mastering knowledge!

- Play with it and learn the interface and listen to a lot of tests on one of your bounced mixes and professionally mastered CD’s from your favorite artists. This will let your ears get a sense and feel of what you should be aiming for.

- When using the Harmonic Exciter module, don’t go overboard with it or you will add fatiguing highs and sibilance to your track. Especially in the lower lows and the upper mid frequencies. Add just a tad bit, it will greatly enhance the brightness, punch and clarity to your track - without any additional EQ. In the lows, placing the spectral delay setting to +1, somewhat pushes the bass forward/closer in a sense while tightening the lows. Spectral delays in the other frequency domains shouldn’t be touched unless for creative usage. You can season to taste with the type of Harmonic flavor you need: Tape, Tube or Retro. Tape sounds nice and warm all over. Tube sounds overall lovely, brighter, more excited. And Retro has an old grimey vintage sound to it, but can be used in many creative ways!

- In the Multiband Stereo Imaging module, do not use too much widening on the low frequencies. In fact, for the lows, set the widening to a negative number. This is what you want because what it does is "tighten up" the bass and give it more warmth and punch! You can use larger, positive settings on the upper mids and highs though.

- I do not recommend using the Mastering Reverb on a 2-track bounced mix! If choosing to use it on the entire mixdown, use only a tiny amount and experiment with different room or plate settings. Remember use this sparingly! An even better way to use this module though, is before you bounce your tracks to a final 2-track mix, create 4 seperate submixes. One submix for all of your drums a 2nd submix for your bass, a 3rd for all of your sounds and instruments and a 4th for all of your vocal tracks. You can then use some of Ozone’s Mastering Reverb (especially for the sounds and vocal submixes). Doing this will ensure that the reverb doesn’t affect the drums and the bass, keeping them seperate.

If you do go this route, make sure that you use the same exact settings (save your own custom preset), after you process the sounds/vocal submix(es) with the Reverb. Now, bounce all submixes down to one final mixdown (2-track stereo master) except this time, turn off the Reverb module and then (finally) process this final mixdown with all of the other modules turned on.

- Realize that mastering really cannot be explained…lol! You must simply learn it by trial and error. But the main thing is to listen and listen and listen and listen! Practice mastering beats and songs from your friends and other people, so that you have a fresh ear. It’s very difficult to properly mix or master your own material, but it’s not impossible either. Just takes a little longer. First, arrange and sequence your beat/song - take a day off and refresh your ears. Then the next day, mix your beat/song - take a day off and refresh your ears. Then on the 3rd day master your beat/song - take a day off and come back and re-analyze your master on different speakers and systems and if necessary redo it until it sounds right.

Play with equalizers and enhancers and use smooth, soft compression settings on your masters. Alot of those low sub-bass frequencies have to be cut out which eliminates muddiness. Just listen to a professionally mastered recording and you’ll realize that they don’t have too much bass on their final mixdowns, just silky smooth bass and non-fatiguing highs. While editing, listen closely at low volumes and see if you can catch any weird sounds like pops and clicks.

- If you apply any fade-ins or fade-outs to your mix, make sure you do this before applying any bit-reduction or Dithering down to 16-bit/44khz. The best Dithering Type to use in Ozone is the MBIT+ at 16-bit/44khz, if burning to Audio CD. Read the manual for more technical info on dithering.

- Lastly, mastering takes patience, quite time and a severe love for sound. And as a producer or engineer you have to be very focused and organized in your work environment. If you have too many distractions around you it’s going to be very hard to do anything music wise. Used properly, this plug can achieve that professional commercial CD sound full of clarity.

Use only the plugs that you really are comfortable with and understand. Sometimes having too many effects, virtual synths, sample libraries, DAW’s and hardware gear as well can be overwhelming…believe me I know. And another thing, just be creative (lol)! Creative with your recording, creative with your mixing, creative with your mastering and have fun. Take breaks every now and then and you should get excellent results!

Just a few tips for all of you Ozone users. I hope this helps someone out there.

One - Exciter

only problem i had with ozone is it works best with 64 bit processor comps and pent 4 just dont cut it for that besides all of the presets are mainly for rock music i think the best thing no matter what plugin - daw ect you use for mastering has to do with the monitor range and accuaracy and your ears…. 

the pro’s that really master for labels and major movies have some of the best speakers and best ears around they make millions because of that fact alone… 

Good stuff.