Using Multiband Modules

The Dynamics, Harmonic Exciter, and Stereo Imaging modules in Ozone are multiband and therefore allow you to apply processing independently to four frequency ranges. The ranges (or cutoffs) of these four bands are shown at the top of the multiband modules with the three vertical green lines. You can adjust the cutoffs by dragging the cutoff lines to the left or right with the mouse.

Note: The same four bands apply to all multiband modules. The cutoff frequencies can be adjusted from any of the multiband module screens, and the new cutoffs will apply to the other multiband modules. This results in much better sound quality, as the multiband filters are always aligned and in phase.

Bypass a Band
You can bypass the processing for a specific band (or bands) by clicking on the box labeled "b" in the upper left corner of the band. This allows you to hear the audio within that band, but without any processing for that band. You can also Bypass a band by either holding down the Alt key and clicking, or right-clicking (under OS X you can also ctrl-click) the box labeled "s" in the lower left corner of the band.

Solo a Band
You can Solo a band by clicking on the box labeled "s" in the lower left corner of the band. This allows you to adjust multiband processing by hearing only the audio within the selected band. You can also Solo the effects on a band by Alt-clicking or right-clicking (under OS X you can also ctrl-click) the box labeled "b".

Change the Number of Bands
You can choose to split the audio into 1, 2, 3 or 4 bands. For subtle compression or when working with solo instruments, less bands can sound smoother as there is less processing required for the audio. The other benefit is that less CPU is required when working with fewer bands. To add or remove bands, right-click (under OS X you can also ctrl-click) on the mini-spectrum and select "Insert Band" or "Remove Band" as shown below:

Copy and Paste Settings Across Bands
Using the same right-click (or ctrl-click under OS X) menu, you can copy settings from one band and apply them (paste them) to another band. This is helpful, for example, for duplicating settings across bands in the multiband dynamics module.

Adjusting Controls in Other Bands
When you select a control, horizontal lines appear on the multibands. These lines allow you to adjust the control that you've selected for other bands, without having to switch to that band. So for example, in the screen below, the second band is the selected band, and the Limiter Threshold (Thres: Lim) control is selected. You can adjust the Limiter Threshold value for the other bands by simply dragging the horizontal white line in the band you want to adjust.

Note: You can turn the display of these handles on or off from the Crossover Options screen as explained below.

Crossover Options
Ozone provides options for adjusting the multiband crossovers, which can be accessed from the "Crossover Options" tab of the Options menu. You can right-click (under OS X you can also ctrl-click) the mini-spectrum and select "Options" to view these options as well.

Crossover Type: Options include Analog, Digital, and Hybrid.

Analog Crossover: The analog crossover option provides a natural warm character.

Digital Crossover: Ozone 3 first introduced the option of digital linear phase crossovers. These provide a more transparent sound.

Hybrid Crossover: Ozone 4 adds a new Hybrid crossover processing mode. This new perfect reconstruction IIR analog crossover is designed to reduce phase distortion and frequency distortion found in other analog crossovers while maintaining precise crossover points and the warm characteristics of analog crossovers.

Crossover Q: You can adjust the bandwidth or Q of the crossover filters with this control. A higher Q results in tighter crossovers, while a lower Q provides a more gradual transition from one band to the next. This is only available for the digital crossover.

Show Slider Handles: Provides the option of turning on or off the horizontal handles (white lines) that appear on the multibands when adjusting controls.

Automatic Crossover

Ozone 4 includes an innovative new "Learn" function which intelligently searches for a natural place to set your crossover cutoffs. To use this, right-click in the crossover, select "Learn", then stream audio through the plug-in. Ozone will search for natural crossover cutoff points using a few criteria, including minima in the spectrum. Once Ozone has found a stable place for the cutoffs, the learn function will disable automatically.

You can also tell it to stop learning by right-clicking and choosing "Learn" again and you can double-click to enter a value for the cutoffs numerically.