Using Multiband Modules

The Dynamics, Harmonic Exciter, and Stereo Imaging modules in Ozone can be configured as multiband and therefore allow you to apply processing independently to up to four frequency ranges. The ranges (or cutoffs) of these four bands are shown at the top of the multiband modules with up to 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 within the Shared Crossover section in the filter graph. When sharing a crossover, 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 lower left corner of the band. This allows you to hear the audio within that band, but without any processing for that band.

Solo a Band You can Solo a band by clicking on the box labeled "s" in the upper left corner of the band. This allows you to adjust multiband processing by hearing only the audio within the selected band.

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 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.

Crossover Options

As multiband modules no longer have to share crossover settings, each module may have independent crossover options.  Each multiband module's crossover options can be accessed from the "Crossover" section of the Exciter, Imager, and Dynamics tabs in 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 character reminiscent of filter slopes in analog equipment.

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

Hybrid Crossover: This 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 Buffer Size: Sets the buffer size for the digital crossover.  See Buffer Sizes for more info.

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.

Automatic Crossover  

Ozone 5 includes an innovative "Learn" function which intelligently searches for a natural place to set your crossover cutoffs. To use this, right-click (under OS X you can also ctrl-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.

Independent Crossover Settings

Ozone 5 allows for each multiband module to have independent crossover settings or share crossover settings with other modules.  The three multiband modules, Dynamics, Exciter, and Imager, default to all sharing one crossover.  This is represented in the Filter Graph by the Shared Crossover block.  However, if a module is dragged outside of this block, their crossover settings may be set independently.  Below you see that the Stereo Imaging module has been removed from the Shared Crossover and is using four-band processing while the shared crossover is using three bands.

Crossover Features

The following table outlines the different features of each crossover type.  A crossover is a perfect reconstruction when the band signals sum up exactly to the original signal (not including band processing).  Linear phase crossovers introduce no phase distortion when sub-band signals are individually processed and summed.

Global Crossover Options

Show Mini-spectrum Handles: Provides the option of turning on or off the horizontal handles (white lines) that appear on the multibands when adjusting controls.  These handles allow you to make adjustments of certain parameters across multiple bands in the mini-spectrum window.  This option appears under Crossover in the General Options tab.

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 above, the second band is the selected band, and the Limiter Threshold 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.