This is a comparison blog post between FabFilter and iZotope. If you are going to purchase one of them, first read this carefully.
Here, I will provide all the information regarding Fabfilter and iZotope so that you can decide which one to choose.
Audio mastering was not so handy for recording and mixing engineers like us a few years ago.
There were special mastering studios with lots of recording equipment that charged hundreds of dollars for mastering a single song.
And that was genuine because they had invested their hard money in costly hardware.
But today, the scenario has dramatically changed. Nowadays, when every industry is adapting to digital technology, audio production is not an exception.
Thanks to the digital revolution and recording and mixing software, we now have mastering plugins available in the market competing with hardware mastering at every stage.
But several so-called “knowledgeable persons” say that digital recording can’t compete with analog in terms of sound quality.
If someone said it 10 years ago, I would admit it. But today, the recording technology is way more sophisticated than earlier.
Today, audio software and plugins are capable of producing industry-class audio.
Including mastering plugins such as Fabfilter and iZotope.
In this article, we will discuss these 2 great mastering plugins, Fabfilter and iZotope, and at the end, will conclude, “Which one should you choose for mastering?”
Read also,
Why Use a Mastering Plugin
There are several benefits of using mastering plugins.
Let us see some of those benefits.
- The first-ever benefit of using a mastering plugin is that you can save hundreds of dollars that you pay when outsourcing your tracks for mastering.
- The second benefit of using a mastering plugin is that you can do mastering for others, charging a fee.
- Mastering plugins are very affordable compared to analog hardware.
- You don’t need an audio mastering degree to get started with a mastering plugin. Many online videos and coaching are available on the internet to provide information regarding mastering these plugins.
- You can use them as DAW plugins on your master output as well as a standalone mastering suite.
Well, here are the benefits of using mastering plugins.
Now, the main part of this article begins. Here we’ll discuss the features, pros, cons, and my views on these mastering plugins.
Fabfilter Vs iZotope
When we talk about audio mastering plugins, Fabfilter and iZotope Ozone would be two of the best ones in the music production world.
There are tons of other mastering software available in the market, but I always recommend these two plugins.
However, they are costly than other mastering plugins; you’ll get much better quality with them.
Even some people say that they are a good replacement for hardware mastering equipment. And why not, after all, they feature emulation of the world’s best analog mastering equipment.
Now let us first see Fabfilter…
Fabfilter Mastering Bundle
Manufactured by FabFilter Software Instruments, it’s one of the most valued mastering suites in the world.
The founders, Floris Klinkert (left) and Frederik Slijkerman, say.
Beautiful sound. Fantastic workflow. These are the foundations of FabFilter. We create powerful audio plug-ins with superb sound quality and innovative interfaces.
It’s not a single plugin but a mastering bundle that includes 4 essential plugins for mastering ie; limiter, EQ, multiband dynamics, and compressor.
Let us see all those plugins one by one…
FabFilter Pro-Q 3 Equalizer
Fabfilter Pro-Q 3 is one of the world’s best analog-modeled dynamic linear phase equalizer plugins, which can be used for almost any equalizing task, including “mastering”.
It has won 15+ awards from different sources.
The best part of this equalizer plugin, which I like, is that you can solo a channel to listen to that channel only.
This feature allows you to observe the exact frequencies that you are playing in.
There are several other benefits of having this equalizer.
FabFilter Pro-L 2 Limiter
The second plugin you get in this mastering bundle is Fabfilter Pro-L2 Limiter. No doubt, like Pro-Q 3, it is an amazing limiter plugin for mastering.
It is a peak limiter with extensive loudness metering, which supports EBU R128, ITU-R BS.1770-4, and ATSC A/85 standards metering.
Make sure you have a high-end computer to get the real-time level display; otherwise, you will get in trouble.
This limiter will provide you with all the information to help with the best possible limiting process.
Below are some other benefits of having this limiter in your mastering chain.
- Highly advanced algorithms
- Linear-phase oversampling
- Professional dithering and noise shaping: must for mastering
- Surround support (up to Dolby Atmos 7.1.2)
- MIDI Learn
- SSE optimization
- GPU-powered graphics acceleration (Graphics card needed)
FabFilter Pro-C 2 Compressor
Fabfilter Pro-C 2 compressor can be used both for mixing and mastering. It has several added features to use it for mastering purposes.
Here are some features of Fabfliter Pro-C 2 that you should see before deciding to purchase it.
- It has 8 different compression styles, of which one is especially for mastering.
- The range setting limits the maximum applied gain change.
- zero-latency processing
- Intelligent Auto Gain
- External side-chain triggering
- Super-fast attack times help in mastering
- Up to 4x oversampling
- Variable stereo linking and mid/side processing
The benefit of using this compressor plugin is that you don’t need to invest money in other compressor plugins for mixing purposes.
Fabfilter Pro C-2 is a multipurpose compressor, so you can use it for most of the tasks in mixing and mastering.
FabFilter Pro-MB Multiband compressor/expander
The last one is a Pro-MB multiband compressor. As you know, a multiband compressor is one of the most essential equipment in mastering. This compressor will help you with that.
Multiband compressors compress certain frequencies while expanding the other ones, which is needed to balance the overall frequency range to produce better output gain.
Here are the features of Fabfilter Pro-MB that make it extraordinary in the crowd of compressor plugins.
- It has six processing bands that can be freely placed anywhere in the spectrum
- Handles any form of dynamic processing
- Each band is fully customizable: threshold, range, attack, release, output gain, ratio, a variable knee, lookahead (up to 20 ms), variable stereo linking, etc.
- Intelligent frequency-dependent attack and release curves
- 64-bit internal processing
- Band solo/mute and bypass options (My Favorite)
If you could handle this multiband compressor perfectly, then there are tons of things to do with it on your master channel.
Well, here are the 4 plugins which you’ll get with the Fabfilter mastering bundle.
Now, let us see the pros and cons of the Fabfilter mastering bundle.
Pros
- The first-ever benefit of having a Fabfilter mastering bundle is that you can use it as your DAW plugins.
- The plugins you get in the Fabfilter mastering bundle can be used in mixing, too.
- The solo modes in Equalizer and multiband compressor are amazing. We can listen to the dynamic changes within the selected frequencies.
- You can also buy these plugins individually.
- The user interface is quite easy to use, so if you are a beginner, then the Fabfilter mastering bundle is a good fit for you.
- You can produce high-quality tracks if you use it correctly.
Cons
- You get only 4 plugins: limiter, EQ, multiband dynamics, and compressor in the Fabfilter mastering bundle. Other plugins, such as tape emulation and dithering plugins, should be added to this bundle.
- The price is a little higher to afford by beginners.
- Something missing: When I was mastering my tracks with these plugins, maybe felt something missing. I got about 90% of the hardware mastering with this plugin. Maybe you’ll get better results than me.
My Views
As I have discussed in the last point of cons, there seemed to be something missing when I was mastering my track.
When I got the same track from a professional mastering agency, I was amazed to see that Fabfilter matched 90% of the quality with that.
So, you are not a loser buying the Fabfilter mastering bundle. Maybe I was making some mistakes. If you do well, then you’ll get better results than me.
It’s all about trial and runs. But to do your trial and run, you must buy this amazing plugin bundle.
If you ask me to give it numbers out of 10, I’ll give 7.
Price
Fabfilter mastering bundle costs you around $500. You can check out the latest price by clicking the button below.
iZotope Ozone 10 Mastering Suite
iZotope Ozone is my favorite mastering plugin. Several reasons make it my favorite. One of them is the “Reference track Match feature”.
This feature allows you to copy the dynamics of the reference track and paste the same into yours.
This process saves a lot of time listening and applying different settings to get the desired results.
But as I’ve told you above, the “Reference track Match feature” is not alone, which makes it different from other mastering software.
Here are the other features that will excite you to buy a copy of this amazing mastering plugin.
Features of iZotope Ozone 10
- Machine learning – Ozone 10 is an AI-powered assistive audio tool that helps make mastering easier. New source separation technology, Master Rebalance, which is a part of its AI, lets you rectify instrument levels before you start the mastering process.
- Control lows, mids, and highs – You can control all the frequencies separately, which allows you to shape your track accurately.
- Match your reference track – As I’ve already described to you that this is an exclusive feature of iZotope Ozone 10, which makes your work a lot easier than ever.
- Includes Imager, Equalizer, Track referencing, Maximizer, Spectral shaper, Dynamic equalizer, Exciter, Dynamics, Vintage tape emulator, Vintage limiter, Vintage equalizer, Vintage compressor, Several codecs, and Dither.
Here were some of the features of iZotope Ozone 10. Now let us see the advantages of having this mastering software in your studio.
Pros
- Matches up to 95% of quality, and then hardware mastering if the process is done well.
- The reference track matching feature is not available in most of the mastering plugins, excluding Ozone 10. This feature makes your process a lot easier than ever. Just grab the dynamics of your reference track and paste the same settings to your track.
- The AI-powered assistive audio tool is another added benefit as it can rebalance the source before mastering it. So if you have some balancing issues, it can be corrected.
- It comes in 3 versions. You can choose them as per your budget and need.
- It’s compatible with most of the DAWs across Windows and Mac.
Cons
- Most of the features are not available in the elements and standard versions. You have to buy the advanced version to unlock all the features.
- Not compatible with low-end computers. Processor and RAM should be at least Intel i3 and 4 GB, respectively, with the latest 64-bit OS.
My Views
When I was using its reference track match feature, it copied most of the dynamics accurately, but especially worked well at the low ends. High-end features should be improved in newer versions.
Overall, the match feature is great for a beginner who doesn’t know how to use the plugins. However, there are tons of presets available with it, it can be confusing for a beginner to choose the right preset.
So, I like the reference match feature.
Vintage plugins like Vintage tape emulator and Vintage Limiter are great if you want to add a vintage touch to your track. Moreover, presets are provided with vintage plugins that you can choose from.
We all know A/B testing is crucial in mastering audio. Thanks to the new Ozone 10, we have it to compare the results.
If you ask me to give it numbers out of 10, I’ll give 8.
No doubt, iZotope is better than Fabfilter in terms of UI.
Price
You have to pay around $450 to $500 for the full version of this mastering plugin.
Conclusion: Fabfilter Vs iZotope Ozone 10 Mastering Plugins
Well, here was the comparison between Fabfilter Vs iZotope Ozone 10. Now you know the differences between the plugins.
If you ask me to choose one of them, I’ll go with iZotope Ozone 10.
