How I Master a Song in Real Time with Ozone 11 and Logic Pro

Ever wonder what it really looks like to master a track from scratch—no templates, no presets, no gimmicks?

In this post, I take you through my real-time workflow for mastering a song using Ozone 11 inside Logic Pro, showing every step, tool, and choice I make along the way. Whether you're a DIY artist or a home studio producer, this walkthrough is packed with actionable insights you can apply immediately to your own tracks.

Let’s dive in.

Step 1: Listening Before Tweaking

Before touching a single plugin, I start by listening back to the raw mix. The track I worked on here was from a good friend of mine, Mo Kabi. It's a soulful, Latino-influenced singer-songwriter vibe, with warm vocals and a deep groove.

As I listened, I noticed some low-end imbalance and a slight dip in the high mids. The overall vibe was great, but that low-end issue needed to be addressed before anything else.

Step 2: Fixing the Low End

My first move was to reach for Ozone 11’s Stabilizer and set it to a “Pop” tone. I used it primarily for subtle low-end shaping—not boosting. To tame the sub-bass area, I applied a low-shelf filter at 30 Hz, cutting by about 2 dB and widening the Q to avoid harshness.

Then I brought in Tonal Balance Control to confirm what I was hearing. Sure enough—there was some excessive activity in the sub-bass, so I used a bell curve to cut it gently and gave the upper bass region a slight boost for more body.

I also boosted slightly around 2kHz to help the vocals poke through the mix just a touch more.

Step 3: Maximizer Settings and Loudness Strategy

With EQ in place, I moved on to Ozone’s Maximizer, one of my favorite mastering tools. I went with the Classic mode, which felt more musical than the Modern setting for this track.

Here’s my usual approach:

• Set the output ceiling to -1.0 dB

• Avoid true peak limiting (to preserve transients)

• Use Delta mode to audition what the limiter is actually doing

• Apply gentle gain reduction (1–2 dB max)

This put the loudness around -8.7 LUFS, which is plenty for a track like this. For context, many streaming services normalize to around -14 LUFS, so this still packs punch without being brickwalled.

Step 4: Creating Multiple Versions

Now here’s the part many don’t talk about—I created three separate master versions for the artist:

• Version 1 – The cleanest and closest to the original mix, lightly processed

• Version 2 – A brighter, fuller master with added harmonic distortion via Vintage Tape

• Version 3 – A fully processed version with stereo imaging, low-end focus, and enhanced loudness

Each version had its own personality, letting the artist choose what resonated best.

Step 5: Stereo Imaging and Low-End Focus (Version 3)

On the more processed version, I had some fun with:

• Stereo Imaging: Pushing everything above 200 Hz slightly wider, while collapsing the lows for tight mono compatibility

• Low-End Focus Module: Used the “Punch” setting to dial in extra impact without sacrificing clarity

• Extra Limiting: I even experimented with series limiting using both the Maximizer and Vintage Limiter for more analog color

Despite the added candy, I always used gain matching to A/B decisions clearly and keep perspective.

Step 6: Minimalist Version (Version 1)

Sometimes less is more.

Version 1 had almost no processing—just a bit of EQ, light limiting, and that delicious Vintage Tape module for a subtle lift.

Why? Because artists often prefer the version that’s closest to the original vibe. It’s familiar. And if the mix is solid, it might only need that final 10% polish.

Conclusion: The Value of Choices in Mastering

So, which version won? I don’t know yet—I sent all three off to the artist for feedback.

But here’s the takeaway: mastering isn’t about finding one magic setting. It’s about listening, understanding the song’s intent, and offering options.

If you’re working in Logic Pro and want to take your own mastering workflow up a notch, start by applying some of these techniques.

Got questions or a different approach? Drop a comment—I’d love to hear what you’d do differently.

See you in the next session.