u/Haunting_Inflation54

In this day and age there are so many variations of the same plugins. Ozone limited, L2 Limiter, Fabfilter EQ, Ozone EQ, UAD compressors, Waves compressors all based on the same hardware etc etc

I know every song is different in terms of what is actually required, I'm not asking whether the same processing is used on every track as I know it isn't, I'm curious about whether there's any reason or potential benefit to switching between brands or different versions of the same effect depending on the song?

If a mastering engineer is able to make a hit record with Ozone will they always reach for Ozone plugins every time? or would they still reach for a different limiter, EQ etc depending on the track?

I currently use Presonus Eris E5 monitors that go for £175 for 2 on Thomann.

I make rap/hip-hop/trap music and was researching the best upgrade and a popular choice was Yamaha HS5 which are roughly £300 for 2

I also found Adam Audio A4V which are £678 for 2 and are supposedly very good and intended for small spaces but they weren't mentioned in any of the lists I found.

I know you can't get the biggest and best speakers for a small room, especially if it's not professionally treated hence why a lot of the recommendations actually seem to be on the cheaper side.

Assuming the room is treated with proper acoustic panels and bass traps etc but it's still a bedroom space with a bed and clothes etc, is there a speaker set that would be a worthwhile upgrade?

I'm curious on whether or not Ozone 12 is actually a high end plugin that the pros use or if the target audience is for someone that doesn't actually know too much about mastering and the appeal is getting good results without a steep learning curve?

If I was interested in getting professional mastering results would Ozone 12 be enough? Or does the suit have its limits and it's more of a gimmick vs something industry standard?

I've been mixing for years although only recently began paying more attention to the mastering side of things. I'm a singer/rapper myself and I only work on my own music. I'm by no means a pro but I'm not an amateur either and if my songs came on next to an artist like Drake the quality difference to an untrained ear wouldn't be that noticeable.

Anyway, recently I've been learning more and more about mixing and my final mixes to me are now sounding super clean, then when it comes to the mastering stage there's a lot of standardised practices that I try to imitate such as:

- Very very subtle eq cuts
- broader more tonal changes with an eq to impact the entire track
- Mid/Side EQ
- Saturation
- Light compression
- Soft/Hard Clipper
- Limiter

Now the limiter works with every track and I'd say its essential to getting loudness. I'd also say the soft/hard clipper is very important and actually improves tracks that have a lot of low end taking up headroom. When it comes to compression, saturation, tape fx such as UAD Ampex, EQ, Mid/Side EQ etc I feel like whenever I make changes that I think sound good and then A/B test it on and off I usually prefer it off.

I'm basically trying to understand if some tracks genuinely do just need a limiter and soft clipper on the master or if it's more likely that I simply don't know what I'm doing or how to get the best out of my mix through mastering?

Like if I mix a track that is objectively a good mix and then I decide it sounds better without eq or compression etc but then I sent the track to a high end industry professional, is it possible they would make the same decision, or would they likely add those things but simply know how to make it work and take the track to greater heights?

I know the saying of "if it sounds good it sounds good", I'm simply trying to figure out if it can sound better :)

I recently bought a tlm49 and through the genuine accident of someone that was in my room the mic stand got knocked over with the mic hitting my speakers and my desk. I can't see any visible damage on the mic and the mic still records and I'm not really noticing any big differences in the sound but I'm concerned that there's subtle damage that I'm missing and the mic quality is now no longer as good prior to the drop. I'm not an expert with mics and this is a mic I haven't had long and was an upgrade after using a cheap budget mic for years so I'd ideally like to keep it in pristine condition for as long as possible and I now feel paranoid that the sound quality has been effected by this drop somehow.

Is it possible for damage to be this subtle? If the mic didn't take physical damage could the impact from the fall cause any kind of shock damage from the violent/sudden movement?

I appreciate any and all help or advice