Downbeat is getting cut off without almost 3/4 of beat playhead lead in

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Level 1

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Downbeat is getting cut off without almost 3/4 of beat playhead lead in

When I try to render an alternate master I'm working on, if I start the playhead where the first transient appears the downbeat is getting cut off. In a previous master using all manually adjusted Isotope Ozone 11 modules it required almost a half-beat lead in (as shown here, where the cycle region starts just before the final 16th of beat 4).

In the current version using Ozone's AI mastering, the lead in is even longer, starting just after the 2nd 16th

I mention the Ozone modules/AI only because nothing else but the mastering details a changed between the 2 versions. I tried changing the buffer size for the project but it didn't change anything.

In a separate editing project a few weeks ago, I noticed a similar issue when I couldn't play from the start of specific transients without the beginning getting cut off. Didn't figure out exactly how far I had to back up ahead of the spot I wanted to hear, but the issue was the same. It's a very frustrating and inefficient way to try to work.

I understand graphic representations of transients aren't 100% accurate, but this is excessive. Any ideas what's causing the problem?

MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 15.5

Posted on Jul 21, 2025 1:51 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

EddieGrey

Level 4

2,000 points

Jul 22, 2025 10:12 AM in response to Jesilv

Plug-Ins introduce latency so this does not surprise me. iZotope can be a culprit for sure.Have you tried reducing buffer size and adjusting Processing Threads and Process Buffer Range to Small? Multithreading should be set to "Playback Tracks".

Are you Mastering a Track on a clean session with no other plug-ins? If you are, bypass all other instances of iZotope as well (hard bypass not soft bypass)

This might help as well. I hope others chime in as this is a fascinating subject.

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Answer 2

EddieGrey

Level 4

2,000 points

Jul 22, 2025 2:21 PM in response to Jesilv

Glad you got it sorted. Could be the version of Ozone as well. You are using a lot of plugs so it doe not surprise me. Latency happens in 3 places…

The Physical Domain
The Analog Domain
The Digital Domain (RAM, Hard Disc, OS, Drivers, Network Card, Midi Interface, Keyboard, Fans, Mouse, DAW, Audio Interface, Graphics Card, Hard Disc, Plug-Ins)

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Answer 3

Jesilv Author

Level 1

30 points

Jul 22, 2025 11:16 AM in response to EddieGrey

Looks like Ozone is the culprit. Adjusting buffer, processing threads, buffer range, and multithreading didn't make any difference. Hard bypass on all other plugins improved things significantly, but not 100%. What's interesting is that even if I hard bypass all the plugins that Ozone AI mastering put in the current chain (and aren't visible in the single instance of Ozone showing in the Logic track) it still sounds like there's a gate that takes a half-beat to open if the playback head starts right on the downbeat of the opening transient.

I've used Ozone on lots of masters in the past and never had this issue before. Wonder if one of the recent Logic updates triggered something that had been lurking beneath the surface.

Always good to get your input, Eddie. Thanks, as always.

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