The biggest drawback I’ve found is its rather high CPU appetite. Just imagine how much time this can save during a long mixing session. Any adjustments made are automatically applied to both Neutron instances, so that the EQ cuts a particular frequency on one track and automatically boost it on the other. This is also where the third innovative feature called “Inverse Link” comes into play, making it possible to link two different instances of Neutron (loaded on separate tracks) and control them both at the same time. The Masking Meter allows the user to compare two tracks and identify frequency clashes between mix elements such as kick and bass tracks, or piano and vocal tracks, for example. It’s important to remember that the analysis takes place on a short section of audio, so the user needs to use a representative section of the track and be prepared to compromise if there are dramatic changes in sound further down the timeline. The screenshot at the top of this page shows the outcome of the analysis applied to a drum loop. It can detect different types of instruments and has subtle, medium and aggressive modes. It does this by analyzing between four and ten seconds of the track and suggests an optimal signal flow as well as settings for EQ and effects. This is especially important to bear in mind because the Track Assistant tool effectively creates a custom preset as a starting point.
Whilst Neutron comes bundled with a large number of presets for different instruments, iZotope are keen to stress that these are really meant as starting points or learning tools. The two compressors offer a range of vintage and modern compression modes, along with extensive multi-band control and per band side-chaining. The transient shaper module features a range of contours (Sharp, Medium, and Smooth) and modes (Precise, Balanced, Loose), as well as single and multi-band processing. The exciter comes with three XY pads which blend between different algorithms, allowing for a range of saturation effects. The limiter module has three algorithms ,each with three modes capable of producing anything from clean and transparent gain reduction to brick wall limiting.
We particularly liked the inclusion of the side-chain mode which can be a particularly handy option for putting a busy mix under control. It doesn’t have attack and release settings and there’s no ratio control, but it’s very capable even without these. The equalizer module is a 12-band static/dynamic EQ with a range of filter types. Incidentally, iZotope has already released a freeware plugin based on this spectral shaping module, albeit with a more streamlined interface and conveniently called Neutrino. The limiter is positioned on the right of the interface, with the neutrino spectral shaping mode shown in the bottom right corner. The control parameters are shown below each effect. It is possible to change the order of the panels simply via drag and drop. The EQ, exciter, transient shaper and 2 compressors each have their own panel with individual bypass, preset and mix controls. Unfortunately, the user interface isn’t scalable. The menu bar at the top hosts a number of useful features such as the preset menu, Track Assistant, options, undo, and the very handy rename option which makes it easy to identify a particular instance of the plugin. The UI has a clean, minimal look to it and is rather easy to navigate. What sets it apart from other similar plugins on the market are three innovative features – the Track Assistant, the Masking Meter and, perhaps most importantly, the ability to load the plugin on each track in a project and control multiple instances simultaneously, no internal patching or virtual wiring required. Described as ‘A smarter way to mix’, it is a channel strip effect with five effects – an EQ, two multi-band compressors, a transient shaper, an exciter and a limiter.
Neutron is the latest piece of mixing software developed by iZotope.