Today I’ll be giving you guys a hands-on review of the NEW Izotope Neutron 3 Plugin. I’ll show you where you can download Neutron 3 later on.
The goal of this blog post is to find out if Neutron can mix an entire mix for you or if it’s just gimmicks. I’ll do that through video, I’ll mix a song from start to finish only using Neutron.
But for now let’s find out what Neutron is and what it’s capable of doing.
Izotope Neutron offers assistive audio technology, fluid interactive visuals as well as faster performance. Izotope’s goal is to transform the art of mixing music.
Neutron uses advanced audio technology and artificial intelligence to help you get professional mixes so that you can focus on your craft without worrying about audio engineering.
This NEW version is also light on CPU as compared to its predecessor. Izotope has made significant improvements to metering, plug-in startup time, memory usage and processing power.
Now let’s look at the new features and their benefits.
Mix Assistant
If you still struggle with getting a good balance for your mixes then mix assistant can make the job easier. It will automatically sculpt your tracks and balance your levels.
This will give you a good starting point by suggesting gain levels for all the tracks in your session.
You get to choose which sounds are the most important in your mix. After that, mix assistant will sort your tracks in groups called Focus, Vocals, Bass, Drums and Musical.
The groups work like buss or group channels. From there you’ll adjust your final balance from what mix assistant has suggested. So with a few clicks, you can get a roughly balanced mix even if you’re working on a complex session.
The NEW Mix Assistant Balance feature listens to your whole song and kicks things off right by suggesting an initial level mix.
After testing it, I should say that it’s shockingly good at giving you a starting point for your mixes. Just a few minor adjustments and you’re ready to go.
Sculptor Module
Honestly, the sculptor module is a double edged sword. It can either get things right or ruin them completely.
Basically it’s like an army of equalizers and compressors tirelessly working for you to shape your tracks. It can sweeten and fix problems in your mix.
It can also be used as a creative tool to come up with something totally new and different. You can choose to affect the entire frequency spectrum or only use it on a chosen frequency range.
You can also target specific muddy and harsh frequencies. Sculptor can also identify the instrument you’re working on and give you real-time feedback to help shape the sound of your track.
Keep switching between the before and after when you’re using Sculptor, like I said, it’s a double edged sword so be careful.
Masking Meter
The masking meter is not something new to Neutron, it was available in version 2 as well.
The goal of the masking meter is to help you to quickly create space for any instrument, vocal or loop. This will help make sure that the sounds in your mix don’t fight for the same space in the frequency spectrum.
I’ve watched many professional and Grammy award winning engineers mix songs from start to finish. I’ve been mentored by a few of them and honestly, I’ve never heard any of them talk about masking.
I’ve also never seen them use a masking tool. I did learn about it in music production school though.
But in the professional scene I’ve never heard the Pros talk about masking.
Does that mean this feature is useless?
I don’t think so, I’m just saying I’ve never used it and have never seen any professional engineer using it. We always rely on our ears not our eyes.
Looks can be deceiving, so be careful when you’re using this and make sure that it’s not making your mixes sound thin.
Track Assistant
Just like the mix assistant module, the track assistant module gives you a good starting point for mixing your individual tracks. It will figure out what type of audio you’re working on; guitar, percussion, vocals, etc.
From there it will automatically suggest processing tools that you’ll need to improve the sound.
The track assistant will give you suggestion settings for the Sculptor module, gate, EQ, compressor, transient shaper and exciter.
From there you’ll have a good starting point in a matter of seconds, then add the finishing touches for your mix by adding your taste and fingerprint all over it.
Neutron 3 Modules (The Channel Strip)
- Sculptor – Remove resonance frequencies and add excitement to your tracks with this ultimate hands-off audio tool.
- Transient Shaper – Change the contour of your sound by controlling attack and release with this mixing secret weapon.
- Exciter – Add modern character or warm, vintage grit with the Exciter module.
- Gate – Add impact and energy to your audio with a flexible multiband gate and remove background noise or noise floor.
- Compressor – Fit your tracks perfectly in the mix by using a swiss-army-knife compressor.
- Equalizer – Auto detect frequencies and remove masking with the new intelligent EQ module. It also has dynamic EQ features.
Neutron 3 System Requirements
Operating systems:Mac — OS X 10.11.6 El Capitan—macOS 10.14 MojavePC — Win 7 (64-bit)—Win 10 (64-bit)
Plug-in formats:AAX (64-bit), AU, VST2, VST3*All formats are 64-bit only.
Supported hosts:Ableton Live 9—10.1, Audition CC 2019, Cubase 10, Digital Performer 10, FL Studio 20, Logic Pro X, Nuendo 8—10, Premiere Pro CC 2019, Pro Tools 12—2019, Reaper 5, Reason 10, Studio One 4
Izotope Neutron 3 Hands-On Review
Now you can watch me mix a song from start to finsish using Neutron 3.
Let’s test it to see if this plugin can mix a song for YOU.
I would love to hear your thoughts about the end results, so leave a comment below to let me know your thoughts about the new neutron 3 plugin.
Download Neutron here: https://pluginboutique.com/?a_aid=4cc84a2e1b6c2-3
Watch the video below to see Neutron 3 in action:
