iZotope Neutron 3 Advanced – Channel Strip Software with Mix Assistant (Upgrade from Music Production Suite 2 or RX Post Production Suite 3, Download)

Neutron 3 Advanced represents the next step forward in iZotope’s channel-strip plug-ins, giving you the ability to balance your entire session in three clicks with the new Mix Assistant. As with previous iterations, you get an equalizer, a compressor, a transient shaper, an exciter, and other goodies from Neutron 2. But iZotope has brought a new module into the mix as well—a sweetening, tone-shaping module called Sculptor.

The modules offered in version 2 have been optimized to take as little CPU as possible. The GUI has seen an overhaul with a resizeable window as well as better control of the sliders than Version 2. The Masking Meter, which helps you identify and fix competing frequencies between two tracks, is now elegantly compacted into one, easy-to-understand window, with essential parameters like inverse link more readily available.

The most prominent additions to the Neutron platform are Mix Assistant and Sculptor. Through plug-in communication, the Mix Assistant can listen to all of the tracks in your mix and give you a static starting point. Use it at the beginning of the process: Simply place Neutron 3 or Relay on every track of your mix, run the Mix Assistant, choose the most prominent tracks when prompted (i.e., the vocal in a pop tune), and let Neutron handle all the busywork so you can get to the fun stuff.

Sculptor, on the other hand, is a sweetening, finalizing module that applies a comprehensive EQ, one that fluctuates in real-time, reacting to the track as it plays. It makes multiple dynamic choices per second. Use it to add both final polish and a creative emphasis to any track.

Neutron 3 Advanced is compatible with Mac and Windows computers and is available for download. It works in AU, AAX, and VST formats.