iZotope Neutron 4
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iZotope Neutron 4
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Back for its fourth version, Neutron is
iZotope’s AI mixing software package,
which has now been boosted with a few
new features. The overarching ethos, that of
a reorderable strip of mixing modules with some
optional AI talents, remains the same. The new
Unmask module brings in a dedicated processor
that listens to a sidechain input and automatically
carves out space in the channel it’s inserted on;
there are new fl avours of distortion and ways to
mitigate the destructiveness of the Exciter module;
a new ‘Punch’ style compressor; and perhaps
above all, the Mix Assistant from Neutron 3 has
been completely rethought, even removing certain
features. Let’s take a more detailed look.
Unmask module >
Let’s start with the new module: Unmask.
We’ve got a piano part and a synth patch
that are getting in each others’ way a little.
We’ll add Neutron 4 over the piano part to
carve space out for the synth patch.
Unmask will need us to point the synth
patch as the sidechain input in our DAW.
After this quick process, Unmask
immediately gets to work carving
complementary chunks out of our piano
part. You can adjust the large ‘amount’
control to get more or less of the effect.
Unmasking preferences >
Alongside the ‘amount’ control, we have
Sensitivity, Attack and Release. Sensitivity
works like a ‘resolution’ control, getting
pickier and pickier about the exact time
windows and frequencies that are carved
out by the processor. By turning this up,
the effect is more exact, but it can be too
heavy-handed or artefact-ridden; set it low
and you’re making more broad-brush
changes. Attack and Release bring the cut
in quicker or slower, and then back that
cutoff more slowly or quickly too.
The Exciter >
Neutron 4 has improved the Exciter. We
start with the same (multiband-friendly)
setup, with four blendable options (now
‘Classic’), and a new set of four, Trash,
taken from iZotope’s distortion plugin. The
new Tone control puts emphasis on or off
different areas of the frequency spectrum,
and the Tame function helps to restore
dynamics that have been smudged by
heavy-handed distortion. There’s a lot of
screaming, saturating power on offer here,
or the tools to keep it subtle if you prefer.
< Punch Compressor
There were two types of compressor included
in Neutron already – Modern and Vintage.
These are now joined by the new Punch type,
which offers a less traditional way to shape
dynamics. Above the default 100 setting,
transients are emphasised a little like an
expander; below 100, we’re in compression
territory. The Attack and Sustain controls
function a lot like a standard transient
shaper. Don’t get tricked by the Makeup
control – there’s an Auto Gain function hiding
in the top-right too, which will more easily
compensate for your dynamic changes.
FM
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