WORLD OF MUSIC ; PORTABLE KEYBOARD - Latest Portable Music Keyboards, Synthesizers and Music News

iZotope Neutron 5 adds 3 new plugins and makes its AI-powered Mix Assistant ‘faster and smarter’

iZotope, a part of Native Instruments, has released Neutron 5, a major update to its audio mixing suite. Neutron 5 bringing three new plugins and a host of upgrades and enhancements to this already-powerful collection of intelligent audio tools.

This ever-expanding suite of intelligent mixing tools gets a flexible clipper, an upward compressor, and targeted processing with new Mid/Side and Transient/Sustain modes.

The headline improvement in Neutron 5 is the addition of three new modules that give you a total of ten plugins overall: Clipper, Density and Phase. Neutron 5’s new Clipper plugin helps you tame peaks and maximize headroom with the help of an intuitive interface and visualizer that displays the clipping happening in real-time.

Equipped with three separate clippers that can be applied independently across individual, adjustable frequency bands, the flexible Clipper module also lets you target mid and side portions of the signal and focus its processing on transients or sustained elements independently. Every module in Neutron now has a mid/side mode, and many have been kitted out with transient/sustain modes, too.

Clipper is joined by Density, an upward compressor that’s designed to bring presence and detail to your audio by levelling out dynamics, and Phase, an intelligent assistant for identifying and addressing phase issues in your mix. Equipped with two specialized tools, Phase can tackle asymmetrical waveforms using phase rotation and align two out-of-phase signals with its phase delay adjustment.

One of the main selling points of Neutron is its AI-powered assistive features, which include an intelligent Mix Assistant that analyses your mix and applies corrective processing automatically. In developing Neutron 5, iZotope has made this assistant “faster and smarter”, re-jigging its Assistant View to give you a more convenient overview of the five plugins it works with, equipped with easy-to-use macro controls.

Neutron 5 also brings delta monitoring to the mixing suite, enabling you to solo the processed elements of any signal to hear exactly what’s being changed in your mix.

Here’s what’s new in Neutron 5:

• Clipper Module—Add power to your tracks while reclaiming headroom with intuitive multiband clipping options, oversampling, and versatile channel modes.
• Density Module—Keep your key elements pinned up-front in the mix with an upward compressor that effortlessly smooths out dynamics, giving your audio more presence, detail, and fullness.
• Phase Module—Fix asymmetrical waveforms and out-of-sync signals instantly to maintain a clean and full-bodied sound. Phase is perfect for getting the most punch out of the kick and bass, and addressing phase issues from multi-mic scenarios.
• Improved Mix Assistant—Quickly find a great starting point for your mix. Run the Assistant to create a custom signal chain with easy macros. Use improved processing and additional controls to match your sound to built-in reference profiles or your own profiles. Download the free Audiolens desktop app to save reference profiles from any streaming platform or audio source.
• Module Channel Modes—Explore new creative dimensions with Mid/Side and Transient/Sustain channel modes, allowing precise targeting of previously out-of-reach audio content.
• Delta Buttons—Hear exactly how Neutron 5 is affecting your mix with new Delta buttons in every module.
• Component Plugins—Neutron 5 comes with ten plugins for the individual modules.

Available now in VST3/AU/AAX formats for macOS and Windows, Neutron 5 is priced at an introductory price of $174.30, but the MSRP is $249. Visit iZotope website to find out more.

Expressive E has introduced the Hive 2 Expressive Suite, a bundle featuring 300 free MPE presets u-he’s Hive 2 + software synth.

The presets are designed to perfectly pair with the Expressive E Osmose synthesizer, and to work with any MPE controller.

Features:

• 300 premium MPE presets made by Expressive E for Hive 2
• Tailor-made for Osmose, but works with any MPE controller
• Formed of 3 individual 100-MPE preset packs: Aura (inspired by acoustic instruments), Delta (essential synth sounds), Halo (cinematique).

Pricing:

• For Hive 2 non-owners, a bundle with Hive 2 + 300 free MPE presets at $/€149.99
• For Hive 2 owners, 300 MPE presets at $/€59.99
• An intro sale running until October 30th with the bundle at $/€99.99 (instead of $/€149.99) or the MPE presets only at $/€39.99 (instead of $/€59.99)

Visit the Expressive E site for details.

The SSL X-Orcism II- Voices from the Crypt plug-in is a FREE Halloween. This spooky vocal processor and multi-effects plugin incorporates a delay, reverb, pitch-shifter and noise generator.

Solid State Logic is getting in the Halloween spirit this year with the release of a new free plugin. The sequel to a plugin released 11 years ago, SSL X-Orcism II: Voices from the Crypt is a vocal processor and multi-effects plugin aimed at conjuring spooky timbres and haunting soundscapes.

Packing a delay, pitch-shifter, reverb and noise generator into a single processor, X-Orcism II can not only be used to transform your voice into “eerie and supernatural tones”, but also to lend an unearthly touch to synths, drums, guitars, or frankly any audio source that needs spooking out.

X-Orcism’s simple, easy-to-use interface is equipped with eight encoders; at the top-left we have Echoes and Crypt Size, for dialling in diabolical delays, and beneath that the aptly-named Ghoul and Wail controls can be used to control the pitch-shifter.

Cranking up the Howl control will “evoke the haunting beauty of desolate landscapes” by activating the plugin’s noise generator, which SSL suggests that you automate to create tension-building risers, while the Tombverb dial floods the signal in an atmospheric reverb fit for Tutankhamun. You can adjust the wet/dry balance to taste with the adjacent mix control, or reign in the levels using the output control.

X-Orcism II is equipped with a variety of presets to help you get started right away, and custom-built presets can be transferred across DAWs with SSL’s cross-platform preset management system.

All in all, X-Orcism II is a neat little free plugin, and what it lacks in fine-grained control, it makes up for in character. Though it’ll certainly come in useful for making your voice sound like Frankenstein or summoning dark, eerie soundscapes from your synths, the plugin has the potential to become a useful sound design tool all year round.

X-Orcism II is compatible with macOS and Windows and available in VST/VST3/AU/AAX formats. The plugin is available for free from SSL website, but you’ll be asked to sign up to the company’s newsletter before you can download it.