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Did you know iZotope has free plug-ins? Visual Mixer is one of them. Follow along with this article by downloading the Neutron 3 Advanced demo, which includes Visual Mixer. Once the demo ends, Visual Mixer is yours forever!
Visual Mixer is a workspace that allows you to adjust the pan, gain, and stereo width of the tracks in your mix from a single window. In this article, I’ll show you five ways to use Visual Mixer to achieve a balanced, but exciting mix in record time.
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1. The basics of Visual Mixer
Visual Mixer reads your DAW for instances of Relay, Neutron, and other IPC-enabled iZotope plug-ins then displays them in a single window where they can be arranged across the stereo field. I find the plug-in most useful at the start of a mix once you’ve set the initial static levels that serve as the foundation for ear candy and automation. If you’re using Visual Mixer for the entire mix, place it on the master, though it works for instrument-specific buses too (which I’ll get into further below).
For those unfamiliar with Relay, it is our CPU-light utility that allows for communication between iZotope and non-iZotope plug-ins. Instantiate it on a track and this track will show up in Visual Mixer without altering the signal tone. Just be sure to place Relay as the last plug-in in an effects chain so moves made in Visual Mixer apply to the entire track.
From here, get creative and drag individual tracks (represented by a node) across the x-axis to alter the pan position or across the y-axis to adjust the gain. Let’s go a little deeper:
2. LCR panning vs. LCR-ish panning
One of the best parts about Visual Mixer is the Snapshots feature, which allows you to save and preview up to three different pan scenarios. This is helpful when you want to compare traditional approaches, like LCR, against more modern ones.
The concept of LCR panning is simple. Every track in your mix is panned in one of three directions: hard left, center, or hard right. Most engineers keep the kick, snare, lead vocals, and bass in the middle for maximum impact and balance. All other instruments are panned to the sides. If there is too much going on at either end, go ahead and fold some tracks down to mono.
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Those of you raised on DAWs—and used to the flexible pan options offered by them—may find the LCR technique limiting. But I wager you’ll find the results refreshing. Even dense mixes manage to sound clear and wide, benefiting the arrangement. Here’s what an LCR mix looks like: