Neutron 4 Mix Assistant - "INTELLIGENT" again?!

Hey, my audio friends around the world! I've had different plans for today's vid, but Neutron 4 popped out, so I had to try it out and test its (in)famous Mix Assistant :) Here are the results I got... Enjoy!
0:00 Intro
1:11 First look
2:27 Session overview
4:19 Mixing with Neutron
4:52 Leads
6:33 Balalaikas
7:07 Plucked synths
8:22 Keys
9:35 Saxophones
10:25 Bass
11:46 Drums
13:53 Visual Mixer mixing
15:28 Unmasking tool
16:39 Comparing manual vs Neutron
18:10 Summing the thingz up!

[@ctatrains]

I've watched a few of your reviews now and I think you've nailed them to my thinking and my ears so I subscribed. Keep up the good work!

[@FoliaSound]

Thanks a lot, man, see you soon :)

[@Nethanieal]

you have control over the parameters before it runs assistant , read manual

[@AmilcarPino]

You won a new subscriber, thank you for bring us to reality again ❤

[@FoliaSound]

Nice, thanks! Good to have you here!

[@jeffersonbritoc]

Great plugin! All the tools to make a good mix are there. Very flexible, plenty of features and all modules sound great. A good sound engineer will certainly achieve positive results with this tool.

[@FoliaSound]

I didn't say he wouldn't. What I said is that AI/Assistant functions of this plugin are pure trash for me.

[@ashchubbly]

Truth be told, your mix is very dense. I hear a lot of masking in there and Neutron has tried to open it out, (you can clearly here this in your test) Neutron clearly hasn’t done this the right. That said the AI mix assistant has always been a little hit and miss but everything is tweakable. Neutron will not mix your tracks for you and starting points are designed point you in the right direction depending on the material (sometimes it will sometimes it won’t) but this doesn’t make Neutron redundant or snake oil. Neutron has excellent processors (with a lot of tweak-ability), and a million pre-sets. The plugin communication features are great and it also works well as channel strip.. if used wisely can save you a lot of time.

[@MarcoS-pw9px]

Nice Review! Thank you for that :-) Really nice channel :)

[@FoliaSound]

Thanks, man, hope to see you back soon! :)

[@oh515]

If it worked in every genre, it would have to be able to switch between the sound of every instrument in all the genres in the world. The algorithm is tuned to an average sound for each instrument. I use mostly the reference system. It would help if you instead tried to get close to a specific sound you like quickly from your mixes or other productions. That means you make your own targets. That’s the feature I find helpful and use most, and it’s not the same as fabfilter. Sometimes I go for the presets. Anyway, the point is that neutron doesn't know what sound you are aiming for before you feed it with that specific sound. Intelligence and mind-reading are not quite the same.

[@ST-fl5fy]

@O H do you mean you reference system for a whole mix matching EQ or using a reference for an individual sound like guitar?

[@oh515]

@@ST-fl5fy Single instruments in neutron and the whole mix in ozone. But neutron would probably work on the mix bus too. Maybe better with the new algorithm in neutron 4. To make it work properly on the mix bus, the sound of each instrument needs to be as close as possible to the mixed target. I use it when the goal is to align the sound in all songs in a project. But I start on the individual instruments. But the sound on the instrument needs the potential to get the sound of the target file.

[@oh515]

@@ST-fl5fy A messy answer but I think you know what I try to explain 😊

[@oh515]

BTW, be careful with the global blender. It drives all the effects in the chain. If you have to drive it more than 75 percent to get close enough to the target file, you should probably change or tweak the instrument.

[@DerekPower]

It is most certainly an honest and fair review and some good points were brought up. It does work best with more typical and straightforward arrangements. I know this may sound like it’s damning with faint praise, but Izotope doesn’t go from Boston to Warsaw and insist on having its way at the exclusion of everything else 😁

[@Cubase-Erklaerbaer]

I love you for this video! I made the same questioning face when I tested this junk!

[@FoliaSound]

Thanks, man!

[@guscave7]

I currently have Neutron 3 and don’t think that version 4 has enough new features for me to dish out more money for it. I don’t use the AI section of Neutron because I feel it takes away some character in the mix, instead I use the individual components as I feel the track needs. It’s definitely improved my mixing time.

[@shandani7215]

I share your sentiments. It does push up the highs to make the song bright in keeping with today's wants.

[@MuratEltanOfficial]

Wow its “day & night” clear honest review thanks👍

[@FoliaSound]

Thanks, man!

[@mongobeni4992]

Neutron Eq sounds so good and it's my favorite digital eq. It's clear that automatic presets are not for pro, the Real thing is that the individual plugins sounds very good, so for me Neutron is still a must have, but mix manually

[@FoliaSound]

Many people told me that - use Neutron, yet make it fully manual. Thanks for a comment!

[@jdcheetham]

the neutron version sounds a bit like a smart speaker remix. I'm curious to see how it will work using custom references

[@Nineven]

I remember trying Neutron 3 when I still had very little experience in music production in general, and the impression of the results it gave me was every time "trashy". I felt like I was just wasting my time feeding sounds to an algorithm, then waiting, only to have to review and undo almost all it has done. I can't believe they keep reiterating this. It feels like their priority is just about releasing new versions without really improving the product. It's quantity over quality with them, it's a big no for me. (about Neutron at least. I like RX9 and Neoverb.) Thank you for this video. I appreciate your consistent authenticity and fairness, I often share the same feelings and views on pretty much every product you present. 🙏

[@FoliaSound]

Thanks, man! I think it's just the matter of common sense...

[@DJUwU]

@@FoliaSound I wish izotope added linear phase EQ, M/S EQ, better coded AI assistance, and better graphics support in this Neutron "version 4"... I still think Neutron is great for people starting off with mixing...cause most of the time the plugin order/idea behind it is right...just the implementation is awful...so if you try to replicate what is being done in Neutron with other plugins and use your ears with the other plugins...you will learn so much about mixing and thinking outside the box... Its just after a while you realize the other plugins are better than Neutron. I still use Neutron tho...for example if I need to do a quick mix in 5 minutes or less...you'll be hard to find someone who can do more than the assistant that quick. Also for anything I want to mix within a few hours...Neutron assistant + heavy modifications to its settings that assistant gave me...is just much faster than tweeking 3 different compressors/EQs for that individual kick drum signal chain...then smacking on 9 plugins in the vocal chain and tweeking all of them manually...etc

[@iamwonderfool1426]

In my opinion chip tune music will never please my ears and considering that it's completely synthesized, how would one expect to achieve an organic sound? You stated the plugin resulted in a sound that's entirely too digital? I'm confused 🤔

[@FoliaSound]

You can treat synthesised music with organic sounding mixing tools, right? To give it some depth and warmth, so to speak!

[@iamwonderfool1426]

I hear you. Sounded like a chip tune to me. I'm sorry.

[@FoliaSound]

@@iamwonderfool1426 not a problem and, actually, not mentioning the Assistant stuff, Neutron looks more than solid, we can agree on that!

[@johnnyvegas2015]

Thanks for the honest review and for saving me $$$ for the update. Honestly, I do not use Izotope often but some of their plugins are very cool...Definitely, very disappointed with this update...Cheers

[@CGDreamsTutorials]

I have the Izotope Mix Master Advanced bundle, only been using it for 2 weeks. I also did find the Neutron AI to produce a brighter mix and found the compression was a little harsh at times, but the simplicity of how visual these modules are given the task they are to do compensated and for someone new to this can learn what it did and can change it. Ozone on the master bus also can produce a harsh sound with its maximizer. Aside from this, it should get you started. I like the idea of the visual mixer but in use, it takes longer than go to the mixer in the DAW. Nectar 3 plus is worth a look at as it does a nice job, for this reason Id use Nectar 3 plus on vocals, Nutron on everything else. and Ozone 10 Adv on the master bus. I would like to see you do a review on ozone and Nectar 3 plus.

[@FoliaSound]

Yes, Nectar review! Great idea, thanks!

[@soundbeatproductions5732]

Same thing here. I never use the ai because it always comes up with harsh bright mixes. I use modules individually and manually and they are more useful that way.

[@Empirism]

Awesome vid ^__^

[@FoliaSound]

Thanks!

[@AceeSoul]

Thanks for your honest opinion/review. This seems to be the minority view. Seems most people love it and achieve good mixes with it. Good to see both sides of it.

[@Br00sta]

Nice vid dude. I've had a little play with Neutron 4 and tried the AI bit too and I was underwhelmed by the results. But I'm very amateur and do not trust myself too much in this field, and I've seen quite a few others review this product and all were bassically gushing over it. So it was nice to see a somewhat similar view to my own expressed by yourself. Personally I preferred the results of simply adding Soundgoodizer on the track (than the AI in Neutron)! But out of interest, is there another product which does do what Neutron claims to do with auto/AI stuff?

[@FoliaSound]

Sonible Smart:EQ 3 and their newest Smart:comp 2. You'll find the vids for both on my channel!

[@Br00sta]

@@FoliaSound OK thanks I'll check em out. Subbed btw!

[@FoliaSound]

@@Br00sta thanks, cya soon!

[@FoliaSound]

Okie dokie, let's go again: what do you think about Neutron 4? Are you using it? You think its Mix Assistant is good? Lemme know in the comments!

[@Sosha666]

Quite fond of neutron when it’s on special. Outside of rx it’s the first plugin of theirs I picked up.. Never really got on with the intelligent side on anything that isn’t a poorly recorded drum. But the individual elements are cool. And the the eq and exciter come out a lot.

[@FoliaSound]

Yes, that's my impression, too: nice eqing, comp, saturation, though sounds somerimes kind od harsh and digital to me...

[@fuTuRo-Sonic]

Yep, liked your honest review so subbed! I find it's a bit too simple and only really succeeds in brightening things. Personally I prefer to use my zillion other plugs to sculpt my sound and can't see me using this much other than the very useful unmasking.

[@FoliaSound]

Thanks and welcome!

[@AndreasR86]

The way I see it, the assistant is just that, an assistant. It's an easy way to have mistakes in the tracks found and adjusted, but it won't always do it well enough. It's not meant to do the whole mix for you. That said, I think that Sonible's Smart suite of plugins gets better results, at least to my ears. It's nice to just plop on tracks, have it run and listen, and have a good starting point to actually start mixing with. Neutron is still mostly fine for it though.

[@DMarlow83]

The only iZotope product I'm using anymore, and I have Neutron, Ozone, etc, is RX. The rest are all so buggy and crash Cubase, and cause insane issues I can't resolve. Done with their stuff.

[@FoliaSound]

Fair point, I'm currently also only into RX9...

[@DMarlow83]

@@FoliaSoundI haven't found a good alternative for RX.

[@lordberly]

@@DMarlow83 me too,

[@DMarlow83]

@@lordberly Really sucks, they used to be a great company.

[@SidBar0ne]

Great stuff.. can you please provide us with your review of cradle's 'The God Particle' plugin. Thanks in advance.

[@FoliaSound]

Wait for it then! Thanks!

[@SidBar0ne]

@@FoliaSound Great.. looking forward to it.

[@gtubgle]

BTW, most iZotope videos mention their tools are helpful to find a reference point to work with. It's not suppose to do the job for you. Everything you need to colorize your mix is there though.

[@user-kb2ob9qq5m]

Can you make video of the best tape machine plug in

[@FoliaSound]

I actually have it planned!

[@toomuchcables3154]

When it goes bright so fast, isnt it possible to correct it or do it completely manually?

[@FoliaSound]

It is, but I'm solely focused on the AI thing here!

[@christian6496]

Awesome video! Really great! 😂. However I use the AI of Neutron because I'm a beginner and I had the impression that it could help me in some way. I think I will still use it but from now on I will be more careful 😉!

[@FoliaSound]

Thanks, Chris! Hope too see you back soon :)

[@DodaGarcia]

If you're a beginner then it definitely can help you.

[@cinemaguerrilla]

LOVEEEEE THAT WARHOL LENIN T SHIRT

[@FoliaSound]

Yes, this is exactly Warhol's Lenin. People sometimes think this is Erik Satie xD

[@Bass_Nomad.]

i've had different results with this thing, it actually worked out on some tracks but on many others i got the same results, making the mix way too bright harsh.

[@CheloScotti]

compressor threshold is not setting from the mix assistant?

[@FoliaSound]

Yep, this is what assistant did...

[@RaminPir]

agreeeeee

[@BigTeddies]

The neutron opened up your mix, and fixed a lot issues in your mix, not in the best way. I'd say it was going in the right direction, hopefully everyone can hear what it is doing right.

[@Genital.Wartzenegger]

I don't know if they were the first to do this, but the way their eq's speak to each other. Opening two instances at once and adjusting, sidechain, bypassing, the width knob and phase switch etc and add in the tonal balance control on the master. Pure genius honestly. Also their multiband transient designer is incredible. The rest of neutron I've honestly never found a use for. Still surprised a full mixing plugin wouldn't include reverb and delay.

[@scacchomattho]

Because they usually go on aux channels, not directly on the same channel. It would be against the philosophy behind the product because it would mean separating the workflow and not using everything in the same plugin. That's why no "channel strip" mixing plugin with multiple modules on the market have reverb or delay built in

[@Genital.Wartzenegger]

@@scacchomattho Good point however it’s izotope and they’re really good at thinking outside the box. I’m sure they can figure out a way to have aux sends and groups within the plugin, similar to how waves nx has groups on its buss plug-in.

[@Sosha666]

I forgot the transient designer. Yep another useful one.

[@RecordingStudio9]

Thanks for saving the pain for many. An AI mix has never worked for me.

[@FoliaSound]

My pleasure :)

[@DrMax0]

It as ambigous for me. I have been using neutron 2 and 3. Sometimes the AI delivers ok results and finds for example bad resonances. But it is unpredictalbe. So i stopped using the AI and just enjoy the neutron modules while mixing manually. Ozone master asstant is a bit better as a starting point. But in more than 80% my amateur mastering was significantly better than ozone. I think as long as an AI as no musical taste (if that is ever possible) this approach is not going to work. On the other side I am a huge fan of tonal balance.

[@MickeyBlood]

👊🏿👊🏿👊🏿👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿

[@JohnMarshall-NI]

It seems like it has the same issues that the previous version has. That's a shame.

[@FoliaSound]

Yep, more or less...

[@neilslade]

I agree. Tried it once, didn't care for it.

[@FoliaSound]

+1 on my side, sir!

[@bolozulabolozula2934]

Jeżeli chodzi o EQ, to AI w Sonible SmartEQ2 i SmartEQ3 jest naprawde dobre.

[@FoliaSound]

Zgadza się, szczególnie w 3!

[@majewskimusic]

Maruda jesteś jak większość Polaków, łapka w górę, fajny jest i tyle, thanks, ;-)

[@karo2090]

Chciałem właśnie to napisać 🤣 Z drugiej strony chyba jednak bardziej sobie cenię nasze malkontenctwo niż bezmyślną bezkrytyczność

[@FoliaSound]

Przepraszam, Panowie, ale malkontenctwo to jest, zdaje się, niezadowolenie z zasady i jakby na pokaz. Zobaczcie inne rzeczy na moim kanale, moje podejście do różnych spraw - i wtedy zadajcie sobie jeszcze raz pytanie, czy jestem malkontentem. Mix Assistant w Neutronie to bardzo podejrzane narzędzie, które bardzo słabo działa i uważam, że w czasach wszelkich ochów, achów i mało kompetentnych jutuberów, których developerzy audio softu de facto trzymają w kieszeni - tym bardziej trzeba walnąć po ryju prawdą, że coś jest po prostu słabe! Jeśli nadal macie mnie za malkontenta, no, to teges, nie traćcie czasu na oglądanie marudnego typa! Pozdrówy!

[@bixo2956]

the rx suite is amazing, but their "ai'' plugins really need to learn a thing or two with sonible.

[@FoliaSound]

Eeexactly, sir!

[@WeTheFriends]

Neutron works very well for me..

[@fa0179]

Only honest person around.

[@FoliaSound]

I think that Paul Third also delivers tons of honesty. I used to like Snake Oil series, but it became way too politically correct towards audio devs to call it honest these days. I'm perfectly aware that my approach towards a couple of things is not going to be liked by everyone, probably people will not only subscribe, but also unsubscribe my chan, but I treat it as my responsibility as a humble YT guy to shout out when I see things clearly wrong and misleading audio community. Thanks for a good word, man!

[@robertbarner7626]

I use RX and Ozone religiously. Especially ozone is mastering every project. I use the neutron modules as separate plugins as I need them. I never use the AI on any of them Ozone or Neutron. It just isn't there yet. The Ozone presets are absolutely the best starting points. I write for librarys and dont have time to spend days on a mix. As far as Neutron, I had similar results as you with AI. They were always too bright or harsh or mid-range heavy. And half the time had too much Exciter for seemingly no reason... giving tracks a distorted crunchy sound. I think the visual mixer in theory is cool but in actuality it's completely un-useful. The unmasking... Well I'll see if that has some functionality. But I'll stick with relying on good old sidechaining the bass to the kick.

[@FoliaSound]

Same point as mine. As for bass-kick, try making it using Soothe2 one day, it's absolutely amazing!

[@babysunn2]

HIP HOP Is The Money Maker These Days (Perceived Loudness at Max Levels) I'm Sure Its Geared Driven Towards That, Unfortunately It Can't Cover All Genre's The Same Way, But Bass/Subs Are What's Most Needed To Tame and IZotope Has Done A Masterful Job For That and Then Some... Trust Me or Not... THEY KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING, And They Not Stingy With Refunds Neither... I run PC and i Bought a Product That Was Created For Pro Tools Only and They Had No Problem Giving Me My Money Back... Even Thou I didn't Understand The Difference at That Time.

[@ST-fl5fy]

I still think Smart Eq is better over all and allows you to mix your own way. Add custom plugins. Your manual mix was better.

[@garycummingsjr.6896]

Without the AI the plugins are great still. they sound great are are really useful the way they all talk to each other.

[@FoliaSound]

That's my final conclusion, too. Take away the AI part, leave the rest...

[@peterk3556]

The Elements version assists do almost nothing but this thing did a great job from a song full with audio Tracks that are sounding like they dont match to a produkt you can listen too. Youre mix is awesome but this thing does a good job for me as a Amateur it can fool me to think its proffesionell and thats great 😀

[@FoliaSound]

Yep, it can fool you to think it's professional, you took my own words felrom my mouth, sir, I couldn't say it better!

[@peterk3556]

@@FoliaSound thank you i have to admit i did not see the full video but this it a good produkt and comes closer to real mixing than ever before when you compare the effort to the result its pretty amazing 😀

[@FoliaSound]

@@peterk3556 , I know that around 32% of the people saw the vid to the end and they're commenting not seeing the full thing. I'm looking at the stats here and I'm fine with that, but I really wish that you saw the vid to the end and then: invest into a good mixing course instead of buying Neutron 4! You'll thank me later, Peter ;)

[@peterk3556]

@@FoliaSound yes i need to watch that later but i wanted to stop by and press like and subscribe the problem is i dont know if my subs likes or view stats even count because my channel reached the limit it says to me i reached the maximum subs and likes so my profile is glitched. 😀 But yes i would recommend youre mixing course more than buying this plugin only if you are rich but in that case you could by both 😅 or someone that mixes. Sorry for my gramma im german and my understanding and speaking is really good but my gramma from writing could be better. 😀

[@FoliaSound]

@@peterk3556 not a problem, Peter, I'm happy that you are here and that you subscribed to my channel :) Hope you find it fun and informative!

[@KLEPTOMANE]

I think izotope is good for beginners but thats all

[@a.vetrov3660]

Hi brother! Thank you for the video. I believe you. I didn't like it either, and I had the same problems.

[@FoliaSound]

Thanks, Alex!

[@Azfurita]

and there is nothing in your mix bus?, right?

[@FoliaSound]

Nothing, sir, null.

[@Azfurita]

@@FoliaSound interesting..... +sub

[@musicexplorations808]

You can never mix with auto intelligence, because you cannot bypass ears and brains, but beside that, it is for me a very need tool. I use it a lot, recording automation with the visual mixer, having synthesizer sweeps from going thru space. That said, it is absolutely not a tool that suddenly does everything and thinks, I never use the AI, it´s far from creative...but I love this tool...

[@FoliaSound]

Got you. I was trying to make a starting point, but I feel that Neutron totally failed on that field. Manual work with it - totally recommended and that's the conclusion of my vid. I reviewed the Assistant part only!

[@musicexplorations808]

@@FoliaSound absolutely. As beginning home producer it was allready dificult to get a grasp of what I was doing. If this is advertised. Honestly, a song of about 5 minutes, what is a starting point. Same thing goes for autoamtic referencing, maybe as visual kind of guide, but what does it really say...it just confuses. There are tools, compressors, eq´s with some intelligence that can (not always) miracles, but even then it´s not a bad idea to twist some knobs during the song, let alone mixing a song, how can you do that with AI, what´s it based on...there are works I make muddy actually, on purpose. Muddy mixes, resonances, bad frequencies what is that? Only when the ears and brains make the conclusion you don´t want it in the mix...

[@Zenvo-uu9tm]

"this thing doesn't know what it's doing" 😂

[@FoliaSound]

It's totally the case...

[@Zenvo-uu9tm]

I agree, not a good move from iZotope which i totally respect btw, they have a great tools. But this ... Im not sure the target market, maybe for overly muffled cluttered productions that may benefit from excess high end and enforced clarity on the the expanse of being over processed and somehow unnatural sounding Thanks for video

[@user-xo3tq8ph7w]

Respect for the Taras Shevchenko on your shirt)

[@FoliaSound]

I'm all heart for Ukraine, man, but what's on my T-shirt is Andy Warhol's Lenin. I repeat: ANDY WARHOL'S Lenin, not just Lenin for himself :) Greetings!

[@user-xo3tq8ph7w]

@@FoliaSound oops, looks like Shevchenko))

[@FoliaSound]

@@user-xo3tq8ph7w some people say it's Erik Satie, don't worry xD

[@hintonkelvin]

I see a lot of comments like he is assuming the plug-in is going to do something magical that it shouldn’t. Izotope has a paragraph beside each function promising these phenomenal results in mere seconds and usually doesn’t deliver. Not that Izotopes plug-ins aren’t fantastic because they are but the paragraphs and selling points aren’t achieved when you promise such near perfect mixes in seconds by an “intelligent A.I.” so I don’t believe he’s wrong for giving an honest review on a function not achieving his desired sound. After all in the What’s New section that’s almost exactly the pitch 😉

[@FoliaSound]

Thanks, Kelvin! I'm not even trying to get some magic, I just need a reasonable starting point and Neutron is actually driving the opposite way...

[@ph-neutral5181]

I kept telling myself that it doesn't sound nice to me at all. Be it Neutron, Nectar, it's all just marketing. I'm going to sell it and for a few bucks I bought an IK multimedia mixbox and Racks 5 and it sounds warm and nice, finally. Thank you for the honest review.

[@Kasipon888]

Please review Sonible Smart EQ 3

[@queenpurple8433]

Senile?

[@Kasipon888]

@@queenpurple8433 Sorry I mean "Sonible"

[@FoliaSound]

Hey, I already did when it was out! You'll find it in my vids :)

[@Kasipon888]

@@FoliaSound Thank I found it.

[@matstiderman4368]

I totaly agree. It is painful to listen to. I´ve tryed it myself and it makes my musik too bright an so harsh.

[@carlosp.1846]

Unmask is the only usable thing from this suite

[@FoliaSound]

Well, I couldn't hear it really :)

[@gooshie3]

Agree 100%. IMO a lot of Izotopes stuff is complete snake oil. RX and their Maximizer excluded.

[@FoliaSound]

Thanks!

[@babysunn2]

There Maybe One or Two other Sources That Make A Better Tool Than RX9 Advanced... But Once You Put The Edited Version In A Mix... Its Impossible for Any Human Ear to Detect... But If You Worked For Izotope and was Wrongfully Terminated From There, Then I can Understand Your Grievances... But I Still Disagree With That Snake Oil Comparison.

[@gooshie3]

@@babysunn2 Never worked for izotope, but have everything they make. The plugins with the ai just don't work anywhere near satisfactory even for a quick job. They just waste time. As a professional, I say just learn the tools. Ai will not help you to mix or master.

[@babysunn2]

@@gooshie3 RX9 Advance Is Amazing and All Of Their Plug in Graphics/UI Are Easy on the Eye's Which Motivates Me To At Least Get Started in The Right Direction... For Someone Like Me with No Formal Music Training, This Software Brought My Pre Master's To A Whole New Level... So Much So Where As I Typically Don't Need To Master in OZONE 9 Advance Unless I'm Sending Them out To The Streaming World of Required LUFS Levels. Is There Anything Out There Better? I think Not. OVERALL That Is.

[@gooshie3]

@@babysunn2 We'll see what happens with intelligent plugins in the next few years. Gulfoss is almost there, but I'm just saying that I don't think Izotope's algorithms are anywhere near good enough for credible results.

[@VeganKebabDoRuky]

-Plugins like these should be able to communicate with each other in order to have a chance to perhaps work good. Otherwise, I don't see the point, maybe make it be usable on the master track?- ^Edit: Nvm I guess that's possible as I went further i to the video. They are still crutches tho, an audio engineer or an all around producer shouldn't have a reason to use these plugins. So I guess target demographic ends up being musicians that don't know much about mixing and cannot afford it either (or don't want to afford it).

[@DodaGarcia]

Yes, you are correct and stating the obvious that professionals engineers don't need AI mixers. The entire point of software like this is to make a more polished sound accessible to musicians who don't have the budget or expertise for professional audio mixing, and that's a wonderful thing.

[@killfee]

If the assistant would be as good as a real engineer we would lose our jobs dude. Why you always doing this? I mean, you pick one word from the description or name of the function and making a video about how bad this is. Dude, for real, did you really thought that the assistant will be acting like a human? It's just an ASSISTANT, not the real engineer. It won't make the sound ready to go just by clicking one button. It's just to give some idea, something a little bit better than a preset. What did you expect? And comparing manual mix vs Neutron, bro please...

[@FoliaSound]

Dawid, I totally understand that this is an ASSISTANT. And I was trying to make it assist me, nothing more, nothing less, yet with no success. This assistant spoiled things massively. Plus, if anybody is making a statement that something is "intelligent", well, words matter - this is what I believe. And I can't agree that I simply picked a word from description and went on a rant just because of this particular word. I got deeper into product description and features and did my best to deliver a thorough test of the suite. I had no purpose of criticizing things when I started, I was ready to be positively surprised, but there was no suprise of this kind for me. If you didn't like it - sorry! :)

[@FoliaSound]

Ah, plus one more thing: I did a vid about "intelligent" plugins and used some Sonible tools, you'll find it on my chan and you can see that machine learning plugins actually can really, really help you. This is not a Neutron case, simple as that.

[@garymccoy6564]

Neutron did a nice job of taming the awful bass on the manual mix, but the highs were far too strident. Mixed results.

[@BirdboyEnt]

Come on you don't expect it to know if you want it bright or dull. Just adjust the suggested chain to taste.

[@FoliaSound]

It's about fixing wrong decisions, not just adjusting to taste. So: why is it even there?

[@alfredgrupstra]

Izotope never suited me. The results of the ai mostly didn't give me a good starting point. I prefer the Sonible approach. Good AI for a starting point and suggestions to choose from. The adjust to taste. Of course it could be me, but that's then what it is. The individual modules of Izotope are great.

[@SouthernEmperor]

Neutron 2 was the best version actually. The A.I. in that version was on point. However, you still needed to use other plugs along with it, but......it was the best version. 3 was trash. I can only imagine 4 is trash. V2 is better.

[@FoliaSound]

I'll get back to it one day maybe!

[@JuanManuel-il5qf]

Viva Polonia!

[@FoliaSound]

Thanks, Juan, viva your country, whatever it is! In Polish it's "niech żyje"!

[@JuanManuel-il5qf]

@@FoliaSound Niech żyje! from Argentina. Love your channel

[@FoliaSound]

@@JuanManuel-il5qf , thanks, see you soon!

[@perrykeshahwalker5321]

Everything sounds harsh.

[@hodshonf]

i prefer Alloy 2

[@banaalabiad]

I want you to hear the Syrian national anthem, much like it🤭🤗🤗🤗

[@christurbiville]

I find that Neturon 4 is absolutely terrible on dialogue and voice over. The assistant uses an exciter on dialogue?? It also boosts the low end as if every vocal needs a bunch of 50HZ. It's terrible for using the assistant. If I dial it in myself, it's good. I've used in a few TV broadcast VO spots and the clients are happy, but I'll never start with the assistant on dialogue.

[@Sosha666]

Weirdly I used the exciter on vox to help match a lack lustre cheap dynamic to some blokes tlm103 once . It just worked. Well it worked enough to work when the ambience was in. That was vs3. No upgrade plans.

[@Tazmanian_Ninja]

I use Neutron in pretty much every project. But I never use the Assistant tool. It CAN NOT know what YOU intend, as the producer. You're CHEATING YOURSELF from vastly more interesting results that are the outcome of experimentation, vision - and the accumulating expertise to actualize what you have envisioned in your mind.

[@Tazmanian_Ninja]

I'll add that whenever I've used the Assistant: it has disappointed. Sculptor is a horrible module, btw 🙀 Its processing sounds artificial 🙉 and the tonal balances of its profiles are way off, for their intended uses (vocals suffering the most).

[@Heafyshiu]

As a human i will always end up with my own decisions. Not AI 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@FoliaSound]

Sure thing, it's all about a starting point, which Neutron r didn't deliver for me. Sonible tools actually do deliver this!

[@lattetown]

I think you put your finger on the main problem with AI machine learning...it has only been trained on a small set of musical instruments and genres. If you aren't making pop or dance music, then it hasn't "learned" your musical style. It would be better if you could provide it a reference track that it could learn from...assuming the reference has the same instruments. ;)

[@FoliaSound]

This is actually a good line of defence for Neutron. I'll feed it with the reference and see the results again :) Await the vid on that!

[@lattetown]

@@FoliaSound I'm curios how it balances orchestral instruments, because mixing for an action film is different than for a nature documentary or for tv...which is different than for games or trailers...not to mention world music. It seems geared more toward a guitar, bass, drum combo with vocals and keyboards.

[@DanielThirion]

Sounds like it's coming from your phone's speaker. Way too bright.

[@FoliaSound]

Yep, I would say it's even worse than with v3!

[@johnplainsong9769]

I agree the intelligence is hit or miss. But Neutron 4 is an outstanding channel strip if you learn how to use it properly. It's a tool, not an audio engineer.

[@oxorno3872]

geometry dash ahh music

[@VeganKebabDoRuky]

The final result was not it, manual mix was rich and balanced, Neutron made it into a tin can or something.

[@iamwonderfool1426]

I feel like your track may be a little too busy so to speak. The sounds are all over the place. If the sounds don't mesh together from the start, then what do you think will come out of it through any given approach? Especially using some scripted learning algorithm, which turned your already digital style tune into an 8bit freak show circus act. I think the bot already knew what you had in store for your YT content regarding it's ability to deliver and he didn't appreciate you degrading his reputation. So, in turn, he deliberately hurt your ears.

[@FoliaSound]

8 bit?! Well, this track is busy, but it's not 8 bit/chiptune. It was meant as a medley of 90s boysband and a soviet era heroic chant, that's why you hear balalaikas and sh*tty saxophones together :) Plus: Neutron absolutely destroyed the drums, they aren't too complicated, yet it managed to absolutely spoil them. Same for bass. Kick/bass unmasking was a friggin' tragedy and it wasn't hard to do properly. I don't care whether the track is busy or not, I expect Assistant to assist me on single elements, which didn't happen...

[@iamwonderfool1426]

@@FoliaSound I was always taught that sound design should start from the very beginning and that, what you put in, is what you're going to get out. A good master was never meant to save a bad mix. So if you're at that point, then I suppose it's time to tear it down and either scrap it or re evaluate your sound selection. Drums are drums and if you can feel the rhythm at a live African drum circle, with virtually no processing done to the sound besides how your ears perceive them, then why do we require such extreme fine tuning in studio production? I think it's been taken to a whole new level that's unnecessary and that we're just spoiled now as to what we expect.

[@alchemistrpm82]

@@FoliaSound you can always tell when someone uses the term “8-bit” whether they’re actually old enough to remember it, or if it’s more of an abstract concept to them 😅

[@iamwonderfool1426]

@@alchemistrpm82 "8-bit" is just a genre of music. With that being said, it doesn't necessarily matter how the track was produced, as long as it has the characteristics of that style of music then it would essentially fall under that genre. You can be a complete enthusiasts and actually program your own tunes using old hardware or simply by using a modern day VST synth and DAW. Either way, it's still chip tune dude. So I'm not exactly sure what your point was? I suppose you're just making assumptions based off of no foundation and a minimal amount of logic? Oops I almost forgot my emoji 🤣😃. Have a great day sir

[@alchemistrpm82]

@@iamwonderfool1426 No, sir. Chiptune is a genre of music. Sure, The term "8-bit" is used colloquially to refer to chiptune, but one does not equal the other. "8-bit" refers to an era of computers and game systems with 8-bit CPUs - the sound chips of this era being distinctly different from later eras. More limited waveforms and modulation, mostly. Those things, paired with the fact this guy's song isn't even in the genre, gave me the educated estimation that you did not, in fact, experience 8-bit technology first hand. I could be wrong. Please, tell me I'm wrong.

[@doubleuseven]

How come that the smiley curve is norm for everything? I hate it. Everything will sound the same eventually if we go down this road. "Radio ready" has taking over how music shall sound. Nothing has becoming better for the last 30-40 years. Listen to music from that time, everything sounded different. All we do is letting Spotify and such dictate how we shall mix our music. How come we need a standard, a f'n curve? Crazy. Why do we need AI? We don't, we are just lazy.

[@raphlasne]

This plugin maybe "good" for mainstream music, but will not help you stand out from the crowd.

[@FoliaSound]

Exactly!

[@steph_nyc]

It's about the man behind the tools. The tool is only here to help

[@queenpurple8433]

Izotope plugins are overly complicated and don’t sound good even when you don’t use AI stuff. The sound quality itself isn’t good

[@FoliaSound]

Same thoughts here. The sound of iZotope is somehow harsh and digital for me.

[@lordberly]

@@FoliaSound couldn't agree more.. many says it's too "plasticy" 😄

[@VERYVANITA]

Don't like their subscription model prefer to buy and own , they lost me when they changed.

[@FoliaSound]

Same approach here. I'm not into subscription of their stuff at all.

[@modanflash]

Neutrons version is much better than ur manual....!

[@davidasher22]

Haha. My plugins are smarter than yours! 😂

[@FoliaSound]

Good for you!

[@babysunn2]

I don't Like To Be Critical On Any Music Artist That's Clearly Invested Into This Format, But I Strongly Disagree With Your Analysis... At Around 10:00 Minutes into Your Comparisons, Your Levels On The Mix Settings Didn't Match What Your Explanations Were... You Need To Learn The Use Of This Product The Proper Way before Ye Judge... Also on The Final Mix Comparison of Your Song, The Neutron Keep Your Higher Frequencies Tamed and The Low End Was None Existent but The AI was Most Likely Rendering it To That Carnival Computer World Genre Of Style, Because There's Barely any Bass or Subs In That Group. IJS... That Being Said, You Might Wanna Remove Your Video because The Bass Part Was The Only Thing You were Right On and The AI Version Still Sounded Better as A Whole To Me, Especially If you Play it on A Bi-Amp Set Up such as Yours, and I Use The Same JBL Speakers.

[@FoliaSound]

It's terrific you've got your opinion on things, but I'm not going to remove anything. JBS are my surround 5.1 speakers, my mains are KSD C88.

[@babysunn2]

@@FoliaSound Those Look Like The JBL's (Black Ones)... In Any case Your Studio Is Dope, But I Still Recommend That Use Go Over Some Tutorials Of The Neutron 4 Again, In Depth and Acknowledge That Izotope Never Claims Its AI Is Nothing More Than A Starting Point... Also Its Mix Assistant Is Awesome and When You Compare The Sounds, Its Intended That You Compare Them At 100 Percent Not 50 Percent Which You Did and Your Other Settings Should Have Been In its Neutral Settings as Well... But I Still Appreciate You Analysis.

[@FoliaSound]

@@babysunn2 These Are JBLs, But These Are 5.1 Surrounds, As I Said. Why Are You Writing Everything With The Capitals, Man? :)

[@djmad]

Iq is below 20 😂

[@FoliaSound]

More 15 than 20 ;)

[@whitex4652]

Of course you very competent and important people want to talk with it... you are jealous. Nobody has to touch or question your exceptionalism. You have to make money from your then obsolete courses and tutorials?

[@FoliaSound]

I make music with music and sound production 100% and I don't think I got your point...

[@parham101k]

Is this the audio engineer’s hater channel???😂

[@FoliaSound]

No, why?

[@carltontriplett4947]

Your music store probably wasn't what the developers of Neutron considered. Your sounds very quite abnormal

[@FoliaSound]

Well, the drums and the bass of the track weren't really hard to process, the kick-bass wasn't to hard to separate and that's where Neutron 4 spoiled things most...

[@digitaltrash_]

AI never will able to do good mixing. Mixing is human part of process. Period..

[@Windiguana]

Wow the Neutron mix sounds incredibly terrible