MeldaProduction has announced the release of MSpectralPan, a versatile free spectral stereo panning utility in VST, VST3, AU, and AAX plugin formats for PC and Mac.
MSpectralPan is, in a way, a panning equalizer. The interface very much resembles that of an EQ, with frequency band sliders and a live spectrum analyzer in the background. However, instead of adjusting the amplitude of each frequency band, MSpectralPan can be used to alter the stereo panning of a frequency range. It’s an interesting concept that could come in useful for situations where more traditional panning tools won’t do the trick.
Because it relies on processing audio in the spectral domain, MSpectralPan introduces a certain amount of latency. The latency can be lowered by reducing the buffer size and thus also lowering the spectrum resolution, but some amount of latency will always be present. Thankfully, most digital audio workstations nowadays will compensate for this automatically.
The user interface is straightforward enough considering the plugin’s somewhat advanced functionality, although the modulation section does seem a bit confusing at first. The most important controls are easy to figure out and the provided user manual in PDF format thoroughly explains all of the plugin’s features while also offering some practical usage tips. All of the standard MeldaProduction interface goodies are included as well, so expect to see plenty of themes to choose from, along with a randomization button and a built-in preset manager. The randomization is based on MeldaProduction’s “smart randomization” concept, meaning that the parameter values will always remain within a certain range to ensure the most musical sounding results.
Another thing that can be said about all MeldaProduction plugins is that the offline installer is a bit cumbersome, as it includes all of their plugins in a single package. The online installation process is far snappier, though, so definitely go with that option if you don’t mind connection your digital audio workstation to the internet.
MSpectralPan is available for free download via MeldaProduction (197 MB download size, EXE installer, 32-bit & 64-bit VST/VST3/AU/AAX plugin formats for Windows & macOS).
Last Updated on November 9, 2017 by Tomislav Zlatic.
