iZotope Neutron from $249

Neutron is something of a one off. As a processor it has six stages, a 12-band equaliser, two compressors, an exciter/saturation circuit, a transient shaper and a master limiter. The equaliser has eight parametric bands plus high and low shelving and high and low-pass filters but the really novel feature is the Masking Meter. With multiple instances of Neutron across different instruments you can compare two channels and Neutron shows you where potential frequency buildups are so you can easily adjust each instrument. It’s particularly effective where you have two sources in the same register and, because you can link bands across two channels, boosting a frequency on one channel automatically reduces it in the other. The EQ sounds great, clean and open but with a subtle bit of warmth. The masking option helps to open up a mix and put definition into every part. The compressor has switchable characteristics that go from vintage warmth to digital clarity, the exciter has four types of saturation colour and the transient shaper has three response curves and separate controls for attack and sustain. All three of these dynamic processors are capable of being divided into three bands with variable crossover points so the dynamic shaping possibilities are endless and sound excellent. There is a final peakstop limiter which can go from a clean pumping to a hardedged brickwall feel. An incredible device that can get clarity into your mixes and add colour to any sound.