Getting Started

Overview

Welcome to Neutron 3 Elements! If you have never used an iZotope product or want to know more about Neutron, then this is the right chapter for you. The topics include:

• Authorization
• Neutron 3 Elements Interface
• Signal Flow
• Global Controls
• Workflows
• Optimizing Performance

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Authorization

The first time you open the Neutron 3 Elements plug-in, the Authorization window will appear. The Authorization window allows you to:

• TRIAL: Start or continue a Trial period evaluation prior to purchasing.
• DEMO: Continue evaluating the product with Demo limitations (after the 10 day Trial period ends).
• AUTHORIZE: Authorize the product with a serial number.

Trial Mode

Trial mode allows you to evaluate Neutron 3 Elements over a 10 day trial period. The trial period begins when you first open Neutron 3 Elements in a DAW/NLE. The Authorization window will display the number of days remaining in your trial period. Click the Continue button to exit the Authorization window.

Demo Mode

After your 10 day trial period expires, you have the option to operate Neutron 3 Elements in Demo mode. To continue evaluating Neutron 3 Elements in demo mode, click the Demo button.

Authorization Methods

To disable Trial or Demo mode, you must authorize the product with a valid serial number. We offer three Authorization methods for Neutron 3 Elements:

1. Online Authorization: Authorize Neutron 3 Elements on a computer that is connected to the internet.
2. Offline Authorization: Authorize Neutron 3 Elements on a computer that is not connected to the internet.
3. iLok Authorization: Authorize Neutron 3 Elements by storing your authorization on an iLok.

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Neutron 3 Elements Interface

The Neutron 3 Elements plug-in interface has three main areas:

Label	Control	Description
	Global Header	The global header area provides access to: the IPC plug-in name editor, Track and Mix Assistant features, the Preset Manager, Undo History, Zero Latency, Options, and Help.
	Signal Chain	The Signal Chain allows you to add or remove modules and adjust the processing order of modules included in the chain. The Signal Chain area is exclusive to the Neutron 3 mothership plug-in, Neutron 3 component plug-ins do not include the Signal Chain because they only include one processing module.
	I/O Panel	The I/O (Input/Output) panel area includes: global (I/O) gain controls, I/O metering, channel operations controls, and global bypass.
	Module Interface	The module panel area includes all controls and meters associated with a specific processing module.

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Signal Flow

The following diagram represents the overall signal flow of the Neutron 3 plug-ins.

1. Input Gain
2. Signal Chain
3. Output Gain

Working with the Signal Chain

You can add, remove, and reorder modules in the Signal Chain area of the Neutron 3 mothership plug-in. By default, the Neutron 3 Signal Chain includes the Equalizer module.

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Workflow suggestions

There are a number of different ways to approach working with Neutron 3 Elements. We’ve included some workflow suggestions you can use if you aren’t sure where to start. These workflows are merely suggestions and any workflow is valid if it works for you.

Using Presets

Neutron 3 Elements includes a built in preset manager with a wide variety of factory presets to get you started. Open the Preset Manager by clicking the Presets button in the global header area of the plug-in. Load a preset by selecting it in the preset manager window or quickly try out different global presets by clicking the left and right arrow buttons directly to the right of the Presets button in the global header area.

Using Track Assistant

Neutron 3 Elements offers the intelligent Track Assistant feature aimed at helping you find a starting point for your track based on an analysis of your audio.

Use Track Assistant to build a starting point for an individual track. You can access the Track Assistant feature by inserting the Neutron 3 Elements plug-in on a track and clicking the Assistant button to the left of the Presets button in the global header area.

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Optimizing Performance

We put a great deal of effort into improving the performance of Neutron Elements for the Neutron 3 Elements release. Some notable areas of improvement include:

• Improved memory usage: We improved memory performance of Neutron 3 plug-ins, allowing you to use more plug-ins before you have to worry about running low on RAM
• Start-up time optimizations: We took a look at what we were doing when a plug-in was instantiated and made some improvements to make our plug-ins load faster. As a result, you may see small pauses when first adding modules or using certain features in a given instance.
• DSP Optimizations: We have improved the overhead of processing each buffer. This means lower buffer sizes should be faster to process. Larger buffer sizes do not benefit as much from this.

There are many factors that contribute to performance. It can be very hard to nail down exactly what is causing performance issues. Some factors include:

• Computer specifications (CPU, RAM, etc…)
• DAW and session configuration (number of tracks or plug-ins, buffer size, sample rate, etc…)
• Individual plug-in settings

If you do start to reach the limits of your particular machine, here are some things you can do to improve performance:

• Remove any modules that are not in use from the signal chain.
• If possible, adjust the buffer size setting in your DAW.