Très fab.
(Always wanted to write that.)

rickpaul
I haven't noticed any artifacts since then, with the single exception of there being a point when Track Assistant is running where it glitches each time.  I think that is probably when it puts its processing chain together, which may be a "natural glitch" point due to adding/reordering processors.
 

I believe you are correct. The same thing happens in Studio One 3.
 
I have to say... I was skeptical about this plugin, but not any more. It really does what it says on the tin. Sure, it won't mix a song for you, but it can certainly enlighten one's self with where to start. Eye opening, actually. If nothing else, would be a great learning tool.

After working with Neutron for a few more days and comparing it with Alloy 2, I have a few more comments:

• I must say I prefer Alloy's GUI, it being easier on my eyes with nice colors and clear labeling. Dark, drab GUIs and unclear text aren't my thing.
• Neutron's CPU usage isn't consistently as high as I first noticed. I've seen some cases where Alloy uses more than Neutron with similar settings. Seems to be dependent on what modules are activated. 
• It's great having the Dynamic EQ function integrated into Neutron's EQ module. I do wish there were more controls over the dynamic action, like ratio, attack and release.
• I still think the Neutrino feature, the same thing released as a free plugin, is the most interesting development. Experimentation has produced very nice results several times when applying Neutrino across most tracks of a mix. It's worth playing with and trying various configurations and settings.
• I've had mixed results with the Track Assistant and Masking EQ features -- while they're potentially very useful, they have led me down a few rabbit holes. 
• What happened to the gate? Not a major feature for Alloy, but it was nice to have. Same thing happened to Ozone -- latest versions dropped the gating function for some reason.

I'm still exploring all the things this very deep plugin can do. I may post more thoughts later.
 
Cheers,
Eddie
 

Thanks Eddie, as always very insightful.

Got my order notification and paypal info immediately after placing my order Saturday from Time Space and they said my serial/activation would follow in one business day.  This morning I got another email from saying my order was complete...but no serial or activation code.  Is this normal for them??
 

yorolpal
Got my order notification and paypal info immediately after placing my order Saturday from Time Space and they said my serial/activation would follow in one business day.  This morning I got another email from saying my order was complete...but no serial or activation code.  Is this normal for them??
 

Not normal. Probably slammed ATM.

bapu

yorolpal
Got my order notification and paypal info immediately after placing my order Saturday from Time Space and they said my serial/activation would follow in one business day.  This morning I got another email from saying my order was complete...but no serial or activation code.  Is this normal for them??
 

Not normal. Probably slammed ATM.

The order may be complete, but that doesn't mean that the Serial # is ready...

Go to your account there and check it out...

yorolpal
Got my order notification and paypal info immediately after placing my order Saturday from Time Space and they said my serial/activation would follow in one business day.  This morning I got another email from saying my order was complete...but no serial or activation code.  Is this normal for them??
 

I sent them my qualifying product serial# and got the Neutron ser# the next day.  However, it was the wrong serial#, a repeat of one already sent out.  They mentioned a glitch in their automated serial# system so he delay might be them trying to deal with this problem.
 
FWIW, I emailed them last night about the problem and they responded with a new serial # by 2am.  
 
My first experience was frustrating with the plug in going crazy with pops, noise, seemingly hearing audio when all was stopped.  I remembered the vst2/3 issue, disabled the vst2 version, and all is fine now.
 
One observation... /track assistant seems to generate an endless set of suggestions if you successively apply it or apply it after applying other presets...  so seems more random than intelligent!

Reminds me of my assistant.

FWIW, I'd considered the issues I had earlier resolved based on my further findings since I would have used the VST3 version of the plugin by default anyway had I not accidentally used VST2 the first time and the project crash on opening seemed to be an issue with an old version of RealGuitar that just happened to be provoked by Neutron's being in there.  I'd supplied follow-up notes to iZotope, not necessarily expecting to hear back after that since the issues there no longer affected me, but this morning I did get a response.
 
The start of the response bothered me a bit: "Thanks for contacting us, and I’m sorry for any trouble you’re experiencing! Please note, Neutron is not tested for compatibility with SONAR and may not function correctly in that environment."  I guess the first line is just a generic customer service thing, but my problem had been resolved, so I was no longer "experiencing" it.  The second line is the one that bothered me, though -- they don't test Neutron for compatibility with the most popular Windows DAW out there???!!!
 
The response continued: "We are actively tracking issues with this host application so your feedback is valuable – I will certainly forward this information along to our development team!" So at least they're tracking the issues, even if they don't test with it. :)  It went on to refer to a URL (https://www.izotope.com/en/products/mix/neutron/specs.html) with a list of compatible host applications, which SONAR was not listed in as of my check just now (the ones that were included Logic Pro X, Ableton Live 9, Pro Tools 10, 11 & 12, Cubase Pro 8, REAPER 5, FL Studio 12, Studio One 3, Nuendo 7 -- pretty much every major DAW, and a few less major ones, *except* SONAR!), then it went on to suggest I reinstall Neutron and use all default installation parameters (I probably did the defaults anyway, except possibly for the 64-bit VST2 plugin path if they didn't automatically append iZotope to the name of the default 64-bit VST directory, since I do sub-organize my plugins by vendor since I have upwards of 600 plugins).  Needless to say, I'm not planning to reinstall the software since it is working for my needs.
 
In addition to mentioning my considering the issue to be resolved for my purposes and my installation notes, I included the following in my response to their message: "I’m very surprised to hear, though, that you did not test for compatibility with the most popular of Windows DAWs.  I’ve been a longtime SONAR user (since version 1 and also its predecessor, Cakewalk Pro Audio 9, before that), and have never really had significant problems with iZotope products in that environment (and I’ve also been using iZotope products since at least Ozone 3, and possibly even the original version of Ozone – definitely the first versions of Trash and Vinyl).  But, given the popularity of SONAR for Windows DAW users, you’d think that would be a high priority test environment."
 
As a quick update on my own use of Neutron, after writing my previous post, I went on to finish updating the instrument plugins on my project, then used Neutron on all tracks plus the mix bus -- on most tracks, Neutron, PSP VintageWarmer (for tape emulation) and the Pro Channel Console Emulator were the only plugins -- with Track Assistant being used to determine processing in all cases, including the vocal, -- no tweaks beyond that.  Then I just used an Ozone 7 Advanced preset for a mastering stage and tweaked gain structure as needed to get to where the dynamic range to where I typically put things.  There were also some aux buses for delay and reverbs, but those did not use Neutron. I have to say I was very pleased with the mix, especially considering how quickly I was able to get to it (i.e. without the normal messing around with different plugins and plugin settings and going back and forth).  I've still got more tracking to do on the project, and I don't know that I'll necessarily keep the mix as Neutron-centric as this quick rough mix -- for example, I may want to flavor things up more with some of my normal PSP Audioware processors.  But I also wouldn't have any qualms about putting the Neutron-only version out there if pressed to get something out quickly.
 
Rick