Brauer Motion Plugin Tutorial

Jun 19, 2017 | 211,305 Views

Top mixer Michael Brauer (Coldplay, John Mayer) shows how to use his Brauer Motion circular stereo auto-panner plugin to craft a world of movement inside your mix.

A few words from Michael Brauer:

I first noticed there was such a thing as panning when I heard producer Eddie Kramer panning Jimi Hendrix’s guitar solo around the stereo. It had such a huge impact on me. It sounded so alive and emotional.

So right from the start of my career at Mediasound Studios, I always wanted to have movement in my mixes. A mix sounded more spontaneous and alive to me when I moved the faders. It wasn’t long before I had 3D images in my head of sounds moving around and outside of my mix. Unfortunately, there was no easy way to reproduce those ideas until the Cyclosonic Panner came out. Once I got hold of that toy there was no turning back, just about every mix had some instrument moving in my mix.

Eventually I found myself wanting to go further than what the Cyclosonic could offer. When Waves approached me to design a plugin I presented the idea of creating a spatial dimension on a whole new level. Three years in the making, the Brauer Motion plugin is visually and sonically everything I could ever imagine and more.

It’s a tool that will feed your imagination. It allows movement to reach new levels. Yes, you’ll have your standard left/right panner, but even that will have a more spatial feel to it. The plugin has two stereo panners. This will enable you to have two different modes working on one stereo instrument.

Besides the classic and circle mode, I’ve designed one that’s called X-Lights, like the lights at a railroad crossing where the two red lights flash back and forth, except here it’s a sound that flashes back and forth between left and right.

The plugin was designed to have endless options. For example, you can have a synth circling just around your left ear and then you can automate it so that it moves over to your right ear as it increases in speed. Or you can manually position a stereo image that sits on the outer edge of one or both ears. Turn a mono loop into a stereo groove with the hi-hat moving to the left and other elements moving to the right, all being controlled by the plugin’s input signal or side-chained by another instrument.

The plugin’s default position is a great start. It’s a combination of circular and classic panning and is intended as an insert. I think you’ll have a lot of fun with Brauer Motion.

Emotion in motion, kids!

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