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MAutoPan Plugin Review: Don’t Sleep On This Panning Plugin

Slept On By EDM and Trap Producers

July 27, 2021

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MautoPan is one of those plugins people aren’t giving enough praise to; it’s literally one of the best panners/ panning plugins out and like Cableguys Pancake, it doesn’t cost a dime.

You can find it in the MFreeFxBundle along with 30+ other free effects. If you’re new to music production I’d highly suggest downloading it. Even if you’re not new, pull it down because there are some true gems in the package.

Table of Contents

What is MAutoPan (Panning Plugin)

MAutoPan a panning plugin that allows you to set panning parameters for any sound on any channel without the need to draw in automation. Load the plug-in on the channel of your choosing dial in-depth, rate, note value, pattern (via step sequencer), and let it work its magic.

MAutopan Features Worth Mentioning

Great panning presets: and the ability to customize your own.
Auto Gain Compensation: Also known as AGC, Keeps your levels intact. I wish all plugins had this.
Tempo Sync: Clock lock with your DAW (Reaper, Logic X, Reason, Fl Studio, etc).
Eye Candy: Change the color of the plugin using their presets or your own color scheme.
Harmonics: Introduce and control harmonics of the panning signal.
Surround Sound: …Surround Sound support…For Free? It has L/R and M/S as well.
Crossfading: Control X-fading between panning shapes (make transitions smooth).
Randomization Icon: Chooses a random preset.
Randomization Button: Generates random settings for all parameters.

MAutoPan (Panning) Tips For Producers

The point of panning is to build width and depth in a mix and ‘Auto panning’, gives both as well as movement. As a result, your mix will instantly sound more professional.

Now, keep in mind panning movements can be done natively within your DAW using automation. However, a plugin like Mautopan makes this process a lot easier. Furthermore, Mautopan allows you to obtain unique panning movements without drawing in a lot of automation.

Now, let’s dive into the Auto Panning Tips

1. Figure out what you want to pan/give movement to

If you’re doing trap production, this is probably going to be your hi-hats, snares, and other percussion elements, maybe some synths.

2. Load MAutoPan onto your channel of choice

Set up your depth, rate, and other creative parameters, and use your ears…listen for accuracy and detail.

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3. Automate Dry/Wet Knob

For control, you’ll want to use the step sequencer or automate the wet/dry knob (depth). This will stop the creative movement from sounding stagnant which will result in boring the listener.

This should be a ‘creative decision’ as there are times when elements in the mix can pan forever without sounding repetitive or stagnant.

4. Mid Side and Left-Right Processing

Experiment with mid-side processing as opposed to left and right processing. Most people use left and right as it’s most common but the mid-side option can yield some very interesting results.

5. Experiment

Experiment with settings because this is how you learn and grow, and… this is how you really find the sauce. If you’re looking for a panner that will give you more control go with the MultiBand version of the plugin MAutopanMB.

6. Save Presets

If you create a panning sequencer or parameters you like, save them so they can be recalled easily and used in future music production projects.

Bonus Tip: Anything can be panned even frequencies of bass lines/low end. The key is being subtle, controlling specific frequencies within the low-end information as well as putting a threshold on how much panning is being done.

Advanced Panning Tips For Producers Using MAutoPanMB

With the multiband version of the Mautopan plugin, you open the door for more sound design and stereo imaging possibilities. Here are some of my panning tips and techniques using MAutopanMB.

Add Width to Bass & Basslines:

Analyze your bass track. Does it have any mid-range or high-end frequencies? If so, go to skip step 2.
Place a Saturator on the bass channel and introduce some harmonics (mid/high information).
Insert the Auto Panner on the bass channel. Where you place it in the chain is up to you.
Create a few bands you’d like to have control over.
Solo the bands and listen closely to the information within each frequency band.
Leave the low and low-mid frequencies of the bass MONO and set panning properties for the upper frequencies according to taste.

What you’ll end up with is a nice wide-sounding bass that still has its mono integrity intact thus leaving you with a more interesting sound.

If you’re interested in MAtuoPanMB, grab it during one of MeldaProduction’s sales, this will help you save some money.

MautoPan Pros & Cons

You can’t give a review and leave out the pros and cons, that would be incomplete.

Pros

Simple: It doesn’t require a degree to use you can dial in good settings in seconds
CPU friendly: One thing I hate are plugins that unnecessarily drain resources
Feature Rich: Some might say there are too many features and possibilities
Free: You can’t beat free

Cons

GUI: I have to admit the GUI isn’t that attractive and I can see how that would turn some people off
Coffee: If there really wanted to make people happy, they’d add this feature

Mautopan: What Can Be Improved

Pattern Sequencer: I really like the idea of the pattern sequencer, it’s very useful and it’s not a feature I’ve seen in other panning plugins. I do wish it was a little more intuitive and easier to use.

Stereo/Phase Meter: It would be nice to be able to visualize your imaging. This can be done with other tools of course, but having it built into the panner would be amazing. I could be missing some button right under my nose that displays this.

Custom Sample: this could be explained a little better because it seems quite interesting. From my understanding, you can load a custom wave file and MAutopan uses the analysis of the file as its panning parameters, I’ll have to experiment or reach out to Melda about this one.

WaveForm: It would be nice to be able to see the waveform as you can in Pancake. It’s not a must, but would be nice to have, or at least make things more visually appealing. Maybe they’ll add it in the future.