Waves Brauer Motion - Circular Stereo Auto-Panning Software for Mixing and Sound Design (Download)

Available for download, Waves Brauer Motion is a stereo effects tool that takes its inspiration from its eponymous codesigner, Michael Brauer, an engineer recognized for creating particularly moving mixes for artists including Bob Dylan, Coldplay, and others.

The plug-in works by giving you two different auto-panners that can be made to move around each other in various, interesting ways. They can also be synced to each other, or be made to move independently. Either way, you can sync the panning operation to a host tempo or operate in free mode, in which the speed parameter controls the rate of panning. You can also choose input mode, wherein the signal's amplitude dictates the rate of movement. In this mode, positive amplitudes (level boosts) will result in moving a selected panner forward along its path of trajectory, while losses in level will cause the effect to reverse course and move in the opposite direction. 

Four different panning modes are on hand for each panner, and four different trigger modes give you various ways of directing the motion of the effect. Classic mode provides standard left to right panning, while Circle gives you a more spherical path. Circle Phase is much like Circle, but the signal flips out of phase halfway through the path, giving you the illusion that the sound is moving behind your head. X-Lights mode provides hard, alternate left to right panning.

A dynamics section is on hand to compress or clip the signal's level, while other parameters give you the ability to manipulate speed, width, and depth of each panning effect. A master section with gain and mix controls is also provided. You'll also note the sphere display, which shows how the sounds are moving by putting them on a large visible globe. 

This plug-in can work on stereo sources, panning them around in interesting ways, or it can effectively stereoize a mono source. Presets are included from some of the industry's most respected mix engineers, including Ross Hogarth, Tony Maserati, and more.