Stereoplacer Elements: Frequency-Specific Stereo Placement Plugin by NUGEN Audio Free Download

Stereoplacer Elements works in the frequency domain, so you can move individual bands across the stereo field instead of the entire mix. Its graphical display doubles as a stereo differential spectrum analyser. With the controls left at their default positions, the plugin runs in analysis mode: the incoming sound passes through unchanged while its stereo content is shown visually.

This view helps you see where energy sits in the left and right channels before you make any changes, which is useful when judging how a mono or poorly placed recording is distributed.

Panning bass is usually avoided, because off-centre energy in the low frequencies can cause more problems than it solves. Stereoplacer Elements addresses this by letting low frequencies stay centred while a shelving band moves the higher frequencies, which carry much of the attack and directional information.

The developer notes that this approach gives the impression that a bass part has been panned, even though only the high, directional content has moved. A bass guitar track is the example given.