Soundtoys PanMan – Rhythmic Auto Panner Plugin (ELECTRONIC LICENCE DOWNLOAD)

OVERVIEW

Panning doesn’t have to be simple – Soundtoys PanMan turns it into a deep creative playground. Inspired by vintage auto-panners like the rare PanScan and Spanner units, PanMan recreates their classic movement and iconic “trigger divider” behaviour, letting you shift pan positions based on incoming audio or manual triggers. Add to that seven analog emulation modes, and you’ve got an expressive tool that delivers everything from warm, subtle motion to wild, saturated stereo sweeps.

PanMan also includes advanced rhythmic tools for modern producers and sound designers. Choose between step-based rhythmic panning, smooth LFO-style shapes, random modes, or even draw your own custom curves. A full Tweak panel gives you dynamic control over threshold, speed, offset, width, and movement – perfect for creating effects that react to drums, vocals, instruments, or any source. From musical groove enhancement to bold cinematic motion, PanMan offers unlimited stereo creativity.

Note: Delivered as an ELECTRONIC LICENCE DOWNLOAD – no physical product.

“PanMan made me realize how neglected auto‑panning as an effect has become in the DAW age. This plug-in has a remarkable ability to bring alive whatever you put through it, whether adding a subtle wobble or a violent lurching motion. It shines particularly strongly on instruments such as Rhodes piano or clean electric guitar, where it offers a great alternative to more obvious modulation effects, such as chorus.” — Sam Inglis (Sound on Sound)

 

“As with most of the Soundtoys plug-ins, the programming detail and feature sets go on and on and PanMan is no different in that regard. But I’m a beginner and I have had no problems getting beautifully ornate panning treatments very quickly. This is a sound designer’s dream tool that pays off more and more as I learn more about the internal tweak controls.” — Barry Rudolph (The Record Shop Blog)

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

Create Custom Tempo-Locked Auto-Panning:

Design panning effects that sync perfectly with your track’s musical timing.

Six Versatile Panning Modes:

Choose from LFO, step, random, and more to shape expressive stereo movement.

Vintage “Trigger Divider” Modelling:

Recreates the rare PanScan hardware for unique, rhythmic audio-triggered panning.

Design Your Own Rhythmic Patterns:

Build custom step sequences and draw original panning waveforms.

Dynamic-Responsive Panning:

Trigger speed, width, and offset changes using your track’s natural dynamics.

Seven Analog Saturation Modes:

Add warmth, grit, or classic hardware colour to your stereo motion.

FEATURES

• Rhythmic auto-panner inspired by classic hardware units

• Tempo-locked panning with advanced step and shape modes

• Six panning modes: LFO, Step, Rhythm Step, Random, Triggered, and more

• “Trigger divider” feature from vintage PanScan for audio-triggered patterns

• Threshold-based control for dynamic-responsive panning

• Custom waveform drawing for unique panning shapes

• Seven analog-style saturation algorithms for added character

• Tweak panel with speed, width, offset, filter, and response controls

• Compatible with AAX Native, AAX AudioSuite, VST2, VST3, and AU (64-bit)

• Supports sample rates from 44.1 kHz to 192 kHz

• Apple Silicon and VST3 compatible (v5.5)

• Works with Pro Tools, Live, Cubase, Nuendo, Logic, Studio One, Reaper, Bitwig

• Requires macOS 10.15+ or Windows 10+ (not compatible with ARM-based Windows)

• Internet connection required for activation

TECHNICAL SPECS

Current Version: 5.5

Apple Silicon and VST 3 Compatible

Plug-in Formats (64-bit only):

• AAX Native, AAX AudioSuite, VST 2, VST 3, and Audio Units (AU)

Supported Sample Rates:

• Minimum: 44.1 kHz, Maximum: 192 kHz

System Requirements:

• Operating systems: Mac OS X 10.14 or later; Windows 10 or later.
• Not compatible with ARM-based Windows machines.
• An internet connection is required at the time of activation.

Supported Hosts:

• Pro Tools, Live, Cubase, Nuendo, Logic, Studio One, Reaper, Bitwig
• Full list of compatible host applications is listed below.

DOWNLOAD MANUAL

COMPATIBILITY

Officially Supported Host Applications

All version 5 Soundtoys products come in 64-bit VST, AU and AAX Native plug-in formats. Here is a list of our officially supported host applications.

• Pro Tools: 2020 or higher (Mac & PC: AAX Native and AudioSuite)
• Logic Pro X: 10.7 or higher (Mac: AudioUnits)
• Ableton Live: 11.0 or higher (Mac: AudioUnits, VST2 & VST3; Windows: VST2 & VST3)
• Studio One: 5 or higher (Mac: AudioUnits, VST2 & VST3; Windows: VST2 & VST3)
• Cubase: 12 or higher (Mac & PC: VST3)
• Nuendo: 12 or higher (Mac & PC: VST3)
• Reaper: 7 or higher (Mac: AudioUnits, VST2 & VST3; Windows: VST2 & VST3)
• Bitwig Studio: 5 or higher (Mac & PC: VST2 & VST3)
• FL Studio: 2025.1 or higher (Mac: AudioUnits, VST2 & VST3; Windows: VST2 & VST3)

Officially Supported Operating Systems

• OS X 10.15 or higher*
• Windows 10 or higher*

* Apple Silicon & VST 3 Info:

VST3 support is available for both Windows and macOS, and offers native compatibility with both Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M-series) and Intel processors.

Soundtoys will continue to support both VST3 and VST2 formats for all products for the time being. This update is free for all users with Soundtoys version 5 or later plug-ins.

Log in to your Soundtoys account and download the installers here or on our downloads page.

Known Issues and Notes

• In Digital Performer 11, discrete parameters behave incorrectly for VST3. Soundtoys recommend using VST2 or AU in Digital Performer 11 until the issue can be resolved.
• Some hosts will automatically replace VST2 plug-ins in sessions with matching VST3 versions, depending on the DAW and your DAW preferences. The Soundtoys VST3 versions are fully interchangeable with their VST2 counterparts, but not all hosts implement this feature of VST3.

Note about DAW / Computer Support

Sountoys cannot guarantee support if you are using a supported host platform listed above on an operating system or computer that is not supported by the host platform itself. Please visit your DAW’s website or manual to ensure you are using a compatible system.

If your DAW is not on the list above or if your supported DAW version is older than what’s listed, it doesn’t necessarily mean that our plug-ins won’t work. It just means that it has not been tested. If something goes wrong with an unsupported DAW, you are welcome to write to support, but Soundtoys cannot guarantee a solution. They currently recommend using their free trial with your host to confirm compatibility on your computer.

32-Bit Plug-in Support

With the release of 5.3.2, Soundtoys have officially discontinued support for 32-bit plug-ins. With macOS Catalina requiring all applications to be 64-bit, and with the vast majority of our PC customers using 64-bit plug-ins, they decided it was the right time to end 32-bit support. Their most recent 32-bit installers are available to download below.

Download Soundtoys 5.3.2 for Windows (32-bit)

Download Soundtoys 5.3.1 for Mac (32-bit)

Download Windows 32-Bit Installers for Individual Plug-ins

Hardware Support

Soundtoys 5 is not compatible with ARM-based Windows machines.