Spanner 5 in Reaper: The Channel-Layout Fix You Need to Know

In this video, I take a close look at Spanner 5, the immersive channel panning plugin from New Zealand developer The Cargo Cult. Long a favourite in the Pro Tools world, Spanner has traditionally flown under the radar for those of us working in other DAWs, but version 5 changes that with new VST3 and Audio Unit support. I put it through its paces in a simple 7.1.4 immersive session and walk through exactly how it behaves once you take it outside of Pro Tools.

Along the way, I cover the practical side of getting Spanner running smoothly in Reaper, including the channel-layout quirks you need to be aware of and how to fix them, plus how the plugin holds up as a panner in Cubase and Nuendo. Whether you're panning, up-mixing, or down-mixing your immersive mixes, this walkthrough shows you what Spanner 5 can do and helps you decide whether it belongs in your toolkit.