Stereo may have been a big deal back in the day, but now it's been a bit overshadowed by 5.1, 6.1, 7.1, etc. Still, most music listeners don't walk around with some sort of Rube Goldberg-esque, headworn, multi-channel audio system. So how is one to get more creative with the two-channel listening experience that's been the standard for the past half-century? De La Mancha’s answer to that would be Thr33some.

Thr33some is a multi-band stereo tool that offers a lot of control over three frequency bands: low, medium, and high. This audio plugin allows users to widen or narrow specific frequencies within the mix. Each band can be either be widened, narrowed, panned / balanced, or gained individually. Show of hands: who here hasn't gained individually? Liars.

There are four basic parameters when manipulating each frequency band: Balance, mid/side, width, and gain. A typical use of the plugin would be making the bass frequencies mono by narrowing it while spreading the higher frequencies. Think of it as creating a seating arrangement for an orchestra except that you’re dealing with frequencies. You can even split bands into three frequency ranges or choose three full spectrum layers. The plugin is that flexible.

The features are listed below:

• 3 band stereo widener/narrower
• Split bands into 3 frequency ranges, or choose 3
• full spectrum layers
• Zero phasing band splits using inversion rather than crossover
• Mid/Side processing per band
• Delay-based width control per band
• Stereo balance and gain per band
• Stereo out and multi-out (3x stereo) versions
• In and out gain controls
• Metering for in and out levels to allow balancing
• All control parameters named and mapped to midi CC

The plugin is in VST format and comes in both stereo-out and multi-out versions. While a downloadable demo version is available, you can get the plugin for $15. If you buy your copy within the month of May, you also get another plugin for free named Pitchfork. Whether you’re trying to clean up the mix or you just want to create new, crazy effects with you two channels of stereo, this one might be your lucky plug.