Episode 591 - Inside Neural DSP’s Mantra Plugin with Francois Barrillon

In this episode of Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle podcast, I sit down with Francois Barrillon, Neural DSP’s plugins product manager and product lead for their new vocal plugin Mantra.

Francois shares how he went from building guitar pedals in his spare time to leading development on one of the most innovative vocal tools available today.

We talk about Neural DSP’s expansion beyond guitars, how Mantra was designed to be an all-in-one studio solution, and what it takes to create plugins that blend analog feel with digital power.

In This Episode:

• How Francois got into music tech through analog gear

• Why Neural DSP made a vocal plugin

• Mantra’s tracking mode and low-latency design

• How Sculpt uses spectral EQ to fix vocals fast

• Quad Cortex gear and crossover into non-metal markets

• Francois’s journey from L’Oreal to Neural DSP

• The company’s global team and HQ in Helsinki

• Combining analog modeling with new DSP possibilities

--

Additional Resources:

To learn more about Mantra, visit https://neuraldsp.com 

--

Key Takeaways:

00:00:00 - Coming up...

00:00:28 - Meet Francois Barrillon from Neural DSP

00:01:18 - Why a guitar company made a vocal plugin

00:02:08 - Expanding DSP tech beyond guitar

00:03:10 - Inside Mantra’s tracking and mixing modes

00:04:20 - Latency issues and performance design

00:05:08 - Real-time effects boost vocal confidence

00:06:34 - The full Mantra plugin vision

00:07:22 - Quad Cortex and gigging with compact gear

00:08:51 - Francois’s path from L’Oreal to music tech

00:10:15 - Why the vocal plugin was the next big move

00:13:19 - Who Mantra is built for

00:14:17 - Latency: myths vs. real-world use

00:17:47 - Why all-in-one design reduces latency

00:18:13 - Home studio users and smart EQ with Sculpt

00:21:02 - Sculpt’s compression, de-essing, and normalization

00:23:52 - Neural DSP’s team, HQ, and remote setup

00:25:05 - Francois’s non-metal roots at Neural DSP

00:26:20 - From metal plugins to mainstream expansion

00:27:08 - Mantra’s clean demo and audience feedback

00:28:08 - DIY gear nerd to product lead

00:30:07 - Modeling analog vs. creating new tools

00:31:57 - Final thoughts and wrap-up

—

In this podcast, music guru Bobby Owsinski shares his personal insights on t

Explore The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook (6th Edition), the go-to guide for modern mixing: https://a.co/d/eEEpPrL

This edition adds chapters on intelligent processor plugins, saturation and distortion, and mixing in small studios. Learn to use reference tracks, mix in Dolby Atmos and Sony 360RA, and master modern techniques like MS processing, frequency-based panning, and sidechain compression, all to make your mixes sound pro. 

Thank you for tuning in to Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, the podcast that takes you deep inside the music industry. Each week, Bobby shares insights, news, analysis, and conversations with the movers and shakers shaping today’s music world.

📌 Explore Bobby’s best-selling books:
https://bobbyowsinski.com/best-selling-books/

🎧 Discover more mixing and production courses:
https://www.bobbyowsinskicourses.com/

📲 Follow Bobby for more tips, insights, and updates:
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BobbyOwsinskiBiz/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbyo/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bobbyowsinski/
• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bobbyowsinski.bsky.social

🎙️ New episodes release every Tuesday at 9AM Pacific on YouTube and your favorite podcast app.

Music. Business. Creativity. Straight from the Inner Circle.

Produced by APodcastGeek
https://apodcastgeek.com/