Getting Perfect Vocals With iZotope Nectar 3's Vocal Assistant

Machine learning tools in iZotope's Nectar 3 take the guesswork out of setting up a great vocal sound. Here, Josh Carney shows you how it does its magic.  

iZotope's Nectar 3 is the most powerful version of the vocal processing suite ever produced, capable of everything from subtle warming to full voice transformation. One of its most innovative features is the Vocal Assistant, which uses machine learning to analyse your vocal and create custom treatments based on certain criteria. In this video from the course Nectar 3 101: The Unofficial Video Manual, expert producer Joshua Carney shows you how it works, as well as how to build an effects chain to process the perfect vocal sound.

Nectar 3 101: The Unofficial Video Manual

Josh takes a vocal track that is currently a little lost in the mix and creates an instance of Nectar, before activating the Vocal Assistant feature. After specifying a couple of simple parameters for the kind of feel he's going for, the plugin then analyses the audio as it's played, scanning for ways to improve it. Nectar then automatically adds processing stages - a gate, de-esser and compressor amongst other things - along with suggested settings for each stage.

The results are an instant improvement, but of course every track is different and ultimately it's your ears that have to judge exactly what settings are best. So Josh sets about tweaking the effects to fine tune the vocal, as well as explaining how Nectar does its work, and how it is structured. You'll see that it's a really powerful tool for working with any kind of vocals and in the other course videos, you'll get a complete and comprehensive guide to perfecting your vocal tracks with iZotope's Nectar 3!

Watch the course Nectar 3 101: The Unofficial Video Manual in the Ask.Audio Academy | macProVideo | Ask.Video

Hollin Jones was classically trained as a piano player but found the lure of blues and jazz too much to resist. Graduating from bands to composition then production, he relishes the chance to play anything with keys. A sometime lecturer in videographics, music production and photography post production, Hollin has been a freelance w... Read More

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