I have a sickness. I love new audio toys. I own a many bundles and many more single plug-ins. I own a CRAP-TON of SFX, Loops, Virtual Instruments and hardware devices. I own some I’ve only used 2 or 3 times. I probably own something I’ve never actually used. But really I do try and research my purchases as much as possible. For me I need to know that whatever it is, it will be something I can sink my teeth into fast. Huge learning curves are not my thing and honestly in 2014 we really shouldn’t have to have a background in computer science to make fun noises. I also absorb the opinions of others all the time. I love reading people’s thoughts on gear and software and heed the advice of those whom I respect,. Finally, again in this day and age, price has to be good. With SO many companies able to make great tools, the prices have come down. So its gotta be competitively priced.
In comes Nectar 2 from Izotope. It’s a Vocal Production Suite – but I KNOW some people who will be throwing this all over FX, Music and other non-vocal sounds. I saw it when it first came out, what seems like 6 months ago (?). It sounded like a bit of a novelty. Like “hey, look we made ONE plug-in with EVERYTHING in it!!!” Typically, I stay away from those “Everything to Everyone” products. I have similar theories on programming radio stations but that is a different article. But after seeing plenty of videos and hearing from colleagues on Twitter etc, the final straw was this deal on Audio Deluxe. Nectar 2 for like $185 bucks! After the original price of $300 I was in. And I can safely say having only used it on two big sessions, I love it.
Honestly after that vid from the great Dave Pensado there isn’t much more I can, or NEED TO, add.
I can talk about who should get it, though. My blog is geared at Radio people, not necessarily music people but often those circles overlap. I was a radio guy who has evolved more into a music guy in the last 2 or 3 years. So, at this point I’d say I know just enough to know how much I DON’T know yet about producing, mixing and mastering music. Make sense? If you are a Radio Producer who wants to start implementing some of the cool things you hear in music production (on vocals or otherwise) but you don’t want to spend 20 years learning how to do every little thing, this is a great place to start. It literally has all aspects of a great vocal chain built into it. Plus it’s laid out in a very clean, simple manner. Which means…You get RIGHT into making cool stuff happen.
I didn’t mention it earlier in the article but I LOVE presets. I’ve brought it up in many podcasts and other articles. Even if you don’t actually use the built-in presets, they are great places to start and to me a strong selling factor of a plug-in. Nectar 2 has a pile of ’em.
To sum up, ALMOST everyone who deals with vocals should get this. If you are making commercials with VO on Music and never do much to color your audio then perhaps save the cash or spend it on a great EQ like the MAAG. Everyone else will really enjoy this!! <- 2 exclamation marks