If you have ever read previous articles regarding iZotope products that I have done, you will see I absolutely love this company. From Ozone 9 and Neutron 3 to their Neoverb I am in love. Nectar 3 is no exception. It is everything you could need in a vocal production suite.
It has Compression, EQ, Reverb, era de esser, and so much more to offer. Unfortunately, it does have a somewhat lofty price that is not always justifiable for your budget, or perhaps you are just looking to expand your options. This is why we have this collection of Nectar 3 Alternatives.
Quicklook:
- Scheps Omni Channel – Best for customization
- CLA Vocals – Best for Simplicity
- ToneSpot Voice Pro – Best for Pricing
- Butch Vig Vocals – Best for Aggressive Vocals
Nectar 3 Quick Review
Nectar 3 is one of the crown jewels of the iZotope catalog. They made their name by creating some of the most intuitive and best sounding plugins that encompass almost every aspect you would need for audio.
Why Users Like Nectar 3 :
- Pitch Correction – With the built-in pitch correction, it is super easy to add a quick and smooth correction to your vocals.
- Harmonies – With the built-in harmony generator, you can add doubles and harmonies to your vocals as well as individually mix them in.
- Saturator – Every effect in Nectar 3 is fantastic, but I love the plethora of sounds that comes out with a Saturator. They have multiple types of saturators for every possible use.
- EQ – I’m not sure if it is much of a bonus for others, but the fully responsive eq with frequency response is one of my favorite aspects.
- Ease of use – With the vocal assistant you can be started in the right direction with just a few clicks.
Compatibility:
| Mac | Windows | |
| Memory | 4 GB RAM 8 GB recommended | 4 GB RAM 8 GB recommended |
| Operating System | 10.9.5 – 10.15.6 | Windows 7 – 10 |
Price:
- Splice – $9.99/month for 25 months (pause or cancel at any time)
- Plugin Boutique – $249
1. Scheps Omni Channel – Waves
While it is not made solely for vocals, the Scheps Omni Channel is perfect as a vocal suite. You have 4 key types of processors as well as an additional space to insert another Waves plugin, anywhere in the chain. The built in saturator is perfect to give you that true analog feel that Andrew Scheps is known for.
Features Like Nectar 3:
- Custom Signal Flow – you can rearrange all of the effects and processors into whatever order you think sounds best for your track. This also means you can insert your additional Waves plugin wherever you please as well.
- Saturator – Having a Saturator on the preamp channel is the perfect way to start your signal processing by adding the grit right off the bat.
- Detail – Even though this does not have a super interactive UI like Nectar, it has a large attention to detail with options to adjust just about anything in each processor.
Compatibility:
| Mac | Windows | |
| Memory | 8 GB of Ram 8 GB free disk space | 8 GB recommended 8 GB free disk space |
| Operating System | 10.13.6, 10.14.6, 10.15.7, 11.0.1 | Windows 10 (64 bit) |
Price:
2. CLA Vocals – Waves
Chris Lord-Alge is a staple in the world of modern music with his mixing skills being showcased across multiple genres and with many different artists. You get a taste in this plugin of how he approaches some of the most iconic vocals like Carrie Underwood and Billie Joe Armstrong.
Features Like Nectar 3:
- EQ – The EQ used in this plugin is fairly unique with only 2 choices, bass and treble. Within each of those is 3 options but it still adds a unique flavor to your vocals.
- Compression – Rather than using a multitude of dials for ratios and thresholds, you have 3 types of compression available with the slider, Wall, Spank, and Push.
- Effects – You have 3 effects right at the end of the chain. There is a reverb, delay, and pitch which is actually a chorus effect.
Compatibility:
| Mac | Windows | |
| Memory | 8 GB of Ram 8 GB free disk space | 8 GB recommended 8 GB free disk space |
| Operating System | 10.13.6, 10.14.6, 10.15.7, 11.0.1 | Windows 10 (64 bit) |
Price:
3. ToneSpot Voice Pro – Audified
If you love to work with a simple layout that looks like it belongs in your rack of preamps, ToneSpot Voice Pro is the plugin for you. This vocal suite is a great comparison to Nectar 3 with how much it can offer. The layout requires you to mix with your ears rather than looking for responses on the screen.
Features Like Nectar 3:
- Punch – Tonespot uses a strong attack to give vocals a unique compression that pushes to the limit.
- Effects – You have the 2 most basic, but most popular effects built right into the plugin suite, delay and reverb.
- Presets – You have a plethora of presets for all styles of vocals in ToneSpot. This makes getting the hang of a new plugin even easier.
Compatibility:
| Mac | Windows | |
| Memory | 8 GB of Ram 8 GB free disk space | 8 GB recommended 8 GB free disk space |
| Operating System | 10.9 – 10.15 | Windows 7 – 10 |
Price:
4. Butch Vig Vocals – Waves
Listening to sessions that Butch Vig has recorded and mixed, I always hear something special. The way he approaches the mix is giving it an edge of distortion that really cuts it through the rest of the song. His extremely unique plugin is perfect for finding the seat for your vocals in the mix.
Features Like Nectar 3:
- Saturation – A vocal effect that in my opinion, does not get enough credit is saturation. It is one of the best ways to develop natural sounding
- EQ – While this EQ is extremely simplified compared to Nectar 3, you can use this simple method to get the perfect sound you could want.
- Dynamics – Beyond the basic EQ, there is also a built-in de-esser to help you tame your vocals.
Compatibility:
| Mac | Windows | |
| Memory | 8 GB of Ram 8 GB free disk space | 8 GB recommended 8 GB free disk space |
| Operating System | 10.13.6, 10.14.6, 10.15.7, 11.0.1 | Windows 10 (64 bit) |
Price:
Excelling in Excellence
Working with a vocal suite plugin is all about using the best tools which are compressed into one plugin. It makes editing and tweaking your sound that much easier if you are working in one plugin window. Nectar 3 is an extremely unique plugin with all of its detailed tools and effects, it is hard to compare any specific plugin to it. That being said, there are many other amazing vocal plugin suites that can deliver top-notch results, as you see in the above list. So get ready to push out some of the best vocal mixes yet!
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Jarrett is a hardcore Lover-Jazz Lover-Rock Lover-Blues Lover-just a music lover. He has the hair to match — Jarrett and provides in-depth insight into all things guitar and music engineering.