iZotope’s plug-ins are among the best out there. They offer leading-edge processing, streamlined workflows, and top-shelf sound. But, with so many products in iZotope’s stable, knowing which ones to get can seem a bit daunting. Luckily, iZotope has created custom-tailored suites of plug-ins to make the process easier. In this article, we’re going to dive into some of iZotope’s unique features as well as some of their most popular bundles.
Assistive Audio Technology
At the heart of iZotope’s powerful software tools is their revolutionary assistive audio technology — the closest thing you’ll get to a production assistant without hiring an actual human for the job. These cutting-edge algorithms analyze your audio, employing intelligent digital processing and machine learning to craft custom-built presets that are tailored to your specific project. So, instead of instantiating and tweaking individual EQ and compressor plug-ins, you can simply fire up one of iZotope’s assistant-enabled plug-ins and achieve a fine-tuned sound with a simple push of a button.
iZotope’s assistive audio technology is available for every phase of production.
- Neutron’s Track Assistant provides you with an intelligent starting point for your mix, intelligently placing EQ nodes right where you need them.
- Nectar’s Vocal Assistant eliminates level inconsistencies, resonant peaks, timbre variations, and harsh frequencies by setting EQ nodes, analyzing dynamics, suggesting compression settings, removing sibilants, creating space, and more.
- RX’s Repair Assistant makes short work of clipping, clicks, and other irritants without the tedious trial-and-error workflow.
- Ozone’s Master Assistant builds a sonic profile of your mix, then suggests targets, signal chains, and processor settings that will put the final radio-friendly polish on your project.
Remember, iZotope’s assistive audio technology is your assistant. You’re its boss, not the other way around. So, after the algorithms have finished working their magic, you’re free to tweak the generated preset from there: remove modules or even scrap the entire process if you don’t like the result. You can also mix and match iZotope processors with your other third-party plug-ins. There’s no limit to what you can accomplish. And, thanks to iZotope’s state-of-the-art technology, you’ll be able to get a great-sounding result faster than ever before.
Inter-plug-in Communication
iZotope’s assistive audio technology is a huge timesaver, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The plug-ins actually communicate with each other! And why is this necessary? Every seasoned engineer knows the answer to that question. Simply put, when you’re working with multitrack audio, the individual tracks don’t exist in a vacuum. Rather, each track is part of a larger whole, with each one interacting with the frequencies contained in the others. That’s where inter-plug-in communication comes in. It enables a plug-in on one track to hear what’s taking place on the other tracks. This helps you adjust track levels, resolve frequency collisions, and build a balanced mix with a few simple clicks — tasks that could potentially consume hours of your time. It also makes adjusting multiple plug-ins a breeze — all from one easy-to-navigate interface.
Inter-plug-in communication is baked into nearly everything iZotope makes, including Nectar, VocalSynth, Neutron, Relay, Insight, Ozone, and Tonal Balance Control. This enables you to EQ two tracks at once with Neutron, to find and eliminate weak spots in your mix with Tonal Balance Control, and to get a comprehensive view of your mix with Insight. And those examples are just the beginning. Inter-plug-in communication puts a lot of power right at your fingertips.
Neutron Standard and Ozone Standard
So, which plug-ins should you buy? If you’re diving into iZotope’s plug-ins for the first time, Neutron Standard and Ozone Standard together are a great entry point. These two software applications supply you with a bevy of pro-level mixing and mastering tools and will give you a taste of what iZotope’s cutting-edge processors can do for your projects.
At the beginning of a mixing or mastering session, it’s sometimes difficult to know where to start, even for a seasoned professional. Does the track need EQ? Compression? Saturation? And in which order should you put the modules? If you have Neutron and Ozone in your plug-in arsenal, these questions will be answered with a few easy mouse clicks. As long as you know what vibe you’re after, Neutron and Ozone will place you on the right path.
Want your drums to pop? iZotope makes it easy. Just instantiate Neutron on your drum bus, fire up Track Assistant, select the appropriate instrument, choose a suitable style and intensity, run the assistant, and you’re off! You can then tweak and adjust your custom preset until you get the sound you’re trying to achieve.
Want a radio-ready sound? It’s just as easy. Simply insert Ozone on your master bus, open Master Assistant, choose between modern or vintage processors, select your desired intensity, specify your project’s destination (streaming or CD), and you’re good to go. You can also load up a reference track if you’d like to emulate an existing recording. Then tweak to taste. The end result can sound raw and vintage or slick and polished. Either way, your final master will sound amazing.
Tonal Balance Bundle
Boasting Neutron 3 Advanced, Nectar 3, Ozone 9 Advanced, and Tonal Balance Control, iZotope’s Tonal Balance Bundle packs robust mixing and mastering processors into a streamlined, interconnected workflow. One of the most powerful components in this workflow is Neutron’s Mix Assistant. This invaluable feature suggests levels for every track in your session, providing you with a rough mix before you even touch a fader (exactly what you’d pay an assistant engineer to do). When Mix Assistant analyzes your session, instruments are bundled into logical groups, such as vocals, bass, percussion, and musical mix elements. But, you’re still in the driver’s seat. You choose which tracks are included in Mix Assistant’s suggestion plus which musical elements will receive the most emphasis. And when the assistant is finished, you’re free to make further adjustments on a per-track basis.
Also included with the Tonal Balance Bundle is Nectar, iZotope’s comprehensive vocal tool set. It doesn’t matter what genre you’re working with — pop, rock, R&B, hip-hop, metal, or experimental — Nectar’s Vocal Assistant takes all of the guesswork out of achieving an ear-pleasing vocal track, using a combination of dynamics processing, EQing, and de-essing. Like all of iZotope’s other assistants, Vocal Assistant is a breeze to use. Just instantiate it on your vocal track, choose a vibe and intensity, and enjoy a rock-solid, pro-sounding vocal track.
Want a more up-front vocal sound? No problem. Vocal Assistant’s Unmask function will move competing mix elements out of the way, placing your vocal at the forefront of your mix. To use Unmask, you simply insert an instance of Nectar, Neutron, or Relay on the track that’s masking your vocal, then run the process. When it’s complete, an EQ will be placed on the source track to transparently suppress the frequencies that are interfering with your vocal’s intelligibility. This is an advanced mixing technique, but thanks to Vocal Assistant, even an inexperienced engineer can achieve it with a mouse click. It’s also a huge timesaver for experienced engineers.
When you’re ready for mastering, Ozone’s Tonal Balance Control ensures a professional-quality product that’s ready for distribution. Tonal Balance Control is the crown jewel of this bundle, enabling you to work with complete confidence. Place it on your master bus, and you’ll know how your mix stacks up against a reference target that was built by analyzing thousands of pro master tracks in a myriad of genres. You can upload your own reference track, as well. If your mix is tonally skewed — not enough bass, too much treble, etc. — you can easily make per-track adjustments to EQ and gain with any Neutron or Nectar plug-in or perform a full-on mastering move with Ozone.
Ozone’s Low End Focus and Master Rebalance put the final sonic touches on your master, enabling you to reach into a dense mix and accent or attenuate track elements. Want to give your master’s low end more girth and presence? Use Low End Focus’s Smooth mode to add emphasis to your kick and bass. Vocal not loud enough? Or too loud? Either issue is an easy fix for Master Rebalance. Its powerful real-time source-separation algorithm enables you to dive into the mix and tweak the vocals without disturbing the other tracks.
Music Production Suite 3
If you’re searching for an all-inclusive mixing and mastering solution with nearly endless processing capacities, then iZotope’s Music Production Suite is the ideal bundle for you. This exhaustive collection provides an abundance of sonic tools to help you in every step of the production process, including Neutron 3 Advanced, Nectar 3, RX 7 Standard, VocalSynth 2, Insight 2, Ozone 9 Advanced, Tonal Balance Control, Relay, Exponential Audio NIMBUS, Exponential Audio R4, and video tutorials from Groove3.
Aside from being able to do everything that you can do with the Tonal Balance Bundle, the Music Production Suite also offers a multitude of audio restoration tools, thanks to RX — the industry-standard audio repair application. Any vocals or instruments that incurred unwanted noises during the recording stage can be overhauled with RX. Clipping? Distortion? No sweat. Repair Assistant automatically identifies and repairs these issues. And it’s as easy to use as all of iZotope’s other assistants. Fire up Repair Assistant, identify the type of material (music, dialog, etc.), and start the process. You’ll then be presented with several repair options. Audition them, then choose the one that sounds the best. This type of audio cleanup is very useful for vocals that were captured under not-so-ideal conditions, as compression and limiting will unmask every flaw in the track. RX also includes a de-esser for reducing sibilance, a de-plosive module for suppressing pops, and a de-bleed processor for conquering mic bleed. RX also makes a superb remixing solution, by virtue of its Music Rebalance function, which boosts or attenuates vocals, drums, bass, and more.
Once you’ve got your vocal track up to snuff, it’s time to fire up VocalSynth. This super-fun plug-in is tailor-made for experimentation, enabling you to color and shape vocals with five blendable modules. Use Biovox to manipulate a vocal’s nasality, vowel shapes, and formant, or use wild stompbox-style vocal effects to enhance your production. There’s also pitch correction onboard. And you get inter-plug-in communication with Neutron, Ozone, Tonal Balance Control, and more.
The Music Production Suite includes two top-tier reverbs, R4 and NIMBUS. Ideal for vocal coloration, these two plug-ins possess deep adjustability and customization over every parameter. That said, there are also thousands of presets on hand to help you get up and running fast. One of our favorite controls here at Sweetwater is Tail Suppression and Recovery. This incredible function elegantly suppresses the reverb tail when a signal is present, enabling a vocalist to cut through for added intelligibility, but brings the tail back up when they stop singing, thereby retaining the lush-sounding ambience of the reverb.
Another invaluable part of the Music Production Suite is Insight, which offers comprehensive metering in a resizable modular display. This ultra-powerful application uses a high-resolution, real-time spectrogram to create a detailed topographical map of your audio. Use the included Relay plug-in to visualize any track’s spectral content, then compare and contrast it with the spectrum of your entire mix. Being able to visually inspect the frequency makeup of each track gives you a lot of insight (pun intended) into your mix. Is something too present? Is it not present enough? Insight can help you uncover the answers to those questions.
Level Up Your Next Project
If you’re struggling to achieve pro-quality results, it might be because you don’t have pro-quality tools. iZotope’s mixing and mastering bundles are a great way to level up your next project. They’re powerful and easy to use, and — most importantly — they sound amazing. If you have any questions about iZotope’s state-of-the-art plug-ins, give your Sales Engineer a call at (800) 222-4700. They’ll be happy to point you toward the best option for your needs.
