iZotope Nectar 3 Plus

Verdict
For Incredible levels of manipulation
Simple and accessible UI
No latency or sync loss
Against More complexity elsewhere
In vogue pitch and formant modulation
efects by the bucket load – easy and fast
9/10
Verdict
For Instant and great results
So easy to use
Very cost-efective way to treat vocals
Against Sometimes processing is a bit
hit and miss
Easy, cheap and much loved vocal pitch
and format editor
9/10
vocal plugins roundup / reviews <
August 2022 / COMPUTER MUSIC / 81
Waves have some great
plugins for vocalists –
particularly in their bundles
which include the classic
De-Esser and Doubler.
However Vocal Bender is all
about the pitch and formant
editing, vocal processing that
has remained enduringly
popular across many genres.
There are two knobs, Pitch
and Formant, controlling the
central tone of the human
vocal and the resonant
frequencies that shape the
timbre of the vocal. A Flatten
button allows you to force
the input to snap to a
predetermined note, a
speedy tool for building up
any augmented choruses
and harmonies.
Experiment with the
modulation and automation
options, and vast creative
scope presents itself.
Automation can be a superb
way of introducing vocal
efects (such as sudden pitch
drops) that activate based on
the volume of the input
signal, so the intensity of your
performance can be the
triggering factor.
The aim of the game with
Vocal Bender is really getting
If there’s one plugin that
comes up more often than
any other in our producer
interviews as an all-time
favourite, it’s Soundtoys’ Little
AlterBoy. This simple but
cheap plugin only boasts a
few controls but can deliver
wide-ranging results on any
audio, and is speciically
aimed at vocals for both pitch
and formant editing.
You get three main modes:
the main controls for Pitch
and Formant, three Mode
options (Transpose, Quantize
and Robot) and then a Drive
and Mix area. The Pitch
control alters incoming audio
by semitones but the beauty
of AlterBoy is that it’s more
natural than the chipmunk
efects you get elsewhere.
The Formant option can,
again very naturally, sweep a
male vocal into a female, or
vice versa. It’s incredible to
hear it in operation because
one of AlterBoy’s main
attractions is the fact that it
does it with no nonsense,
one dial with all the science
bits hidden away. It just gets
on with it, with brilliant results.
The central Modes are
where things get even more
TYPE: Vocal processor plugin | KEY FEATURES: Real-time monophonic voice
manipulation, zero latency, LFO, SEQ, Amplitude and Pitch modulators, ‘Flatten’
feature, Mix knob | SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: AAX/AU/VST2 & 3 (64Bit), Mac OSX
10.13.6 or later (Intel only), Windows 10 64 bit (version 2004 and above); 8GB RAM,
8GB free disk space | CONTACT: Waves Audio (waves.com)
TYPE: Vocal pitch and format editor | KEY FEATURES: Pitch and Formant, three
Mode options (Transpose, Quantize and Robot) and Drive and Mix | SYSTEM
REQUIREMENTS: AAX Native, AAX AudioSuite, VST 2, and Audio Units 64-bit only;
macOS X 10.10 or later; Windows 7 or later
Waves
Vocal Bender £110
Soundtoys
Little Alter Boy $99
that professional-sounding
vocal manipulation at speed
and with no processing lag. It
is certainly one of the slickest
vocal plugins we’ve
experimented with – best in
class for quick-ire, modern
pitch manipulation.
waves.com
interesting. After a simple
Transpose option, you get
Quantize, where notes are
forced to the nearest semi-
tone for that Auto-Tune-like
efect that has seemingly
been a mainstay for years. It
works well and very simply,
although you’ll probably get
more inesse out of the real-
deal reviewed on p75.
Finally you get Robot
Mode, where the pitch is
frozen to one note, no matter
what the original input
singing. Pitch and indeed
formant can still be changed
with the left hand dials.
A wonderful, diverse plugin
that does the job very well.
Great for beginners and
superb value.
soundtoys.com
CMU310.rev_vocal_plugins_roundup.indd 81CMU310.rev_vocal_plugins_roundup.indd 81 27/05/2022 10:2627/05/2022 10:26