Neutron 2’s Exciter provides a cool X-Y adjustment to quickly achieve tube-like harmonic distortion or a blend of saturation styles not possible with a single piece of analog equipment. As is the case when dealing with a real tube, you might regret pushing it too hard. May 05, 2020 Therefore, harmonic exciters are great for processing vocals to increase presence and intelligibility, as well as the master bus to add some air to a mix. Due to the fact that an exciter can easily brighten a sound, it’s best to use the effect in moderation. Are your mixes sounding a bit dull and flat? Exciters like the Ozone 6 are a terrific way to add tasteful color, character and depth to your tracks.
Track Assistant Step 3
3. Use Transient Shaper to modify pick attack
When playing acoustic and electric guitars, the intensity of the attack is influenced by many factors including the properties of the pick, the gauge, age, and material of the strings, pickup selection, playing technique, and more. That’s all before relevant elements in the recording chain such as microphone selection and placement, preamps, and compression.
If the attack is overpowering and distracting or is too subtle and soft, try using the Transient Shaper in Neutron 2 to adjust it. Unlike most envelope shaping plug-ins, it is capable of three independent bands for separate envelope control in different frequency zones. Knowing that pick attack is normally in mid to high frequencies, you might want to leave the lows and low-mids alone. In the image below, note a few important parameters:
- Although the first and third bands are enabled, the first one is bypassed
- The crossover point has been placed at about 2.6 kHz to allow the third band to impact only the upper-mid and high frequencies
- The Contour shape has been set to Medium for general use
- The Envelope Mode has been set to Balanced for quick attack and medium release (not as fast as Precise, but faster than Loose)
- The Attack gain is set to -7 dB to make distracting attack more subtle (though you gain could be increased to make the attack more prominent)
- The colored line superimposed over the waveform shows the gain adjustment applied by the Transient Shaper in real time
Track Assistant Step 3
Izotope Harmonic Exciter 4
3. Use Transient Shaper to modify pick attack
When playing acoustic and electric guitars, the intensity of the attack is influenced by many factors including the properties of the pick, the gauge, age, and material of the strings, pickup selection, playing technique, and more. That’s all before relevant elements in the recording chain such as microphone selection and placement, preamps, and compression.
If the attack is overpowering and distracting or is too subtle and soft, try using the Transient Shaper in Neutron 2 to adjust it. Unlike most envelope shaping plug-ins, it is capable of three independent bands for separate envelope control in different frequency zones. Knowing that pick attack is normally in mid to high frequencies, you might want to leave the lows and low-mids alone. In the image below, note a few important parameters:
Izotope Harmonic Exciter 8
- Although the first and third bands are enabled, the first one is bypassed
- The crossover point has been placed at about 2.6 kHz to allow the third band to impact only the upper-mid and high frequencies
- The Contour shape has been set to Medium for general use
- The Envelope Mode has been set to Balanced for quick attack and medium release (not as fast as Precise, but faster than Loose)
- The Attack gain is set to -7 dB to make distracting attack more subtle (though you gain could be increased to make the attack more prominent)
- The colored line superimposed over the waveform shows the gain adjustment applied by the Transient Shaper in real time