Vocoder love!

Nils · Post by **Nils** » Sun May 08, 2011 2:55 pm

So who else love vocoders? I simply can't get enough, and will never tire of listening to Kraftwerk style vocoding

I've been less happy with some of the vocoders I've had in the past, but finally got my hands on a decent analog vocoder a while back. Here's the first test I did:

http://soundcloud.com/pokelok/vocoder-test

I'll be posting program and carrier signals from this recording in a few days, in case anyone wants to make comparisons.

nlaudadio · Post by **nlaudadio** » Sun May 08, 2011 4:40 pm

If you love vocoders, you should check out the book _How to Wreck a Nice Beach_ (http://amzn.com/1933633883).

I picked up a VC-10 recently and love it. It certainly knocks the R3 vocoder around a bit (though I still really like that synth).

zapp550 · Post by **zapp550** » Sun May 08, 2011 5:34 pm

I'm a total sucker for vocoders, pretty happy with my elextrix but i'd love to have a REAL one.

PrimateSynthesis · Post by **PrimateSynthesis** » Sun May 08, 2011 7:05 pm

VF11

nlaudadio · Post by **nlaudadio** » Sun May 08, 2011 7:48 pm

BTW: that's a great track you posted, Nils--you really make GW sing (and that Doepfer seems to have a really distinctive, useful sound).

alexP · Post by **alexP** » Sun May 08, 2011 8:15 pm

LOVE VOCODERS!!!

We tend to use them a bit.

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/defencemechanism2

Check out the song The Robots Of Dawn. Vocoder heaven!!

alexP

Minimoog56 · Post by **Minimoog56** » Sun May 08, 2011 8:23 pm

Spent the weekend vocordering away with the B&A 296e module - took me a while to realize I needed to add a carrier signal to my mic-ed voice. Once I got the hang of it was off to the races. Makes counting backwards while speaking into the mic so much fun!

7thDanSound · Post by **7thDanSound** » Sun May 08, 2011 11:54 pm

+1 for loving vocoders here. Is that the Doepfer modular vocoder? I think being able to patch around with the bands must be pretty powerful.

Nils · Post by **Nils** » Mon May 09, 2011 12:45 am

Great to see some love here!

@ nlaudadio: Thanks! I read that book last year, and I found it a great read on the history and cultural of vocoders.
I actually used to have a VC-10 years ago. It has a big fun factor, and it's very easy and intuitive in use.

@ PrimateSynthesis: I have a Next VOX-II which is the same as the MAM you have. Are you happy with it? I've never managed to make it sound good, but I suspect mine might be faulty..

@ alexP: nice track!

@ Minimoog56: I've never played with a Buchla! I'd love to though. It would be great hearing some examples of the 296e.

@ 7thDanSound: Yep that's the Doepfer. I've only played with it once, so I don't know it that well yet. Re-patching bands should offer some nice possibilities, but on first try also seems to make the sound less clear and "concentrated". You can hear me re-patching in the demo, from 1:30 or so I think.

Morley · Post by **Morley** » Mon May 09, 2011 2:21 am

Love 'em. I use a Synton and it sounds really nice. Hardly ever with vocals but mainly for injecting some movement into pads and backgrounds. I prefer it subtle.

Liddlepud · Post by **Liddlepud** » Mon May 09, 2011 3:02 am

I'd love to try the Synton.

Here's one I made earlier using the Doepfer Vocoder:

http://soundcloud.com/koova/isolation-j ... sion-cover

It helps to compress the f**k out of the vocals going into the vocoder and I also put a BBE sonic maximiser guitar pedal on the vocals befor going into the vocoder.

It's also really fun if you send envelopes to the individual bands.

PrimateSynthesis · Post by **PrimateSynthesis** » Mon May 09, 2011 8:49 am

Nils wrote:
@ PrimateSynthesis: I have a Next VOX-II which is the same as the MAM you have. Are you happy with it? I've never managed to make it sound good, but I suspect mine might be faulty...

Yes

It might not have as many features as other, more expensive vocoders, but in practice it doesn't seem to be lacking anything, especially with 11 bands and 19 knobs in only one rack space. The output mix section is particularly handy. It's simple, it sounds great, and it's easy to use.

Just me · Post by **Just me** » Mon May 09, 2011 9:03 am

Love vocoding, too. Use the Nord G1 here.

Smooth Operator · Post by **Smooth Operator** » Mon May 09, 2011 9:45 am

Using the mam vf 11 for some nice distortion, same signal to both inputs and play with the levels. I find myself slapping abletonÃ‚Â´s vocoder on more and more tracks (same, 1 signal to both ins) for some nice filtering/formant shifting. Highly recommended!

Nils · Post by **Nils** » Mon May 09, 2011 1:08 pm

@ Morley: Which Synton do you use?

@PrimateSynthesis: For a 1U I think the VF-11 is incredibly well specified. It's just that mine sounds noisy, muffled and "narrow". I suspect I haven't got an appropriate PSU for it. Would you mind checking the specs on your PSU? How many mAs is it?

@Smooth Operator: Nice tip! Never tried that.

Nils · Post by **Nils** » Mon May 09, 2011 2:25 pm

Program and carrier files up on soundcloud, in case someone wants to do a comparison:

http://soundcloud.com/pokelok/sets/vocoder-sound-files

PrimateSynthesis · Post by **PrimateSynthesis** » Mon May 09, 2011 3:01 pm

Nils wrote: @PrimateSynthesis: For a 1U I think the VF-11 is incredibly well specified. It's just that mine sounds noisy, muffled and "narrow". I suspect I haven't got an appropriate PSU for it. Would you mind checking the specs on your PSU? How many mAs is it?

It shouldn't be noisy at all.

Input: 120VAC 60Hz 17W
Output: 12VAC 830mA

tIB · Post by **tIB** » Mon May 09, 2011 3:04 pm

hoping to G2 engine this later in the week...

7thDanSound · Post by **7thDanSound** » Mon May 09, 2011 4:13 pm

Nils wrote:@ Minimoog56: I've never played with a Buchla! I'd love to though. It would be great hearing some examples of the 296e.

Lyonel has some great stuff on the 296e over at Vimeo. I can't way enough good things about this one.

Nils wrote:@ 7thDanSound: Yep that's the Doepfer. I've only played with it once, so I don't know it that well yet. Re-patching bands should offer some nice possibilities, but on first try also seems to make the sound less clear and "concentrated". You can hear me re-patching in the demo, from 1:30 or so I think.

I've never tried the Doepfer but I was unsure if there was another besides the modular, that's why I asked. I think I have it confused with the VF-11 thing. I've never tried a real hi end vocoder, at least not hard ware. Most software based ones seem to do a decent job, even the one in my Microkorg. And the G2 for sure, had that one for a while. You are right about repatching the bands, you easily loose clarity and end up with very limited sounds. Which can be good at times too however.

Liddlepud · Post by **Liddlepud** » Mon May 09, 2011 4:29 pm

The interface on the Buchla looks very intuitive. Has anyone tried using a monome to control the bands of the Doepfer in a similar fashion?

chamomileshark · Post by **chamomileshark** » Mon May 09, 2011 4:36 pm

I developed a bit of a thing about vocoders - I have the Warp Factory and a Korg DVP-1 and finally a Roland SVC-350.

giorgio · Post by **giorgio** » Mon May 09, 2011 4:49 pm

i kinda went crazy for vocoders for a bit. started with the MS-2000 which I still love, and then went for a VC-10, VP-330, warpfactory, and some other VA synths with built-in vocoders and eventually got an SVC-350 and stuck with that and sold most of the rest (except the MS-2000)

you can hear the SVC-350 on a track i made recently here:
http://music.amandapalmer.net/track/map ... ax-megamix
I fed an MFB OSC02 and a vocal track from my computer into the SVC-350 for all the vocoder stuff on there. also featured on the track is my modular on bass, using a VCO that I forget, through the doepfer LPG controlled by MATHS. maths was the key to that bass sound. in case you are still reading and want to know, the bells are from the TX81Z. drums and hits are samples in the MPC, except I used a few 808, 909 and ER-1 beats in there as well. A little sh-101 made it in there too. I'm typing this as I'm listening to the track in case you can't tell.

Nils · Post by **Nils** » Mon May 09, 2011 11:19 pm

PrimateSynthesis wrote:Input: 120VAC 60Hz 17W
Output: 12VAC 830mA

Thanks! I did get a new PSU for it that matches your specs, but it's got the wrong (wall) plug so I need to find an adaptor.

7thDanSound wrote:Lyonel has some great stuff on the 296e over at Vimeo. I can't way enough good things about this one.

7thDanSound wrote:I've never tried the Doepfer but I was unsure if there was another besides the modular, that's why I asked. I think I have it confused with the VF-11 thing. I've never tried a real hi end vocoder, at least not hard ware. Most software based ones seem to do a decent job, even the one in my Microkorg.

I understand. There's only one (the modular) afaik. It's the only vocoder I've used that feels like a high end vocoder but doesn't cost as much as a high end vocoder

The soft vocoders I've tried sound ok to good, but always less defined and with less presence than analog vocoders. I've heard great things about the Nord vocoder, but never tried it.

giorgio wrote:you can hear the SVC-350 on a track i made recently here

Sounds great!

@TiB: Looking forward to the G2 version

giorgio · Post by **giorgio** » Tue May 10, 2011 12:41 am

here's another track featuring the SVC-350. this one is a little more recent, and spent a bit less time on it (did most of it in 1 night since there was a deadline)

http://soundcloud.com/michaelpotvin/gio ... a-la-model

but yeah similar deal to my other track in what i used except the jupiter 6 was the other source for the vocoder, and my voice straight from a mic into the SVC350

langley · Post by **langley** » Tue May 10, 2011 3:26 am

been a fan of vocodering for as long as i can remember but just recently discovered bruce haack - genius!

This is worth a look: 50 greatest vocoder songs

MOD WIGGLER

MOD WIGGLER

Vocoder love!

Vocoder love!