Vocoder (maybe?)
Home > Home Recording Forum > Recording Techniques > Vocoder (maybe?)
Posted on May 11, 2006 01:55 pm
Josh Rose
JR Productions
Member Since: Mar 03, 2005
My friend (band mate) and I are begining to experiment with different vocal sounds and effects. There is this particular effect that sounds kind of like a vocoder to me but im not sure. We tried using a vocoder with some scratch vocals but it ended up sounding nothing like a vocal, and more so of a sythn track that just got slightly louder and quiter. I guess what I'm looking for is a better under standing of how to get a vocoder to actually work. Also im using the vocoder in Adobe audition 1.5.
Edit: The name of the person is Imogen Heap. I did a little research and it says "In 2005, artist Imogen Heap's track Hide and Seek used the vocoder exclusively, with zero other instrumental support"
Thanks
[ Back to Top ]
May 11, 2006 02:17 pm alot of the vocoder sound has to do with what sound you use as a carrier...a full synth pad will give more of a 'talking computer' kinda sound, but try something that's centered around the midrange....standard mono synth stuff can sound really cool if ya use the right sound....also play with the settings in your vocoder, generally, the more bands you have, the clearer the vocal sound is....also try auto tune, and/or a talk box if ya got 'em.
May 11, 2006 02:18 pm Would a guitar talkbox do the trick?
May 11, 2006 02:35 pm heh i remember messin' with a vocoder waaaay before i knew what it was, or how to use it...all i knew is i could make my casio keyboard talk using my Roland VS-840 back in highschool....the tune went "would you like to come and *drop one step* visit me" back up one step "in a place called *down a step* technology" heh then i was all like "eye eye eye eye ewwyii eye eye" lol i think i showed that one to Hue when he visited....havn't touched that effect yet. i've been reading up on how to incorporate it using a beats and stuff instead of just vocals as the modulator and a synth as a carrier.
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
May 12, 2006 08:25 pm I think what Josh may be talking about is the effect you get with a unit like Antares Auto Tune. I can get the same effect using the V-Vocal pluggin in Sonar 5 PE. It does sound somewhat synth like. Cher made it famous when it was over used on the track Beleive in Love or what ever it is called.
May 12, 2006 09:37 pm I have a micro korg synth with a built in vocoder, it's fun to play with but I've yet to use it in a song 8-)
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
May 12, 2006 11:07 pm When I was still playing live I bought the first Roland synth that had it built in. Way too much money for the use I got out of it. These days I use a couple differant pluggins but I still keep a hardware vocoder as well.
Josh RoseJR ProductionsMember
Since: Mar 03, 2005
May 13, 2006 10:44 am Excellent thanks for the replies everyone. Im going to download a vocoder plug-in that I saw in future music. Also the more that I think about it, the sound I'm hearing in my head sounds more and more like just extreme auto tune. None the less, a vocoder sounds like something thats worth knowing how to use.
cruxTypo SzarMember
Since: Jul 04, 2002
May 26, 2006 03:55 am Hey josh, this might be a bit late, but i know that song, and it is AMAZING.
Anyhow, i htink the sample she was using for the vocoder was something more classic, like an organ or a piano sample, maybe an electronice keyboard. It sounded like her concept was to make it so that her voice fused with her piano so much they became one. Try finding a vocoder with a more of a piano or keyboard tone to it.
Josh RoseJR ProductionsMember
Since: Mar 03, 2005
May 26, 2006 09:13 am Hey crux never too late for good info. I tried to mess around with it and never came close with a synth. Ill give it another shot this weekend with a piano. I still havent had any luck on the vocoder though.
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
May 27, 2006 02:13 pm Man Josh, I wish I woulda seen that it was Imogen Heap before. Indeed she used a vocoder and as Crux stated the synth patch was a softer organ patch. The vocoder was automated heavily to get the effect of it going in and out like that. I dont know for sure which vocoder was used though, but I am thinking she used hardware rather then software. I know I can get results similar to that using my hardware vocoder, but not nearly that intense using the software vocoder such as Orange and others.
But as Crux stated, I would start with a softer organ type patch and go from there.
