#Ableton live 10 intro vocoder Patch#
#Ableton live 10 intro vocoder full#
#Ableton live 10 intro vocoder software#

Some vocoders include an additional sensitivity parameter to further adjust this process.įormant Shift. Users of plug-ins such as AutoTune and Melodyne probably know that formant-shifting a vocal results in either chipmunk (upward) or Darth Vader (downward) effects. In Ableton Live, it’s simply “Unvoiced.” In Logic’s EVOC 20, the label is “U/V Detection.” But in all three cases, it is essentially the same feature: a highpass filter that blends in a small amount of treble content from the modulator input to emphasize the consonants. In Reason’s Vocoder, it is called “HF Emph” (for high-frequency emphasis). In this case, an additional highpass filter will help improve intelligibility for these unvoiced elements.Ĭonfusingly, this feature goes by many different names.

Unvoiced. While a vocoder’s filters can cover a broad spectrum of sound, especially when using a high number of bands, intelligibility can suffer when plosives (the letters t, d, b, and such) and sibilants ( s, z, x) are inaccurately processed by the filter bank. For vocals, these are generally set to fairly quick response times, but longer times are great for more impressionistic results. As with other envelope-following processes, such as compression and auto-wah, the envelope settings determine how quickly the effect responds to dynamic changes in volume. You can also use these to precisely adjust the detail of the vocoding effect when using other instruments as modulators.Įnvelope. These parameters are most often attack and release (or attack and decay). Generally, these parameters are handy for tuning the filter bands to accommodate the higher or lower vocal ranges of female and male vocalists, respectively.

#Ableton live 10 intro vocoder software#

As a rule of thumb, you can think of this number as the vocoder’s overall resolution.įrequency range. For software vocoders that support these parameters, you can set an upper and lower frequency for the vocoder bands, which will be divided across the number of bands available. A lower number (in the 4 to 6 range) delivers a vintage sound, while anything higher than 16 bands offers more detail, often at the expense of CPU utilisation. This determines the total number of filter bands that are applied to the carrier signal. Not every vocoder includes all of them, and some versions feature additional options, but these are the most common tools you’ll find on most modern examples. Additional controlĪ number of other parameters let you finesse the character of the vocoder’s sound. Thus, when you speak into a connected microphone, these envelopes open and close different filters, shaping the tone of the carrier’s signal. In the case of the human voice, every vowel’s formant characteristics correspond with one or more of the filter bands that process the carrier signal. The modulator is the signal that activates the vocoder’s envelope followers, each of which controls a single filter band.

#Ableton live 10 intro vocoder full#

The bottom line is that the carrier’s sound should contain a full spectrum of frequencies, with a lot of mid and high content, and no additional filtering. Modern wavetable synths, with their rich and complex character, will also work. Square waves will also work, but their hollow timbre sometimes reduces the intelligibility of the effect. Traditionally, an unfiltered sawtooth or noise waveform serves best for the basis of that sound. When using a synthesizer as the carrier, the sound should have plenty of high-end so the vocoder’s filter array can be heard. It is usually a synth, but other common options include distorted guitar and orchestral timbres because the carrier requires a broad frequency spectrum in order for the vocoder to work its magic. The carrier is the signal that is processed by the vocoder. Like the important aspects of FM synthesis and ring modulation, knowing how the carrier and modulator relate to vocoding is the crucial first step in understanding how the processing works.

Thus, the characteristics of the human voice control the behaviour of the filters that are processing that synth.

#Ableton live 10 intro vocoder Patch#

In a classic configuration, the vocoder’s filters are applied to a bright synth patch (such as strings), while the incoming signal (usually a vocal) stimulates the envelope followers, which raise and lower the volume of their associated frequency band attack and release parameters are provided for fine-tuning their response times. Blue Sky.” In software, the number of filter bands is far greater, with Logic’s EVOC 20 offering up to 20 bands, Ableton delivering 40 bands, and Reason’s BV512 including an FFT-like, 512-band setting. Vintage hardware, such as the Roland SVC-350, offered 8 to 12 analogue filter bands and provided enough intelligibility to be the lyrical focus of pop tracks like ELO’s “Mr.