Voice through synth?

[asomata]

I have heard in a few places, let's use Puscifer's "Indigo Children" as an example, Maynard's voice is run through a synth.

Depending on the synth, it can get a really cool sound. Now is there anything available that would let me do this? Preferably software, as it's usually cheaper and my budget is pretty freakin' small.

I've looked on google, but I guess I don't know what to search for since nothing even related has come up.

[aworldofviolets]

vocoder's are one way (they're kind of like the equivalent to a talk box for a guitar, except keyboard style), there's probably software. There was a similar thread on this about week ago, search through the forum for it

[uwpro]

i suppose you could use audacity (free download) and then run a couple of VST's over it. get the vst's from mosephs list of freeware)

[asomata]

Thank you, but I don't think the sort of sound is coming through a vocoder. The nuances of the voice still seem intact. I would assume its some sort of effect, but in the song I'm thinking of, it has a lot of the same qualities as the bass synth in the song. There are also times where the voice rises/lowers almost artificially, like the notes that are being sung are being played on a keyboard.

You can hear the song here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XGu7sbIIqk

Perhaps its just a sort of auto-tuner and a weird distortion?

Or maybe theres a way to make vocoders retain more of the natural voice that I just haven't figured out?

[Moseph]

Thank you, but I don't think the sort of sound is coming through a vocoder. The nuances of the voice still seem intact. I would assume its some sort of effect, but in the song I'm thinking of, it has a lot of the same qualities as the bass synth in the song. There are also times where the voice rises/lowers almost artificially, like the notes that are being sung are being played on a keyboard.

You can hear the song here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XGu7sbIIqk

Perhaps its just a sort of auto-tuner and a weird distortion?

Or maybe theres a way to make vocoders retain more of the natural voice that I just haven't figured out?


Roughly what time are you referring to when you hear the effect you want in that video?

What you're describing is a textbook usage of vocoders by the way.

[Blakfeld]

Sounds like a vocoder with some distortion to me. I think it may just be an LFO and some distortion though. Its not auto tune though.

[asomata]

Hah, I do suppose I was describing the point of a vocoder, I just meant I thought when a vocoder was used the voice lost its nuances, whereas in that song, it remains pretty much intact.

And the effect is through the entire song, do you hear how the voice has this low growl-ish distortion? I suppose it could be various effects, but I can swear I hear it change pitch unnaturally sometimes.

Regardless, it seems like a vocoder could get the effect I'm describing? What sort of settings would I use to make it more like, 'human voice with synth qualities' and less like 'robot voice?'

[Moseph]

Hah, I do suppose I was describing the point of a vocoder, I just meant I thought when a vocoder was used the voice lost its nuances, whereas in that song, it remains pretty much intact.

And the effect is through the entire song, do you hear how the voice has this low growl-ish distortion? I suppose it could be various effects, but I can swear I hear it change pitch unnaturally sometimes.

Regardless, it seems like a vocoder could get the effect I'm describing? What sort of settings would I use to make it more like, 'human voice with synth qualities' and less like 'robot voice?'

If you change the carrier signal's timbre, you can get all sorts of different behaviors.

Case in point: most touch-tone phones over a land-line operate using vocoders that aren't that dissimilar to your typical musical vocoder. And those signals are robotic sounding at all.

I'd start with white noise and an equalizer, and go from there.

[Aaron]

Audacity 1.34, Vocoder VST plug-in, v-reverb.