vocoder

This is one of the stranger official product demos we’ve seen in a while. And strange is good.

First, the beautiful tattooed underground superlegend Kendra demos the Electro-Harmonix V246 Vocoder by doing her best T-Pain.

After a little technical background and some gender-bending discussion, Rick sings the Electro-Harmonix V246 Vocoder song.

Later, Rick demos the Metal Muff.

Host David Wills shows you how to use the BV512 Vocoder in Propellerhead Reason 4.

via ProAudioDVDs

What is a vocoder? This video offers one answer.

A vocoder (a combination of the words voice and encoder) is an analysis / synthesis system, in which a sound is analyzed in a set number of frequencies, and the volume of the sound at each of these frequencies is applied to a second sound.

The most common application of this is to make a synthesizer “talk”.

via VoiceEncoder

Kenaxis has released version 3.1 of Kenaxis, for Mac and Windows -  the namesake product in its line of real-time audio performance software. The update adds OSC (Open Sound Control) compatibility and an FFT Phase Vocoder.

KenaxisOSC enables Kenaxis to communicate with a variety of hardware and software interfaces including consumer devices as familiar as the iPod touch, the iPhone and Wii remotes. Combining OSC with the powerful audio-design tools of Kenaxis opens a whole new range of possibilities for musicians and artists working in live audio performance.

In addition, while Kenaxis 3.1 is loaded with its trademark Granular Synthesis tools, the new FFT Phase Vocoder offers an alternative technique for sonic time stretching and freezing. The Phase Vocoder will appeal to musicians who desire more organic, analog-sounding textures in their performances and compositions, says Kenaxis Creative.

Key Features:

• Intuitive Performance Interface: 6 loop players, mixer and master mixer. Clear, compact display of all parameters allows the musician to monitor and manipulate every aspect of the performance.
• Powerful Tools: pitch modulation, delay, granular synthesis, convolution, analog synthesis, 12 band parametric EQs, automated envelopes and filters, random file players and VST support – allows for sonic possibilities not possible with hardware components, at a fraction of the cost.
• Adjustable Crossfades and Insert Silence features: allows for maximum real-time loop manipulation – eliminate clicks, create drones or sparse textures.
• Multiple Audio Sources: Drag and drop sound files, synthesize sounds or capture live sound on the fly.
• OSC and MIDI compatible: Faster and with higher resolution than MIDI, OSC (Open Sound Control) allows the musician to ‘play’ Kenaxis with the iPod, iPod Touch, Wii controller, Lemur and other OSC devices and software.
• FFT Phase Vocoder: An organic and “more analog-sounding” time-stretching alternative. Pinpoint sounds in the spectrum analysis tool to stretch, freeze and manipulate.

Kenaxis is available for Windows and Mac OS X, and is priced at $135. Kenaxis Bundle costs $185 (includes Kenaxis, Kenaxis Surround and Kenaxis Visualizer). Site License pricing is available.

In this official Ableton Live video, Huston Singletary demonstrates vocoding with the Ableton Vocoder.

Vocoders use a multiband filter to apply the amplitude of various frequencies of a source sound, such as your voice, to another sound. Vocoders are probably best known from the voice of the Cylons on Battlestar Galactica and other sci fi robots.

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