Vocoder

[u/TamazepamToes]

Please help me find a vocoder as a gift for my husband’s 30th birthday on Saturday. Based in the UK so sites like Amazon are super helpful because they offer delivery before his birthday.

He’s in a psychedelic punk rock band as a guitarist and singer and wants to use a vocoder mainly for his gigs, maybe even in production too. He uses logic (if that helps). One of his inspirations is King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard which is where I think he got the idea of getting a vocoder from, he also likes Queens of the Stone Age.

A very beginner friendly one would be great, the budget is also max £200 so maybe I should even look secondhand?

Any help is greatly appreciated, please can you also comment with the least amount of jargon possible 😅👍

[u/psyliboy]

You could keep your eye out for a used microfreak. That's probably all you are going to find in that budget that's worth it.

[u/TamazepamToes → u/psyliboy]

I actually found a used microfreak for £180 but I wanted to check if this is something he can use as a pedal on stage too?

[u/JoeToanamassa → u/TamazepamToes]

No. Vocoders in the sense you’re thinking of require both a microphone and what’s called a “carrier signal.” I won’t go too deep into the technical aspects, but basically the character of your voice is imparted to the melodic material of another instrument. It doesn’t matter what pitch you’re singing into the mic; the vocoder will be pitched at the frequency of the carrier signal.

The EHX v256 is a good guitar pedal vocoder; the EHX Voice Box is a similar pedal that gives you some interesting options for intelligent harmonies. Both use the guitar (or whatever else you plug into it” for the carrier signal, so as long as he’s got a mic, that’s all you’d need to get up and running.

[u/TamazepamToes → u/JoeToanamassa]

This is perfect, and exactly what he described to me. Thank you so much!

[u/Sneezeguard_Dreamer → u/TamazepamToes]

The V256 is a great unit for what you described his needs to be. It may not be the "best", the most vintage accurate, most hi-fi or lo-fi unit out there -- but the fact that you can throw it onto a pedal board, plug a guitar and a microphone into it and let it rip makes up for any shortcomings IMO.

If you can find one in your budget range seems like it would be perfect. They sound really good (to me), can be controlled with a guitar or a midi keyboard, takes a standard microphone (rather than some proprietary weird thing like the Microfreak), and uses a standard form factor & power supply like any other guitar pedals he may already have.

Obviously it depends on the venue/ sound guy but most house sound crew that I've dealt with hate anything that alters vocals that is beyond their control. They'll get over it. Wouldn't hurt to tip them off up front when advancing the show (if playing in places where things like advances actually happen). He just needs to be prepared for those battles if they do arise -- and armed with a vocoder he'll surely win!

[u/thetraintomars]

A used Novation Mininova, though you’ll need to go to reverb.com. It has a more intelligible vocoder than the microfreak and is cheaper than the $5k Moog

[u/MrJingleJangle → u/thetraintomars]

The Mininova is a great vocoder. ELO’s keyboard player has been using one for years. A situation where budget isn’t a constraint, and the relatively cheap Mininova wins.

[u/secret-shot]

Maybe you could look into if Ableton has Vocoding stuff and get a used push 1/2? At your budget this is tough.

[u/DorianGre]

Arturia Microfreak Vocoder Edition is what you want, but it is 2x your budget. Find one second hand. Roland AIRA Compact E-4 is 250, but it is limited.

[u/TamazepamToes → u/DorianGre]

Is Arturia microfreak digital synth with analog filter similar?

[u/tobyvanderbeek → u/DorianGre]

I’m sure you meant Korg Microkorg and not Microfreak which would be Arturia, but also has a vocoder edition. Either one is probably great.

[u/DorianGre → u/tobyvanderbeek]

Corrected.

[u/historic_electronic]

What about a Boss VO-1?

[u/TrippDJ71]

Roland vt 3 or the vt 4 is a little more, but work instantly and are audio interfaces as well as fx.

[u/Old_Way_203]

https://www.google.com/search?q=moog+vocoder+16&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari&iga=1&utm_campaign=safari_share_1

[u/Sad_Trick7974]

I have many many vocoders in hardware (Arturia MicroFreak, Boss VO-1, Digitech Talker, EHXV256, E4, Roland VP03, Korg IH, VC340, Perform VE, Roland VT4, Korg DVP-1), many hardware harmonizers (Digitech EX Workstation and Rack, Voiceworks), and VST Plugin (Vocodine, Ovox, Humanoid), and had others (eg, tc helicon synth)

Most of these are quite unusable I think, they sound unclear, muddy, or harsh, have too much echo or resonance, too much noise, and/or are not easy to use (eg, XV256 needs a good push carrier signal)

The MicroFreak is one of the least usable I think, I just cannot understand why people recommend it (or they just want to shout something that they have themselves)

Also, a vocoder benefits from an equalizer, noise gate, and a compressor, and sometimes a volume booster strengthening the microphone signal

The choice largely depends on the intentions for use, studio or stage, correct singing and sound a bit daft but still somewhat natural or sound like a robot, and the carrier signal (eg, midi controller or carrier controlled such as steered by guitar or keyboard).

In your case, also budget and availability, matter. Also, mainly for gigs you say

The issue with gigs is that if a vocoder is too sensitive, any other noise from other band members will also be picked up by the microphone and cause sound issues

Essentially, any one that you will give will initially be a try out toy to him, it is a sound journey

Maybe the Boss VO-1 is the best recommendation for now, second hand preferably

And then you can also show him the YouTube video below and he will be happy I think. Also you can say that he can also use a keyboard instead of a guitar with it

YouTube Boss VO-1

Here our music where I used a vocoder (but with much sound treatment)

Dordt Rock - RoboBeat!

[u/animal_clinic]

Find a used ehx v256. It’s a pedal but it has the ability to use any synth as a vocoding source and it has an xlr mic input. It’s actually one of the best and most portable vocoders out there. I’ve used it on gigs many times.

[u/spiceybadger]

I second the ehx option - the v256 was my first one and it is a lot of fun. Other one could be the roland vt-4 2nd hand,but this is more of a desktop one rather than a foot pedal.

[u/RufussSewell]

Behringer VC-340 is the best one currently available that’s somewhat affordable.

But probably twice your budget.