electrix warpfactory vocoder

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video upload by TallmanJosh- Aug 24, 2012

"Vocoder" The higher number of bands the clearer the vocoding. Similar to bit reduction but different of course. Vocoding deals with harmonic bands while bit reduction deals with the number of digital bits sampling a sound.



via this auction


"Here's a bit of a review from sound on sound explaining all of the units functions:
The front panel is divided into three main sections, the first of which is Formant Input. Here there's a variable-gain mic amp with XLR input, basic 3-LED level metering, and a Select button that scrolls around Mic, Line (Ess On), Line (Ess Off), and Auto. The Ess On setting is designed to help vocals remain clear after processing, while the other setting is used for instruments. I suspect that Ess On routes vocal fricatives (sibilant 'S' and 'T' sounds) directly to the output, though no technical explanation is given. The Auto setting vocodes the Source input with itself, so any peaks and dips in the frequency response are exaggerated.

Next is the Formant Warp section, whose controls include:

Band, which optimises performance for low- or high-frequency sounds, with the lower setting designed for use with drums, bass instruments, and so on. Once again, no explanation of exactly how this works is given, but it's my guess that it changes the frequencies of the vocoder filter bands. Gender, which moves the formant of the sound feeding the Formant input (usually a voice) up or down without changing the musical pitch.

Q and Order, which affect the Q (bandwidth) and resolution of the digital filters. Playing with these brings about some very noticeable timbral changes: as Q is advanced, the sound quality becomes more resonant, as you'd expect, but it also seems more granular and electronic. Order reduces the intelligibility of the voice and rounds the sound out more, so for clearer enunciation lower settings are best. Noise Mix, for adding noise into the Source signal path, which can help make vocal effects more intelligible, not to mention more hissy and menacing.

Formant Freeze, which allows the filter shape to be frozen at any instant in time, for static filtering.

An oscillator is also included, to allow users to generate the familiar budget sci-fi robot voice effect. This is variable from 92Hz to 241Hz, or it may be switched off. As in the case of the FilterFactory, all the controls output and receive MIDI controller data, so sequencer automation of any function is possible, and a MIDI dump of the current settings can be made.

In the Output section you'll find a Mix control, but this mixes only between the Source input and the treated signal. It isn't possible to mix any of the Formant input directly into the output to improve intelligibility, unless you use an external mixer. The Source Kill button, however, is quite useful. When this is switched on there is no audio output from the WarpFactory unless both inputs are present, while if it is switched off the Source signal will continue to sound even if the Formant input stops."