Seekers Voice Spectra 12 band analog vocoder

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YouTube Published on Aug 22, 2012 by TallmanJosh

"For sale on Ebay" Be sure to see the very bottom of this post for a note on Seekers.


via this auction

"This has a very clear sound for an analogue vocoder, a big part of why it makes voices so intelligible is the syllable function which inserts noise bursts into the signal for “s” and “sh” syllables. This is a pretty rare feature on an analogue vocoder, and it really helps with intelligiblity. The syllable function is also really cool for creating rhythms.

Here’s some info on it pulled of the interwebs [appears to be via Analogue.org]:

The Voice Spectra has good reputations in Japan for clear extent, high timbre, and for Speech Tracking Function (STF). STF is basically a pitch- to-voltage converter which functions by reading the glottal pulses of the speech signal. The control voltages from the output of the pitch extractor are fed to the VCO, so that this follow the cadences of the speech signaI. STF is an interesting additional facilities only to be found on more expensive vocoders like EMS.

Everyone familiar with vocoding will appreciate the Voice spectras compressor and Voiced/Unvoiced detector*.

The Voice spectra is a high quality studio-vocoder, appreciated by the staff at music studios, professional musicians, etc. in Japan. The articulation of the output signal is extremely good, being distinguished by remarkable clarity and distinctiveness. This quality of articulation, among other things, is what distinguishes SKY soundlab from other less sophisticated vocoders like the MAM VF11. The Voice spectra comes with an inbuilt power supply as well.

*If the air from the lungs is not forced through the vocal chords, but simply expelled through the mouth, then so ralled UNVOICED sounds are produced, such as `f' or `h'. These are basically similar to the type of sounds which can be produced by a noise generator. Most excitation signals do not have a sufficiently wide dynamic spectrum to synthesise the sound of sibilants (`s', `h', etc.). For this reason the voiced/unvoiced detector ensures that the noise generator provides the synthesiser section with the appropriate `raw material' whenever the excitation signal cannot do so.

The voice can be seen as a complex sound generating instrument, consisting of a frequency and amplitude-controlled oscillator (the vocal chords and lungs), a noise generator (the lungs) and a set of tone filters (the mouth and nasal cavities).

Technical specifications

Mic-line inputs: MIC -40dBm / 47K Line: 0dBm / 20K

Synthesis/Instrument Input: 0dBm / 100K
Output: +0dBm

Filterbank:12 Analysing filters and 12 Synthesizing filters

#01 90 - 130 (Hz)
#02 130 - 190
#03 190 - 280
#04 280 - 410
#05 410 - 610
#06 610 - 900
#07 900 - 1340
#08 1340 - 1950
#09 1950 - 2800
#10 2800 - 4100
#11 4100 - 6070
#12 6070 - 8900

Internal excitation sources: white noise generator and sawtooth oscillator (20-900Hz). Both may be gated by the voiced/unvoiced detector. Oscillator frequency fixed or tracking mode.

Metering: LED for speech and excitation levels"

So, regarding Seekers, some of you might remember this beauty. See the Seekers label below for more. There was a real Seekers manufacturer that made this vocoder and then there was Elhardt.