Vocoders Comparison

"A comparison of the four vocoder-equipped MIDI synths I own. I haven't spent a lot of time fiddling with the settings on each synth, so these are by no means the only vocoder sounds they can produce. However, it is possible to tell that each has its own distinct character.

The Redsound Vocoda has a nice grunge to it, but has the disadvantage of only being monophonic, when using its own oscillator.

The Nova's 40-band vocoder is the smoothest, unsurprisingly, but as a result doesn't really have that robotic sound I like in a vocoder.

The Nord Modular, being a virtual modular is by far the most flexible, so the example only hints at the range of vocoder-type sounds possible with this synth.

The DVP-1 is a surprise. It sounds pretty bad in this example. I suspect it will need a bit more pre/post-processing work to get the best out it. Though all these vocoders are digitally modelled, I have a feeling the DVP-1 is less closely based on the traditional analogue vocoder setup than the others, which could explain the lack of the kind of controls you'd expect from an analogue vocoder on this unit.

I've added an example of the DVD-1s Harmonise mode at the end, just for fun.

With apologies to Leftfield and Africa Bambaataa"