Hi, I've been wondering how the vocal synth sounds from 1:00 onwards were made on Younger Brother's track Crumblenaut:
http://youtu.be/uBMevrK_HLg

I know Simon Posford has a MS20, can somebody tell me if it's pitch tracking can produce something like this?

I just recently registered and got my Silent Way working, so didn't yet have a chance to try this with my modular...

I guess if you would track the vocals with a single saw wave and some juicy filter, you could just throw in the rest of those modulations quite easily.

And, also while I'm talking about this track, I've been wondering about this kinds 90s robot voice, you can hear it briefly around 3:37... I remember this sound also from.. Hmm the PC game System Shock at least :) It's not some typical RM/AM trick, so maybe it's some speak'n'spell machine or something pitched down??

Using Celemony Melodyne it is possible to track the pitch of a vocal (or any other pitched part) very accurately and output MIDI CC messages which can then be used to control another synth via MIDI learn e.g. the pitch or filter cutoff. With the Silent Way you could convert the CC from Melodyne to CV to control the MS-20.

Simon Posford is also well know for making extensive use of an Eventide effects unit, possibly one of the top 2 unites on this page:

http://www.eventide.com/AudioDivision/Products/Harmonizer%20 Effects%20Processors.aspx

The Eventides are hideously expensive, but a plugin version was released recently that includes the harmonising and other modulation capabilities. That might be worth checking out.

Anyway, it might be possible using an MS-20 but I think the Eventide harmoniser is more likely ...

Peace,
Andy.

Roland VSynth or sampler with pitch to mod wheel, or something like melodyne

Check out this page + videos on Sonic State:

http://www.sonicstate.com/news/2007/05/17/studio-fun-korg-ms -20-pitch-tracking/

MS-20 pitch to CV tracking ...

Peace,
Andy.

V-Synth, woooaaa out of my league :D

Melodyne, wasn't it more like a static pitch editor? Or are the new versions more wild? (Ok I remember Guy Sigsworth praising it's more creative possibilites, and that's a big plus in my books...)

Yeah I saw that video, and also know that Goldfrapp track where it's supposedly used... But on that Younger Brother track the lead still retains the human-like quality, so maybe the (supposed) MS20 is driving something else via CV?

Now that I listen to those tweaks closely, on the lower register that sounds actually like some very digital stuff, like something I've heard from a FS1R or something like that...

And about V-Synth, it has a generic pitch-follower, or does it have some dedicated engine for processing vocals like this?

Found this: http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan08/articles/youngerbrothe r.htm

Yes there's a V-Synth, and also the speak'n'spells I suspected..

And about vocals:

""Sorry, but there's no secret formula. You might use something to get it in tune, then something else to f**k it up; then you might change the formant or something like that, then chop it up to get it in time. It's really all about editing and graft. We often employ lofi solutions such as putting it into the [Korg] MS20, which has a frequencytopitch converter, so you can add some analogue into the equation and mix it together.""
Last edited by Taika-Kim on Mon Dec 17, 2012 4:34 am; edited 1 time in total

As far as I know it's had this pitch tracking to CC output for several years - possibly since the first version. Melodyne is incredibly powerful software, it is far more than just static pitch correction / editing. It is very popular with producers of psy / goa and related styles (chillout, dub etc.).

Peace,
Andy.

Well I've been thinking about giving it a try one day, but when I look at piece of software I always compare it in my head to a hardware module that will still work in 30 years time with no hassle :P
So I didn't buy a lot of the more expensive stuff. (well, actually right now I've been drooling after Alchemy for some time, I'm super interested in the photomanipulation and granular stuff it would offer...I find my pain threshold somewhere around 150€, after that there's always some super exciting eurocrack thing waiting...)

But, hmm, maybe I should check that Essential edition out at least... Because the pitch tracking I already have from Silent Way for a fraction of the price of full Melodyne, and I'm making myself believe I don't need the pitch editing functions :) (hey, if it has editing of individual partials and harmonics of a sound, please don't tell me!)

But, yeah, that SOS article actually told me most things I wanted to know. So, consider the mystery solved :)