Synthmaster Vocoder

[dakkra]

So I'm trying to use Synth Masters Vocoder. I send audio to the track that has the Synth Master FX plugin. I activate the Vocoder. After that I'm lost. Please help me. I would love to use Synth Masters amazing sound as a cover for my voice.

[paterpeter]

You need to actually play notes with Synthmaster so that there is a carrier.

[dakkra]

You need to actually play notes with Synthmaster so that there is a carrier.

OK but where does the sound of the carrier come from? When I change one oscillator to make a sound as compared to audio in, it doesn't stop.

My setup is an audio in track, forwards to the synthmasterfx track, then on the synhtmasterfx track I have the vocoder enabled and the mix at 100%. I still hear my voice but it has been decreased in volume and its only slightly different in sound.

[paterpeter]

Do you see movement in the "modulator spectrum" window in SM? You should see "your voice" in that screen during playback.

The sound of the carrier is generated by SynthMasterFX. The audio that is playing when you send MIDI notes to SMFX is modulated by the input.

What DAW are you using?

Here's how to set it up in Reaper:
- Assume your modulator (e.g. a voice track) is on track 1
- Add a new track (track 2), add SynthMasterFX on track 2
- create a send from track 1 to track 2
- disable parent/master output of track 1 (so you don't hear the modulator)
- add and enable the Vocoder module somewhere in SMFX (e.g. on Bus 1)
- turn vocoder mix to 100%
- At this point, when you press play you should hear NOTHING, but see the modulator input in the Modulator Spectrum window
- set track 2 input to MIDI, enable monitoring and arm the track for recording. If you now play on your MIDI keyboard while Reaper is playing you should hear the desired output

(Instead of using sends, you can also use folder tracks. You can also put everything on one track, but it get's a bit messy wrt MIDI if your modulator is a MIDI instrument itself)

Here's how to set it up in Studio One:
- create a track with your modulator (instrument or audio track, depending on the nature of the modulator)
- add SMFX as an insert to track 1
- add a second track, make it an instrument track
- on track 2, choose the SMFX instance as the destination of the instrument track
- enable the Vocoder on SMFX
- enable monitoring and arm track 2 for recording
- while S1 is playing and you play notes on your keyboard, you should hear the desired sound

Other DAWs are probably similar.

[dakkra]

Ok so I have audio from my mic going directly into synthmaster. I enable the vocoder and turn the mix all the way up. I can hear my voice but it has been slightly changed and I'm not pressing any keys on my Midi Keyboard.

I'm Using Mulab 5 as my DAW.

Oh an yes I see "my voice" in the monitor of the vocoder

[paterpeter]

When you don't press a key you shouldn't hear your voice (provided the mix is really at 100%), so there's something wrong I suppose.

I don't know anything about Mulab, so I can't give detailed instructions. I'll download it and see if I can get it to work.

Edit: I installed Mulab and can reproduce your situation. Track 1: the modulator, track 2: an instrument routed to a SynthMasterFX instance on the same track as the modulator. But somehow SMFX doesn't receive any MIDI from track 2. Also, I can hear the (somehow modified) modulator through SynthMasterFX.

Maybe there's a Mulab expert who knows what's going on.

[dakkra]

I'll see. The Mulab community is rather small even compared to the Synthmaster community. I know at least one user has Synthmaster so I'll ask around. Thanks for your help though. Really appreciate it.

[MuTools]

I installed SM and tried to check what you guys are talking about but i'm a bit lost in SM's architecture e.g. i don't see an audio input for SM so how to route audio into SM?

Can you please email me a simple MuLab session (.MuSession) with SM plugged in and setup in a way you would expect it to work with its vocoder.

[dakkra]

You should use the Synthmaster fx plugin.Then rout the audio track to the SMFX track. Then under the Fx tab on SMFX enable the vocoder by clicking the vocoder button under the global RX bus1 window. Then turn the mix on the vocoder to 100 percent. That's where we run into issues. I'll make a Musession as soon as I get a chance.

[MuTools]

Ok, i plugged in the SM FX version. I route a voice track to SM FX and i see the vocoder display activity. At the same time i send notes to SM FX, selected a pad preset and can hear a synth sound. But i can't get it to 'vocode' the voice. I don't know the internals of SM. I can only look from MuLab's side, but i can't see what would be wrong on MuLab's side. If you need me to do some test in order to sort this out, let me know.

[dakkra]

I think we should do some testing. I can get it to sort of work. I have the first oscillator changed to a saw. Then I have the vocoder enabled. I turn the mix up. Then I can hear my voice being changed into a saw. I have two outputs now. One is with out pressing keys on my keyboard. The second is when I press keys on my keyboard. The first output never ends even when I press keys to activate the second output. I'll see if i can find a way to get this to work. If you guys can get it to work please let me know

[MuTools]

@paterpeter: Do you suspect MuLab doing something wrong? If yes, why? Looking forward to sort this out.

[dakkra]

I made a work around where i have the vocoder being sent through a pitch corrector

[waltercruz]

how to make the vocoder work on ableton live?

[baconpriest]

how to make the vocoder work on ableton live?

Is it possible?