Xils 201 (Emulation of Sennheiser VSM 201 Vocoder) (Intro price)

[Lotuzia]

XILS-lab X-201 Vocoder

An exceptional clarity: The X-201 Vocoder was modeled after an ultra rare, ultra pricey, even when it was released, Vocoder unit, whose intelligibility has never been surpassed (The X201 is inspired by the Sennheiser VSM 201)

It's the missing link between artists like Kraftwerk, Herbie Hancock, Frank Farian (BoneyM, Milli Vanilli etc), many Cyclon Robots or Droid in Star Wars and Battlestar Gallactica and … Daft Punk (RAM)



Until July 31st 2020
XILS 201 Intro Price: 89€
Analog Vocoders Bundle Intro Price: 119€
Analog Vocoders Bundle upgrade intro price (if you already own the X-5000 vocoder): 39€

*Two Filter Banks: Each of it's two Filter Banks offer 20 frequency bands. Each Filter Bank can process the incoming signal ( Usually voice, but any other signal, including drums, can be processed) , or the CARRIER signal. As a comparison, the Roland VP-330 only had 10 frequency bands, with a very musical sound, at the price of much less clarity.
*The Carrier: It can be the internal analog Synthesizer. Which immediately gives the X201 its characteristic and recognizable sound. Or any other incoming signal, like an external Synthesizer ( Make bells 'sing'), another voice etc.
* The Silence Bridging: Under this exotic name you'll find a (MultiBand) frequency dependant Enveloppe Follower engine, which will shape the signal gain according to it's harmonic content, and is very useful to process percussive or rhythmic sonic material for example, or give contour to the sound.
*So how does it work -in any Daw-? Usual scenario: You record your voice, even without actually singing, then choose the internal synth as the Carrier. Then you send Midi notes to the Carrier to make your voice sing these notes (or chords, because the engine is polyphonic). Et voilà.
* More is more: On the X201, we exposed internal circuitry parameters that were not available on the original unit, making it more versatile, and powerful.
* We also added some vintage analog modeled effects: Chorus, Phaser, Delay and an 'early digital' reverb unit. ( Custom Effect routing and order )
* As a Mutli FX: This means that you can also use the X201 as a simple Filter Bank/Chorus/Phaser/Delay/Reverb MultiEffect. Try it on a Rhodes, Clavinet or String Machine patch, and rediscover plenty of these vintage organic sounds that required a big chain of vintage effects to be achieved.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9modOKZdRM
A la Daft punk + how to use it in Cubase

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIk7ymQW4Jw
Processing a Rhodes Loop : Re-harmonize, re-phrase, re-shape sound

More infos, demo versions etc.

[Calenberger]

Good timing. Interesting. Will demo...

[Stefken]

I'm not convinced by the demo's but I'd like to be convinced. If you reference Daft Punk and cylons then I want to hear their iconic sounds coming out of that speaker. I didn't.
But good vocoding often needs some work. The right carrier, the right settings,..
Give it your best shot and convince me.

[Calenberger]

Indeed, the carrier audio is crucial. Looking forward to testing the silence bridging which may smoothen the output more than usual.

[Lotuzia]

I'm not convinced by the demo's but I'd like to be convinced. If you reference Daft Punk and cylons then I want to hear their iconic sounds coming out of that speaker. I didn't.
But good vocoding often needs some work. The right carrier, the right settings,..
Give it your best shot and convince me.

Like Calenberger said for the carrier settings, but also : The original signal. So I'd crucially need the og Daft Punk voices to begin with, then the additionnal EQ/Comps !!!!/Reverb etc they used, because additionnaly to the Vocoder they spend a lot of time on vocal lines, and use a lot of gear. Also, depending on tunes, they use other Vocoders (like the EMS, which Xils 5000 emulates btw)

Same goes for all other og signals, (robots etc) Vocoder are really heavily depending on these signals. This said I think the relationship with Daft Punk sound is very obvious, but Ymmv.

You can try the demo anyway, to decide by yourself. I think the term 'exeptionnal clarity' combined with 'analog goodness' define the plug very well.

[wagtunes]

So I went to Youtube and listened to the XILS 201 Daft Punk demo and then listened to the actual Daft Punk song. They don't sound anything alike. Daft Punk actually sounds more like an autotuned vocal than a vocoded vocal. There's way more human vocal mixed in whereas the XILS demo sounds totally vocoded.

As vocoders go, it sounds pretty basic, albeit with very good sound quality. And while it's a limited demo (I'm assuming there are many more sounds you can get out of it) it doesn't sound like anything you can't get out of any other quality vocoder, including the XILS 5000.

I guess if you don't own any vocoders, at this intro price, it's a good deal and worth picking up.

[plexuss]

The 201 is a very nice vocoder and this emulation is very good! I have the Xils 5000 so I upgraded to the bundle. This is vocal track of my friend's song through the 201 with a string patch as carrier. I'm just noodling the playing. Default preset.

https://soundcloud.com/musicofplexus/hello-50-vocode

[Captain]

Looks very interesting, but when the official marketing text is full of spelling and grammar mistakes, that doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence. It’s not difficult to use a proofreader nowadays, either human or software.

[kelvyn]

Big fan of the XILS 5000 and extremely interested in what this brings to the table. Got a new track that’s crying out for a vocoder:)
Purchased without demoing:)

[Lotuzia]

So I went to Youtube and listened to the XILS 201 Daft Punk demo and then listened to the actual Daft Punk song. They don't sound anything alike. Daft Punk actually sounds more like an autotuned vocal than a vocoded vocal. There's way more human vocal mixed in whereas the XILS demo sounds totally vocoded.
..................
I guess if you don't own any vocoders, at this intro price, it's a good deal and worth picking up.

It's not supposed to sound identical to any precise Daft Punk song, or to be a cover, in the backing instruments, or vocals. It's 'A la Daft Punk'. I just tried to make a ' DF similar' track, based on my mixed souvenirs of misc. tracks.

From what I quickly read on this matter, DF can also use a vovoder + 'autotune or similar', or + 'Talk Box or similar', to create their vocal lines. They don't seem to limit themselves in any way to explore and stretch the 'almost human' voices kingdom.

For those who are interested by analog vocoders, you can also demo the Analog Vocoders Bundle ( Xils 201 -Sennheiser + Xils 5000 -EMS-). It will save you money. Or upgrade from the V5000 to the Bundle (For a ridiculous price)

[Lotuzia]

Looks very interesting, but when the official marketing text is full of spelling and grammar mistakes, that doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence. It’s not difficult to use a proofreader nowadays, either human or software.

Thanks for the warning. i'll fw this to Xils.

[Lotuzia]

The 201 is a very nice vocoder and this emulation is very good! I have the Xils 5000 so I upgraded to the bundle. This is vocal track of my friend's song through the 201 with a string patch as carrier. I'm just noodling the playing. Default preset.

https://soundcloud.com/musicofplexus/hello-50-vocode

Excellent

[Lotuzia]

Big fan of the XILS 5000 and extremely interested in what this brings to the table. Got a new track that’s crying out for a vocoder:)
Purchased without demoing:)

I think It will compliment the 5000 very well. Besides the different sound/possibilities, I find the X201 easier and faster to operate than the 5000. 5000 can become very very complex if you dive into it.

[Captain]

Just for the heck of it, here’s my updated version of the product description. I’m not saying it’s perfect even now, and some of the language is still a little clumsy (I’m not a native English speaker or marketing pro), but I guarantee it’s already much better and contains less mistakes than the original. For example, be consistent with the product name (is it X-201 or X201?), the robots in Battlestar Galactica are Cylons (not Cyclons), it's spelled "multi" (not "mutli"), etc. Looks like the interface could also use some work, but at least the word "remplacement" (visible on the website) seems to have been fixed for the Youtube video.

Feel free to use it, further edit it, or ignore it, it’s up to you.

XILS-lab X201: Vocoder… and a vintage multi effect

Exceptional clarity: The X201 Vocoder was modelled after an ultra rare, ultra pricey (even when it was released) vocoder unit, whose intelligibility has never been surpassed.

It's the missing link between artists like Kraftwerk, Herbie Hancock, Frank Farian (Boney M, Milli Vanilli etc), Cylon robots in Battlestar Galactica, droids in Star Wars, and… Daft Punk (RAM).

Two Filter Banks: Each of the two Filter Banks offers 20 frequency bands. Each Filter Bank can process either the incoming signal (usually human voice, but any other signal, including drums, can also be processed), or the carrier signal. For comparison, the Roland VP-330 only had 10 frequency bands, with a very musical sound, at the price of much less clarity.

The Carrier: You can use the internal analog synthesizer as a carrier, which immediately gives the X201 its characteristic and recognisable sound. Any other incoming signal can also be used, like an external synthesizer, another human voice, etc.

The Silence Bridging: This exotic title hosts a multiband frequency dependent envelope follower engine, which shapes the signal gain according to its harmonic content. It's very useful for processing percussive or rhythmic sonic material, or to contour the sound.

So how does it work in any DAW? The usual scenario: You record your voice, even without actually singing, then choose the internal synth as the carrier. Then you send MIDI notes to the carrier to make your voice sing these notes (or chords, because the engine is polyphonic). Et voilà.

More is more: On the X201, we exposed internal circuitry parameters that were not available on the original unit, making it more versatile and powerful.

We also added some vintage analog modelled effects: Chorus, Phaser, Delay and an 'early digital' reverb unit. You can also configure custom effect routing and order.

As a multi effect: You can also use the X201 as a simple Filter Bank/Chorus/Phaser/Delay/Reverb multieffect. Try it on a Rhodes, Clavinet or String Machine patch, and rediscover these vintage organic sounds that required a long chain of vintage effects.

[Lotuzia]

Thanks Captain, yes it's better . I already spotted the 'it's' and 'Rhythmic' and a few other things, but I would never have found the Cylons.

I wonder if offer should not be replaced by 'offers' too (each of the two filter banks offerS ....')

The 'Mutli' typo probably pleased those who take Muesli with their coffee.

Anayway I've transmitted this new version to Xils. Thanks again.