Harsh EBM/aggrotech vocal effects - how to?

[kityatyi]

Hi guys,

A newbie's question.

I would like to ask for help in achieving that typical coarse EBM-like vocal sound that artists such as Hocico and Detroit Diesel - among others - often employ. I am not familiar with actual instruments (synths and different studio equipment) and I only started messing with FL Studio a couple of years ago. I am okay with the very basics though.

I have managed to achieve a sound that is at least a little bit similar to what I would like, although I used it for one of my songs that is more rock than EBM.



Nevertheless, I am currently working on a harsh EBM/aggrotech track and I want the vocals to be decent. Since I can't really "sing", I experimented with different techniques. I found a suggestion on the Internet, which was to whisper and then use different effects. I tried "whispering" and then used the exact same effects as I used in my above-linked rock song, and the result was OK. But it's still not what I want.

Long story short, can you please suggest a surefire tip, a piece of software, or equipment that can help me achieve that typical harsh EBM vocal effect? I cannot afford to buy expensive gear but perhaps it is doable without spending a fortune.

Any suggestion is greatly appreciated, thank you in advance.

[synthgeek]

My approach is using a vocoder with white noise as the carrier (the other input that isn't your voice). You'll likely want some distortion on there too. I also like to use pitch shifting, specifically an octave up and an octave down, mixed to taste (the pitch shifting is done to the vocoded signal, rendered before other effects, with other effects then applied to all 3 copies). Modulation effects (flanger, chorus) with fast modulation for the final touch.

As for delivery, I find this works best with yelling, you'll get the whispery effect from the vocoder.

Here's a track I did using this method (not EBM, but industrial of some sort I guess):

[kityatyi]

First of all, thank you kindly for your response and congrats on the awesome track, I really enjoyed it! The vocals are exactly the kind of sound I would like to achieve.

I will go ahead and experiment with your suggestions. FL Studio has a "stock" Vocoder, I will try to figure out how to use it.

Just out of curiosity, as I am not a musician and only fiddle with my melodies in the DAW using a crap £20 USB condenser mike; can you please recommend an affordable (sure, affordable has a different meaning to everyone) microphone? I think my cheap microphone does contribute to the awful sound I always end up with. Strictly for recording, no live stuff planned.

Thank you!

[synthgeek]

First of all, thank you kindly for your response and congrats on the awesome track, I really enjoyed it! The vocals are exactly the kind of sound I would like to achieve.

Cheers, glad to help! Thanks for the kind words, much appreciated.

I will go ahead and experiment with your suggestions. FL Studio has a "stock" Vocoder, I will try to figure out how to use it.

As long as it has white noise as a carrier option, that should work just fine. I've been using this freebie, in case you want to try something else:

https://www.g200kg.com/jp/software/vocovee.html

...can you please recommend an affordable (sure, affordable has a different meaning to everyone) microphone?

I've been using something like this for vocals, around the $100 mark:

https://mxlmics.com/product/2006/

Mine is an earlier version, but similar. It requires phantom power, which may not work for your situation? From what you've said, I'm guessing you don't have a mixer or other preamp to provide that. For about the same price, you could get a Shure SM58 or something like it, which will work with anything that has an XLR jack. That isn't the general recommendation for studio vocals, but it would probably be better than what you're working with now.

[andymcbain]

Hi guys,

A newbie's question.

I would like to ask for help in achieving that typical coarse EBM-like vocal sound that artists such as Hocico and Detroit Diesel - among others - often employ. I am not familiar with actual instruments (synths and different studio equipment) and I only started messing with FL Studio a couple of years ago. I am okay with the very basics though.

I have managed to achieve a sound that is at least a little bit similar to what I would like, although I used it for one of my songs that is more rock than EBM.



Nevertheless, I am currently working on a harsh EBM/aggrotech track and I want the vocals to be decent. Since I can't really "sing", I experimented with different techniques. I found a suggestion on the Internet, which was to whisper and then use different effects. I tried "whispering" and then used the exact same effects as I used in my above-linked rock song, and the result was OK. But it's still not what I want.

Long story short, can you please suggest a surefire tip, a piece of software, or equipment that can help me achieve that typical harsh EBM vocal effect? I cannot afford to buy expensive gear but perhaps it is doable without spending a fortune.

Any suggestion is greatly appreciated, thank you in advance.

The Boss SE-50 FX unit was the way to do this back in the day, and probably still is for aggrotech folks that still own one. It's a pitch shift effect rather than a vocoder but I don't know the exact settings for recreating it in software.

[imrae]

Some fun pitch-shift effects in the latest airwindows: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=569011 - check out the "voice disguiser" sounds at around 5 mins.

[Unaspected]

The Boss SE-50 FX unit was the way to do this back in the day, and probably still is for aggrotech folks that still own one. It's a pitch shift effect rather than a vocoder but I don't know the exact settings for recreating it in software.

Spot on.

This might help further:

Agrotech/EBM/Industrial

The vocal technique used by bands such as Psyclon Nine is quite easy to produce from a well delivered whisper track. Much like with the Dalek effect, half of the work has to be done by the performer and the effect adds that extra bite.

You will need to either use four separate pitch shifters or use a processor which has four pitch shifting modules. These processors should be set to operate in parallel, with precise settings: In semitones, you will set each module by one of these values: -2, +2, -4, +4. Then adjust the mix levels for each pitch shifter to taste.

http://www.theflipsideforum.com/index.php?topic=29136.0

I will go ahead and experiment with your suggestions. FL Studio has a "stock" Vocoder, I will try to figure out how to use it.

Both of FL Studio's vocoders are great mixing/sound design tools which can take any carrier and mod signals routed to them in the mixer. I would recommend experimenting with using other textural sounds as well.

Just out of curiosity, as I am not a musician and only fiddle with my melodies in the DAW using a crap £20 USB condenser mike; can you please recommend an affordable (sure, affordable has a different meaning to everyone) microphone? I think my cheap microphone does contribute to the awful sound I always end up with. Strictly for recording, no live stuff planned.

Thank you!

USB mic means that it will have converters in the mic - which means that costs have been spread even further. It's also likely not to offer very high sample rates or bit depth for dynamic range. I can only recommend investing in an audio interface that will offer the XLR inputs required to attach a studio microphone, good preamps and converters. I'm guessing you're interested in professional studio gear rather than consumer or you wouldn't be asking here but "affordable" will likely be different if you're expecting to pay consumer level prices.

Different voices suit different mics but in general, a large diaphragm condenser mic is a good place to start when looking for a workhorse vocal mic. Though it is best to experiment with a selection if you can. You might even find that a small diaphragm "pencil" mic will work for this vocal style. If you were looking to record louder, screaming vocals then you might be best with a dynamic mic - though a nice tube mic can work wonders here as well - once you're deep down this rabbit hole and spending silly money to chase after the sound you want.

As far as value for money goes, with condensers, I'll pretty much always look to AKG first. I would also recommend that you learn how to read spec sheets - especially if you ever get into recording in a more serious capacity.

[synthgeek]

Just saw this in my youtube feed, thought it might be helpful here: