PlanetZ forums - scopeusers.com

Can anyone compare and contrast these to with respect to non-vocoder uses? sound design etc.

Once I´ve tested the vorb for an hour, I don´t know if there is a demo version out actual, so that you could test it.
There must be a demo of Vokator at the NI webpage.

As far as I can remember Vorb is really easy to handle, not much knobs to tweak but a great sound.

I can tell you something about the Vokator, ´cause I learn it actualy for a live session this weekend.

Vokator is real complex and it will overextend you the first time you use it.
But it is designed to do nearly everything a vocoder can and more.
You need some time to get into it, but it is worth the time. You can hide the parameters you don´t need at any time, so Vokator can be very clear to work on.

A vocoder needs always two signals to work as a vocoder. The two signals A and B, will be analysed to two main informations. The frequence spectrum and the phase information for several spectrum blocks. A vocoder combine the two signals upon bands to a new one, you can feed your voice to modulate a drumloop or a pad sound or the other way around.

More bands will give you a clearer sound, less bands will give you the robotic sound you probably know from electronic music productions.

Vokator has up to 1024 bands spread over the whole sound spectrum but can be switched down to 4 bands to work like a vintage vocoder.

You can feed the Vokator with every signal you can imagine. It can be load as an effect on a group channel in your favourite sequencer program(VST,DirectX). Just route two audio tracks,live instruments or mics, one panned to right one to left, to the group and start vocoding. You can switch Vokator to different modes to combine the signals, A*B B*A A+B or you can open a mixer to mix all modes together.

Also Vokator has wave file players and a built in synthesizer that can be used to feed Vokator with signals.
The synth is very efficient, two oscillators, multi mode filter, arpeggiator. Very interesting on the synth is, that you can store up to five stages of parameter settings and morph between them.

Signal A and B, can use several effects before they are combined, delay, compressors to boost the signal and some spectral effects to smear, shuffle and chop up the spectrum.

The output has an additinal EQ, shown by a graphical curve envelope to boost or cut frequences of the result to your demands.

Finally Vokator has four LFOs and step sequencers and an envelope follower that can tweak any parameter of Vokator automatically.

You see many things can be done with the Vokator and for sure it will be a long companion for me.

Vorb is an easy to use Vocoder, Vokator gives you many options for future demands.
Both are digital Vocoders, that makes them sound clear and they newer can replace a warm sounding vintage Vocoder like the Roland VP330 for example(I played one some days ago,wow).

It depends, as always, on what you want.

Maybe some Vorb user will join in here and write something?

_________________
Music starts where any language ends<br>
<a href="http://www.spring-of-sound.de">Spring-Of-Sound.de</a>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: ChrisWerner on 2006-04-11 03:16 ]</font>

yes Chris, you've well described what's on the surface
now let's look under the blanket...

imho the programs have much more in common than their appearance may suggest.
Vocator is another (specialized) Reaktor springoff, as Vorb cannot deny it's Flexor heritage and is an integral part of the SFP system.

So if one likes it's internal synth can be replaced by Minimax or whatever you prefer.
Any parameter in Vorb that's midi controllable (the XY panel comes to mind) may also be assigned to stepsequencers as in Modular, Flexor, Wolf's or external devices.

Imho this 'loose integration' is a big advantage of Vorb.
You could assign (for example) the controller values of Vectron's panel to their Vorb counterparts and you'll have 2 strangely synced devices - the singer (or guitarist, wind player or whoever) would be automatically 'in tune' with the keyboarder...

I'm not so certain that Vorb cannot come close to a typical analog piece of gear - if that's intended or desired is a different question, tho.
The internal synth got it's 'metallic' accent from it's sample sources probably.

Without question the NI products have their sonic use - nice word-play and fill their corner in the spectrum (Chris has great results with them).

Yet I find their noiseprint slightly irritating.
I have (bought!) the B4 myself, compared the original DX7 and TX802 to FM7, recently GuitarRig to Celmo's and to my ears ALL their stuff 'sounds' identical.
The individual tone varies of course and it definetely 'sounds good', but a hard A/B ing as with the guitar is an almost frightening experience (imho).

I really didn't add the last paragraph as a contra NI statement - it's not easy to get 'their' sound with SFP devices, if that is what's missing in the mix.

But people have asked frequently for 'new' atoms by CWA for Scope, because the current ones are 'old' and supposed to be outdated...

Compare Minimax to Solaris to Uberplastic to Bluewave to Vectron to Synthetic
Modular and EDS to Flexor and KickMe
Masterverb to STW 100 series, Vocodizer to Vorb (to bring this back to the topic)

what an acoustic range - you really don't know what gems you have...

cheers (and sorry for hi-jacking) Tom

On 2006-04-11 02:45, astroman wrote:
yes Chris, you've well described what's on the surface
now let's look under the blanket...

I spent the last hour to look under the blanket of the Vokator, somehow it is built like a widescreen LCD display, I am confused..