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Chapter 15 Vocoder History 193
1978 saw the beginning of mainstream vocoder use, riding on the back of popularity
created through the music of Herbie Hancock, Kraftwerk, and a handful of other artists.
Among the manufacturers who jumped into vocoder production at this time
are: Synton/Bode, Electro-Harmonix, and Korg, with the VC-10.
In 1979, Roland released the VP 330 ensemble/vocoder keyboard.
The late 70’s and early 80’s were the heyday of the vocoder. Artists who used them
included: ELO, Pink Floyd, Eurythmics, Tangerine Dream, Telex, David Bowie, Kate Bush,
and many more.
On the production side, vocoders could (and can still) be picked up cheaply in the form
of kits from electronics stores.
From 1980 through to the present, EMS in the UK, Synton in Holland and PAiA in the
USA were, and remain, the main flyers of the vocoding flag.
In 1996, Doepfer in Germany and Music and More joined the vocoder-producing
fraternity.
Throughout the 1990’s, a number of standalone software-based vocoders have
appeared.
As you can see, the history of the vocoder is long and varied, and we’re sure that the
vocoder will be with us for a while to come.