Behringer VC340 Vocoder

difference being that the keybed is
one of Behringer’s own 3-octave
designs (with velocity) and it feels
nicely responsive for fast lines and
chord playing (though I’d also love
an expanded version with a 4 or
5-octave keybed and aftertouch for
controlling vibrato in the future). The
advantage of three octaves is
obviously that it makes the vocoder
more transportable for gigs and for
fl ying/travelling with, plus it can sit
on a desktop more comfortably too
and the keyboard transmits MIDI
which lets it slot into most rigs.
Now let’s look at what’s onboard!
First up is the headphone volume
control which has plenty of gain,
followed by an input level control for
any external audio coming into the
vocoder. Any audio here will replace
the internal vocoder synth and use
the external source as the ‘carrier’
signal instead. Next up is direct mic
level which lets you add more or less
of your own dry voice into the output.
This is handy if you just want to use
hands on the controls. I wish more
vocoders had this feature!
And now the pièce de résistance
– the all-important vocoder section.
Here’s where the magic happens and
for classic vocoder sounds this is
hard to beat – a faithful recreation of
the original. Sure, there’s only tone
(brightness) and mic input level
controls but the circuitry is dialled in
just right and it’s hard to get a bad
sound. It sounds warm, polished and
the intelligibility/diction is great,
particularly when playing chords.
Again, in any expanded or
subsequent version I’d like to see a
dedicated monophonic/legato mode
one mic on gigs, as you can just
push up this slider between songs to
talk to the audience and then pull it
down once you start playing/vocoding
again. Then you have the level
controls for the human voice and
string sections which let you blend
and mix both sections together. The
next section is labelled ‘vibrato’ and
is used to impart a natural-sounding
vibrato onto your voice while playing.
It has rate, delay time and depth
sliders which add a handy amount of
expressive control – delay time is
especially useful as it allows you to
add delayed vibrato effects while
singing without having to have any
THE PITCHSHIFT PANEL/VOCODING TECHNIQUES
The intriguing pitchshift panel is simpler than it looks and once again nails the
functionality and sound of the classic model upon which it’s based. The dial labelled
‘short/long’ controls the ‘swoop’ of pitch glide function (so essentially slower or longer
portamento). You can automatically glide between notes when the fl ick switch is set to
‘auto’ (or use a footswitch to engage the glide when the fl ick switch is set to off/ext.
control). If the fl ick switch is set to ‘manual’, you use the horizontal fader to pitchbend
upwards to the note/chord you’re playing (great for those classic Beastie Boys Intergalactic-
style pitchbend dives!) In terms of performing with vocoders, the humble Shure SM57 is
normally a great bet for
good results (but note that
there’s no phantom power
onboard). Make sure the
red peak light next to the
mic level isn’t lighting and
then you’re good to go. All
the same things apply as
if you were singing
normally; so you’ll need to
pronounce words clearly,
breathe properly and also
be sure to experiment with
getting right on top of the
mic and moving off the
mic for different tones,
feels and vibes.
THE ALTERNATIVES
Roland VP-03
£275
This is Roland’s own
recreation of their
original analogue
VP-330 but using
ACB (analogue
circuit behaviour)
digital modelling to
produce the sound.
roland.com
Electro Harmonix
V256 £212
Don’t be fooled by its
small size – this
digital vocoder pedal
packs a real punch
with 256 bands, its
own built-in synth
with external MIDI
control, very clear
intelligibility, refl ex
tune (hard tune)
mode and more.
ehx.com
Roland VT-4 £181
Roland’s latest
compact model in
the VT-range adds a
proper MIDI input for
controlling the
onboard synth/
vocoder and it also
has some very nice
built-in delay and
reverb effects. It will
also run on batteries.
roland.com
The ensemble effect brings
the sound to life, adding
movement and interest
Reviews | Behringer Vocoder VC340
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