Specifications

BV512 VOCODER
216
Automation
All parameters on the front panel can be automated in the standard manner. The
individual band levels (the bars in the lower display) will be edited on separate
lanes in the sequencer. Note:
D As with the other effect devices, you have to manually create a se-
quencer track for the BV512.
D Although the band level adjustments can be edited individually,
they are treated as one automatable parameter on the device panel.
This means that if any single band level control is automated, there will be a
frame around the whole lower display on the device panel. [Ctrl]-clicking
(Mac) or right-clicking (Win) in the lower display and selecting “Clear Auto-
mation” will remove the automation for all bands. Similarly, selecting “Edit
Automation” will open the sequencer with lanes for all band levels shown.
The frame indicates that one or more band level controls are automated.
Tips and tricks
Choosing a carrier sound
As always, which carrier sound to choose is a matter of taste and musical con-
text. However, here are a few guidelines to help you get a good result:
• The carrier sound should preferably have a lot of harmonic content (bright-
ness) - dark or muffled sounds will not “give the vocoder much to work with”.
• Often, you want the carrier sound to sustain at an even level (i.e. it shouldn’t
“die out” when you hold a chord). Similarly, you most often want a reason-
ably fast attack (although not with a distinct, sharp click or edge).
• You may want a sound that is rather static over time, without drastic enve-
lope control of filter cutoff for example.
• If you want to play vocoded chords, the carrier sound must of course be
polyphonic.
Here are some hands-on suggestions for carrier sounds:
D A simple Subtractor pad based on a sawtooth waveform.
You could simply start with the initial patch (as set up when you create a
new Subtractor device). Open the filter, turn off envelope modulation of the
cutoff frequency and raise the Amp Envelope Sustain.
If you want a classic, rich chorus-like sound, use two detuned oscillators - or
better still, add a UN-16 Unison device as an insert effect between the Sub-
tractor and the vocoder!
A simple but effective carrier sound setup.
D A similar fat carrier sound can be obtained using a Malström device
with a patch based on the “Sawtooth*16” graintable.
With the Malström you can get a stereo carrier signal with no extra devices:
simply select the “Sawtooth*16” graintable for both oscillators, detune the
oscillators slightly with the Cent controls and raise the Spread parameter to
the desired stereo width. No filter routings are necessary.