Cubase 13: Using The Vocoder Plug-in

A classic vocoder setup, with the vocal audio track (red) acting as the modulator and Vocoder’s internal synth providing the carrier. In the small inset image (highlighted in the blue box) you can see in the MIDI track’s Inspector panel that the MIDI out from this track has to be routed to the specific instance of Vocoder that’s inserted on the audio track.

Cubase 13 brought with it the welcome return of Steinberg’s Vocoder plug‑in...

For users of Cubase Pro and Artist, version 13 brought with it the return of an old favourite: Steinberg’s Vocoder plug‑in has finally made it into the 64‑bit world and, while the basic concept remains the same, it has also undergone a smart visual makeover. Vocoders are perhaps most popular in electronic music styles, in which the classic ‘robot voice’ is often heard, but if you’re prepared to experiment a little you’ll also find that the revamped Vocoder can conjure up a much wider range of effects. In this month’s column, I’ll run through how you might go about this, and you’ll also find some audio examples on the SOS website (https://sosm.ag/cubase-0324) to accompany each of the main stages I describe.

Vocoder 101

Put simply, a vocoder allows you to take some of the sonic characteristics from one sound (called the ‘modulator’) and apply them to another sound (known as the ‘carrier’) — by far the most common example is when a vocal modulator is applied to a synth‑sound carrier. The pitch of the resulting sound is always determined by the MIDI note(s) used to trigger the synth, but the sound of the voice modulates the synth sound, so its character changes: the effect is like making the synth ‘talk’. Depending on the MIDI note data received by the synth, you can get the classic monotonic robot voice effect or something with more melodic and/or harmonic content.

You can use sound sources other than a voice as your modulator input to Vocoder, though, and while, just like most vocoder plug‑ins, Vocoder includes a synth engine to serve as the carrier, with a little side‑chain tomfoolery its magic can also be applied to an another synth, such as Retrologue or Padshop.

Insert This Way Up

Vocoder an audio effect plug‑in, so the most obvious options is to place it in an Insert slot on an audio track, and I’ll focus on that route here. But note that you could use it as a send effect inserted on an FX track. A scenario where that might be useful is where you know that you’ll want to blend an unprocessed (or differently processed) version of the modulator sound with the ‘vocoded’ version.

The opening screenshot (above) summarises the basic configuration for the Insert effect route. An instance of Vocoder has been inserted in the top‑most audio track (coloured red). This contains a sung vocal...