How To Achieve Voices With Vst Plugins

26.12.2020by
How To Achieve Voices With Vst Plugins Rating: 3,8/5 2749 votes

Are you looking for the best free VST plugins for vocals? Look no further. In this article, we've listed eight of the best free VST plugins for vocal mixing. These include reverbs for vocal space creation, compressors for mixing glue, vocal doublers, and autotune –.

  1. Free Vst Plugins Download
  2. Best Vocal Processing Plugin Vst
  3. How To Achieve Voices With Vst Plugins Plugin
  4. Vst Voice Plugins Free
  5. How To Achieve Voices With Vst Plugins Without
  6. Human Voice Vst

Article Content

It’s the end of the month, and your bank account is empty…

…again.

Oops.

And as much as you might feel like buying that new Waves plugin…

(You’ve had your eye on it for months, right?)

Export the vocal result, add whatever effects plugins you gat on your toolbox (vocal, flangers, etc) to spice up the pitched vocal, and then stack it on top of the original vocal. Boom, you have something unique! This simple plugin can achieve a wide variety of effects. Turn the knob to the right to add punch to drums, enhance the pluck of an acoustic guitar, or boost the consonants in a vocal performance. Turn the knob to the left to soften tracks and push them back in the soundstage. The plugin allows you to make use of the layering feature in order to bring about a more intimate choral experience. And while there are only 3 voices in this choir plugin, Cinematique recorded each of the female voices using different articulations – meaning the women use different intonations, inhalations, and intimate notes. These 5 plugins more than any others are the nuts and bolts of great voiceover and podcast audio. If you master them, you will deliver industry standard high quality audio every time. Plus, you will only get better with practice, and experience! Unison, Jitter and Spread Pitch Monster can create 8 voices in unison (or 64 total voices in MIDI or chord mode) and spread them in time, pitch or both. Use these controls to create wide, thick or diffuse textures. If you want to achieve hard-tuned, robotic tones, pick a single pitch in the vocal and tune it like crazy. The MIDI section is where to go for classic vocoder effects. Yes, the plugin is very digital, but you can still add some grit and warmth with the same classic tube saturation model that’s included with the Decapitator.

It’s probably not a good idea.

But if you’re still looking to expand your plugin library, don’t worry.

Sometimes, the best things in life are free…

Here are 7 of my favorite free plugins. Each of them offers something new and unique (no boring EQs or compressors). Download them all to extend your sonic palette and ultimately, craft better-sounding tracks.

And if you’re looking to dive deeper, I also put together a list of five plugins I use on every mix. If you’re wondering which plugins I recommend, download the list below to make sure you’ve got my top tools for the job.

1. iZotope Neutrino

Neutrino is the baby brother of Neutron—iZotope’s newest channel-strip plugin. While Neutron has a number of innovative features, Neutrino spins off the best of them.

Neutrino tames undesirable resonances caused by poor room acoustics, cheap gear, and heavy-handed processing. iZotope calls the effect “spectral shaping,” and it can sound similar to gentle, low-ratio multiband compression. This can make tracks sound smoother and more polished—like sanding the rough edges off a freshly cut piece of wood. I find Neutrino particularly useful on electric guitar tracks, which often have lots of harsh resonances.

2. Voxengo SPAN

People say “don’t mix with your eyes.”

Meh.

The truth?

Tools that provide visual feedback, when used properly, can help you make better mixing decisions.

A spectrum analyzer is one of these tools. It plots the frequencies of sounds out on a graph, which allows you to “see” what tracks are comprised of.

SPAN is my favorite spectrum analyzer. You can control the ballistics and response of its graph, which makes it flexible enough for a wide variety of tasks. You can even route multiple tracks into SPAN and compare their frequency content. /best-vsts-for-kontakt-free-player.html.

(P.S. Voxengo has a few other free VST plugins. They’re worth checking out too, but SPAN is my favorite.)

3. Brainworx bx_solo

Bx_solo is a no-frills, stereo-imaging plugin. While it’s the least sexy of this bunch, it can still be pretty useful.

I like to add bx_solo to my mix bus. While I rarely push the stereo width past 100%, collapsing it to zero is an easy way to check for mono compatibility. The mid and side solo buttons are also useful. It’s great to have this one around—you never know when you might need it!

4. HOFA 4U Project Time

Mixing is a race against time.

The more time you spend on a mix, the more attached you become to what it sounds like. This makes it progressively harder to make good mixing decisions. Given enough time, even the worst mix will start to sound decent.

This is one reason I recommend mixing quickly and impulsively. You’ll get to the finish line faster, retain more objectivity, and ultimately, craft better mixes.

The first step towards more efficient mixing is to track how much time you spend doing it. Without this information, it’s easy to get lost in a black hole of endless tweaking.

Project Time makes this easy. Add it to a track, and it will start counting. The timer automatically stops when you close the session, and starts when you open it up again.

Keep an eye on Project Time, and you’ll train yourself to mix faster and more efficiently. It’s also an invaluable tool if you bill by the hour!

5. MeldaProduction MFreeFXBundle

MeldaProduction makes some great plugins. They’ve earned the praise of many notable engineers, including mastering guru Ian Shepard.

The MFreeFXBundle contains 30 free VST plugins. They range from workhorse tools like a compressor and EQ, to less common effects like a ring modulator, flanger, and oscilloscope.

If you’re looking to fill some holes in your plugin library, this is a great place to start.

6. Flux BitterSweet

BitterSweet is among the best transient shapers out there. It can produce results on par with studio mainstays like SPL’s Transient Designer and Waves’ Trans-X.

This simple plugin can achieve a wide variety of effects. Turn the knob to the right to add punch to drums, enhance the pluck of an acoustic guitar, or boost the consonants in a vocal performance. Turn the knob to the left to soften tracks and push them back in the soundstage.

7. iZotope Vinyl

Free Vst Plugins Download

Sometimes a little crackle is a good thing.

Vinyl will make tracks sound like they’re being played on a turntable. You can vary the intensity of the effect by controlling the volume of different types of noise, the degree of wear and tear, and the decade your sound is from. The results range from subtle filtering to Edison phonograph.

This plugin is great for special effects, like filtering down a vocal or making an intro sound tiny.

Moving Beyond Free Plugins: My Favorite Plugins

I hope these 7 free plugins help you craft tracks that sound fresh and unique.

If you’re looking to dive deeper, I also put together a list of 5 plugins I use on every mix. If you’re wondering which plugins I recommend, download the list below to make sure you’ve got my top tools for the job.

Before you go—what’s your favorite free VST plugin? Share your pick in the comment section below.

Bonus: 3 More Free Plugins for Mixing

3 Free Plugins I Use in Every Mix

It’s the end of the month, and your bank account is empty… …again. Oops. And as much as you might feel like buying that new Waves plugin… (You’ve had your eye on it for months, right?) It’s probably not a good idea. But if you're still looking to expand your plugin library, don't worry. Sometimes,

FREE Masterclass: Low-End Mixing Secrets

Downloaded Over 19,455 times!

Discover how to make your kick and bass hit hard by cutting (NOT boosting) the right frequencies! Plus, more counterintuitive ways to get fuller yet controlled low-end in your mix. Download this 40-minute workshop by Matthew Weiss, now for FREE!

One of the most interesting and long-standing vocal effects is that of the vocoder. Though they have been around since the 1930s, they only became popular in the music realm during the 1970s. Funk musicians were using these pieces of hardware to synthesize the human voice. It’s one of the most instantly recognizable sounds around, helping to give the human voice an alien or robot-like quality.

Saoftware Vocoders are great for adding a bit of width and edge to performances that are a bit dull otherwise. Whether you want to add some vowel sounds to your instruments, get experimental with tuned percussion, or pull some otherworldly tones out of your leads, here are the best vocoder VST plugins on the market to help you do so.

Top 9 Vocoder Plugins

1. Soundtoys Little AlterBoy

The Little AlterBoy plugin from Soundtoys gives you a lot of room to explore creatively with your sounds. Little AlterBoy gives you the ability to hard tune, add a robotic tone to vocals, pitch shift, and manipulate your vocal formants. There’s a Formant knob that you can use to change the vocal’s “gender.” There’s also a Pitch knob for you to adjust the pitch of the vocals throughout your mix.

If you want to achieve hard-tuned, robotic tones, pick a single pitch in the vocal and tune it like crazy. The MIDI section is where to go for classic vocoder effects. Yes, the plugin is very digital, but you can still add some grit and warmth with the same classic tube saturation model that’s included with the Decapitator.

Little AlterBoy gives you all the tools you need to perfectly replicate the sounds of the classic vocoder hardware. It’s definitely worth having in your collection.

Pros

  • Wide selection of effects in a user-friendly interface
  • Doesn’t take up much CPU
  • Impressive formant shifting

Cons

  • Only works monophonically

2. SONiVOX Vocalizer Pro

The SONiVOX Vocalizer Pro is an exciting vocoder plugin that can be used to make some super special sounds. It’s set up in the same way as the VocalSynth 2 with a four module system. You can move the modules around in any order you like to develop some truly unique, complex tones. You are only limited by your own creativity.

On each module you’ll find a number of parameters to mess with, including pitch shift, filter, and modulate—all with the use of high-quality LFOs. The SONiVOX has been optimized for live use, so it can be used both inside and outside the studio. At the bottom of the GUI, you’ll find eight MIDI map pads in two rows. You’ll be able to save various presets and parameters on the top row. This makes them easy to access in the middle of a live performance. The bottom row gives you the tools you need to map out chords and put sequences together.

You’ll also find an Effects tab with several options like Chorus, Reverb, EQ, and Delay. This plugin also features a high-quality browser system that allows you to search presets based on genre, color, and other qualities. There’s definitely a bit of a learning curve with this one, but the sounds you get from the Vocalizer Pro are worth the effort.

Pros

  • Customized routing capabilities
  • Built-in effects tab
  • Numerous presets to work with

Free vst trance loops. Cons

  • Some might find the interface a little overwhelming

3. iZotope VocalSynth 2

The VocalSynth 2 is among the most popular and powerful vocoder plugins you can get your hands on today. It has an awesome selection of features to help you create some interesting vocal effects. There’s four panels found on the interface: the Polyvox panel, Vocoder panel, Compuvox, and Talkbox panel.

The Vocoder panel is what you would expect; you can utilize it to apply classic robot-like effects. You can also choose from a wide selection of vocoder modes to create different tones from vintage to futuristic. The Polyvox panel is perfect for when you want to build rich vocal harmonies with the help of a polyphonic pitch shifting device. It can also be used to add numerous effects from organic BGVs to artificial sounds.

The Compuvox panel gives you crazy computerized effects like speech synthesis and glitchy vocals. Finally, the Talkbox panel allows you to apply talkbox sounds, which are pretty similar to a vocoder but with their own distinct tone. Additionally, you’ll have access to distortion modules, filters, pitch correction, and delay modules. The VocalSynth 2 is not cheap by any means, but the versatility and functionality it offers make it well worth the cost.

Pros

  • You can reorder effects
  • Advanced processing engine
  • A good selection of modules to work with

Cons

  • Shred algorithm generates bad pops and clicks

4. XILS Lab XILS Vocoder 5000

The XILS Lab XILS Vocoder 5000 is a replication of the famous EMS 5000 module with some added digital features. You’ll get that iconic EMC 5000 sound along with a number of other features like a Freeze button, detailed PWM and FM mods, some Slew rate mods, a top-notch output detection module, a great selection of oscillator waveforms, and Emphasis and Emphasis ponderation with the filters.

With this plugin, you can achieve all the complexity of the EMS 5000 with an easy-to-use design and an intuitive interface. No matter what your level of experience is, you won’t have a problem using this plugin. The interface is comprised of a single panel with all the controls you need right at your fingertips. If you need some help getting started, there are plenty of presets to get you going.

If you prefer to take a deeper dive, you’ll be able to explore all the additional parameters when you open the “center door” behind the logo. This secret stash of more elaborate options is perfect for sound designers and others who like developing different routing and filtering options.

Pros

  • Super versatile design
  • An impressive collection of creative parameters to work with
  • Awesome built-in synthesizer

Cons

  • Can overwhelm your CPU

5. Image Line Vocodex

The Vocodex from Image Line is a super straightforward software vocoder, but it produces sounds that are better than just about any of its competitors. It simply contours any sound with the use of various modulators.

The plugin has a modulator noise reduction feature, which works great for eliminating ambient noise. This means that your results won’t be skewed by the plugin picking up notes or harmonics in the background. The Vocodex can handle all your standard vocoder needs and can also double voice and add reverb to get a fatter result.

One unique feature is the Soundgoodizer, which will help give you a warm, limited output so that your vocoded vocals mix well with your leads. The sidechain carrier gives you more freedom, and there are 100 bands that can be launched at any point in the frequency spectrum. Overall, a solid vocoder plugin to consider adding to your toolbox.

Pros

  • Warm and limited output
  • Technology that decreases ambient noise
  • Top-notch vocoder sounds

Cons

  • Might have problems if used with other DAWs besides FL Studio

6. MeldaProduction MVocoder

The MVocoder from MeldaProduction has a ton of exciting features that will meet all of your vocoder needs. It comes with a hefty 102-page manual, so you know this thing is loaded with functionality. Actually, you could probably modulate or manipulate just about any parameter that you could imagine. There are a total of four distinct modulation sections, which come with a great selection of morphable shapes, envelopes, followers, and so much more. You’ll find some impressive options in the Band Matrix and Band Graph sections, and you can also take advantage of the onboard upsampling and M/S capability.

The GUI is completely stunning with an impressive collection of controls to work with. You can pick from 11 distinct interface styles with varying colors and layouts. As you might have guessed from the novel of a manual, it takes a lot of time and effort to wrap your mind around everything this plugin offers to maximize your experience.

If you want to dive deep into all the layers of the vocoder realm, this is the absolute best plugin out there. It’s super detailed and gives you every tool imaginable to control your sound and achieve optimal results.

Pros

  • Option to use your own synthesizers
  • Crazy powerful
  • Modulation potential is top-notch

Cons

  • Very CPU-hungry
  • Takes a lot of effort to learn the software

7. TAL TAL-Vocoder

Togu Audio Line (TAL) has a great reputation partially based on some incredible free VSTs that they have in their lineup. The TAL Vocoder VST is so good that you’ll feel like you’re ripping someone off by not paying for it. It’s designed to replicate the classic vocoder sounds from the ‘80s. It features an 11-band filter and a built-in carrier synth. It’s super simple to dial-in various waveforms, including noise, synch, saw, osc, portamento, sub, pulse, and others.

This plugin also allows you to use external sounds as carriers. TAL doesn’t use direct convolution with the carrier and modulation signals like many of their competition do. Instead TAL utilizes an envelope follower on each band. One exciting feature is the Panic Button, which uses the synth clip LED to freeze sustained notes. This prevents your input signal from clipping. We think that’s pretty awesome.

Overall we can say that this is an incredible VST with way more functionality than you would expect from a free synthesizer.

Pros

  • Infinite routing options
  • Super user-friendly
  • Faithfully reproduces the classic sound

Cons

Best Vocal Processing Plugin Vst

New free vst plugins
  • Can’t complain about something that’s free

8. XILS Lab XILS V+

The XILS V+ is a ten band vocoder VST that utilizes string and human voice synthesis. The V+ is essentially a replication of the Roland VP-330 Vocoder unit but with greater in-depth routing capabilities. XILS has been a respected player in the digital realm for quite a while, and they definitely don’t disappoint with the V+.

Similar to the XILS Lab Vocoder, it takes plenty of time and effort to learn all the ins and outs of this plugin. This means it’s geared more towards those who are really invested in the vocoder effect, not those who just use it every now and then. It also adds in complex synthesis if you’re someone who appreciates that kind of thing. It’s about the most versatile vocoder plugin you’ll find on the market.

If you want to explore the advanced settings, you’ll find a top-notch effects pane, modulation controls, and freeze and water controls. If you really want to go to a different level, check out the arpeggio panel. You’ll be able to manipulate pitch, customize the shape of the added strings, or mix the human voice with various oscillators.

The V+ plugin may have a classic vintage design, but its synthesis is more advanced than anything else you’ll find in this arena.

Pros

  • Very authentic synth sounds
  • Both paraphonic and polyphonic
  • Impressive VP-330 clone

Cons

  • Expensive
  • Difficult to learn

9. Zynaptiq ORANGE VOCODER

If you’re looking for a vocoder plugin with contemporary vocal effects, Zynaptiq has you covered with their Orange Vocoder. With this plugin you’ll get impressive sound quality and sonic versatility. This latest version features many upgrades to give you the best possible processing experience.

How To Achieve Voices With Vst Plugins Plugin

At the center of the Orange Vocoder is a 32-voice synthesizer. This is supported by more than a dozen distinct vocoder algorithms that each bring their own style into the mix. The algorithms give you an incredible range from cross-synthesis modes to analog circuits. Whether you want pure digital transparency or analog warmth, this plugin has your back. And you can choose to work with either samples or waveforms.

You’ll find two modulators that you can set to either LFO or dedicated pitch modulation. Its other features include a freeze button, rich reverb, ring modulation, and a helpful mixer section. The GUI is visually stunning, and it is designed to help you work more efficiently. You’ll also appreciate the awesome selection of sub-presets and the smart section randomization feature.

Vst Voice Plugins Free

Pros

  • User-friendly
  • Flexible sounds and parameters
  • Tones are immediately satisfying

Cons

  • Nothing to mention

How To Achieve Voices With Vst Plugins Without

Value the Vocoder

Human Voice Vst

At the end of the day, which vocoder plugin is right for you will depend on how and how often you plan on using it. It’s ok to take the cheaper route if you only occasionally use the effect to shake things up. But if the vocoder is more of a feature than an enhancement in your mixes, you’ll definitely want to check out the higher-quality options we’ve talked about in this article.

Comments are closed.