Project 5: The Vocoder

The first thing we'll need is a good audio sample to send through the vocoder. Set up an account at:
www.freesounds.org
and then search for a vocal sample that you like. Here's one of my favorites:
http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=75129
 Download your favorite audio samples.  Look for short ones, and use good taste.When you have a sample or two, open FL studio 9. This can get tricky, so follow the instructions carefully.

Open the mixer.
Select Insert 1.
Add an instance of Edison in the FX bank (Edison will play back the sample you downloaded)
Click on the disk icon in the Edison window, select load sample.
Browse for the audio sample you downloaded and select open. It should appear in the Edison window.
Use the drag button in edison to drag the sample over to the playlist.  Remember- drag the button itself- not the sample. The sample should go in the top section where the automation clips go.
The clip should now appear in the step sequencer (just like an automation clip).
Select the channel settings for your sample in the step sequencer.
Set the FX to insert 1.
In the mixer, select insert 2 and and an instance of Vocodex.
Choose a carrier synth preset in the bottom part of the Vocodex window.
Select insert 1, then right click the up arrow on insert 2.  A window will pop up.  Select "sidechain to this track". This sends the signal (not the audio) from the audio sample in Edison into insert 2 in the mixer, which is where we have installed the Vocoder.
With insert 1 still selected, click on the up arrow on the master channel of the mixer. This will disable the output of insert 1 to the master.  Now, insert 1 is only sending signal to the vocoder through the sidechain function, and the vocoder is sending the processed signal to the master.
Switch to song mode, and hit play.  You should hear your sample played through the vocoder!  Fun!

Here's my example:

And my sample post:
For this project I wanted to contrast the pure sound of the vocal sample I downloaded with the processed (vocoded) sample.  To acomplish this, I started the piece with a section of pure, uneffected vocals, and then did the next bit throught the vocoder using the default "bright" setting.  I repeated this contrast for the next two clips, and then started a basic groove with a Simsynth bass and a Sytrus organ patch over drums.  I used a reverse cymbal and a default ensemble hit with a lot of echo to add impact- sort of like punctuation to the vocal effects. I plan to lengthen this piece, but for the purposes of demonstration, I think this file gets the point across.