What's new

Vocal plugin (turning a banshee in a bear trap into Pavarotti )

JokerOne

Active Member
I'm looking for, to be blunt, a technological solution for a lack of talent. :emoji_grinning:

I'm not really wanting a synthesized voice. Some of it has come a long way but still sounds like J/K pop.

I'm looking for something that I can sign into a mic, and after being manipulated sounds somewhat reasonable on the other end.

Any suggestions?

thanks.
 
What's the problem with your voice? Is it tuning? Timing? Bad mic technique? What problem are you looking to solve with software?
 
Since the 1990s, one of my studio's staples has always been voice-generating outboard gear like a Digitech Studio Vocalist or a TC Electronic Voiceworks Plus. They're designed for generating harmonies, but the latter does voice modeling, so you can embellish a lead vocal in all kinds of ways. Pitch correction, modeling, and generous editing will embellish any vocal, but it won't do anything to one's vocal style or base tone.
thanks. I see things like voice.ai that are designed for speech. They seem to get the tone / frequency down. The inflection, cadence is up to the user.
 
Then singing into a mic is probably the last thing you want to do.

Are you looking for male vocals? What style(s)?
haha. I came to that conclusion in the 1970s. :2thumbs:

So looking around via youtube at various voice processing, it seems there are two major themes. Sounding like an autotuned 60s Robot, which is probably why this style caught on, because the plugins effects make everyone sound like that. The other is a Synth J-pop/K-pop plastic doll sound.

If I could pull off a Jim Morrison (Riders on the Storm / The End) voice I would be so happy. Morrison was a much better writer than a singer, well, equally good, so I'm keeping my expectations low.

I have a face for radio, and voice for print. :emoji_laughing:
 
Last edited:
I think Synth-V is what you want to keep an eye on. So far, they've been very much on the higher voices... lots of good female voicepacks, but very little for males, especially with lower voices. They've just updated their engine to improve the sound of low voices, and I think (hope!), that this will encourage some new male voicepacks with less of a boy-band vibe. Ninezero will be coming out quite soon (voicepack for Synth-V), and although we've yet to see the breadth of material that it can cover, I feel quite confident that it will be able to handle Jim Morrison...

Here's the only demo I know of...



Typically the voicepacks can handle a decent amount of variety, and although this is distinctly heavy rock, I think it will do a bit softer.

As a platform, Synth-V is currently unmatched in providing realistic vocals.
 
I think Synth-V is what you want to keep an eye on. So far, they've been very much on the higher voices... lots of good female voicepacks, but very little for males, especially with lower voices. They've just updated their engine to improve the sound of low voices, and I think (hope!), that this will encourage some new male voicepacks with less of a boy-band vibe. Ninezero will be coming out quite soon (voicepack for Synth-V), and although we've yet to see the breadth of material that it can cover, I feel quite confident that it will be able to handle Jim Morrison...

Here's the only demo I know of...



Typically the voicepacks can handle a decent amount of variety, and although this is distinctly heavy rock, I think it will do a bit softer.

As a platform, Synth-V is currently unmatched in providing realistic vocals.

thanks, thats actually the deepest voice I've heard coming out of something like this. most sound like castratos on helium overdose. I'll give it another listen. thanks again.
 
thanks, thats actually the deepest voice I've heard coming out of something like this. most sound like castratos on helium overdose. I'll give it another listen. thanks again.
Not to place a shameless plug, but I couldn't sing if my dog's life were dependent on it. I made this song with SynthV and the Asterian voice: Wine-Colored Dress. This was before the latest "fix" of the lower male voices.
 
Not to place a shameless plug, but I couldn't sing if my dog's life were dependent on it. I made this song with SynthV and the Asterian voice: Wine-Colored Dress. This was before the latest "fix" of the lower male voices.
that actually sounds really good. My only probably with these products is its not "me" or at least someone unique. The license agreement still wants you to credit the song as "Kevin" or whoever, which is fine, and I think it would be great to pitch a demo with. I have some tools I've never played with, so maybe over this long weekend, I'll find some time to try them out.

thanks again.
 
that actually sounds really good. My only probably with these products is its not "me" or at least someone unique. The license agreement still wants you to credit the song as "Kevin" or whoever, which is fine, and I think it would be great to pitch a demo with. I have some tools I've never played with, so maybe over this long weekend, I'll find some time to try them out.

thanks again.
Perhaps eventually Dreamtonics will develop a tool that works with AI to help you capture the timbre of your own voice and create a library you can use to "sing" as you want to. Sample V?
 
Perhaps eventually Dreamtonics will develop a tool that works with AI to help you capture the timbre of your own voice and create a library you can use to "sing" as you want to. Sample V?
that would be nice.
 
The license agreement still wants you to credit the song as "Kevin" or whoever, which is fine, and I think it would be great to pitch a demo with.
I believe the license says that if you credit the voice, it has to be credited to Kevin.

On the other hand, if you leave it as an uncredited vocal or just use the name of your group, there's no need to mention Kevin. You just can't misrepresent where the vocal came from.
 
I'm looking for, to be blunt, a technological solution for a lack of talent. :emoji_grinning:

I'm not really wanting a synthesized voice. Some of it has come a long way but still sounds like J/K pop.

I'm looking for something that I can sign into a mic, and after being manipulated sounds somewhat reasonable on the other end.

Any suggestions?

thanks.
"Somewhat reasonable" is a good goal - it's something that most people can attain - even me! :roflmao:

I once heard an NPR host talk about being trained for speaking on the radio. The goal wasn't to make their voice sound like someone else, but to make their voice sound like the best version of themselves.

Singing is a very much like speaking. It's a bit traumatic - maybe really traumatic - to find out what you actually you sound like. But once you know what you sound like, you can start working on making yourself the best version of you.

Because you can't fix what you can't hear, perhaps the most important bit of software is Anything That You Can Record Yourself With™.

If you don't know how to sing, chances are that you're doing it wrong. It's like playing any other instrument - you can pick up bad habits that let you do some basic stuff, but end up undermining you in the long run.

The bad news is that software won't be able to fix your voice if you've got fundamental issues with your singing. These are things like:
  • Running out of air while singing a phrase
  • Having a voice that sounds like a throat filled with gravel
  • Sounding like you're speaking instead of singing
  • Going very flat before the end of a note
  • Your voice "breaking" as you move from one note to the next
The reason it can't be fixed is because you've typically got changes of timbre that accompany pitch issues, and those changes in timbre are still there after pitch correction. The bad notes just sound like bad notes that are on pitch. :confused:

The good news is that the basics aren't that hard, and this sort of stuff is pretty easy to fix with practice. Once you've got the basics down, you'll have the tools to get that nasty stuff out of from your voice. You'll still sound like you, but it'll be a better version of you, so to speak.

The most important fundamental is breath support. Singing requires controlling the air. You'll need to know how to inhale, as well as control the release of that air. You might think you have good breath support, but there's a reason all singing books start with this fundamental.

Once you've got breath support, you can work on holding out long tones on pitch. This means starting the note on the target pitch (instead of "scooping" into the note from below) and holding the note with proper breath support without going flat or sharp, up to the end of the note. With proper breath control, you'll be able to have a nice, clear tone through the entire note.

There's software out there that will help with this, but I haven't played with any. I have used programs like the pitch correction in Reaper to look at what pitches I actually sang, which can be both depressing and super-helpful. :speechless:

The last step is to transfer the skill of singing held tones to actual music. Singing consists of sustained vowels that are interrupted by consonants. Making sure that vowels are supported and sung goes a long way to making singing sound like singing.

With those fundamentals down, you should be able to clear up many of the issues that you might face as a singer. And that means that the few problems that remain can be addressed with software.
 
"Somewhat reasonable" is a good goal - it's something that most people can attain - even me! :roflmao:

I once heard an NPR host talk about being trained for speaking on the radio. The goal wasn't to make their voice sound like someone else, but to make their voice sound like the best version of themselves.

Singing is a very much like speaking. It's a bit traumatic - maybe really traumatic - to find out what you actually you sound like. But once you know what you sound like, you can start working on making yourself the best version of you.

Because you can't fix what you can't hear, perhaps the most important bit of software is Anything That You Can Record Yourself With™.

If you don't know how to sing, chances are that you're doing it wrong. It's like playing any other instrument - you can pick up bad habits that let you do some basic stuff, but end up undermining you in the long run.

The bad news is that software won't be able to fix your voice if you've got fundamental issues with your singing. These are things like:
  • Running out of air while singing a phrase
  • Having a voice that sounds like a throat filled with gravel
  • Sounding like you're speaking instead of singing
  • Going very flat before the end of a note
  • Your voice "breaking" as you move from one note to the next
The reason it can't be fixed is because you've typically got changes of timbre that accompany pitch issues, and those changes in timbre are still there after pitch correction. The bad notes just sound like bad notes that are on pitch. :confused:

The good news is that the basics aren't that hard, and this sort of stuff is pretty easy to fix with practice. Once you've got the basics down, you'll have the tools to get that nasty stuff out of from your voice. You'll still sound like you, but it'll be a better version of you, so to speak.

The most important fundamental is breath support. Singing requires controlling the air. You'll need to know how to inhale, as well as control the release of that air. You might think you have good breath support, but there's a reason all singing books start with this fundamental.

Once you've got breath support, you can work on holding out long tones on pitch. This means starting the note on the target pitch (instead of "scooping" into the note from below) and holding the note with proper breath support without going flat or sharp, up to the end of the note. With proper breath control, you'll be able to have a nice, clear tone through the entire note.

There's software out there that will help with this, but I haven't played with any. I have used programs like the pitch correction in Reaper to look at what pitches I actually sang, which can be both depressing and super-helpful. :speechless:

The last step is to transfer the skill of singing held tones to actual music. Singing consists of sustained vowels that are interrupted by consonants. Making sure that vowels are supported and sung goes a long way to making singing sound like singing.

With those fundamentals down, you should be able to clear up many of the issues that you might face as a singer. And that means that the few problems that remain can be addressed with software.
thanks for the help. I'm still in a holding pattern as to anything with voice. Synth V seems to be the best value for performance. I would still like something that improves my own voice.
 
thanks for the help. I'm still in a holding pattern as to anything with voice. Synth V seems to be the best value for performance. I would still like something that improves my own voice.
It depends what "improve" means to you.

There is pitch correction software such as Melodyne and Waves Tune that can correct pitch and timing issues. This probably what you would find most useful, and I'd suggest that you download a demo version of Melodyne and test it out.

While pitch correction can be very helpful, if you voice has problems other than pitch, those problems will remain even after pitch correction. Additionally, they can only move the pitch two or three semitones before the result becomes weird.

There is throat modeling software like Antares Evo, which can change the quality of your voice. But the character of your voice remains, and you'll still sounds like you singing, just with a deeper/whispery/whatever voice.

You can use Pratt to map your pitch curve onto a SynthV voice. But unless you're a good singer, it's just going to make the SynthV voice sound bad.

I think the best approach would be to watch the tutorial videos for Melodyne and try it out for yourself. That may be all you need. Most of the things that Melodyne can't fix can usually be taken care of by paying attention to the fundamentals of good singing, which is why I suggested them.

What specific things are you trying to correct in your voice?
 
It depends what "improve" means to you.

There is throat modeling software like Antares Evo, which can change the quality of your voice. But the character of your voice remains, and you'll still sounds like you singing, just with a deeper/whispery/whatever voice.


What specific things are you trying to correct in your voice?
Thanks, I think the "throat modeling" is worth looking into. Thanks for the suggestion. I'm going to look into it.
 
Vocal plugin (turning a banshee in a bear trap into Pavarotti)

I would still like something that improves my own voice.

I think the "throat modeling" is worth looking into.
If you go that route, keep your expectations quite low. Whatever editing you do with pitch correction or voice modeling, the end result is never going to be more than a slightly improved banshee in a bear trap. The technology to synthetically manipulate one's own singing voice to American Idol standards is not yet here. It probably will be someday, but until then, your options are:

1. Editing your vocals to make them only slightly less undesirable
2. Taking voice lessons to improve your own voice over time
3. Using a program like SynthV
4. Hiring good vocalists

If you are serious and passionate about your music, hiring vocalists is the obvious choice. If you're doing this for kicks and giggles, then there's no harm in doing your best to sing and edit the parts yourself. SynthV is a nice bridge between the two.
 
If you go that route, keep your expectations quite low. Whatever editing you do with pitch correction or voice modeling, the end result is never going to be more than a slightly improved banshee in a bear trap. The technology to synthetically manipulate one's own singing voice to American Idol standards is not yet here. It probably will be someday, but until then, your options are:

1. Editing your vocals to make them only slightly less undesirable
2. Taking voice lessons to improve your own voice over time
3. Using a program like SynthV
4. Hiring good vocalists

If you are serious and passionate about your music, hiring vocalists is the obvious choice. If you're doing this for kicks and giggles, then there's no harm in doing your best to sing and edit the parts yourself. SynthV is a nice bridge between the two.
thats kind of what I thought. I see they want to "sell" it as a subscription service. I don't do subscriptions for software. So it maybe a moot point.

thanks.
 
Top Bottom