AVOX Evo - Antares
Contents
1. Vocal Range Use this control to select the range of the track you will be processing Choices include Soprano Voice Alto Tenor Voice Bass Baritone Voice and Instrument a general setting for anything that isn t actually a vocal Matching the appropriate algorithm to the input results in faster and more accurate pitch detection To select the desired Vocal Range click on the Vocal Range pop up and then select the desired range from the pop up list Note Choosing the wrong Vocal Range or just forgetting to set it at all can result in compromised performance Pay attention Vocal Timbre Behind this unassuming slider lies a compact version of the THROAT vocal modeler When this control is set to 0 the doubled voice will have exactly the same character as the original voice As you move the slider up or down DUO sends the doubled voice through a progressively more extreme vocal model I e near 0 the timbre is very close to the original voice As the control approaches 40 or 40 the vocal timbre undergoes a fairly radical change As you might imagine this slider simultaneously controls a number of vocal modeling parameters We ve linked them together to give you quick and easy access to a range of useful timbres 18 Although the exact effect of any setting will depend a good deal on the vocal being processed in general Selecting a positive value will result in a lengthening of the vocal tract2. 2005 Antares Audio Technologies All rights reserved Certi ed Isinglass free All trademarks are the property of their respective owners Antares Audio Technologies 231 Technology Circle Scotts Valley California 95066 USA web www antarestech com Printed in USA Rev 1 0 08 05 PN 35030 0805 M01 The Obligatory Legal Mumbo Jumbo The AVOX software and this User s Manual are protected by copyright law Making copies adaptations or derivative works without the prior written authorization of Antares Audio Technologies is prohibited by law and constitutes a punishable violation of the law Antares Audio Technologies retains all ownership rights to the AVOX software and its documentation Use of AVOX software is limited by the following license agreement Please carefully read all the terms and conditions of this license agreement At the time of installation of the AVOX software you will be presented with a copy of the agreement and asked whether or not you agree to it Continuing with the installation process beyond that point constitutes such agreement AVOX License Agreement Antares Audio Technologies grants you a non transferable non exclusive license to use AVOX software under the terms and conditions stated in this agreement Use of AVOX indicates your agreement to the following terms and conditions License You may 1 Use AVOX software on only one computer at a time Moving your AVOX license from computer to comput
3. or a sound designer in pursuit of a totally new vocal effect THROAT will give you creative capabilities that have simply never before existed Controls In order for THROAT to do the best possible job of modeling it needs to know some basic things about the source audio The following three controls are used to characterize the vocal that you will be processing Vocal Range Use this control to select the range of the track you will be processing Choices include Soprano Voice Alto Tenor Voice Bass Baritone Voice and Instrument a general setting for anything that isn t actually a vocal Matching the appropriate algorithm to the input results in faster and more accurate pitch detection and more accurate modeling To select vocal range click on the Vocal Range pop up and then select the desired range from the pop up list Note Choosing the wrong Vocal Range or just forgetting to set it at all can result in compromised performance Pay attention Source Glottal Waveform The glottal waveform is the waveform produced by the vibration of the vocal chords The range of an individual s possible waveforms is de ned by their particular anatomy Within that range the waveform can change pretty dramatically depending on the performer s singing style Imagine for example the progression from a breathy whisper to a straight ahead pop vocal to hard rock or full on operatic aria A lot of subtle factors in uence t
4. EXPRESS OR IMPLIED INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE Antares Audio Technologies does not warrant that the functions contained in the program will meet your requirements The entire risk as to the use quality and performance of AVOX software is with you SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON HOW LONG AN IMPLIED WARRANTY LASTS SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU THIS WARRANTY GIVES YOU SPECIFIC LEGAL RIGHTS YOU MAY ALSO HAVE OTHER RIGHTS WHICH VARY FROM JURISDICTION TO JURISDICTION Limitation of Liability IN NO EVENT WILL ANTARES BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES INCLUDING LOSS OF DATA LOST PROFITS OR OTHER SPECIAL INCIDENTAL CONSEQUENTIAL OR INDIRECT DAMAGES ARISING FROM THE USE OF AVOX SOFTWARE OR ACCOMPANYING MATERIALS THIS LIMITATION WILL APPLY EVEN IF ANTARES OR ITS AUTHORIZED AGENT HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE LICENSE FEE REFLECTS THIS ALLOCATION OF RISK SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU Whew Now that that s over let s get on to the good stuff Contents Welcome 1 Chapter 1 Getting Started 3 Chapter 2 Introducing AVOX 5 Chapter 3 THROAT Physical Modeling Vocal Designer 7 Chapter 4 DUO Vocal Modeling Auto Doubler 17 Chapter 5 CHOIR
5. and hence an older darker more male vocal quality Selecting a negative value will result in a shortening of the vocal tract and hence a younger brighter more female vocal quality Command Mac Control PC click the control to reset it to its default value of 0 Vibrato The Vibrato control allows you to select the amount of variation in vibrato depth applied to the doubled voice Selecting a positive value increases the doubled voice s vibrato depth relative to the original voice Selecting a negative value decreases the doubled voice s vibrato depth relative to the original voice Important Note Unlike vibrato controls on most vocal processors this function does not simply use an LFO to apply a synthesized vibrato DUO actually analyses the original vocal part to identify its vibrato and modify its depth As a result the modi ed vibrato will still re ect the overall contour of the original vibrato As an additional consequence however the Vibrato control will only have affect if the original vocal contains vibrato It will not add vibrato to a performance that does not originally have it The Vibrato control may be used by itself to modify the vibrato of a performance See the Usage Tips below for details Command Mac Control PC click the control to reset it to its default value of 0 Pitch Variation The Pitch Variation control lets you select the amount of random variation in pitch applied to the
6. breathiness will depend both on the articulation of the original vocal and more dramatically the setting of the Frequency control described below Command Mac Control PC click the control to reset it to its default value of 0 Breathiness Frequency This control lets you set the high pass frequency of the breathiness component i e the frequency above which the breathiness will be present This frequency determines the audio range and character of the breathiness effect At high settings the effect will be rather whispery and ethereal depending of course on the original vocal and the Mix amount At lower settings the effect is more of a raspiness again depending on the mix Experimentation is the best way to become familiar with the possibilities Command Mac Control PC click the control to reset it to its default value of 4000 Hz The remaining controls are used to de ne the model vocal tract 10 Model Throat Length The Throat Length control allows you to globally lengthen or shorten the modeled throat Values above 1 00 represent a lengthening of the throat while values below 1 00 represent a shortening of the throat The actual values represent the percentage change in the throat length For example a value of 1 20 represents a 20 increase in throat length while a value of 0 80 represents a 20 decrease in throat length Changes made to this control are re ected on the Graphic Throat Displa
7. of 20 milliseconds Usage Tips SYBIL functions solely as a mono processor If the high pass frequency is set too low non sibilant components of the signal will be compressed and the vocal will have its highs attenuated If it is set too high some sibilance will still remain The trick is to nd that ideal point where only the sibilance is affected When set correctly you can t tell that there is processing going on If you can hear something happening SYBIL needs to have its settings tweaked 27 Index A Authorizing AVOX 4 AVOX Overview 5 CHOIR 5 DUO 5 PUNCH 5 SYBIL 6 THROAT 5 C CHOIR 21 Choir Size 21 Controls 21 Pitch Variation 21 Stereo Spread 21 Timing Variation 21 Usage Tips 22 Vibrato Variation 21 contact info ii D DUO 17 Controls 17 Double Level 18 Double Pan Position 19 Original Level 18 Original Pan Position 18 Pitch Variation 18 Timing Variation 18 Usage Tips 19 Vibrato 18 Vocal Range 17 Vocal Timbre 17 I Installing AVOX 3 L License Agreement iii P Processing Guidelines 6 PUNCH 23 Ceiling 23 Controls 23 Impact 23 Input Level 23 Output Level 24 Usage Tips 24 S SYBIL 25 Attack Time 26 Compression 26 Controls 25 Gain Reduction Meter 25 High Pass Frequency 25 Release Time 26 Threshold 25 Usage Tips 26 28 T Technical Support 1 THROAT 7 Breathiness Frequency 9 Breathiness Mix 9 Bypass 13 Controls 8 Factory Presets 15 Glottal Pulse Width 10 Glott
8. t authorize it right away you can still use your software in the meantime During this period click the Continue button whenever you are presented with the Trial Period screen at launch But don t procrastinate too long After those ten days are up you will no longer be able to launch this software until it s authorized 5 Chapter 2 Introducing AVOX T he heart of any great song is a great vocal sound With the AVOX Antares Vocal Toolkit we ve combined ve state of the art vocal processing modules that open up an entirely new world of vocal processing capabilities AVOX gives you the power you need to create stunning vocal tracks in any musical style as well as design unique vocal effects for audio post production applications In the following chapters we ll deal with each AVOX tool in turn but rst let s take a brief look at what s in AVOX and how you might use the tools in combination AVOX Overview The AVOX Antares Vocal Toolkit includes THROAT Physical Modeling Vocal Designer THROAT is a revolutionary new vocal tool that lets you process a vocal through a meticulously crafted physical model of the human vocal tract THROAT begins by neutralizing the effect of the original singer s vocal tract and then gives you the ability to specify the characteristics of the modeled vocal tract THROAT s controls allow you to modify the voice s glottal waveform as well as globally stretch short
9. 2 3 Chapter 1 Getting Started How To Use This Manual The plug ins that make up the AVOX suite have been designed with clear consistent friendly user interfaces If you come to AVOX with previous vocal processing experience you will nd that most of their functions are self evident and are extraordinarily easy to use However since some of the AVOX tools do things that have never been done before a few aspects of their user interfaces may not be immediately obvious Consequently we encourage you to at least scan each of the individual plug in s chapters for descriptions of their various parameters In particular THROAT offers an entirely new approach to vocal processing offering capabilities that have simply never before existed in a DSP plug in We strongly suggest that you read Chapter 3 in its entirety to gain an understanding of what THROAT can do If you just can t wait to get some sound going feel free to load up some vocal tracks and play around with the various AVOX plug ins Be sure to check out THROAT s collection of factory presets They ll give you a good idea of what THROAT is capable of as well as providing inspiration for your own creations Then come back and dig into the details The Contents Of This Manual Chapter 1 Getting Started The chapter you are reading Chapter 2 Introducing AVOX This chapter provides an overview of the tools that make up the AVOX plug in suite Chapter
10. 3 THROAT Physical Modeling Vocal Designer This chapter is reference information for all of the controls used in the THROAT interface Chapter 4 DUO Vocal Modeling Auto Doubler This chapter is reference information for all of the controls used in the DUO interface Chapter 5 CHOIR Vocal Multiplier This chapter is reference information for all of the controls used in the CHOIR interface Chapter 6 PUNCH Vocal Impact Enhancer We re guessing that by this point you can predict what this chapter is about Chapter 7 SYBIL Variable Frequency De Esser Yup Installing AVOX Any unique instructions for installing AVOX for your speci c plug in format will be located in the AVOX Read Me le that accompanies the plug ins This le may also contain any last minute AVOX information that didn t make it into this manual AVOX is designed to work with a wide variety of digital audio applications Please refer to your host application s user manual for more information on installing and using plug ins 4 Authorizing AVOX Authorization is the process by which the AVOX software is allowed to run on your computer Detailed instructions covering the available authorization options will be found in the le Authorization Read Me which is included on the installation CD ROM or with your software download Note When initially installed this software will run for ten days without authorization So even if you can
11. HROAT s most precise analysis results in extremely accurate characterization of the source throat which works well for models that are within the general range of human anatomy i e subtle modi cations However for more extreme models the subtle setting can in some cases result in artifacts most often a sort of whistling In those cases such artifacts can often be reduced or eliminated by choosing a different setting for this control As a result the strategy for this control should be to always start with subtle which is the default and if a particular model results in artifacts and you don t actually like those artifacts change the precision one step at a time i e to medium and then extreme until you get the desired effect To select source throat precision click on the Precision pop up and then select the appropriate model type from the pop up list The next two controls allow you to add a variety of breathiness effects to your modeled voice Breathiness Mix This control lets you select the amount of breathiness component mixed into your modeled voice With a setting of 0 there will be no breathiness apart from what might be in the original vocal At a setting of 100 the model will be all breathiness with none of the original vocal characteristic present at all Intermediate settings will produce mixes of the original vocal and the breathiness component The sonic character of the
12. Length control above this control gives you the ability to radically change the throat width Again if you are looking for a realistic vocal characteristic start with modest settings of this control And again this range is indicated by color on the control scale More extreme settings can produce dramatic results but probably not what anyone would call realistic Command Mac Control PC click the control to reset it to its default value of 1 00 Model Glottal Waveform As was explained above in the Source Glottal Waveform section the glottal waveform is the waveform produced by the vibration of the vocal chords We used the Source Glottal Waveform control to help THROAT neutralize the effect of the original vocal s glottal waveform The Pulse Width and Voice Type controls let you de ne the glottal waveform you want to model Glottal Pulse Width This control allows you to select the pulse width of the modeled glottal waveform If you are at all familiar with analog synthesizers you can think of this as being vaguely similar to the variable pulse width control on a square wave oscillator and if you re not familiar with analog synthesizers don t worry just move the slider and listen to what happens You will nd that the most dramatic timbral changes are usually found at the extreme ends of this control s range If you re looking for realistic stay in the middle 80 of the range 11 Importa
13. Stereo modes Command Mac Control PC click the control to reset it to its default value of 100 far right Usage Tips DUO is available in mono and stereo versions and depending on the capabilities of your host program a mono gt stereo version which in most cases is the preferred routing In the case of the stereo version DUO processes only the left channel DUO is dramatically more effective with the original and doubled parts panned apart so if at all possible try always to use it with stereo output For best performance DUO requires a clean pitched monophonic signal If DUO can not reliably detect the pitch of the input either because of a noisy or effected signal or because the input is not a single monophonic voice it will apply Vocal Timbre and Timing variations only Experiment with various Pitch and Timing settings Different combinations can result in distinctly different stylistic effects DUO s Vibrato function can be used by itself to modify the vibrato depth on a recorded track If you have a track with too deep a vibrato or too shallow although that s a much rarer problem assign DUO to the track and set the mixer so that only the doubled track is heard Set Vocal Timbre to 0 and Pitch and Timing to their minimum values While listening to the track adjust the Vibrato slider to reduce or expand the vibrato depth as desired Notice that while you are modifying the vibrato dep
14. Vocal Multiplier 21 Chapter 6 PUNCH Vocal Impact Enhancer 23 Chapter 7 SYBIL Variable Frequency De Esser 25 Index 27 vi 1 Welcome O n behalf of everyone at Antares Audio Technologies we d like to offer both our thanks and congratulations on your decision to purchase the AVOX Antares Vocal Toolkit a suite of uniquely powerful DSP tools for creating spectacular vocal tracks As an AVOX owner you are entitled to receive noti cation of any software updates technical support and advance announcements of upcoming products But we can t send you stuff unless we know who and where you are So please register At Antares we are committed to excellence in quality customer service and technological innovation With your purchase of AVOX you have created a relationship with Antares which we hope will be long and gratifying Let us know what you think You can count on us to listen Again thanks The Whole Antares Crew Technical Support In the unlikely event that you experience a problem using AVOX try the following 1 Make another quick scan through this manual Who knows You may have stumbled onto some feature that you didn t notice the rst time through 2 Check our web page for tips techniques or any late breaking information www antarestech com 3 Consult our searchable knowledgebase at http www antarestech com support index html 4 Call your local Antares dealer
15. al Voice Type 11 Graphic Throat Display 11 Level Matching 13 Model Glottal Waveform 10 Model Throat Length 10 Model Throat Width 10 Output Gain 13 Reset 13 Source Glottal Waveform 8 Source Throat Precision 9 Tutorial 14 Usage Tips 13 Vocal Range 8 W Welcome 1 29
16. ault value of 30 Timing Variation The Timing Variation control lets you select the range of the random variation in timing applied to each generated voice Each voice is individually assigned a timing variation relative to the original voice The higher the value of this control the larger the maximum amount of allowable variation Command Mac Control PC click the control to reset it to its default value of 100 Stereo Spread This control selects the extent to which the generated voices are spread across the stereo spectrum At a setting of 0 all of the voices 22 appear in the center of the stereo soundstage As the value is increased the voices spread out from the center until at the maximum value they appear across the entire stereo soundstage This control only functions in Stereo or Mono gt Stereo modes Command Mac Control PC click the control to reset it to its default value of 100 Usage Tips CHOIR is available in mono and stereo versions and depending on the capabilities of your host program a mono gt stereo version which in most cases is the preferred routing In the case of the stereo version CHOIR processes only the left channel CHOIR is dramatically more effective with the voices panned across the stereo spectrum so if at all possible try always to use it with stereo output The real power of CHOIR comes not as a processor for one voice but as a processor to assign to eac
17. djusted for width but not length When you move points 2 3 or 4 horizontally you are adjusting the relative lengths of the adjacent sections For example if you move point 3 to the right you are lengthening the section between 2 and 3 while shortening the section between 3 and 4 The overall length of the throat model remains the same Only by moving point 5 can you change the overall length of the model apart from using the Throat Length slider of course As we ve mentioned if you re looking for realistic vocal characteristics you would do well to start with relatively small adjustments that result in all control points and plot lines remaining in the central light blue area In addition to the plot point positions watch the contour of the plot lines connecting them It s possible to place the points in positions relative to each other that cause the plot lines to bow out towards the edges of the display or even pin against an edge of the display This will almost always result in artifacts of one sort or another Of course if it s artifacts you re looking for they may be just what you want When you have created a custom model contour the Model Throat Length and Width controls will adjust the overall throat length and width while retaining and scaling your custom contour Extremely striking effects can be created by moving plot points in realtime Yo
18. doubled voice The higher the value the larger the maximum amount of allowable variation Command Mac Control PC click the control to reset it to its default value of 10 Timing Variation The Timing Variation control lets you select the amount of random variation in timing applied to the doubled voice The higher the value the larger the maximum amount of allowable variation DUO s timing variation is completely independent of pitch variation To get a good idea of the effect of timing variation use the level controls to listen only to the doubled voice set Vibrato to 0 and Pitch Variation to 10 Set Timing Variation to maximum and process a rhythmic vocal performance Pretty weird Command Mac Control PC click the control to reset it to its default value of 10 Original Level Sets the level of the original voice Command Mac Control PC click the control to reset it to its default value of 0 Original Pan Position Sets the original voice s location in the stereo spectrum This control only functions in Stereo or Mono gt Stereo modes Command Mac Control PC click the control to reset it to its default value of 100 far left Double Level Sets the level of the doubled voice Command Mac Control PC click the control to reset it to its default value of 0 19 Double Pan Position Sets the doubled voice s location in the stereo spectrum This control only functions in Stereo or Mono gt
19. e frequency noise to the model resulting in a range of vocal effects from subtle breathiness to raspiness to a full whisper While THROAT has been designed to allow subtle modi cations to a voice s vocal quality the range of the controls also allows the 8 creation of vocal tract models well beyond the limits of physical human anatomy offering the possibility of vocal characteristics that are simply unattainable by any other means In order to understand what THROAT is doing and how you can use it to process your vocal tracks it helps to know how our throats actually work to create what we perceive as unique vocal qualities Vocal production starts with the vocal chords Air from our lungs is forced through the vocal chords causing them to vibrate The contour of this vibration is the glottal waveform The actual shape of the waveform is affected by each individual s anatomy as well as the pressure applied to the vocal chords From there the voice is propagated through the throat the mouth and out through the lips It is the shape of these structures both their length and width that create the resonant characteristics that combine with the glottal waveform to de ne a unique vocal identity With THROAT for the rst time you have individual control over each of the elements that go into creating a distinct vocal character Whether you are a producer or engineer looking to subtly enhance a singer s performance
20. en widen or constrict the modeled vocal tract For even more detailed control THROAT s graphical Throat Shaping display allows you to individually adjust the position and width of ve points in the vocal tract model from the vocal chords through the throat mouth and out to the lips Finally THROAT s Breathiness controls let you add variable frequency noise to the model resulting in a range of vocal effects from subtle breathiness to raspiness to a full whisper While THROAT has been designed to allow subtle modi cations to a voice s vocal quality the range of the controls also allows the creation of vocal tract models well beyond the limits of physical human anatomy offering the possibility of vocal characteristics that are simply unattainable by any other means DUO Vocal Modeling Auto Doubler DUO automatically generates a doubled vocal part from an existing vocal In addition to allowing programmable variation in pitch timing and vibrato depth for even more realism DUO also includes a simpli ed version of THROAT s vocal modeling to provide timbral variation for the doubled part DUO s output section gives you independent control of the level and stereo position of the original and doubled voices CHOIR Vocal Multiplier Neither a harmonizer nor a conventional chorus effect CHOIR is a unique processor that actually turns a single voice into 4 8 16 or 32 distinct individual unison voices each with its o
21. er requires authorization via an iLok smart key You may not 1 Make copies of AVOX software or of the user manual in whole or in part except as expressly provided for in this agreement Your right to copy AVOX software and the user manual is limited by copyright law Making copies verbal or media translations adaptations derivative works or telecommunication data transmission of AVOX software without prior written authorization of Antares is prohibited by law and constitutes a punishable violation of the law 2 Make alterations or modi cations to AVOX software or any copy or disassemble or decompile AVOX software or any copy or attempt to discover the source code of AVOX software 3 Sub license lease lend rent or grant other rights in all or any portion of AVOX software or any copy to others Term of the Agreement This agreement is effective until terminated by you or Antares You may terminate the agreement at any time by notifying Antares and destroying all copies of the manual and erasing all AVOX software from all machine readable media whether on line or on archival copies In the event of breach of any of the terms of this agreement you shall pay the attorney s fees of Antares that are reasonably necessary to enforce the agreement plus resulting damages Limited Warranty and Disclaimer AVOX SOFTWARE AND ACCOMPANYING MATERIALS ARE PROVIDED AS IS WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND EITHER
22. ers to their minimum effect and use the Vibrato function to adjust the performance s vibrato depth See Chapter 4 for more details For maximum control of the timbre of doubled voices at the cost of increased CPU requirements assign DUO to your vocal and pan the original and doubled voices to opposite tracks Then assign an independent instance of THROAT to each part and create a unique timbre for each voice But all that being said always feel free to ignore any of the above suggestions The AVOX tools offer entirely new realms of creative possibilities There is no wrong way Now on to the details 7 Chapter 3 THROAT Physical Modeling Vocal Designer T HROAT is a revolutionary new vocal tool that lets you process a vocal through a meticulously crafted physical model of the human vocal tract THROAT begins by neutralizing the effect of the original singer s vocal tract and then gives you the ability to specify the characteristics of the modeled vocal tract THROAT s controls allow you to modify the voice s glottal waveform as well as globally stretch shorten widen or constrict the modeled vocal tract For even more detailed control THROAT s graphical Throat Shaping display allows you to individually adjust the position and width of ve points in the vocal tract model from the vocal chords through the throat mouth and out to the lips Finally THROAT s Breathiness controls let you add variabl
23. f SYBIL s side chain high pass lter The goal is to set the frequency such that the lter passes any sibilance thereby keying the compressor but not any of the desired signal Command Mac Control PC click the control to reset it to its default value of 8000 Hz Threshold This control sets the threshold level of SYBIL s compressor The range is from 0 dB to 80 dB 26 In most cases the default value of 48 dB is a good place to start Command Mac Control PC click the control to reset it to its default value of 48 dB Compression This control sets the compression ratio of SYBIL s compressor The range is from 1 0 1 to 99 1 In most cases the default value of 2 4 1 is a good place to start Command Mac Control PC click the control to reset it to its default value of 2 4 1 Attack Time This control adjusts the speed with which SYBIL s compressor responds to peaks in the signal coming from the high pass lter The range of the control is from 3 milliseconds to 100 milliseconds Command Mac Control PC click the control to reset it to its default value of 10 milliseconds Release Time This control adjusts the time it takes the compressor s gain to increase 6 dB after the signal coming from the high pass lter drops below the threshold The range of the control is from 3 milliseconds to 200 milliseconds Command Mac Control PC click the control to reset it to its default value
24. ft loud etc this control does not necessarily change the actual level of the signal although the intense setting does sometimes result in some level gain Its purpose is to model the glottal waveform that would result from the various styles of singing If you want to adjust the level use the Output Gain control described below To select vocal type click on the Vocal Type pop up and then select the desired stylistic character from the pop up list Graphic Throat Display Okay here s where the fun really starts The Graphic Throat Display allows detailed tweaking of the model throat For the purpose of this control the model throat is divided into four sections de ned by ve boundary points For reference these sections and boundary points are illustrated on the head graphic to the left of the Throat Shaping display Point 1 starts at the vocal chords and the sections progress through the throat and the mouth out to the lips which are at point 5 The Throat Shaping display itself consists of two elements the original throat plot and the model throat plot The original throat plot is colored blue and is not user changeable It represents the original length and width of the four throat sections and serves as a reference relative to which changes to the model throat are made The model throat plot is colored red and includes ve control points that can be grabbed and moved effectively adjusting the lengt
25. h and width of individual sections of the throat Additionally the background of the display is divided into two sections by color The lighter blue central area represents the range of adjustments that are consistent with typical 12 human anatomy As long as all control points and plot lines fall in this area the results of your model will be more or less realistic The darker blue area represents the range of adjustments that exceed the dimensions of typical human vocal tracts When any control point or plot line falls in this area the result may or may not sound like something that you might recognize as a human voice The more points and or plot lines fall in this area the more extreme the effect When you open a new instance of THROAT the default state of the Throat Shaping display is with the original and model throat plots exactly superimposed indicating no difference If you adjust the Throat Length and or Throat Width sliders you will see the entire red model plot move to re ect the changes Length changes are self evident For width changes any part of the model plot that lies above the original plot indicates a widening of the throat while any part of the model plot below the original plot indicates a narrowing of the throat Here are some things to consider when working with the Throat Shaping display Point 1 which represents the vocal chords serves as the anchor of the vocal tract It can be a
26. h of a number of harmony parts Even if you have only one singer have them overdub the basic harmony parts and then process those parts through THROAT to give each the character of different voices Then assign an instance of CHOIR to each of those parts and create your vocal ensemble Alternatively create harmony parts by processing a single vocal part through a harmonizer and then assigning each individual harmonizer output to an instance of CHOIR Keep in mind that the greater the number of voices the greater the CPU usage If you will be using multiple instances of CHOIR it might be wise to limit each instance to 4 or 8 voices Along those same lines even if you have tons of CPU power more is not always better Match the choir size to the style of your music Not every song needs the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Experiment with different combinations of the Pitch and Timing controls They can create dramatically different vocal ensembles With Timing at its minimum and substantial Pitch Variation you have a choir that s rhythmically tight but a bit loose with intonation Conversely reversing those settings gives you a group that s solidly in tune but rhythmically loose And there are of course many variations in between Match the performance style to the style of your music For best performance CHOIR requires a clean pitched monophonic signal If CHOIR can not reliably detect the pitch of the
27. he glottal waveform but for ease of setting we have characterized the choices as loudness Typically as loudness increases so does the pressure applied to the vocal chords and with that change in pressure a corresponding change in glottal waveform When setting this control select the loudness level soft medium loud intense that most closely matches the performance you are processing If you re not sure where your performance lies on this scale don t worry There is no need to obsess over subtle distinctions If in doubt just pick one Once you have set up a model you can always come back and try another setting and see if it makes a positive difference 9 To select vocal type click on the Vocal Type pop up and then select the closest stylistic character of the vocal performance from the pop up list Source Throat Precision If you ve already been poking around the THROAT interface you might be asking yourself What the heck is throat precision And a good question it is As it happens this control works a bit differently than the previous two Here you re not being asked to tell THROAT something about the input but instead to tell THROAT how precise to be in its attempt to calculate the characteristics of the input based on the type of modeling you intend doing the choices being subtle medium or extreme So why not always leave it at subtle Another good question The answer is that T
28. ing This control allows you to attenuate the signal after all other processing Although PUNCH allows you to create a full level signal without risk of ugly distortion it will usually be wise to apply at least a little attenuation here to allow yourself some room for any further processing that might apply gain The default setting of 3 0 dB is a good starting point and you can always come back and add in more if necessary as you continue processing and the mix takes shape 24 Command Mac Control PC click the control to reset it to its default value of 3 0 dB Output Level This meter displays the level of the signal after all processing by PUNCH The Gain Impact and Ceiling controls should be set in combination such that no clipping occurs Usage Tips PUNCH is available in mono and stereo versions Since the point of PUNCH is to optimize the impact of your vocal track in the mix it makes sense to set the controls while listening to the track in the context of the entire mix Every vocal performance is unique Finding the optimum settings for PUNCH is very much a matter of experimentation Luckily there are only two controls that really matter so the prospect is not exactly daunting The Impact control has been purposely designed with a wide enough range to produce some pretty odd effects at its extreme If you re looking for that sort of thing check it out While PUNCH has been desig
29. input either because of a noisy or effected signal or because the input is not a single monophonic voice it will apply Timing variations only 23 Chapter 6 PUNCH Vocal Impact Enhancer P UNCH is a processor that is designed to optimize the level of a vocal track to allow it to cut through a dense mix with power and clarity It provides a combination of compression gain limiting and overload protection with a user interface designed for speed and simplicity Controls Input Level This meter displays the input level of the signal to be processed Note This display is for reference purposes only None of the following controls affect the input level The result of all processing will be re ected on the Output Level display described below Gain This control allows you to increase the gain of your vocal It will typically be set in combination with the Impact control below The effect of this control will be re ected on the Output Level display Command Mac Control PC click the control to reset it to its default value of 0 0 Impact This control lets you select the amount of punch that is added to the vocal As you increase the value of this control level variations in the vocal performance are equalized and their level raised The effect of the control will be re ected on the Output Level display Command Mac Control PC click the control to reset it to its default value of 0 Ceil
30. ly with clean input signals Effects like reverb and conventional chorus or anging should typically be applied after processing by the desired AVOX plug ins If a track requires de essing use SYBIL as the rst of the AVOX plug ins THROAT should be either rst in line fed by a nice clean signal or second after SYBIL If you will be using PUNCH it should come after SYBIL and or THROAT If you will be using DUO or CHOIR they should typically be at the end of the AVOX processing chain Special Cases While you will usually choose between DUO or CHOIR you can use them together for a really huge vocal section Assign DUO to your track and pan the original and doubled voices to opposite tracks Then assign separate instances of CHOIR to each of the two tracks Humongous If you will be using a harmonizer to generate harmonies from a single vocal line start with SYBIL if necessary and then THROAT and then feed its output to your harmonizer Assign each of the harmonizer s outputs to individual tracks and use DUO or CHOIR on each track to create a vocal group of the size of your choice If desired PUNCH can be used on THROAT s output or on the individual harmonizer outputs prior to DUO or CHOIR If you have a vocal with problematic vibrato either too much or too little you can use DUO for vibrato modi cation Assign DUO to the track and use only the doubled output Set all paramet
31. ned for the voice it can perform its magic effectively on pretty much any recorded part It will even do interesting things to entire recorded mixes Check it out 25 Chapter 7 SYBIL Variable Frequency De Esser S YBIL is a digital equivalent of a traditional vocal de esser When recording spoken or sung material the sibilant sounds Ss Ts CHs and SHs in the track sometimes depending on the individual performer appear louder than the rest of the signal The effect can sound unnatural and often irritating The solution to this problem is to compress only the sibilants thereby lowering their level relative to the rest of the track Processing a signal this way is called de essing The diagram below shows how a compressor and a high pass lter are traditionally con gured to accomplish de essing SYBIL uses a digital algorithm to implement the de esser function While the details of the algorithm are quite complex the resulting effect is functionally equivalent to the diagram below Controls Gain Reduction Meter The Gain Reduction Meter displays the amount of compression taking place If the frequency and threshold controls are set properly the meter will display little gain reduction during vowel sounds and soft consonants and substantial gain reduction during sibilants For this reason the meter is a useful tool when setting the other controls High Pass Frequency This control sets the frequency o
32. nt Note Keep in mind that this control interacts with the Glottal Voice Type control below Each Voice Type sets a default Pulse Width that is associated with it So if you set this control and then select a new Voice Type below the value of this control will change to the new voice type s associated pulse width default For that reason it is usually best to select the Glottal Voice Type rst and then make any desired adjustments to the pulse width Command Mac Control PC click the control to reset it to its default value of 64 Glottal Voice Type This control is the converse of the Source Glottal Waveform control described above We used that control to tell THROAT the characteristic of the original performance We use this control to tell THROAT what kind of characteristic we would like to model The choices here are the same as the choices for the Source Glottal Waveform control i e soft medium loud and intense If you want to preserve the stylistic character of the original vocal set this control to the same voice type as you set the Source Glottal Waveform e g if you set Source Glottal Waveform to soft set this control to soft As mentioned above this control interacts with the Glottal Pulse Width control Each of the Voice Types sets a default Pulse Width that is associated with it Once a Voice Type is set the pulse width may then be adjusted separately Note Despite the value names so
33. o that THROAT requires a clean pitched monophonic signal If THROAT can not reliably detect the pitch of the input either because of a noisy or effected signal or because the input is not a single monophonic voice it will not fail but will fall back to an alternative but not quite as accurate modeling method As has been mentioned several times already for natural realistic results always start with relatively small adjustments to the various throat modeling controls whether the Length and Width sliders or the Graphic Display control points The actual range of variation in human anatomy is quite small relative to the overall range offered by THROAT When you re rst getting started try limiting control changes to around 15 As you get a feeling for the effect of various settings slowly increase the ranges until things start sounding weird not that that s necessarily a bad thing 14 If you just want to start playing try the following brief tutorial Start by assigning THROAT to a vocal part and set the above contour on the Throat Shaping display Be sure you have set the proper Vocal Range and Source Glottal settings and leave all the other controls at their default values Now while listening to your vocal slowly move the Model Throat Length slider from 1 00 to 1 25 Note the effect Depending of course on the source vocal you might typically hear the vocal quality become subtl
34. rs bass in fact pretty much anything In particular applying it to a drum loop and then following that up with PUNCH has resulted in some truly twisted beats Give it a try Play play play 15 A Few Words About the THROAT Factory Presets Unlike synth presets which will always sound the same for all users the THROAT presets are heavily dependent on the vocal tracks that you use them on Consequently they serve primarily as starting points for various general effects with the expectation that you will tweak them to work best with your particular audio Speci cally they all contain the default settings for Vocal Range and Source Glottal Waveform controls After calling up a preset you should be sure set each of those controls to re ect your track Also although some presets are named to give a general idea of their intent feel free to experiment with any preset on any source track Their are no rules 16 17 Chapter 4 DUO Vocal Modeling Auto Doubler T he DUO Vocal Modeling Auto Doubler automatically generates a doubled vocal part from any existing monophonic vocal Unlike conventional doublers that simply apply pitch and delay variation to the original part DUO makes use of Antares unique vocal modeling and vibrato processing technologies to create a doubled part that actually sounds like another singer There is no easier or quicker way to create a realistic doubled vocal part Controls
35. th the expressive contour of the singer s original vibrato is retained 20 21 Chapter 5 CHOIR Vocal Multiplier C HOIR is a unique processor that turns a single monophonic voice into 4 8 16 or 32 distinct individual unison voices each with its own pitch timing and vibrato variations The voices can if desired be spread across the stereo spectrum When multiple instances of CHOIR are assigned to individual harmony parts the result is an amazingly realistic large vocal ensemble Controls Choir Size This control allows you to select the number of individual voices that will be generated from the original voice Choices are 4 8 16 and 32 voices Vibrato Variation The Vibrato control allows you to select the range of variation in vibrato depth applied to the generated voices Each voice is individually assigned a vibrato variation relative to the original voice The higher the value of this control the greater the possible vibrato variation Command Mac Control PC click the control to reset it to its default value of 30 Pitch Variation The Pitch Variation control lets you select the range of the random variation in pitch applied to each generated voice Each voice is individually assigned a pitch variation relative to the original voice The higher the value of this control the larger the maximum amount of allowable variation Command Mac Control PC click the control to reset it to its def
36. to bring them back up or down to the desired level Command Mac Control PC click the control to reset it to its default value of 0 dB Level Matching As mentioned above some model settings result in substantial level changes The Level Matching function attempts to compensate for level differences between the original and processed versions by automatically applying gain adjustments to the modeled version Very Important Note This function is provided for ease of A B comparisons with the original vocal It inserts some processing into the modeled vocal path that can have a very small but nonetheless real effect on the overall audio quality Once you have a model you like turn the Level Matching function Off and use the Output Gain to adjust the proper level Click the Level Matching button to toggle its state The button will display On or Off as appropriate Bypass This control is used to you guessed it bypass the plug in It has been designed to provide artifact free bypass switching so that you can use it to seamlessly enable THROAT only where desired on a track Click the Bypass button to toggle its state The button will display On or Off as appropriate Keep in mind that On means that the Bypass function is on i e the plug in is bypassed Usage Tips THROAT is a monophonic processor For best modeling performance THROAT needs to be able to detect the pitch of the original performance To d
37. u can do this manually for one point at a time or much more powerfully you can use your host s automation capabilities to program movements of all ve points simultaneously For the purposes of automation each point is represented by two parameters one for horizontal position length and one for vertical position width In addition to the original and model plots when THROAT is processing audio the display will also contain real time representations of the original and modeled throat contours As with the plots the blue contour is the original throat and the red contour is the model throat As you begin to get familiar with the Throat Shaping display trial and error will no doubt be the rst order of the day However with a little experience you will soon be able to predict what effect a particular plot adjustment will 13 have Checking out the factory presets with a particular eye towards model plot shapes should help you on your way Reset Clicking the Reset button cancels any custom contour you have programmed but retains any global Stretch and Width settings set by the Model Throat Length and Width controls To reset those controls Command Mac Control PC click them to set them to their default values Output Gain This control lets you adjust the output level of the modeled vocal over a range of 24 dB As you will discover some models result in substantial level changes This control is used
38. wn pitch timing and vibrato variations The voices can if desired be spread across the stereo spectrum Assign an instance of CHOIR to each of four voices singing four part harmony and voil instant choir PUNCH Vocal Impact Enhancer PUNCH is a unique processor that as its name implies lets you give your vocal more dynamic impact allowing it to cut through a dense mix with clarity and power 6 SYBIL Variable Frequency De Esser SYBIL tames vocal sibilance with threshold ratio attack and decay controls as well as a variable sidechain high pass frequency to match any vocal performance AVOX Processing Guidelines While it might seem to be convenient to consolidate all of the AVOX functions in one integrated plug in some of the AVOX functions use quite a bit of processing power By organizing them as separate plug ins you can choose to instantiate only those you need for each particular vocal track thereby using only as much of your computer s DSP power as you absolutely need While it s not likely that you ll be using all ve plug ins on every track it is likely that you ll often be using more than one When that s the case keep the following in mind Normal Practice In general you should progress from the cleanest possible source vocal through successive stages of processing THROAT DUO and CHOIR in particular are designed to process pitched monophonic voices and will function much more effective
39. y darker more male older etc Then try moving it back to 0 75 Again note the effect In this case the result might be subtly more bright female young etc Next return the Model Throat Length slider to 1 00 and repeat the above with the Model Throat Width Finally experiment with various combinations of the two controls As you become familiar with their effects try more extreme settings of the controls Speaking of weird it may be useful to understand just why extreme models are perceived as unrealistic or strange As mentioned above the range of human vocal anatomy is actually relatively small In order that we can differentiate between the voices of the many people we encounter in our lives the auditory processing function in our brains is extremely sensitive to very small differences in vocal timbre within the typical range of variation But as a result of this we have no frame of reference for vocal timbres that fall outside of the range of common human anatomy We can t picture the person who would sound like that So we think more in terms of ltered tubular or whatever Trust us if there were people with vocal tracts of the more extreme dimensions THROAT is capable of this is what they d sound like While THROAT has been designed for voice experiments here have shown that it can produce quite striking effects when used on other instrumental tracks Try it with drums guita
40. y described below If you have used that display to create a custom throat contour this control will preserve the overall contour while scaling it by the selected amount Note While this control gives you the ability to radically change the throat length keep in mind that the variation in the length of human vocal tracts is rarely more than about 25 in either direction If you are looking for a realistic vocal characteristic start with modest settings of this control As a visual reference this range is indicated by color on the control scale More extreme settings can produce dramatic results but probably not what anyone would call realistic Command Mac Control PC click the control to reset it to its default value of 1 00 Model Throat Width The Throat Width control allows you to globally widen or constrict the modeled throat Values above 1 00 represent a widening of the throat while values below 1 00 represent a narrowing of the throat The actual values represent the percentage change in the throat width For example a value of 1 20 represents a 20 increase in throat width while a value of 0 80 represents a 20 decrease in throat width Changes made to this control are re ected on the Graphic Throat Display described below If you have used that display to create a custom throat contour this control will preserve the overall contour while scaling it by the selected amount Note Similar to the
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