Antares Vocal Toolkit Owner’s Manual
©2009 Antares Audio Technologies. All rights reserved. Certified Isinglass-free.™ All trademarks are property of their respective owners. www.antarestech.com Printed in USA Rev 1.
The Obligatory Legal Mumbo-Jumbo The Antares AVOX Evo 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. AVOX Evo License Agreement Antares Audio Technologies grants you a nontransferable, non-exclusive license to use AVOX Evo under the terms and conditions stated in this agreement.
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 AVOX Evo 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.
Contents Chapter 1 Getting Started 2 Chapter 2 Introducing AVOX Evo 4 Chapter 3 Harmony Engine Evo Vocal Modeling Harmony Generator 8 Chapter 4 THROAT Evo Physical Modeling Vocal Designer 9 Chapter 5 DUO Evo Vocal Modeling Auto-Doubler 19 Chapter 6 CHOIR Evo Vocal Multiplier 23 Chapter 7 PUNCH Evo Vocal Impact Enhancer 26 Chapter 8 SYBIL Evo Variable Frequency De-Esser 28 Chapter 9 ARTICULATOR Evo Vocal Formant and Amplitude Modeler 31 Chapter 10 MUTATOR Evo Extreme Voice Designe
vi
1 Welcome! On behalf of everyone at Antares Audio Technologies, we’d like to offer both our thanks and congratulations on your decision to purchase the AVOX Evo Antares Vocal Toolkit, a suite of uniquely powerful DSP tools for creating spectacular vocal tracks. As an AVOX Evo owner, you are entitled to receive notification 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.
2 1: Getting Started How to use this manual The plug-ins that make up the AVOX Evo suite have been designed with clear, consistent, friendly user-interfaces. If you come to AVOX Evo with previous vocal processing experience, you will find that most of their functions are self-evident and are extraordinarily easy to use. However, since some of the AVOX Evo tools do things that have never been done before (or do them in new ways), a few aspects of their user-interfaces may not be immediately obvious.
3 Authorizing AVOX Evo Authorization is the process by which AVOX Evo is allowed to run on your computer. Detailed instructions covering the available authorization options will be found in the the file “Authorization Read Me” which is included on the installation DVD ROM or with your software download. NOTE: When initially installed, this software will run for ten days without authorization. So even if you can’t authorize it right away you can still use your software in the meantime.
4 2: Introducing AVOX Evo The heart of any great song is a great vocal sound. With the AVOX Evo Antares Vocal Toolkit, we’ve combined ten state-of-the-art vocal processing modules that open up an entirely new world of vocal processing capabilities. AVOX Evo gives you the power you need to create stunning vocal tracks in any musical style as well as design unique vocal effects for audio postproduction applications.
5 Multiplier, and a flexible real-time preset system for harmony and vocal type, Harmony Engine Evo provides incredibly easy-to-use tools to quickly and easily produce virtually any vocal arrangement you can imagine. Whether you’re an experienced vocal arranger, a songwriter looking for that perfect backup vocal, or a composer experimenting with unique vocal effects, Harmony Engine Evo gives you entirely new ways to create the harmony parts you hear in your head.
6 Alienization function, MUTATOR Evo is the perfect tool for unique special vocal effects and post-production sound design.
7 AVOX Evo Processing Guidelines Special Cases While it might seem to be convenient to consolidate all of the AVOX Evo functions in one huge integrated plug-in, some of the AVOX Evo 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.
8 3: Harmony Engine Evo Vocal Modeling Harmony Generator If you’ve purchased a boxed copy of AVOX Evo, you will have noticed that it includes a separate manual for Harmony Engine Evo. And if you’ve downloaded AVOX Evo, you’ll find the Harmony Engine Evo PDF manual included with the plug-in. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, Harmony Engine Evo is by far the deepest plug-in in the AVOX Evo bundle, so there is a lot to say about getting the most out of it.
9 4: THROAT Evo Physical Modeling Vocal Designer THROAT Evo is a revolutionary vocal tool that lets you process a vocal through a meticulously crafted physical model of the human vocal tract. THROAT Evo 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. and out to the lips.
10 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.
11 Pitch To select vocal type, click on the Vocal Type popup and then select the closest stylistic character of the vocal performance from the pop-up list. The Pitch control is a new addition to THROAT Evo that allows you to shift your entire vocal up or down up to an octave in either direction in semitone increments.
12 throat modeling 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 sonic character of the breathiness will depend both on the articulation of the original vocal and, more dramatically, the setting of the Highpass Frequency control described below.
13 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.
14 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 find that the most dramatic timbral changes are usually found at the extreme ends of this control’s range.
15 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 adjusted 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).
16 Bypass This control is used to (you guessed it) bypass the plug-in. It has been designed to provide artifactfree bypass switching so that you can use it to seamlessly enable THROAT Evo 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.
17 • If you just want to start playing, try the following brief tutorial. Start by assigning THROAT Evo 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.
18 A few words about the THROAT Evo factory presets Unlike synth presets, which will always sound the same for all users, the THROAT Evo 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. Specifically, they all contain the default settings for Vocal Range and Source Glottal Waveform controls.
19 5: DUO Evo Vocal Modeling Auto-Doubler The DUO Evo 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 Evo 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.
20 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.
21 DUO Evo’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. levels Original Level Sets the level of the original voice.
22 Usage Tips • • • • DUO Evo is available in mono and stereo versions and, depending on the capabilities of your host program, a mono -> stereo version (which in most cases is the preferred routing). In the case of the stereo version, DUO Evo processes only the left channel. DUO Evo 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 Evo requires a clean, pitched monophonic signal.
23 6: CHOIR Evo Vocal Multiplier CHOIR Evo 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 Evo are assigned to individual harmony parts, the result is an amazingly realistic large vocal ensemble.
24 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.
25 Usage Tips • • • • CHOIR Evo is available in mono and stereo versions and, depending on the capabilities of your host program, a mono -> stereo version (which in most cases is the preferred routing). In the case of the stereo version, CHOIR Evo processes only the left channel. CHOIR Evo 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.
26 7: PUNCH Evo Vocal Impact Enhancer PUNCH Evo 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. Gain Controls Command (Mac)/Control (PC) click the control to reset it to its default value of 0.0. Input Level This meter displays the input level of the signal to be processed.
27 Ceiling This control allows you to attenuate the signal after all other processing. Although PUNCH Evo allows you to create a fulllevel 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.
28 8: SYBIL Evo Variable Frequency De-Esser SYBIL Evo 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.
29 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. Side Chain High Pass Frequency This control sets the frequency of SYBIL Evo’s side-chain high pass filter.
30 Attack Time This control adjusts the speed with which SYBIL Evo’s compressor responds to peaks in the signal coming from the high pass filter. 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 filter drops below the threshold.
31 9: ARTICULATOR Evo Digital Talk Box A modern-day version of the venerable talk box, ARTICULATOR Evo lets you extract the formant and amplitude information from a vocal (or other dynamic source) and apply it to any other audio track or to a built-in broadband noise generator. Perfect for talking guitars, singing synths, whispering voices, and a wide range of special effects.
32 in nature. Examples include synth pads and patches rich in overtones, distortion-rich guitar sounds, or even entire instrumental mixes. The built-in Noise Generator also makes a good Audio Signal, but its character will pretty much always be in the nature of whispering. (It can also be mixed with an external Audio Signal.) The Audio Signal can be mono or stereo, depending on the capabilities of your particular host.
33 on the track of the Control Signal. ARTICULATOR Evo’s internal Noise Generator functions as the Audio Signal. (This is useful primarily for whispering and modulated noise effects.) Instantiation on a stereo track: In this configuration, ARTICULATOR Evo treats the right channel of the stereo track as the Control Signal and the left channel of the track as the Audio Signal. Audio Units Some Audio Units hosts support sidechain input and some don’t.
34 If you select Sidechain, the Audio Source will be the stereo audio track that ARTICULATOR Evo is instantiated on. This is the most flexible configuration in that it allows for a stereo Audio Signal. • If you select Audio Track L as the Control Signal, Audio Track R will be selected as the Audio Signal. • If you select Audio Track R as the Control Signal, Audio Track L will be selected as the Audio Signal.
35 Note: Stereo noise is only available from stereo or mono>stereo versions of ARTICULATOR Evo. If you have instantiated a mono version, this button will be disabled. Formant Extraction Section The controls in this section allow you to optimize the formant extraction process for your specific Control Signal. Voice Type Use this control to select the range of the track you will be processing.
36 To adjust Throat Length, click on the knob and move the cursor up to turn the knob clockwise, or down to turn it counterclockwise. The numeric display will indicate the percentage of change. Command (Mac)/Alt (PC) clicking on the knob will reset it to its default value of 1.00. Throat Width As you might imagine, this control is similar the the Throat Length control described above, but instead modifies the width of the modeled throat. Values above 1.
37 3. Set the Formant Extraction controls as appropriate for your Control Signal. 4. In the Output Mixer, set Control Signal Level to -inf and Audio Signal level to a comfortable level. To adjust Q, click on the knob and move the cursor up to turn the knob clockwise, or down to turn it counterclockwise. Command (Mac)/Alt (PC) clicking on the knob will reset it to its default value of 0.71. 5. While playing the Control Track, vary the Envelope Amount control from 0 to 100 and listen to the result.
38 Output Mixer Section Here’s where you can set the output levels and pans of both the processed Audio Signal and the Control Signal. Audio Signal Level This control applies gain or attenuation to the processed Audio Signal plus Noise (if any). The range is from -inf (i.e., off) to +12 dBs of gain. The associated meter indicates the level of the processed Audio Signal along with a clipping indicator.
39 Usage Tips Although we’ve already mentioned this a few times, it bears repeating that to obtain the most interesting results from ARTICULATOR Evo, it’s most important to select appropriate Control and Audio Signals. Audio Signals • Control Signals • • • • First and foremost, the Control Signal should be dynamic, both in formant information and volume (as would be case with speaking or singing).
40 10: MUTATOR Evo Extreme Voice Designer MUTATOR Evo provides a combination of tools for creating unusual, weird, or downright wacky voices. With high-quality pitch shifting, throat modeling, a pitch-tracking ring modulator for “mutation,” and a mind-bending Alienization function, MUTATOR Evo is the perfect tool for unique vocal effects and post-production sound design.
41 Controls Vocal Range Use this control to select the range of the track you will be processing. Choices include soprano voice, alto/tenor voice, baritone/bass 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 pitch shifting and modeling. To select vocal range, click on the Vocal Range pop-up and then select the desired range from the pop-up list.
42 varying the length of the voice’s model vocal tract. It can be used in combination with the Shift Pitch control to modify gender and/or vocal quality. 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.
43 Note: For the technically curious, what’s going on here is a unique variation of the technique called ring modulation, a staple of early analog synthesizers. What makes MUTATOR Evo’s mutation process special is that MUTATOR Evo is constantly detecting the pitch of the input voice and shifting the relative pitch of the modulating signal to match, thereby preserving the basic mutation quality regardless of pitch changes in the input.
44 light to indicate that MUTATOR Evo is in fact receiving the clock signal from your host. In Tempo Sync Mode, the Dialect control lets you select what division or multiplier of the beat will define the length and position of each speech segment. The choices are: 4/4 (4 beats) 3/4 (3 beats) 2/4 (2 beats) 1/4. (dotted quarter note) 1/4 (quarter note) 1/4T (quarter note triplet) 1/8. (dotted 8th note) 1/8 (8th note) 1/8T (8th note triplet) 1/16.
45 Bypas The Bypass control lets you completely bypass the plug-in. When the Bypass button is blue, the plug-in is processing normally. When it is red, it is bypassed. Click the button to toggle its state. Usage Tips The effects of the various MUTATOR Evo functions are so dependent on the nature of each individual voice, it’s hard to give useful general guidelines. If there was ever a plug-in that rewarded just messing around, this is it.
46 11: WARM Tube Saturation Generator Based on Antares’ legendary (at least among those of us who work here and, based on the volume of emails we’ve gotten since we discontinued it, a fair number of others as well) Tube plug-in, WARM, warms up your vocals with Antares’ world-renown tube modeling technology, while being so processing-efficient, you can put an instance on pretty much every track in your project and still barely see your CPU meter twitch.
47 tube “warmth.” Additionally, WARM has been designed to be extremely DSP efficient, so that even a relatively modest native system will be capable of running WARM on an almost unlimited number of tracks simultaneously. What’s the big deal with tubes anyway? For most of us in audio recording, distortion is a bad word. We typically want the cleanest possible recordings, free of any audible distortion.
48 Tube Selector WARM includes two different tube models. The Velvet (blue) tube models the subtle effects of a classic high-quality tube preamp. While this model is perfect for adding warmth to vocals, it’s just as useful for acoustic guitar, horns, strings, synth pads, in fact pretty much anything. The Crunch (red) tube models the deep, warm distortion of an overdriven tube amplifier. Use it in moderation to impart a subtle (or not-sosubtle) effect to almost any track.
49 To adjust the Drive amount, click on the fader handle and move it left or right to the desired setting. The numerical display will indicate the amplification factor in dB and the tube graphic’s will “glow” will change to provide an additional visual indication (i.e., “eye candy”). Command (Mac)/Alt (PC) clicking anywhere in the scale will reset the Drive value to 0dB OmniTube Without OmniTube engaged, WARM functions exactly like a tube preamp, i.e.
50 Usage Tips At its most basic level, WARM is designed to add an extremely accurate model of a tube preamp’s sound to warm your digital tracks. But we have purposely designed WARM to have a range of controls that allow you to push well beyond that model. Here are a few other things to try: • • • • Pass your entire final mix through WARM. Instantiate a stereo version of WARM (or more if you are mixing for surround) on your mix bus. Start with a little Velvet tube with OmniTube off.
51 12: ASPIRE Evo Aspiration Noise Processor ASPIRE Evo is the world’s first tool for modifying a voice’s breathiness independent of its harmonic content. Whether reducing a bit of vocal rasp or adding a bit of smokiness, ASPIRE Evo lets you modify the amount and quality of a voice’s aspiration noise without otherwise affecting the vocal’s harmonic characteristics.
52 allows you to either increase or decrease the amount of aspiration noise, as well as letting you affect the character of the aspiration noise by applying a parametric EQ to the noise component. may be necessary to allow more signal variation (higher Tracking numbers). However, under these circumstances tracking is not guaranteed and a too “relaxed” setting may introduce distortion and popping.
53 Reduction This control allows you to select the amount of reduction of the aspiration noise. A setting of 0.0 provides no reduction. Maximum reduction is -12.0 dB. The red aspiration noise plot on the graphic display will move to reflect the setting of the control. To adjust Reduction, click on the knob and move the cursor up to turn the knob clockwise, or down to turn it counterclockwise. Command (Mac)/Alt (PC) clicking on the knob will reset it to its default value of -6 dB.
54 Gain The Gain control lets you set the amount of boost or cut that will be applied to the aspiration noise component at the selected Frequency. The range is from -12.0dB to +12.0dB. To adjust Gain, click on the knob and move the cursor up to turn the knob clockwise, or down to turn it counterclockwise. Command (Mac)/Alt (PC) clicking on the knob will reset it to its default value of 0.
55 Index A Antares Audio Technologies ii Antares Online Community 3 ARTICULATOR Evo 5, 6, 31 Configuration Guide 32 Controls 32 Amplitude Extraction Section 36 Amplitude Modulation Section 36 EQ Section 37 Formant Extraction Section 35 Formant Modulation Section 35 Input Level Meters 34 Input Mixer Section 34 Input Routing Section 32 Output Mixer Section 38 Signal Routing 32 Signal Selection 31 Usage Tips 39 ASPIRE Evo 6, 51 Controls 52 EQ Section 53 Increase 53 Increase/Reduce 52 Reduction 53 Tracking 52
56 M MUTATOR Evo 5, 6, 40 Controls 41 Alienize Section 43 Input/Output Section 44 Mutate Section 42 Vocal Range 41 Voice Design Section 41 Usage Tips 45 P Processing Guidelines 7 PUNCH Evo 5, 26 Controls 26 Ceiling 27 Input Level 26 Output Level 27 Usage Tips 27 S SYBIL Evo 5, 28 Controls 29 Compressor 29 Gain Reduction Meter 29 Side Chain 29 Usage Tips 30 T Technical Support 3 THROAT Evo 5, 6, 9 Controls 10 Add Breathiness 11 Graphic Throat Display 14 Model Glottal Waveform 13 Output 16 Pitch 11 Se
