Recording - June 2021 - 68

-Review by Paul Vnuk Jr.

Waves
Vocal Bender

Craft modern vocal effects in real time
Vocal Bender is the latest vocal plugin from Waves,
joining Waves Tune Real-Time and OVox Vocal ReSynthesis
(reviewed April 2020) as a frontline tool for modern vocal
production. Vocal Bender is one of the easiest vocal
manipulation tools I've ever tried.

Get bent!

Vocal Bender is a monophonic pitch shifter that can pitch a
vocal up or down +/- 12 semitones or +/- 12 cents in fine-tune
mode. While that may not sound revolutionary, Vocal Bender
is processor-light with darn near zero latency, which means you
can sing into the effect while tracking or live on stage. Vocal
Bender can also be manipulated and modulated quickly and
easily, and even played and automated like an instrument.

Dial up some pitches
The minimal interface is centered around two large dials: Pitch
(described above) and Formant (also +/- 12). A vocal formant
refers to the tonal characteristics inherent in a person's age, size,
and gender. A negative value will be deeper, looser, booming
and thicker, while positive values can sound brighter, tighter,
and even like a pre-pubescent cartoon animal. When pushed
to extremes on either side, the formant may exhibit an almost
granular artifacted sound. Both parameters can be linked.
The two final controls in the main window are Mix and Flatten, which forces the plugin into a fixed pitch. The result can be
robotic and can even sound like a vintage vocoder effect-extra fun when used with the plugin's onboard modulation.

Modulate and automate
A small tab at the lower left opens a dropdown window
containing four modulation sources that are routed by simply
dragging and dropping them onto the above controls, where a
further hover and drag adjusts their range.
The first two modulators (M1 and M2) offer a choice of LFO,
complete with the ability to draw your own curves, and controls for
(syncable) Rate, Warp, Phase, Smooth and Level, or a sequencer
(up to 16 steps). Next up are the Organic Modulators. AM is the
amplitude modulator. Like an advanced envelope follower, AM
uses the natural amplitude envelope (IE the natural dynamic flow)
of the incoming voice to modulate a selected parameter. It can be
fine-tuned with Attack, Release and Level controls.
PT uses incoming pitch information as a modulation source
with controls for Smoothing, Offset and Level. Note that AM
and PT can modulate M1 and M2 for further fun.
68 RECORDING June 2021

In use
Vocal Bender comes with a healthy collection of presets to
get you started, but even without them, it's quick and painless
to dial in everything from subtle vocal doubles up to trippedout wobbling psychedelic mayhem. Dial in your selected pitch,
adjust the formant to taste, drag in some modulation to keep
the sound organic and moving, mix to taste, and you're off
and running. 
While there are many pitch shifting plugins on the market,
even built in to most DAWs, the tight integration of the formant
control is what sets Vocal Bender apart, by adding an organic,
human-like realism that many pitch programs lack.
I used Vocal Bender to fill out a thin male vocal with a gentle
low-end weight, on a lead vocal for tape machine-style doubling (sometimes called automatic double-tracking or ADT),
and I used multiple instances of Vocal Bender to build up a
three-part female backing chorus using my DAW's automation
to jump pitches when necessary. Again, the modulated formant
control is invaluable for fostering the illusion of multiple singers
rather than one singer singing multiple parts. When it came to
selecting a starting preset for a rap vocal, there were so many
interesting choices, my client had a hard time deciding which
one to use.

Conclusion
If you do any sort of modern hip-hop, R&B or pop, or even
just an occasional subtle double, harmony or demon voice
from the depths, Waves Vocal Bender is a Pandora's box of
easy-to-use stylistic vocal effects.
Price: $149 (check website for sales and discounts)
More From: waves.com


http://www.waves.com http://www.waves.com

Recording - June 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - June 2021

Fade In
Fast Forward
Plugin Outlet: Accusonus ERA 5 Pro Bundle
Arturia KeyStep 37
Soundware Showcase: Spitfire Audio Originals Mrs Mills Piano
Richard Barbieri: Living under a spell: interpreting dreams through texture
Erica Synths: SYNTRX Analog Synthesizer
Moog Sound Studio: Mother-32 & DFAM Analog Synthesis Experience
Patch & Tweak with Moog from Bjooks
Plugin Outlet: NUGEN Stereoizer Elements
Inside the Studio with Mark Hornsby: A little summin, summin!
Eventide: H9000 Next Generation Harmonizer (Part 2)
Reviewed & Revisited: Steinberg Cubase Pro 11
Radial Engineering: EXTC Stereo
Inside the Box with Joe Albano: Working In Multiple DAWs
Reviewed and Revisited: PreSonus Studio One 5.2
Plugin Outlet: Focusrite FAST Plugins
Session Log: The Angelheaded Hipster, Part 6: Plugins
Plugin Outlet: BOOM Library EnRage
Reviewed and Revisited: Modarrt Pianoteq 7
Readers' Tracks
Reviewed and Revisited: Ableton Live 11
Plugin Outlet: Waves Vocal Bender
Fade Out: Spaceship Syndrome
Recording - June 2021 - Intro
Recording - June 2021 - Cover1
Recording - June 2021 - Cover2
Recording - June 2021 - 1
Recording - June 2021 - 2
Recording - June 2021 - 3
Recording - June 2021 - Fade In
Recording - June 2021 - 5
Recording - June 2021 - 6
Recording - June 2021 - 7
Recording - June 2021 - Fast Forward
Recording - June 2021 - 9
Recording - June 2021 - Plugin Outlet: Accusonus ERA 5 Pro Bundle
Recording - June 2021 - 11
Recording - June 2021 - 12
Recording - June 2021 - 13
Recording - June 2021 - Arturia KeyStep 37
Recording - June 2021 - 15
Recording - June 2021 - Soundware Showcase: Spitfire Audio Originals Mrs Mills Piano
Recording - June 2021 - 17
Recording - June 2021 - Richard Barbieri: Living under a spell: interpreting dreams through texture
Recording - June 2021 - 19
Recording - June 2021 - 20
Recording - June 2021 - 21
Recording - June 2021 - 22
Recording - June 2021 - 23
Recording - June 2021 - 24
Recording - June 2021 - 25
Recording - June 2021 - Erica Synths: SYNTRX Analog Synthesizer
Recording - June 2021 - 27
Recording - June 2021 - Moog Sound Studio: Mother-32 & DFAM Analog Synthesis Experience
Recording - June 2021 - 29
Recording - June 2021 - Patch & Tweak with Moog from Bjooks
Recording - June 2021 - 31
Recording - June 2021 - Plugin Outlet: NUGEN Stereoizer Elements
Recording - June 2021 - 33
Recording - June 2021 - Inside the Studio with Mark Hornsby: A little summin, summin!
Recording - June 2021 - 35
Recording - June 2021 - Eventide: H9000 Next Generation Harmonizer (Part 2)
Recording - June 2021 - 37
Recording - June 2021 - Reviewed & Revisited: Steinberg Cubase Pro 11
Recording - June 2021 - 39
Recording - June 2021 - 40
Recording - June 2021 - 41
Recording - June 2021 - Radial Engineering: EXTC Stereo
Recording - June 2021 - 43
Recording - June 2021 - Inside the Box with Joe Albano: Working In Multiple DAWs
Recording - June 2021 - 45
Recording - June 2021 - 46
Recording - June 2021 - 47
Recording - June 2021 - Reviewed and Revisited: PreSonus Studio One 5.2
Recording - June 2021 - 49
Recording - June 2021 - Plugin Outlet: Focusrite FAST Plugins
Recording - June 2021 - 51
Recording - June 2021 - Session Log: The Angelheaded Hipster, Part 6: Plugins
Recording - June 2021 - 53
Recording - June 2021 - 54
Recording - June 2021 - 55
Recording - June 2021 - Plugin Outlet: BOOM Library EnRage
Recording - June 2021 - 57
Recording - June 2021 - Reviewed and Revisited: Modarrt Pianoteq 7
Recording - June 2021 - 59
Recording - June 2021 - Readers' Tracks
Recording - June 2021 - 61
Recording - June 2021 - 62
Recording - June 2021 - 63
Recording - June 2021 - 64
Recording - June 2021 - 65
Recording - June 2021 - Reviewed and Revisited: Ableton Live 11
Recording - June 2021 - 67
Recording - June 2021 - Plugin Outlet: Waves Vocal Bender
Recording - June 2021 - 69
Recording - June 2021 - 70
Recording - June 2021 - 71
Recording - June 2021 - Fade Out: Spaceship Syndrome
Recording - June 2021 - Cover3
Recording - June 2021 - Cover4
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