Moog Spectravox Review: OK Vocoder, Excellent Toy Leave a comment

The filter financial institution is what makes the Spectravox distinctive in Moog’s lineup of midrange semi-modular instruments. It’s a dynamic 10-band filter financial institution with high- and low-pass filters, plus eight bandpass filters in between. These can be utilized to easily form incoming audio like an elaborate EQ. However the bands can be shifted round with the help of an LFO for creating phaser- and wah-like results. In case you actually crank stuff it could possibly even provide you with pseudo-ring modulation. Is spending $599 on a desktop synthesizer a bit of overkill simply to play some funk guitar? Completely. However it’s a enjoyable little trick the Spectravox has in its again pocket.

The filter financial institution can be used to supply sound all by itself if you happen to join a midi controller or sequencer with CV (management voltage) output. In case you flip up the resonance of the filter and patch the EG (envelope generator) to the provider enter, then join the pitch output of the controller to the spectral shift and the gate to the set off enter, then you possibly can coax fascinating marimba-like tones out of the Spectravox with none further audio enter.

The Synth

After all a part of the requirement for a vocoder is a provider sign, on this case a synthesizer. The Spectravox consists of an extremely easy however fairly decent-sounding single-oscillator monophonic synth. It has sq. and sawtooth choices, with variable pulse width on the sq.. There may be additionally a noise supply you can dial in to soiled up the only oscillator, however it goes from nonexistent to overpowering fairly shortly, and I usually simply left it off.

The synth might be mixed with a keyboard or sequencer which has CV output and is performed like some other synth. Or, you possibly can pair it with some exterior results to create risers, drones, and different sound results. Much like utilizing the Spectravox as a phaser although, whereas it’s a pleasant trick, you don’t have to spend $600 to get a fundamental monophonic synth. It is a good perk however not essentially a cause for it to leap to the highest of your purchasing record.

The place Spectravox begins to get fascinating as a synthesizer is whenever you begin combining all of its numerous components in barely surprising methods. As an example if, as an alternative of vocals you ran a drum loop into this system enter, it could impart its rhythmic ebb and stream to the interior synth, or no matter you had been feeding into the provider.

Higher Collectively

{Photograph}: Terrence O’Brien

I believe the Spectravox actually exhibits its versatility whenever you use it as a intermediary between two completely different sources of audio. For one, a monophonic vocoder can really feel a bit of skinny. However if you happen to plug one other synth into the provider, you possibly can sing in attractive polyphonic synth chords. If I wished to get some wealthy vocoder motion going I’d simply plug my Korg Minilogue XD into the provider enter. And utilizing issues like drum loops so as to add rhythmic curiosity to different synths and even my guitar was at all times a blast. In actual fact, considered one of my favourite methods was feeding a drum machine into this system enter, my guitar (by means of an amp sim pedal first) into the provider, after which feeding the output of the Spectravox by means of some refrain and reverb. The result’s one thing that doesn’t sound precisely like a synth or precisely like a guitar. I don’t know the way usually I’d use such a wierd impact, however I’m dying to place it to the check on a guitar solo.

It’s this form of experimentation that makes the Spectravox so compelling and enjoyable. In actual fact, it’s what retains me coming again to Moog’s line of desktop semi-modular synths just like the Subharmonicon (8/10, WIRED Recommends) and the DFAM. I like the sound of Mini Moog as a lot as anybody else, however these all supply some new experimental tackle Moog’s legacy. My one main criticism in regards to the Spectravox is that it’s noisy. I needed to reduce a number of the excessive finish to get it to be usable on recordings.

In case you’re out there for a vocoder it’s best to most likely skip the Spectravox. There are higher and cheaper choices for simply conventional vocoding, like a MicroKorg ($429) or Arturia’s MicroFreak ($359). However if you’d like one thing extra playful—one thing that may be a vocoder if you happen to want it to be however is absolutely extra of a sonic playground—the Moog Spectravox would possibly nicely be well worth the $599.