AVOX 2

Antares Vocal Toolkit

Owners Manual

v1.March 2008
2008 Antares Audio Technologies. All rights reserved. Certified Isinglass-free. All trademarks are property of their respective owners. Antares Audio Technologies 231 Technology Circle, Scotts Valley, California 95066 USA www.antarestech.com Printed in USA Rev 1.0 PN P35035-0308-M01
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Controls

Set up
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 isnt 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 individuals possible waveforms is defined by their particular anatomy. Within that range, the waveform can change pretty dramatically depending on the performers 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 influence the 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 youre not sure where your performance lies on this scale, dont 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. 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.
So why not always leave it at subtle? Another good question. The answer is that THROATs 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 modifications). 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 dont 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:

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. (soft, 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.
Note: Despite the value names
If you adjust the Throat Length and/or Throat Width sliders, you will see the entire red model plot move to reflect 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:
much more powerfully, you can use your hosts automation capabilities to program movements of all five 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 first order of the day. However, with a little experience, you will soon be able to predict what effect a particular plot adjustment will have. Checking out the factory presets, with a particular eye towards model plot shapes, should help you on your way.

Important Note: Unlike vibrato

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. Weve linked them together to give you quick and easy access to a range of useful timbres.
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.

Double Pan Position

Sets the doubled voices location in the stereo spectrum. This control only functions in Stereo or Mono-> Stereo modes. Command (Mac)/Control (PC) click the control to reset it to its default value of 100 (far right).

Pitch Variation

The Pitch Variation control lets you select the amount of random variation in pitch applied to the 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. DUOs 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.

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.
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 default value of 30.

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.
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

The Pitch Variation control lets you select the range of the random variation in pitch applied to each generated voice. Each voice
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
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-> Stereo modes. Command (Mac)/Control (PC) click the control to reset it to its default value of 100.
CHOIR 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 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 each 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.

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 above.

High Pass Frequency

This control sets the frequency of SYBILs side-chain high pass filter. The goal is to set the frequency such that the filter 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 SYBILs compressor. The range is from 0 dB to -80 dB. 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 SYBILs 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.
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 find that ideal point where only the sibilance is affected. When set correctly, you cant tell that there is processing going on. If you can hear something happening, SYBIL needs to have its settings tweaked.

Attack Time

This control adjusts the speed with which SYBILs 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 compressors gain to increase 6 dB after the signal coming from the high pass filter 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 of 20 milliseconds.

Chapter 9: ARTICULATOR

Vocal Formant and Amplitude Modeler
Perfect for talking guitars, singing synths, whispering voices, and a wide range of special effects.

ARTICULATOR is designed to use a vocal track to control the processing of a second track, ideally a track with broadband harmonic content like a rich synth patch, a processed guitar, or the built-in noise generator (but typically not another vocal track). Finally, because different hosts offer different (or no) capabilities for routing multiple tracks to a single plug-in, the version of ARTICULATOR for each plug-in format features a unique Input Routing subsection that is designed for the specific capabilities of that format.

Signal Selection

So whats going on here?
ARTICULATOR is unique among the AVOX 2 plug-ins in a number of basic ways: First, it requires two different audio sources, what we call the Audio Signal and the Control Signal (more about those in a bit). Second, while every other AVOX 2 plug-in is designed to process and affect a vocal track,
As mentioned above, ARTICULATOR requires two audio sources (although the built-in Noise Generator can serve as one of them). They are:
The Control Signal: This signal serves as the source of the formant and amplitude information that will be applied to the Audio Signal. A good Control Signal will have a lot of variation in both loudness and resonant harmonic content. A voice, whether singing, speaking, or just making weird rhythmic vocal noises makes an ideal Control Signal.
The Control Signal will always be mono.
The Audio Signal: This is the signal that
the Control Signals formant and amplitude information is applied to. A good Audio Signal will be rich in harmonic content and sustained in nature. Examples include synth pads and patches rich in overtones, distortion-rich guitars 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.

Signal Routing

RTAS Since Pro Tools supports sidechain routing, setting up the RTAS version is quite straightforward. Simply select the Audio Signal by instantiating ARTICULATOR on the desired mono or stereo audio track and then assign the Control Signal via the sidechain input. The RTAS Input Routing section includes a red LED that lights to confirm that the sidechain input has been enabled in Pro Tools.
Since few current plug-ins need to make use of two independent audio signals, some ingenuity is required to use ARTICULATOR in some hosts. The easiest way to route the required signals is through the use of a sidechain input. In this scenario, you simply instantiate ARTICULATOR on the Audio Signals track and route the Control Signal through the sidechain input. Unfortunately, not all hosts currently support sidechain routing. If yours doesnt, you will have to use one of the alternative methods outlined in the Input Routing section below. VST The version of VST that is most commonly in use at the time this is being written (and is used by ARTICULATOR) does not support sidechain input (but see the note below). Consequently, the methods for getting both signals into the VST version of ARTICULATOR vary depending on what kind of track its instantiated on. The Input Routing section will change to reflect each of the following three possible options:

Note: Engaging the compressor
configuration, you can select either the sidechain input or the left channel of the audio track or the right channel of the audio track as the Control Signal. If your host supports sidechain input, you will typically always select it as the Control Signal. If your host does not offer sidechain input, select either the left or right channel of the audio track. Depending on your choice, the resulting Audio Signal source will appear in the Audio Signal display as follows: If you select Sidechain, the Audio Source will be the stereo audio track that ARTICULATOR 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. In these latter two cases, you will typically be required to create the stereo track by combining (via whatever method your DAW provides) the two independent tracks you wish to use as Control Signal and Audio Signal (being careful to ensure that they are hard panned to the appropriate channels). In these configurations, the Audio Signal is limited to being mono (although it can be combined with the Noise Generator in Stereo Noise mode).
usually results in an overall increase in gain. You may need to adjust the Audio Level control to compensate. NOISE LEVEL This control sets the level of the internal Noise Generator. The range is from -inf (i.e., off) to +12 dBs of gain.
To adjust Noise Generator Level, 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 amount of attenuation or gain in dBs. Command (Mac)/Alt (PC) clicking on the knob will reset it to its default value of -inf (i.e., off). STEREO NOISE ARTICULATORs internal Noise Generator can provide either a single noise signal, or two uncorrelated noise signals panned to the opposite extremes of a stereo output. Clicking the Stereo Noise button will toggle it between mono and stereo noise. The button will turn blue to indicate the selection of stereo noise. available from stereo or mono->stereo versions of ARTICULATOR. If you have instantiated a mono version, this button will not appear.
Note: Stereo noise is only
TRACKING In order to accurately analyze the Control Signal, ARTICULATOR requires a periodically repeating waveform, characteristic of a voice or solo instrument. The Tracking control determines how much variation is allowed in the incoming waveform for ARTICULATOR to still consider it periodic. If you are working with a well-isolated solo Control Signal (e.g., tracking in a studio or from a multitrack master) you can typically set the Tracking control to 25 and forget it. If, on the other hand, your Control Signal is noisy or not well-isolated, or you are dealing with a particularly breathy or guttural voice, it 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 negatively affect the accuracy of the formant extraction. To adjust Tracking, click on the knob and move the cursor up to turn the knob clockwise, or down to turn it counterclockwise. Remember, higher numbers allow more variation, while lower numbers require less. Command (Mac)/Alt (PC) clicking on the knob will reset it to its default value of 25.

THROAT LENGTH This control uses the vocal tract modeling technology from THROAT to modify the vocal characteristics of the input voice by actually varying the length of the voices 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. In addition to simply changing vocal timbre, increasing throat length is useful when the original input is female and you are shifting it down and want it to sound male. Conversely, decreasing throat length is useful when the original input is male and you want to shift it up to sound female or childlike. 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 20% in either direction. If you are looking for a realistic vocal characteristic, start with modest settings of this control. More extreme settings can produce dramatic results, but probably not what anyone would call realistic. 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.
Note: While this control gives you
Command (Mac)/Alt (PC) clicking on the knob will reset it to its default value of 1.00.
MUTATION The Mutation control allows you to select among 24 different varieties of mutation, as well as being able to select 0, which, not surprisingly, will result in no mutation effect. Although the sound of each mutation setting depends to a great extent on the characteristics of the specific voice being processed, as a general rule, odd-numbered settings will typically result in more enharmonic overtones being added to the voice (i.e., weird growly or grunginess) than even-numbered settings. When first experimenting, try starting with 8 and then work out from there. Beyond that, there are really no rules for predicting how a particular setting will affect a particular voice. Trial and error is the method of the day. whats going on here is a unique variation of the technique called ring modulation, a staple of early analog synthesizers. What makes MUTATORs mutation process special is that MUTATOR 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. A setting of 8 sets the modulation signal to the same frequency as the input voice. 4 sets it an octave lower and 16 an octave higher. Intermediate settings result in more complex ratios and more complex harmonic structures. To select a Mutation variety, 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 mutation number. Command (Mac)/Alt (PC) clicking on the knob will reset it to its default value of 0 (no mutation).

Note: For the technically curious,
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 1.00 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. control above, if you are going for realism, limit yourself to modifications of about +/- 20%. For special effects, anything goes.
Note: As with the Throat Length
To adjust Throat Width, 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.

Mutate Section

Having created your basic vocal characteristic with the Voice Design controls, the Mutate section lets you turn that voice into a variety of, how shall we put it, alternative entities (i.e., weird creatures).
MUTANT MIX This control allows you to set a mix between the original unprocessed voice and the voice after being processed by the Mutation control. This mix is then sent on to the Alienize section. When this control is set to the extreme Original end of its range, only the original unprocessed voice will be sent. At the extreme Mutated end, only the processed voice will be sent. In the middle of the range, a selectable mix of the two will be sent. To set the Mutant Mix, 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 the Mutated signal in the mix. Command (Mac)/Alt (PC) clicking on the knob will reset it to its default value of 100 (all mutated signal).
DIALECT This control sets the length (in time) of the speech segments that are reversed. Low numbers result in short segments, while progressively higher numbers result in progressively longer segments. At very low numbers, the segments are so small that you can still easily understand the original spoken or sung words. At higher numbers intelligibility becomes progressively worse, until at very high numbers, each segment can include one or more entire words. Alienize is a real-time function, I.e., it doesnt simply analyze and reverse sections of a pre-recorded track. You could, in fact, connect a microphone and have MUTATOR Alienize your voice as you speak or sing. Try it. Its fun.

Another Note: Because the Alienize function needs to store up a small bit of your speech before it can start Alienizing it, there will be a short delay between the beginning of the audio and when the alienized voice begins to sound (the exact delay depends on the selected Dialect setting). Conversely, depending on exactly when your audio ends, the alienized voice may continue for a very brief time after you stop while the last alienized segment is completed. (Think of it as Alien Time-shift.) Note: It should be noted that

Alienize Section

The Alienize section lets you give your speech the quality of an alien language by chopping it up into small segments and playing each segment in reverse. (The effect is kind of hard to describe in words, so just try it. Youll see.) ALIENIZE The Alienize switch lets you activate and deactivate the Alienization process. Click anywhere on the switch to toggle its state between On and Off. It turns blue when Alienization is On and gray when it is Off.
To set the Dialect, 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 relative segment length (in arbitrary units). Command (Mac)/Alt (PC) clicking on the knob will reset it to its default value of 10.

Input/Output Section

Heres where you can adjust the output level, bypass the entire plug-in, and get a visual representation of the before and after versions of your audio. OUTPUT VOLUME This control applies gain or attenuation to the output signal. Since MUTATORs various functions can substantially increase or decrease the level of the input, you can use this control, in combination with the output level meter, to insure that your output is at an appropriate level without clipping. To adjust output volume, click on and move the fader to the desired position. The numeric display will indicate in dBs the exact amount of gain or attenuation applied. Command (Mac)/Alt (PC) clicking anywhere in the fader track will reset the control to its default value of 0dB. OUTPUT LEVEL METER Use this meter in combination with the output level control to set the optimum output level. Ideally, the meter should peak in the upper area of its range without repeatedly pegging at 0 dB.
BYPASS 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.
AUDIO DISPLAY The Audio Display gives you a visual indication of the original and processed versions of your audio (and is just kind of cool to watch). The blue plot is the waveform of the original audio, The red plot is the processed audio. For hours of fun, try changing the various controls while watching their effect on the red plot.
The effects of the various MUTATOR functions are so dependent on the nature of each individual voice, its hard to give useful general guidelines. If there was ever a plug-in that rewarded just messing around, this is it. With that caveat:

If youre looking to create the voice of a demon, try shifting pretty much any voice down 8-12 semitones (depending on how low the voice is to begin with), set Throat Length to 1.10, and set Mutation to 2. Then tweak as desired. To turn a woman into a child, shift the voice up 5 semitones, set Throat Length to 1.30, and set Throat Width to 0.60. Then tweak as desired. The effect of Alienization Dialect settings are entirely dependent on the specific speech its applied to. However, for an interesting musical effect, use a long cycle period and try matching the period to the tempo of your song.
WARM is an easy-to-use plug-in that accurately models the sonic effects of recording audio through a high quality analog tube preamplifier.

Chapter 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 weve gotten since we discontinued it, a fair number of others as well) Tube plug-in, WARM, warms up your vocals with Antares worldrenown 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.

So what exactly is WARM?

WARM is an easy-to-use plug-in that accurately models the sonic effects of recording audio through a high quality analog tube preamplifier. It offers the choice of two different tube models as well as a unique OmniTube function that allows the application of the tube effect to the entire signal (as opposed to only the transients, as is typically the case with a tube preamp). WARMs extended parameter ranges have been designed to allow the creation of a wide variety of sonic effects beyond the classic subtle 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.
Whats 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. But for certain types of audio there is an exception: the distortion that comes from transient clipping in a high quality tube preamplifier. When high quality tube pre-amps are operated in their linear range, there is virtually no signal distortion and their audio qualities are essentially identical to that of high quality solid state pre-amps. However, it is common for transients to exceed the preamps linear voltage range, resulting in distortion. And heres where things get interesting. The distortion characteristics of a vacuum tube pre-amp are vastly different than those of solid state amplifiers. Specifically, the overtones produced by tube distortion are generally harmonically related to the fundamental input pitch, whereas solid state overdrive distortion generally produces non-harmonic overtones. This tube distortion is often described as adding a certain warmth to a sound. This is in contrast to what is often described as the brittleness of the solid state sound. As a result, many people pay large sums of money for tube preamps designed to provide this desirable but elusive quality. It was the best sonic qualities of a number of these preamps that served as the sources for WARMs digital models.

Use this control to select the vocal type 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 isnt actually a vocal). Matching the appropriate algorithm to the input results in faster and more accurate analysis. To select vocal type, click on the Voice Type pop-up and then select the desired type from the pop-up list.

Voice Type

Display
The display provides a graphic representation of the harmonic content of the input signal (the white plot), the aspiration noise component and its relative level (the red plot), and the current setting of the parametric EQ (the green plot).
In order to accurately analyze the input, ASPIRE requires a periodically repeating waveform, characteristic of a voice or solo instrument. The Tracking control determines how much variation is allowed in the incoming waveform for ASPIRE to still consider it periodic. If you are working with a well-isolated solo signal (e.g., tracking in a studio or from a multitrack master) you can typically set the Tracking control to 25 and forget it.

Tracking

Increase/Reduce
Click the appropriate button to ether Increase or Decrease the amount of aspiration noise. The appropriate controls will become active (and the remaining controls will be disabled). on the aspiration noise naturally present in a persons voice. It does not synthesize aspiration noise from scratch. There are people with extremely pure voices that contain virtually no audible aspiration noise. In those relatively rare cases, ASPIRE will have no audible effect.
IMPORTANT NOTE: ASPIRE acts
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. Increase This control allows you to increase the amount of the aspiration noise (although see the section on EQ below for an explanation of how this function can also be used for selective reduction). A setting of 0.0 provides no increase. Maximum increase is 12.0 dB. The red aspiration noise plot on the graphic display will move to reflect the setting of the control. To adjust Increase, 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.

Contents

Welcome Chapter 1 Getting Started Chapter 2 Introducing AVOX Chapter 3 THROAT Physical Modeling Vocal Designer Chapter 4 DUO Vocal Modeling Auto-Doubler Chapter 5 CHOIR Vocal Multiplier Chapter 6 PUNCH Vocal Impact Enhancer Chapter 7 SYBIL Variable Frequency De-Esser Index 27

Welcome!

n behalf of everyone at Antares Audio Technologies, wed 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 notication of any software updates, technical support, and advance announcements of upcoming products. But we cant 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 didnt 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.
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-ins 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 cant 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 THROATs collection of factory presets. Theyll 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. Chapter 2: Introducing AVOX This chapter provides an overview of the tools that make up the AVOX plug-in suite. Chapter 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 Were guessing that by this point you can predict what this chapter is about. Chapter 7: SYBIL Variable Frequency De-Esser Yup.

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 singers vocal tract and then gives you the ability to specify the characteristics of the modeled vocal tract. THROATs controls allow you to modify the voices glottal waveform as well as globally stretch, shorten, widen or constrict the modeled vocal tract. For even more detailed control, THROATs 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, THROATs Breathiness controls let you
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 computers DSP power as you absolutely need. While its not likely that youll be using all ve plug-ins on every track, it is likely that youll often be using more than one. When thats 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 effectively 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 harmonizers 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 THROATs 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 modication. Assign DUO to the track and use only the doubled output. Set all parameters to their minimum effect and use the Vibrato function to adjust the performances 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.

Chapter 3: THROAT Physical Modeling Vocal Designer
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 singers vocal tract and then gives you the ability to specify the characteristics of the modeled vocal tract. THROATs controls allow you to modify the voices glottal waveform as well as globally stretch, shorten, widen or constrict the modeled vocal tract. For even more detailed
control, THROATs 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, THROATs 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 modications to a voices 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. 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 individuals 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 dene 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 singers performance, or a sound designer in pursuit of a totally new vocal effect, THROAT will give you creative capabilities that have simply never before existed.
Soprano Voice, Alto/Tenor Voice, Bass/ Baritone Voice and Instrument (a general setting for anything that isnt 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 individuals possible waveforms is dened by their particular anatomy. Within that range, the waveform can change pretty dramatically depending on the performers 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 inuence the 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 youre not sure where your performance lies on this scale, dont 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.

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
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 youve 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, youre 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 THROATs 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 modications). 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 dont 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 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 dene the model vocal tract:

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 reect 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 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). 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 weve mentioned, if youre 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. Its 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 its artifacts youre 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. You can do this manually (for one point at a time) or, much more powerfully, you can use your hosts 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

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 subtly 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 cant 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 theyd 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, guitars, 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.
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. Specically, 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 reect 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.

Chapter 4: DUO Vocal Modeling Auto-Doubler
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. Weve linked them together to give you quick and easy access to a range of useful timbres.
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.
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 isnt actually a vocal).
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 tract 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 voices vibrato depth relative to the original voice. Selecting a negative value decreases the doubled voices 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 modied vibrato will still reect 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 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. DUOs 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 voices location in the stereo spectrum. This control only functions in Stereo or Mono-> 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.
Double Pan Position Sets the doubled voices location in the stereo spectrum. This control only functions in Stereo or Mono-> Stereo modes. Command (Mac)/Control (PC) click the control to reset it to its default value of 100 (far right).
DUO 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 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. DUOs 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 thats 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 depth, the expressive contour of the singers original vibrato is retained.

Chapter 5: CHOIR Vocal Multiplier
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 default 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
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.
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
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-> Stereo modes. Command (Mac)/Control (PC) click the control to reset it to its default value of 100.
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 thats rhythmically tight but a bit loose with intonation. Conversely, reversing those settings gives you a group thats 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 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.

CHOIR 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 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 each 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.
Chapter 6: PUNCH Vocal Impact Enhancer
your vocal. It will typically be set in combination with the Impact control below. The effect of this control will be reected 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 reected on the Output Level display. Command (Mac)/Control (PC) click the control to reset it to its default value of 0. Ceiling This control allows you to attenuate the signal after all other processing. Although PUNCH 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.
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.
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 reected on the Output Level display described below. Gain This control allows you to increase the gain of

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.
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 youre looking for that sort of thing, check it out. While PUNCH has been designed 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.
Chapter 7: SYBIL Variable Frequency De-Esser
The diagram below shows how a compressor and a high pass lter are traditionally congured 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.
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.
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 of SYBILs 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 SYBILs compressor. The range is from 0 dB to -80 dB.
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 SYBILs 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 SYBILs 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 compressors 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 of 20 milliseconds.

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 cant tell that there is processing going on. If you can hear something happening, SYBIL needs to have its settings tweaked.
Authorizing AVOX 4 AVOX Overview 5 CHOIR 5 DUO 5 PUNCH 5 SYBIL 6 THROAT 5

Installing AVOX 3

License Agreement iii
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
Processing Guidelines 6 PUNCH 23 Ceiling 23 Controls 23 Impact 23 Input Level 23 Output Level 24 Usage Tips 24
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
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
Technical Support 1 THROAT 7 Breathiness Frequency 9 Breathiness Mix 9 Bypass 13 Controls 8 Factory Presets 15 Glottal Pulse Width 10 Glottal 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

Welcome 1