I am interested in purchasing a vocoder plug‑in. I am currently running Digital Performer v2.7 on a 450MHz G4 and am using a MOTU 2408 Mark 1 for audio interfacing. I would really like to know more about these plug‑ins and how good they are.
Paul Tonks
Assistant Editor Sam Inglis replies: There are at least two options open to you. According to the Prosoniq web site, their Orange Vocoder VST plug‑in can be used in MOTU's MAS plug‑in standard by using the AudioEase MAS Wrapper (see www.prosoniq.com/html/products.html). You can also download a demo from their site. This is probably the best‑specified vocoder plug‑in available and it's clearly capable of some impressive and very varied results. My impression of the quality was that it was on a par with the vocoders in modern digital synths. The downloadable version costs 148 Euros, which is about £88, but you won't be able to use it unless you get the MAS Wrapper as well.
The other possibility is Cycling 74's Pluggo, which does directly support the MAS format. This is an open‑ended system which allows you to create your own plug‑ins, and comes with a large selection that includes at least one vocoder. MOTU claim 'the vocoder itself is worth the price of admission'. Pluggo costs US$74.