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NAMM:Akai Bring Harmony With VST Plug-ins
US
Vocal harmony, Rotary speaker sim and Pitch tools ship 24/07/02
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Debuted at the MESSE this range of VST plug-ins see Akai venture into the software market. A new area for them, we may see some simultaneous hard and soft releases as the code will port to Motorola based DSP hardware. In fact the their vocal harmonizing plug-ins are already seeing hardware cousins with the Decca Buddy 10 part vocal harmonizer available soon in a 1-U rack unit ($499). Similarly, the Duo Buddy is a single harmony foot pedal geared towards the performing vocalist, with speedy in-line operation via XLR in and out.
Decca Buddy goes hard
Perhaps we can expect to see some more hardware releases base on the VST technology in forthcoming months?
The Plug-ins Decca Buddy
The DECCA BUDDY adds multi-part harmonies to your vocals. By adding 9 harmony parts to the original vocal, up to 10 voice harmonies can be played: 5 parts (Original + 4 transposed Harmonies) x 2 (Dual function). Harmony can be selected using any one of the Preset Scales, User Scales or MIDI. In addition to generating harmonies, the Formant function can change female voices to male and vice versa. For a more natural character, all voices can be randomized independently. When MIDI Scale is selected, you can control the notes from an external MIDI keyboard or add harmonies via a MIDI Sequencer.
Full detailsPitch Right
The PITCH RIGHT allows you to correct the pitch of vocals or any other instrument in real time. Three parameters control operation: 'Ratio' sets the amount of pitch correction, 'Smoothing' sets the correction for vibrato, and 'Calibrate' sets the reference pitch. And unlike other pitch correction programs, the setting of 'Smoothing' does not influence the transition time between notes. Thirteen factory Preset Scales, two User Scales and MIDI Scales are available. With the MIDI function you can control pitch from an external MIDI keyboard via a MIDI sequencer.
Full DetailsRotator
The ROTATOR plug-in accurately models a rotary speaker cabinet. Using the default settings, this effect generates exactly the standard rotation speed values of the original physical cabinet, which can also be detuned in a range of -25% to +25%. Additionally, the distortion of the cabinet can be controlled, while the location of the 2 virtual microphones can be set from 0 degrees (mono) to 120 degrees, and the location of the microphone position is indicated graphically. The real-time rotation of the simulated Horn and Rotor speakers are shown using animated graphics.
Full DetailsQuad Comp
The QUAD COMP is a 4-band Compressor/Expander that has mastering as its primary purpose, but it’s also very useful for vocals and guitars. Linear phase FIR filters split the signal into four bands with no phase shift or its associated distortion, maintaining pristine sound quality. The frequency for each band can be selected from 13 presets ranging from 50Hz to 12,500Hz, and crossover slope is selectable at 6, 12, 18, and 24dB/octave. Eight factory presets offer useful templates that help you to develop your own presets, and you may store/recall your original settings any time.
Full DetailsD.C. Vocoder
The D.C. VOCODER creates "robot" voices and other stunning vocal effects. The 50-band filter divides the input signal into 50 frequency bands for processing individually to deliver a high quality vocoder sound. The level of each band can be precisely adjusted just like a parametric EQ. An internal 6-voice synthesizer and modulator signal creates vocoder effects, even without a carrier signal, and the Formant function changes female voices to male and vice versa.