VP-03 - general observations/review

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cloudburst
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VP-03 - general observations/review

Post by cloudburst »

Just re-posting this in a separate thread for those of you who may find it interesting but may have missed it buried in a thread about a more specific technical issue.
apauw wrote:Do you mind sharing your thoughts and impressions on the VP-03?

- Looks like the vocoder is quite clear (i.e. not mumbling).
- Strings and human voice sound nice.

If you have a Waldorf Streichfett, if so how do the strings compare?

6-note polyphony, how is the note-stealing, is it obvious or is it enough for normal usage?

Any other thought you want to share on this?

Thanks,
Albert
I don't have the background experience to be able to do a comparative and well-informed review. Neither did I own any previous vocoder. The only similar tool I used was Plogue Alter/Ego which is a software tool that uses text-to-speech as the formant input. It's free and worth looking into.

Here are my observations on my VP-03:
- Strings synth lovely
- Human Voice synth lovely too
- Really warm-sounding, and sound great when mixed together
- Just enough controls - what's needed for the purpose is there and I'm not feeling overwhelmed
- Thoughtful configuration options eg use of C2 for formant tweaking is useful for Vocoder, whilst use of C2 for modulation is useful for Strings/Human Voice synths
- Chord memory is a great addition, especially (I'd presume) enabling folks to use this device fairly easily and effectively in a live environment
- I'm finding myself leaving it permanently docked in the K-25m, where I didn't do this with my JP/JU/JX units; not sure what this means (possibly I'm doing this to make it easy to use the Vocoder aspect), but I do know the VP-03 is becoming a go-to device which I envisage using on most of my work
- I tend to control the Strings/Human Voice synths with my Casio CZ-5000 keyboard
- I've only experimented briefly with external carriers; I find the onboard carrier totally fine and the Vocoder works very well and, in answer to your question, very clear; personally I find it best when set at the default 8ve
- I think the best bit about it is that it does exactly what I want it to do...nothing more and nothing less...and feels like a very self-contained unit when paired with the K-25m.
- Most of all, I like the warm and very very useful sounds; I've listened with a critical ear to a lot of TV background music in the last few days and have been surprised at how many times I've thought "I could do all of that with a VP-03. Wonder are they using a VP-03 or VP-330?"

Hope this helps. Anything else, please let me know. I will also endeavour to re-record my song "Waiting For The Asteroid" (where I used an OP-1) swapping out all of the synth and Plogue parts for VP-03.

CB
apauw
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Re: VP-03 - general observations/review

Post by apauw »

Thanks for your answers, well appreciated!

I'm considering buying one. I found the vocoder in my JD-XI not very clear, also the VP-330 sound on it is clearly made of human voice samples spread out in zones accros the keyboard. And the strings on my Streichfett are interesting and very manipulable, I like it, but it is just not the silky smooth strings, a little bit too digital. From the youtube movies I heard that the VP-03 strings are as you described, silky smooth. So, will it overlap with what I have? Haven't made up my mind yet.

Anyway, one more question, do you find the 6-voice polyphony limiting?

Thanks again,
Albert
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cloudburst
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Re: VP-03 - general observations/review

Post by cloudburst »

Hi Albert,

Apologies for forgetting to answer the question about polyphony. I haven't found it limiting in the slightest and have not noticed any anomalies in my music due to note-stealing.

In short, I haven't found anything yet which I would add to this little synth. Perhaps if I start to regularly use an external carrier, then I may wish for an analogue carrier input. But for now, even that can be got around.

One thing I want to try soon is to send both an external carrier and a synchronised external formant.

CB
apauw
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Re: VP-03 - general observations/review

Post by apauw »

Thanks for all the answers CB.

If there is one piece of music of Vangelis which has the VP-330 in it, it is this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Qbvs-Jd9VY

There's the strings at the beginning, and at 1:53 the human voice comes in, speaking about silky smooth :-)
I'm sold ...

Albert
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Myrk-
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Re: VP-03 - general observations/review

Post by Myrk- »

Hey, just an observation, but the vocoder element of the VP-03 is a bit weak I find (lacks the grind and pressure of it's original counterpart, if that helps explains it to anyone... hahahah). Have people found that using a better microphone fixes this issue? I find myself turning up my gain on my MX-1 when I'm using the VP-03 as a vocoder (then I lose my contrast in soft and hard spoken notes), but when I want strings I'm cranking it back down or keeping the strings volume low - I guess the carrier signal is just a bit pants through the supplied mic? Anyone else noticed this?

CP for your analogue carrier signal can't you just plug any jack cable with an XLR adapter into the mic port? If you have a TR-8 or another drum machine I strongly suggest having a play, it creates some wicked sounds. :D
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cloudburst
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Re: VP-03 - general observations/review

Post by cloudburst »

The mic port supplies the formant rather than the carrier.

The usb can be used to supply an external carrier or formant.

I haven't tried any other mics yet.

In order to "beef up" the vocoder output...have you tried using chords as the carrier?

CB
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Myrk-
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Re: VP-03 - general observations/review

Post by Myrk- »

Ah my bad on the formant/carrier classification. I was meaning formant :P

I've used chords a lot for the vocoder element, but the sound is still just a bit lacking... I might try sticking on some extra beef in the mx-1 to see if it gives it the oomph I'm after. As for mics I've been thinking about getting a headset mic anyway so I don't have to stick my head deep into my setup to do vocoder lines - maybe the more directional mics will give a bit more clarity and cut out all the room noise? We'll see :P
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Myrk-
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Re: VP-03 - general observations/review

Post by Myrk- »

A few recent queries:

Is it possible to delete the note info out of a step, or does a step always have to have a note assigned? I'd really like to just record audio into the steps so I can play different notes or chords as the carrier whilst I have a repetitive vocal going.

I notice often that the volume for the strings dips down to almost zero when left alone for a while. Altering the volume of the strings at all returns it back to its volume level shown on the slider - it's almost like the strings part does a sleep mode! Anyone else noticed this?
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cloudburst
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Re: VP-03 - general observations/review

Post by cloudburst »

You can turn each step off, simply by toggling it to dark.
You can play just audio for each step (no note for any step) by hitting PLAY/STOP+4 and then choosing option 3.

I do not have the same issue you have with strings. My strings volume remains consistently as set.

CB
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