Understanding vocoders

What are vocoders? If you’ve heard a voice that has been transformed to sound like a robot, then you’ve probably heard a vocoder. They sound awesome and are my favorite weapon to wield when making music. Vocoding is used extensively in electronic dance music, especially in the house, electro, and dubstep genres. If you’re unsure about what a vocoder effect sounds like, consider checking out the following songs:

• Daft Punk – Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
• Don Diablo – You’re Not Alone ft. Kiiara

Vocoders create effects that modulate an existing sound. The input sound (usually a vocal) splits into frequency bands and is analyzed for its frequency level and content. We call this the modulator. The vocoder breaks this information down into a series of band pass filters to be used later. In other words, the vocoder figures out what frequencies were used in the vocal.

A second sound (usually...