How To Use The Vocoder In Logic Pro

The vocoder in Logic Pro is a unique and fun effect for music producers, though many avoid it because it can be overwhelming or confusing to set up. If you're not familiar what a vocoder sounds like, then this is a good song reference by Daft Punk.

The vocoder is something that has been around for a long time and was originally an analog tool that you would use conjunction with a piano keyboard to create a very interesting vocal effect. Logic Pro has its own vocoder plugin called the EVOC 20 Polysynth and it’s definitely worth learning how to use in order to level up your music productions in Logic Pro.

In essence, the vocoder is used with a vocal (or audio) track. The vocal track is passed through the vocoder and it turns the sound into an almost robotic sound. The cool thing is that the vocoder sound can be edited by changing the synth parameters but also by creating different midi notes and chords for the vocoder to play. In Logic Pro, you can do this with a pre-recorded audio track or you can also do it live using system monitoring. I'll go over both ways in this post.

First, let's walk through the main setup of the vocoder and how to use the vocoder in Logic Pro with a pre-recorded audio track. At the end, I'll show you how to do it live without any pre-recorded audio.

How To Use The Vocoder In Logic Pro

Step 1

Open up a new project in Logic Pro. In order to use the vocoder, you'll need to add two new tracks. The first track should be an audio track. This would be used for your vocal. The next track would be a software instrument track. This is the track that we will add the vocoder.

Go ahead and add these two track types now, take note of the image above. You'll notice that there is already an audio region within the audio track. You should have this as well. If not, record your vocal in Logic and then meet us in the next step.

Step 2

Navigate to the software instrument track. In the inspector window, select the Vocoder Synth. The plugin name is “EVOC 20 PS”. This is added as an instrument plugin, not to be confused with adding an effect plugin in Logic Pro. Click on the gray box that says “instrument”. Take note of the image below.

Step 3

When you add the vocoder software instrument from the inspector window, it should automatically appear. If it doesn't, click the blue software instrument plugin and it will open up. When it does, in the vocoder plugin, select the “Side Chain” menu in the top right corner. From this menu, go to “none” and then select your audio track.

When you do this, you're linking up the software instrument track to the audio track through this plugin so that they can work together. In other words, this is allowing the output of the audio file to control the vocoder.

Step 4

Now let's go back to your audio track and set some things here. First, select the audio track.

In the inspector window, change the audio track output from “Stereo Output” to “No Output”. This will mute and audio coming from the track. To get the same result, you can also mute the track itself.

You might be asking yourself, "why do we mute the track or set the output to "no output?" We do this because we only want to be triggering the vocoder. In other words, we only want to hear our voice through the vocoder plugin. If we didn't mute or set the output to no output, we would hear the vocoder and our regular singing voice. If that's the effect you'd like, then make sure to skip this part.

Step 5

This is an important step to get right. Click on your software instrument, open up the vocoder plugin and navigate to the top right. Change the signal from “syn” to “voc”. When it’s set to “syn”, the plugin will act as a regular synth rather than a vocoder. You guessed it, when it says "voc" the synth will act as a vocoder. That's why this step is so important.

Step 6

In this step, we are going to create the tone or sound of the vocoder. We have the opportunity to play around with different settings in the vocoder to find any sound you like. You can get really creative here.

I encourage you to dive in and start turning and twisting knobs. This is the best way to learn how to use a synthesizer, in this case, a vocoder. Turn the dial, listen to what happens, if you don't like it, then turn the dial back to its original positions.

Here's a few things you can do to get your feet wet. For instance, if you'd like to play chords, make sure the vocoder is in “poly” mode. If the synth is in "mono", you'll only be able to play one note a time on your keyboard.

Another thing you can look to change is the ensemble settings. This can give it a slightly different chorus sound. In the middle of the vocoder synth, you can change the format knobs. This will dramatically change the vowel shape of the sound. Dive in and have fun with it. 

Step 7

This is my favourite step in the process because it's where we will start to hear the vocoder come to life. In his step, you'll need to record some midi data for the vocoder to use.

If you haven’t already, use the quick key “R” to record midi on your software instrument track. Ideally, you would play the chord progression to your song that you're singing the vocal on top of. If you play random chords or notes then it won't sound good but I figure that's a "no brainer".

Once you record your midi, press play. You should know be hearing only your vocal track but with the added vocoder effect. How does it sound? Pretty cool? Pretty awful?

If it doesn't sound great to you then it could be one of two things. Or both. First, try changing the tone within the vocoder synth itself. Make sure that it's on Poly if you're playing midi chords. Look at editing the ensemble, formant, attack, and release.

If that is still not giving you the effect you'd like then it could be because of your midi chords or melody. Double check your midi notes. Are they correct? Are they in the right key? 

How To Use The Vocoder Live In Logic Pro

Let's now discuss how you use the vocoder in Logic Pro in a live setting. Alternatively, if you want to audition a vocal sound without having some pre recorded. The best part here is, it's quite easy to accomplish.

We do this by leveraging software monitoring in Logic Pro. This allows us to monitor (hear) any sound in our Logic Pro session in real time. You may have done this when you were recording vocals or recording guitar in Logic Pro.

In order to turn system monitoring on, navigate to Logic Pro > Preferences > Audio.

On this settings page, you'll want to make sure the "software monitoring" checkbox is clicked. Take note of the image below.

Once this is clicked, you'll know be able to hear (monitor) your voice through the vocoder in real time. A good thing to note here is, this requires significant computer processing speed to hear your voice in real time. If your voice sounds delayed, you can try lowering your buffer size to a smaller rate. If you'd like to learn more about what computer you should consider for music production then you might be interested in my article on music production equipment for beginners.

Final Thoughts On Using The Vocoder In Logic Pro

I hope that this step by step walk through has given you a better understanding of how to use the vocoder in Logic Pro.

It can be a challenging tool to get comfortable with but once you do it can really level up your songs and set you apart. Most things in life that are difficult to learn and do often yield the best rewards.

I'd love to help you on your music journey in becoming a better music producer and learning Logic Pro. I recommend you get my free 6 pillars on learning Logic Pro faster.