The filter financial institution is what makes the Spectravox distinctive in Moog’s lineup of midrange semi-modular instruments. It’s a dynamic 10-band filter financial institution with high- and low-pass filters, plus eight bandpass filters in between. These can be utilized to easily form incoming audio like an elaborate EQ. However the bands can be shifted round with assistance from an LFO for creating phaser- and wah-like results. In case you actually crank stuff it could even provide you with pseudo-ring modulation. Is spending $599 on a desktop synthesizer slightly overkill simply to play some funk guitar? Completely. Nevertheless it’s a enjoyable little trick the Spectravox has in its again pocket.
The filter financial institution can be used to supply sound all by itself for those who join a midi controller or sequencer with CV (management voltage) output. In case you flip up the resonance of the filter and patch the EG (envelope generator) to the provider enter, then join the pitch output of the controller to the spectral shift and the gate to the set off enter, then you possibly can coax fascinating marimba-like tones out of the Spectravox with none further audio enter.
The Synth
{Photograph}: Terrence O’Brien
In fact a part of the requirement for a vocoder is a provider sign, on this case a synthesizer. The Spectravox contains an extremely easy however fairly decent-sounding single-oscillator monophonic synth. It has sq. and sawtooth choices, with variable pulse width on the sq.. There may be additionally a noise supply which you can dial in to soiled up the one oscillator, but it surely goes from nonexistent to overpowering fairly shortly, and I typically simply left it off.
The synth might be mixed with a keyboard or sequencer which has CV output and is performed like another synth. Or, you possibly can pair it with some exterior results to create risers, drones, and different sound results. Much like utilizing the Spectravox as a phaser although, whereas it’s a pleasant trick, you don’t have to spend $600 to get a fundamental monophonic synth. This can be a good perk however not essentially a motive for it to leap to the highest of your procuring listing.
The place Spectravox begins to get fascinating as a synthesizer is if you begin combining all of its varied components in barely sudden methods. For example if, as an alternative of vocals you ran a drum loop into this system enter, it will impart its rhythmic ebb and circulation to the interior synth, or no matter you had been feeding into the provider.
Higher Collectively
{Photograph}: Terrence O’Brien
I feel the Spectravox actually reveals its versatility if you use it as a intermediary between two totally different sources of audio. For one, a monophonic vocoder can really feel slightly skinny. However for those who plug one other synth into the provider, you possibly can sing in attractive polyphonic synth chords. If I needed to get some wealthy vocoder motion going I might simply plug my Korg Minilogue XD into the provider enter. And utilizing issues like drum loops so as to add rhythmic curiosity to different synths and even my guitar was all the time a blast. The truth is, one in every of my favourite methods was feeding a drum machine into this system enter, my guitar (by way of an amp sim pedal first) into the provider, after which feeding the output of the Spectravox by way of some refrain and reverb. The result’s one thing that doesn’t sound precisely like a synth or precisely like a guitar. I don’t understand how usually I’d use such an odd impact, however I’m dying to place it to the check on a guitar solo.
It’s this form of experimentation that makes the Spectravox so compelling and enjoyable. The truth is, it’s what retains me coming again to Moog’s line of desktop semi-modular synths just like the Subharmonicon (8/10, WIRED Recommends) and the DFAM. I really like the sound of an excellent Mini Moog as a lot as anybody else, however these all supply some new experimental tackle Moog’s legacy. My one main grievance concerning the Spectravox is that it’s noisy. I needed to reduce lots of the excessive finish to get it to be usable on recordings.
In case you’re available in the market for a vocoder it’s best to in all probability skip the Spectravox. There are higher and cheaper choices for simply conventional vocoding, like a MicroKorg ($429) or Arturia’s MicroFreak ($359). However if you need one thing extra playful—one thing that may be a vocoder for those who want it to be however is absolutely extra of a sonic playground—the Moog Spectravox may properly be definitely worth the $599.
