What would you use to change a voice?

[desertrat]

"Changing a voice" -- to me that conjurs up something that makes Uncle Harry sound like Aunt Jinny. Not like Uncle Harry got yanked by his shorthairs and is talking three octaves higher. Not like Uncle Harry is talking under water or next to a lawn mower. And not like every word Uncle Harry utters sounds like a different pitch of locomotive air horn or a timpani.

I know what a fuzz box is and what it does. That ain't it.

MIDI replaces one voice with another. It does not change the original, it ignores it. That's also not what I'm looking for.

What I am looking for: you sing into a mic, or play a signal, it goes into this box (or software), and what you get out is something with the same dynamics but a different sound.

A convolution reverb is a technique that lets you record a sound (live) in a space and replace it with another (dry) sound, and the listener thinks the new (dry) sound was actually played in that space. It applies the timing relationship of the reflections in that space to the new sound.

That's not what I'm looking for either -- but would you have guessed that this particular technique is called "convolution reverb"? (I wasn't looking for different kinds of reverbs, or even any specific reverb equipment. I was looking for how you make some dry sound seem like it was recorded live in a completely different space.)

Anyway, there is equipment that lets you change a voice in real-time, and there's software that does that as well. I don't know what it's called. I apologize for my wanton ignorance. I just want to know what that kind of equipment (or software) is called.

[Bournio]

have you considered using a vocoder?

I guess, if you used the flute as the formant/modulator, so that you get the envelope from that? And then you can have whatever as a carrier wave? Is that closer to what you want?

[garageband]

A vocoder like the one in the MicroKorg would be good. Bournio also mentioned earlier a Ring Modulator: another really good idea. Moog also make some synth filters as stomp boxes, this might also get you close. The Metasonix bunch makes some wild tube-based stuff that uses non-linear response tubes for crazy distorions (not the fuzz/OD you are clearly allergic to) of your sound. Even a wah pedal can be good. It can be made to do things that faily un-wah-like.

[newkid]

Sounds like you want a synthesiser
or some sort of magical soft synthesiser

You can make any sound you want
start with the basic note and do your thing

pick the fundamental tone
pick the harmonics and their relative loudness plus other formants info
add in some modulation or other f/x
and you can duplicate anything plus make a lot of new "instruments"

The only one I saw that did this for real voices was not that good
but you should be able to change a flute to an oboe

might be easier to learn to play the oboe

[desertrat]

I think I've solved the problem by picking up an Akai EWI USB.

[Tony Ramone]

Convolution doesn't just work for reverb, you know.
You could use any sort of signal as your impulse and then blend (convolve) that with your flute to get some sort of weird sound. Don't think it can be done in real time though, but then again, with computers getting more powerful, maybe you can...

[garageband]

Convolution doesn't just work for reverb, you know.

I took an acoustic archtop played with a slide and convolved it with an old pie tin being struck and turned it into The Dobro From Hell!

[Vulconizer]

Originally Posted by garageband

I took an acoustic archtop played with a slide and convolved it with an old pie tin being struck and turned it into The Dobro From Hell!

Lmao. That would be one to hear.

[TonyB]

Originally Posted by garageband

I took an acoustic archtop played with a slide and convolved it with an old pie tin being struck and turned it into The Dobro From Hell!

You never cease to amaze me!

[cakewalkgg]

avox vocal toolbox has a module called "Throat"... its interesting. Ive tried it and in moderation can actually yield some interesting results. It is based around the idea of changing the shape of the virtual throat and your vocal track played through it gets new tonality from the throat settings.