MV’s Plugins Releases Free La Voz Cantante Vocoder Effect

MV’s Plugins has released La Voz Cantante, a freeware vocoder effect in 32-bit VST plugin format for Windows (made with FlowStone).

I’m a big fan of vocoders. They sound robotic yet strangely human and quite musical. I prefer using vocoders with clearly understood words which is apparently a tall order. Over the years, I’ve found a handful that fit the bill, but until now, they’ve all been near the $200 price point.

La Voz Cantante is a freeware vocoder that I actually like the sound of. It’s available as a VST plugin or standalone application for Windows and comes with some interesting features I haven’t seen on other vocoders. For example, it comes with stereo inputs and outputs, although I am yet unsure if it preserves the left/right assignment through all stages of the processing or if it sums to mono before adding stereo effects. The plugin allows for three voices per note which can be useful while using detuning and stereo widening effects. There’s even an onboard synthesizer that you can feed into the vocoder instead of an external synth.

And of course, let’s not forget about the onboard effects which can actually be crucial for getting the right vocoder sound. Adding compression to the output can help with understanding the words and the reverb will help it sound more natural. I wish the creators of this vocoder would have created some other algorithm options for shaping the tone. There are wildly different algorithms for vocoder software, and it’d be good to have several switchable modes to optimize with the input source.

Still, La Voz Cantante’s biggest drawback at the moment is that it is only compatible with 32-bit VST plugin hosts on Windows. The fact that a standalone version is also included may remedy this issue to an extent.

La Voz Cantante is available for free download via MV’s Plugins (9 MB download size, ZIP archive, 32-bit VST plugin & standalone application for Windows).