Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An electronic device or system for synthesizing speech.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Any of several electronic or digital devices or systems for the analysis and/or synthesis of speech

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[vo(ice) + cod(e) + –er.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From voice + coder

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word vocoder.

Examples

  • The vocoder is an amazing instrument; There's an interesting background on the technology in this survey of milestones in electronic musical instruments, and the good folks at O'Reilly will even tell you how to make your own, if you're so inclined.

    The Death of Analog, AutoTune Edition - Anil Dash 2008

  • Also, Snoop's song uses BOTH a vocoder and Auto-Tune, just as Cher's Believe does, the vocoder is not used much, but it is used key places.

    Last of the Auto-Tune - Anil Dash 2008

  • The thing is, "Sensual Seduction" doesn't use the talkbox, nor does it use a vocoder, which is a completely different instrument that often gets credit for the talkbox's outbut.

    The Death of Analog, AutoTune Edition - Anil Dash 2008

  • But it turns out that the irresistible robot sound was also a big hit with the allies way back in World War II, when a not-so-young MC named Winston Churchill dropped some knowledge over a voice-masking gizmo called the vocoder-and pretty much ended the war.

    Wired Top Stories 2009

  • But it turns out that the irresistible robot sound was also a big hit with the allies way back in World War II, when a not-so-young MC named Winston Churchill dropped some knowledge over a voice-masking gizmo called the vocoder—and pretty much ended the war.

    Robo-Voice's Greatest Hits, or How Advanced Spy Tech Topped Music Charts 2009

  • The vocoder was a real device and a pretty cool gizmo.

    The Vocoder James Killus 2008

  • The vocoder was a real device and a pretty cool gizmo.

    Archive 2008-05-01 James Killus 2008

  • In the early Eighties, a romance better remembered than relived, the vocoder was the main machine of electro hip-hop, the black voice removed from itself, displaced by

    NPR Topics: News 2010

  • A talk-box is a device that allows a singer to modulate the sound of another instrument by singing into a piece of plastic tubing, while a vocoder is a device inputted into a keyboard that changes the pitch of a singer's voice to match any played notes. backlash has developed against Antares recently, resulting in a damp squib campaign spearheaded by Rick Rubin.

    Music news, reviews, comment and features | guardian.co.uk David McNamee 2010

  • Thomas Pynchon 's Gravity's Rainbow, the vocoder is a vehicle, a proxy for forces bigger than the freaks-Egyptian Lover, JFK-who employ it.

    Village Voice - The most recent 10 stories 2010

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.