Overview

Lector is a vocoder with superior intelligibility and performance. The 100 band stereo vocoder core is flanked by a synthesizer section on the left and a rich effects section on the right. The intensities of up to 100 frequency bands in the analysis section control the same number of stereo bandpass filters in the synthesis filter bank using envelope followers with adjustable attack and decay. The integrated synthesizer or an external source serves as carrier signal and is fed into the synthesis filter bank. Besides the effects section, there are numerous features that make this vocoder unique.

Robot voices, whispering strings, talking drum loops, rhythmic pads, the resonant ringing of bells, dripping water - the possibilities are all but infinite. With a quick tweak here and there, the Lector turns any incoming signal into novel sounds and effects. Tremendously versatile, the Lector puts in your hands a sonic toolset for a wide range of diverse applications. Just about anything goes, from distorting the human voice to adding subtle harmonies to lead vocals and getting creative with movie soundtracks.

The analysis filter bank splits the incoming audio signal into as many as 100 frequency bands, the intensity of which modulates the volume levels of an equal number of band-pass filters in the synthesis filter bank. The integrated 16-voice synthesizer or an external source provides the input signal for the synthesis filter bank. This lets you do fun things like apply a melody line or chord sequence to articulate vocals or speech.

When we set out to develop the Lector, we looked long and hard at what it takes to make a powerful vocoder tick. This why you will find on the ergonomic user interface some special features and unusual parameters that let you tweak even the most minute details. The fabled Waldorf multimode filter with slope of 12dB or 24dB features prominently. You also get a whitening filter that bleaches the signal before it is colored by the vocoder. This comes in very handy when you’re processing choir and voice samples. A three-band equalizer serves to boost and cut whatever frequencies of the generated signal you wish to target.

The integrated 16-voice synthesizer sports two oscillators with quintessential analog waveforms such as sine, triangle, sawtooth, and square with variable pulse width, sample & hold and noise, as well as freely loadable single and multi-samples. FM and ring modulation enrich the vocoder’s signal with further overtone spectra. The Lector also offers a selection of typical effects used to refine vocoder signals - tube overdrive, transistor distortion and hard clipping, six-voice chorus / flanger, synchronizable stereo delay, and realistic reverb.

Lector Specifications

Lector Features

3 to 100 band Vocoder
Adjustable range of Analysis Filter Bank
Adjustable offsets and LFO modulation of Synthesis Filter Bank
3-band Equalizer with variable mid band
Individual Compressors for Speech and Carrier signal
Voiced / Unvoiced Detector
Overdrive (types Tube, Diode, Clip)
Stereo Chorus / Flanger, 2 to 6 stages
Stereo Delay, syncronizable
Reverb
Sidechain input (VST 3 and Audio Unit)
Carrier plug-in (VST 2)

16-voice Synthesizer (per voice)

Polyphonic, Monophonic or Free-Running
2 Oscillators, waveforms sine, triangle, sawtooth, pulse with pulse width modulation, sample&hold, noise, single and multi sample playback
FM
Ring Modulation
Portamento / Glissando
1 Filter, types Lowpass, Bandpass, Highpass, Notch (12dB and 24dB), Whitening
1 LFO, synchronizable, waveforms sine, triangle, sawtooth, square, sample&hold, noise
2 AR envelopes

System Requirements

Lector runs in 32 bit and 64 bit host software.

Windows

VST 3.0 32 bit and 64 bit (host software must support side chains)
VST 2.4 32 bit and 64 bit
Pentium III with 1 GHz or better
AMD Athlon XP with 1.3 GHz or better
Windows 2000 / XP SP 2 (only 32 bit)
Windows Vista / 7 (32 bit and 64 bit)
64 MB free RAM
100 MB free hard disk space
VST 3.0 compatible 32 bit or 64 bit host software supporting side chains in plug-ins, such as Cubase 5 or newer, Nuendo 5 or newer
- or - VST 2.0 compatible 32 bit or 64 bit host software, such as Cubase SX/SL or newer, Nuendo 1.5 or newer
Image Line FL Studio is unfortunately not supported officially, audio output might stutter when working with side chains
PC equipped according to the specifications of the VST host software
Internet connection for license activation (license can be transferred to a USB-eLicenser)

Mac

VST 3.0 32 bit and 64 bit (host software must support side chains)
VST 2.4 32 bit and 64 bit
Audio Unit 2.0 32 bit and 64 bit (host software must support side chains)
Any Mac with Intel processor
Mac OS X 10.4 or newer (Gatekeeper switched off during installation in Mac OS X 10.8)
128 MB free RAM
100 MB free hard disk space
VST 3.0 compatible 32 bit or 64 bit host software supporting side chains in plug-ins, such as Cubase 5 or newer, Nuendo 5 or newer
- or - VST 2.0 compatible 32 bit or 64 bit host software, such as Cubase SX/SL or newer, Nuendo 1.5 or newer
- or - AudioUnit 2.0 compatible 32 bit or 64 bit host software, such as Logic
GarageBand not recommended since it doesn't offer side chain input
Mac equipped according to the specifications of the VST host software
Internet connection for license activation (license can be transferred to a USB-eLicenser)