Korg VC-10 Vocoder

Korg VC-10 Image

Isn't it cute? It's a little polyphonic 20-band vocoder offered by Korg. Feed it your voice (or any other interesting sound source) and synthesize it! That is, control the sound of the synth with your voice. You can even put other sounds through its filters which will then be processed by the vocoder. This basically means you can use it as a talk-box with a guitar, for example or you can use it to add a twist to your drum loops. Other than that this machine is pretty limited. There's a nifty little analog VCU input meter. It has been used by Keith Emerson, Apollo 440, Klaus Schulze, Tomita, Labradford, Rick Wakeman, Roger Waters, Joe Zawinul, Tangerine Dream, Goldfrapp, Air, and Yes.

24 Visitor comments
anonymous
July 22, 2009 @ 3:26 am
sequencer.de/specials/vocoder.html

Here is an EXPERT confirming IT'S an 8-band vocoder, NOT a 20-band vocoder!! IT'S NOT A SENNHEISER, MOOG, BODE, EMS, NOR A SYNTON!!!! I also have literature from Korg stating it's only an 8-band vocoder!!! So NO you IDIOTS, I'm NOT confusing it with the microCRAP!!!
kallepister
June 17, 2009 @ 8:50 am
The VC-10 was my object of desire back in the late 70's, along with the SQ-10 sequencer. There's no way on earth to artificially reproduce the original series sound in all it's crisp juicy splendour. I owned the MS-20 then, and now you get (almost) the entire line with the MS-2000 (or microKorg, that is). But the upright console design plus colorful patch cables of the above three were so peerlessly arcane and sci-fi, gee.

Any of today's synths is no match for this massive monophone fun.
LPR
January 2, 2009 @ 4:30 pm
VC-10 in hot action ;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vICSM7a53MM
Ross
December 21, 2008 @ 9:30 am
I swear that Tommy Mars of Frank Zappa's band used it on the 1981 tour.
Max
December 14, 2008 @ 2:27 am
anonymous may be confusing the VC-10 with the Microkorg, a much newer synth with an 8-band vocoder.
 
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  • Demos & Media
  • YouTube Thumbnail
    Video 1
    - See and hear the original VC-10 Audio Demonstration.

    YouTube Thumbnail
    Video 2
    - VOCODER MADNESS 1

    Brochure - PDF of 1980 Korg Brochure, submitted by Niels Kloes

  • Specifications
  • Polyphony - Yes, all keys sound
  • Oscillators - 1 carrier signal + 1 input speech signal
  • LFO - Vibrato (w/ rate)
  • VCA - Mix level from dry voice to processed
  • Effects - Ensemble effect
  • Keyboard - 32 keys
  • Arpeg/Seq - None
  • Control - External pitch control CV input
  • Date Produced - 1978 - 1982

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