Today, we take a look at the Humanoid plugin by Baby Audio a groundbreaking addition to the world of synthetic vocal effects
As a crew who like the more interesting side of sound design, we were keen to explore what Humanoid can do.
Humanoid takes a fresh approach to the classic vocoder, combining pitch correction, vocoding, and wavetable synthesis into a single plugin.
This unique blend allows it to exceed the capabilities of traditional vocal tuning plugins AND traditional vocoders.
Designed for extreme hard-tuning and severe voice manipulation, Humanoid leverages FFT-based tuning and additive resynthesis to transform any vocal performance into a robotic alter ego.
This combination not only achieves accurate pitch correction but also infuses the vocals with a distinctly synthetic quality.
The interface of Humanoid is both intuitive and comprehensive. The pitch section lets users choose between Scale, Note, or MIDI modes for pitch correction.
The Robotify and Formant controls are particularly useful for increasing the synthetic quality of the voice, allowing for a wide range of robotic textures.
The synthesise section adds a fat synth layer through a wavetable resynthesis engine that follows the vocal pitch, enriching the vocal sound with harmonic depth.
The filter section provides powerful tools for sculpting the synthetic vocal sound. High and low-pass filters, along with a parametric mid EQ, offer precise control over the frequency spectrum, enabling users to carve out a nice sonic space for their vocals.
The utility section is designed to shape the signal for optimal performance from the tuning and resynthesis engines, ensuring that every element of the vocal effect is finely tuned.
Additionally, the onboard effects section includes enhancements that further refine the robotic vocal, making it pretty much mix-ready!
One of the standout features of Humanoid for me is its versatility in tuning.
In scale mode, you can sing with humanoid tuning automatically to your song, with the ability to adjust the quantization amount to remap notes to your desired scale.
This mode is perfect for achieving that iconic T-Pain/modern emo hard-tuned vocal.
In play mode, you can manually select notes or use MIDI for a harmonizer-style workflow, offering control over the vocal notes.
For those who want to dive deeper into vocal manipulation, Humanoid offers advanced customisation options.
The calibration controls allow for fine-tuning of essential parameters, enabling you to craft a truly unique vocal effect.
The ability to morph and blend between pitch correction, resynthesis, and the dry signal opens up new possibilities for sound design.
Importing custom wavetables to the synthesis engine further expands the creative potential, allowing users to resynthesize their voice with any audio file, making for some pretty interesting tones.
Humanoid’s aggressive approach to hard-tuned vocals is matched by its capacity for extensive experimentation.
You can create mix-ready synthetic vocals using the onboard utilities and effects, pretty much without the need for additional plugins.
This streamlined workflow is a significant advantage for producers looking to achieve high-quality results quickly.
Moreover, Humanoid’s ability to remap incoming vocals to any pitch without creating artifacts transforms a single performance into a choir of robotic harmonies.
This feature is my personal favourite and really demonstrates the plugin’s sophisticated engineering.
Whether aiming for aggressive hard-tuned sounds or exploring new territories in vocal sound design, Humanoid stands out as a powerful and versatile addition to any producer’s toolkit.
Its intuitive interface, robust, robotic features, and limitless customisation options make it an essential tool for anyone looking to push the boundaries of what’s possible with synthetic vocals.
The Humanoid is available here now for download; go grab yourself a copy and get creative!
