Sure, the vocoder may now be something of an electronic music cliché now, but it got its beginnings as a mechanism of encoding speech. It was one of the first electronic instruments. It helped inspire the conceptual model for all digital communication. And, those lofty goals aside, it can still sound terrific when used creatively. (Hint: you don’t have to use your voice as a source.)

These are heady times for the vocoder. Hosts are getting better at accomplishing the routings necessary to produce vocoding effects. Software and hardware vocoders are appearing everywhere. And of course, the great moment has been Ableton releasing a Vocoder in its upcoming Live 8, not so much because of Live or that Vocoder, but because company co-founder Robert Henke was immortalized in a remix (video above) talking about how you wouldn’t need it. I expect one of the first unofficial Live 8 tutorials may use this clip. (Apologies to Robert – especially as that’s exactly the sort of thing I might say speaking to students, and I actually agree. You don’t need a vocoder. For one thing, if you know what you’re doing, you can patch your own. But I digress.)

History and Vocoding without Autopilot

For a different take on the vocoder, let’s first take a trip back in time.

Dynamic control is fantastic. The idea is this: when you switch to a new app or instrument or effect, the hardware controller automatically assigns parameters to controls. That means no messing around with templates, assignment editors, and configuration, and the ability to quickly gain control of your software when editing or performing. Novation’s MIDI-controlling keyboards and control surfaces are likely the best example of this with their “Automap” feature, as found on the ReMOTE line and the cute, DJ-friendly Nocturn.

But doing dynamic assignment also creates some challenges. You have to sort out which parameters get controlled. And most importantly, you need to be able to see what you’re actually controlling.

Automap was, frankly, pretty rocky when it first shipped – when I originally reviewed the ReMOTE SL, a lot of stuff didn’t work at all in some of the hosts. (I remember struggling with Logic, specifically.) But Novation has done a fantastic job of working with all the software you use, from Live and Reason to Logic and Pro Tools, and each release has gotten steadily better. Automap “Universal” 2.0 works exceptionally well with hosts, and plug-in support was starting to come together.

Now, Automap 3 Pro seeks to address those two remaining areas: assign parameters more easily, and see what you’re doing. And for the first time, you’ll be able to use multiple Novations side by side, which means I’m ready to pick up a Nocturn for myself. There’s just one catch, which may win the “Accountants Do the Darndest Things” award of this NAMM show. (Spoiler alert: would you give away or charge for the feature that encourages people to buy more of your gear?)