Variphrase technology is not getting very good press these days. Quality control for Roland’s VP9000 is being criticized in the General Discussion forum, and, in this forum, the Variphrase samples “become old quickly”.

However, taking ideas from the expression thread on this forum, I see some real musical utility to Variphrase technology. In the expression thread, the technique of using a volume pedal or other continuous controller to bring one sound in behind another was discussed. Uncle Dave has been using this technique for 10 years. I have been playing with it recently. I like using a real instrument for the base sound and bring it on occasion a natural sounds such as a vocal phrase or an animal sound. My favorite is to bring in a wolf howling to add a certain hauting ambience to a piece.

I downloaded a wolf sample from the Internet. It sounds great coming in on sustained flute notes. However, it sounds good over less than an octave. Outside that range, the distortion detracts from the effect. I could make the howl fixed pitch, but then it would not blend as well with the flute. Variphrase would allow me to use the sample over a wider range. A Roland VA-7 would provide this capability, but most of the time, I want a vocal harmonizer for my voice, so I am not going to get a Roland VA7.

Note to manufacturers: I would like to be able to use one vocal harmonizer in chordal mode with a mic input and a second vocal harmonizer in vocorder mode for processing user samples.


[This message has been edited by Clif Anderson (edited 09-12-2000).]