Boss VO-1 Vocoder Pedal review

Started by Antonuzzo, May 11, 2020, 04:18:44 AM

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Antonuzzo

What is it?

Most of the '70s and a fair bit of the '80s in pedal form

Form and build

It's a Boss pedal (my first, come to think of it) so it's solidly and elegantly built, as long as you consider a bright pink pedal to be elegant. What the hell, it blends in nicely with my DOD American Metal.

On the right you've got the 1/4" guitar input and a three-pin XLR microphone socket; on the left, the output and and effects loop. There are four knobs. Left to right you have a concentric dial for Level and Blend, followed by Tone, Colour and a four-way mode selector. Finally, there's a sensitivity switch on the back for the microphone input.

One omission is the lack of an XLR out. It would have allowed the player to use a single microphone and to switch in the VO-1 only when needed; as it is, you'll need a dedicated microphone for the Vocoder and another for your vocals. Given the amount that they've fitted into this pedal though, it's easy to surmise that the gubbins were already getting a bit cramped.

In Use

The first mode is Choir - this one doesn't need the microphone to work, but adds synthesised voices to your sound. The Tone and Colour knobs change the character of the sounds and there's a fair bit of variation to be had. It doesn't struggle at all with chords, but the best sounds come from single-note playing.

Next, we have the Vintage Vocoder. This is the one that's closest to those old Kraftwerk / E.L.O. sounds, and it's extremely convincing. It'll never have the same tweakability as a genuine unit from the '70s, but it's impressive nonetheless. The Colour changes the gender of the sound, sweeping from masculine to feminine, and the Tone does pretty much what it says. It's a lot of fun and very musical too; all of the pitching comes from your guitar, so no matter how poor your singing is, it won't have an impact on the sounds.

The Modern Vocoder is quite different; it's still a Vocoder, but with a lot more clarity. Again, it's very musical and you can get a wide range of tones out of it.

Finally, there's the Talk Box. Here, the Tone knob continues to change the tone, but the Colour controls the amount of distortion. This is the trickiest mode to use, I found; it takes a lot of fiddling to get the exact sound that you want. It doesn't have the same growl as a Heil unit but then, it doesn't involve compromising your bridgework with a plastic tube full of distortion.

It's the mode that I found to be most dependent on your guitar, amp and signal chain. Those Bon Jovi / David Gilmour / Peter Frampton tones are in there, but you'll need to work to find them.

I found that the unit is prone to feedback even at low levels. I guess that it's introducing a lot of higher-range information to the signal.

Wrap up

Unlike a chorus or a compressor, this isn't a pedal for everyone. That said, if you're looking to steer your playing down some new avenues, it has a lot to offer. Boss have packed a lot into this unit; they could have conceivably sold the vocoder and talk box as two separate pedals. It's a lot of fun, and the addition of a send / return loop is very welcome, making it easier to incorporate into your setup.

Personally, I love it. I'd held off for a couple of years before buying this and it didn't disappoint. A welcome addition to my (increasingly strange) signal path.

gumtown

Thanks for sharing your review.  :)
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