New Product: VO-1 Vocoder

Powerful Vocal Expression for Guitar and Bass

The VO-1 Vocoder pedal features BOSS’ guitar synth technology.

Driven by BOSS’ famous guitar synth technology, the VO-1 Vocoder puts the vast expressiveness of the human voice in the hands of guitarists, bassists, and other instrumentalists. By vocalizing into a connected microphone as you play, you can “sing” with your instrument and create classic electronic synth voices, talk box sounds, and all sorts of cool new tones. The pedal can also be used without a mic, enabling you to access rich voice-like textures with a direct instrument input.

Video: BOSS VO-1 Vocoder Featuring Kai Smith

The Vocoder Made Convenient and Accessible

Originally developed in the 1930s for the telecommunications industry, vocoder technology has since been applied to many different applications, including music. When used in a musical context, a vocoder—short for “voice encoder”—enables you to shape and control the tone of an instrument via the complex formant characteristics of the human voice. This opens up a new world of expressive capabilities, letting you achieve speech-like sounds, infinitely controllable wah, and much more.

Keyboardists have long used vocoders to create electronic vocal tones and other voice-like textures with synthesizers and dedicated vocoder keyboards, and examples can be heard on countless popular songs over the years. Now, the innovative VO-1 Vocoder makes it simple for guitarists, bassists, and other musicians to use this inspiring creative tool with their music.

The VO-1 Vocoder enables you to use your voice to shape the sound of your guitar or bass.

Advanced Tech in a Compact Pedal

The VO-1 features a powerful vocoder engine and BOSS guitar synth technology in a single stompbox. Via four selectable modes, it’s possible to create a huge array of tones. Vintage, Advanced, and Talk Box modes work with a connected mic, while Choir mode can be used with no mic at all.

On the VO-1 Vocoder, a wide range of sounds can be dialed in with simple controls.

Vintage mode delivers the classic electronic voice sounds typically heard with keyboard-based vocoder setups. Advanced mode takes things a step further, using newly developed tech to translate speech and other vocalizations to your instrument with amazing clarity and definition.

Have you ever wanted to play those famous ‘70s talk box sounds with your guitar, but were turned off by the mouth tube and complicated setup of a traditional talk box rig? With the VO-1, you can now get these cool sounds in a way that’s far more convenient. Just dial up Talk Box mode, vocalize into the mic, and “talk” with your axe through your regular amp setup.

Choir is the fourth mode in the VO-1. It’s designed to be used with a direct input from an instrument, and delivers synthesized vocal sounds that sound great with both single notes and full chords.

When using the VO-1’s first three modes, the only additional connection needed is a mic.

Easy to Play, Easy to Use

The VO-1 is equipped with a 1/4-inch input for connecting a guitar, bass, or other instrument. There’s also an XLR input for connecting a mic, which is used to drive the vocoder engine in Vintage, Advanced, and Talk Box modes. Tone and Color knobs let you tweak the sound of the selected mode, while Level and Blend knobs control the overall volume and direct/effect mix. Send and Return jacks are also provided, allowing you to apply your usual effects chain with the direct sound going through the pedal.

To use the vocoder modes in the VO-1, you just turn on the effect, tweak the knobs, and vocalize into the mic as you play. You don’t even need to worry about pitch or singing in tune—just riff as normal while the VO-1 applies the formant characteristics of your voice in real time. And with Choir mode, you can forget the mic and use the VO-1 like any stompbox effect.

Learn more about the VO-1 Vocoder at BossUS.com.

XLR and instrument inputs on the VO-1.