Free Stuff Friday: Push Vocoder, Paper Towel Sounds, and Granular Goodness

Let’s be honest here: sometimes, the must fun thing about making electronic music is getting a little geeky with sound. Whether it’s messing with time with a granular synth, manipulating unusual samples such as paper towels, or voice transformation with a vocoder, this week’s Free Stuff Friday should speak to your creative geeky side.

Everyone Needs a Vocoder

The vocoder - does anything else say “funky robot” quite so well? From Daft Punk to Styx, this singing synthesizer effect has provided that dose of cold (yet oh-so-diggable) lyrical futurism. Check out vocoder heroes Kraftwerk, performing live with the effect:

Now, get in on the fun yourself - with Live 9 and Push! Musician Winterpark provides a free set of custom racks for live vocoder performance, custom-mapped to work instantly with Push.

Download the Push Vocoder Racks from Winterpark

Need a Towel?

Certified Trainer Brian Funk aka AfroDJMac long ago established himself as a free stuff hero - with well over 100 free Packs given away. This time, he’s explored the hidden musical potential of...paper towels? And the chatter of a local café? What you hear will surprise you:

Download AfroDJMac’s Racks

Ggrraannuullaarr

With Halloween just around the corner, let’s open this one with a joke: what do vegan zombies eat? GRAAAAINS!

Silliness aside, Grains, a Max for Live instrument from musician Naskou, is a real treat of an instrument. Drop a sample in, and get lost in stretched-out, scrambled sounds:

Download Grains from maxforlive.com

And that’s all for this one, folks! Tune in next week, same time, same place, for a special Halloween edition of Free Stuff Friday. Until then, get at us with your free stuff nominations on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ - and don’t forget to use #FreeStuffFriday.