Enabling intuitive control with smart algorithms
Voca is a vocal production plugin that replaces technical compressor and saturation controls with outcome-based control, letting producers think musically about the sound they’re after.
As Product Lead, I took Voca from an early hypothesis about how people think about vocals to a shipped product, defining both the interaction model and the signal-processing algorithms through working prototypes.
Most dynamic control tools expose loads of parameters—thresholds, ratios, attack times, saturation curves—but producers don’t think in those terms.
They think in outcomes:
We believed there was an opportunity to replace algorithm-framed control with something that matched how people describe what they want to hear.
We started with the idea that a vocal could be controlled through a small number of perceptual goals rather than a large number of technical parameters.
Very early on, I sketched and prototyped an XY-style interface that let users move through a space of outcomes. Things like softer, more stable, or more focused, even though we didn’t yet have the signal processing to back it up.
That interface wasn’t just decoration, it was a commitment: if we were going to ask users to think this way, the sound engine had to make it true.
Once that mental model was in place, I built and iterated on five independent signal-processing modules in Max/MSP Gen:
Each prototype was a different attempt to answer part of same question: what algorithms would have to exist for this simple XY control to feel honest?
Some approaches sounded impressive but didn’t track user intent. Others mapped cleanly to how producers described what they wanted.
By listening to these with users, we could tell which ideas supported the interface and which undermined it. Only then did we converge on the final architecture.
The XY system now drives multiple DSP modules together behind the scenes. Moving a control doesn’t “turn up compression”, it moves the sound towards a perceptual outcome, coordinating multiple changes behind single gestures.
To make this intelligible, I built interactive visual feedback that showed how the sound was changing as users explored the space.
Replacing familiar compressor controls is risky. Users need to trust that the system is doing something sensible.
We used automatic gain staging and carefully tuned visual feedback so users could explore without being misled by loudness or hidden changes. This let people judge changes by how they sound and feel, not by whether the controls are set to “sensible” values.
Voca validated an approach to intelligent processing that prioritises user agency over prescriptive automation, broadening the brand’s accessibility without eroding professional trust.
Dan Weller
Caskets, Holding Absence, Bury Tomorrow
"When I first used Voca, I genuinely started grinning. It's so beautifully smooth and fun to use. The soften feature is a game changer. Voca has been on every mix since, and I can't see that changing."
Craig Bauer
Kanye West, Ed Sheeran, Kurt Elling
"Very few plugins have my jaw on the floor, especially compressor and saturation plugins, but Voca is simply incredible."
Robert L Smith
Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Lady Gaga
"I swapped out my previous vocal chain for Voca and received this message from the client: "Thank you so much for the mix; the vocals are so much softer now. I don't know how you did it, but you seem to have understood what I meant when I said I wanted them sweeter. You are a wizard." So it works amazingly well, like everything you guys do!"
Tim Lloyd