Dalek vocals

February 1, 2007 12:33 AM

Can anyone help me figure out how one might easily replicate the Dalek voice, from Doctor Who? I've been playing around with it all day, and haven't quite gotten it. C'mon, lazyweb!
posted by zerolives to Media & Arts (6 answers total)

I think you could do a pretty good job using one of many Vocoder programs for PC or Mac. You would need to provide the histrionics yourself.
posted by beniamino at 1:16 AM on February 1, 2007

Oh. Wikipedia says that for daleks you need a ring modulator instead. There is still software to do it.
posted by beniamino at 1:20 AM on February 1, 2007

Wikipedia [wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalek#Voices] is a good first port of call before turning to AskMe

Although the exact sound-processing devices used have varied, the original 1963 effect used EQ to boost the mid-range of the actor's voice, then subjected it to ring modulation with a 30 Hz sine wave.

posted by MetaMonkey at 1:57 AM on February 1, 2007

If a computer-based solution is not required, try your local toy shop. They will have plenty of voice-altering stuff. My daughter had a Fisher-Price tape deck that had several different settings, including one that was not entirely dissimilar to the Dalekian rasp. A little Googling music, please, Paul... Here it is.
posted by Rock Steady at 7:11 AM on February 1, 2007

Response by poster: Meta: That's where I got my info from, to begin with. However, I haven't quite been able to nail it down. I turned to AskMe in the hopes that someone's done it before and can tell me what I'm missing.
posted by zerolives at 11:08 AM on February 1, 2007

Sorry to misunderstand zerolives. You may have got more useful answers if you had stated that you had tried that technique in the question, though.
posted by MetaMonkey at 9:35 PM on February 3, 2007