Antares ASPIRE - Aspiration Noise Processor Plugin (VST/AU/AAX)

ASPIRE is the world's first tool for modifying a voice's breathiness independently of its harmonic content. Whether reducing a bit of vocal rasp or adding a bit of smokiness, ASPIRE Evo allows modification of the amount and quality of a voice's aspiration noise without otherwise affecting the vocal's harmonic characteristics.

When you speak or sing, air from your lungs is forced through your vocal chords, causing them to vibrate. The resulting waveform is propagated through the throat, the mouth and out through the lips. It is the shape of these structures that create the resonant characteristics that define a unique vocal identity.

But going into a bit more detail, the vocal waveform is actually a combination of two different components. One, the one we usually think of as the primary element of vocal timbre, is the harmonic content generated by the process described above. However, there is a second component that is generated by the turbulence of the air rushing past the vocal chords. This component, aspiration noise, does not have harmonic content and can roughly be thought of as "breathiness."

Aspiration noise presents itself in a variety of ways, from a subtle bit of breathiness to a full-blown rasp. Of course, whether it's a problem or not depends on the amount of noise and the style of a performance. A whole lot of roughness that would work well for screaming punk or roots blues might well be a problem for mainstream pop or a smooth ballad (of course, it also might not). Up to now, there wasn't much you could do about it. Now, with ASPIRE Evo, there is.