To entertain your loved ones during an audio call or video conference, why not change your voice? There are many solutions for this on PC and Mac. But on mobile, the operation turns out to be more complicated …
No need to have any talent for imitating to take on the voice of Darth Vader, a robot, a woman, a man, an old man, a child or even a demon for a while. ‘a Skype conversation or a game session on Steam. Technology is there to lend a hand or rather, to lend you an original voice that your friends or relatives will have difficulty recognizing. No need for expensive equipment or complex software either: your PC as well as your Mac, associated with the right app can do the trick.
And it is not a question here of disguising your voice a posteriori, on a recording, as one can easily do it with audio editing software such as the Honorable Audacity. With specialized apps, editing is done on the fly, in real time, while you speak. Convenient for making jokes without the operation requiring too much preparation. To achieve this, you are spoiled for choice.
On the computer, there is a plethora of free software like VoiceMeeter, Clownfish voice changer, VoiceMod, or AV Voice Changer to only cite a few. For our example, we will use Voxal, a free tool, available for both Windows and macOS. On the smartphone, however, things get tough. For security reasons, apps that can cross-dress the voice on the fly to make phone calls, for example, are not allowed. They could indeed be used for telephone harassment or attempted fraud. Also, most of those offered on Google and Apple’s online stores simply allow you to record your voice and then apply effects to it after the fact. As for those which actually allow you to make a phone call using a voice other than your own, they all pay off.
There are many programs that allow you to modify your voice in real time from a computer. Among these, we have chosen Voxal from NCH Software. This editor has made a specialty of multimedia software for processing audio and video. Voxal is available free of charge in French for PC and Mac.
- Before you begin, take a little precaution. Voxal, like all other software of this kind, will first pick up the sound of your voice through the computer’s microphone, then apply the desired effect and then broadcast the modified voice through the speakers from PC or Mac. To avoid the echo and feedback effect which is sure to occur under these conditions (the sound from the speakers will be picked up by the microphone and will repeat in a loop until causing a very unpleasant whistling), be sure to plug in headphones to your computer. Prefer a wired headset to avoid any latency. The headset does not need to have its own microphone, but this option is highly recommended. Indeed, the computer microphone will pick up all the sounds in the surroundings, including that of the fans of the device which can cause an unpleasant breath in the ear.
- Start by repatriating Voxal to your computer.
- Install Voxal then launch it. The software interface is divided into four sections. On the left is the pane showing the vast array of vocal effects you can use. In the center are displayed the characteristics of the chosen effect (vocal tone, equalizer, etc.). At the top are aligned the buttons of the different tools. Finally, at the bottom of the window are listed all the actions carried out by the software (a kind of logbook).
- Click on the button Options at the top of the interface. In the window that appears, activate the drop-down menu Peripheral overview of and choose Helmet. Check that the drop-down menu located just above (Peripheral preview) indicates the microphone you want to use. Validate by OK.
- Click in the left pane on a voice effect (Fairy in our example) then activate the Preview button.
- Start talking. Your voice is disguised on the fly, with just a slight lag due to processing time.
- You can change the voice effect whenever you want to test the different models offered. Just click on the name of an effect to automatically apply and rate it. You just have to keep talking to realize how good it is.
- Have you found the vocal effect that’s right for you? Disable Preview by clicking on the eponymous button. All you have to do is leave the Voxal app open and then launch your calling software such as Skype for example. Your voice will remain modified during the conversation. You can also change the effect along the way.
- To regain your normal voice, simply exit the Voxal app.
Any apps on iOS or Android that promise to change voice on the fly that we have been able to try have been proven to be useless or misleading. Indeed, it is impossible to modify your voice in real time to make a call from a mobile. A technical measure imposed on devices in order to prevent attempts at fraud, intimidation or harassment as much as possible. However, two practices remain possible.
- With apps like Live Voice Changer, VoiceMod, Voice changer with effects, or Hacking Voice, you will be able to apply a sound effect to your voice, but only after recording it! You will then be able to stream the resulting audio file by messaging or social media, but you will not be able to make audio or video calls with a disguised voice.
- With apps like Voice Changer Phone Joke, MagicCall Voice Changer App or Voice Changer In Call (which once installed is strangely called VoIP droid …), you can actually make audio calls by taking the voice of a little girl or Darth Vader: but for that you will have to take out the wallet. To bypass the protective measure, communications do not go directly through your mobile operator. They pass through the servers set up by the publisher of the app before being redirected to your correspondent. A free service for a few seconds but for which you will then have to pay by purchasing call credits, sometimes up to several tens of euros. A bit expensive to make a simple joke, right?
