Talk Moonshine!
Talk Moonshine! is a harmoniser-and-room plugin built around a dual voice architecture. This manual walks every parameter, every preset and the techniques that get the most out of it.
2. The signal chain in one paragraph
3. Dual harmony voices
4. Tone shaping
5. Space — reverb and delay
6. Mix, output, bypass
7. Factory presets
8. Five things worth trying tonight
9. Troubleshooting
10. Licence and support
1. Quick start
- Install the plugin (Mac instructions on install-mac).
- Drop it on a vocal or guitar bus.
- Load the Drift preset.
- Sing or play a single note. Let it ring.
- Slowly turn Mix to taste.
2. The signal chain in one paragraph
Input gain → a dual voice harmoniser (two independent pitch-shifted voices with per-voice spread and detune) → tone-shaping EQ → a room generator (delay, reverb, modulation) → mix bus → safety limiter on the output. Everything is summed in stereo.
3. Dual harmony voices
Talk Moonshine! has two independent pitch-shifted voices, A and B. You can blend them with the dry signal to taste. Each voice has its own pitch, spread, and detune controls.
Pitch-shift for voice A in semitones (-12 to +12). A common move is -5 (a fifth below) or +7 (a fifth above).
Pitch-shift for voice B. Stagger A and B for major or minor triads.
Pans the two voices wider as you turn it up. At 100% A is full left and B is full right.
Small per-voice pitch drift that makes the harmony feel sung, not generated. Tasteful past zero, magic past 20%.
4. Tone shaping
Removes weight from the harmonised signal so it does not clutter the dry.
Smooths the top end. Helps the harmony sit behind the dry vocal.
5. Space — reverb and delay
Echo time. Sync to your DAW tempo or set free.
The size of the room the harmony is sung in.
Modulation depth on the reverb tail. Subtle keeps it natural; pushed gets ethereal.
6. Mix, output, bypass
The Mix knob is the parallel dry/wet blend. Past 70% you lose the dry vocal entirely. The OUT meter on the right shows post-mix level. The BYPASS button at the bottom right disables the plugin entirely — useful for tap A/B comparisons.
7. Factory presets
Click the preset name to browse, use the chevrons to step prev/next. Save your own by clicking the floppy icon.
Standard bank
Lush thirds, octave doubles, simple delay/reverb blends.
Vocal bank
Soft thirds, falsetto doubles, and gospel-stack presets.
Guitar bank
Fifth-below, octave-down, and shimmer-style harmonised reverbs.
8. Five things worth trying tonight
- Pan Voice A and Voice B fully opposite (Spread = 100%) and watch a vocal turn into a duet.
- Voice A at +7, Voice B at +12 = instant gospel choir on a vocal.
- Voice A at -5, Voice B at -12 = make a guitar feel like it has a bass guitar shadow.
- Drop the Low cut at 250 Hz to keep harmonies out of the way of the bass.
- Automate Mix from 0 to 60% over a chorus — the harmonies arrive instead of being there.
9. Troubleshooting
The plugin will not load (macOS)
Follow the steps on install-mac.
No sound on Mix > 0
Confirm Bypass is off and that both voices have a pitch set.
The harmony sounds robotic
Push Detune past zero. A small amount of natural pitch drift is the difference between "harmoniser" and "singer."
10. Licence and support
Your licence is tied to your email. Activate up to 3 machines at once. Manage them at /account.
Bug, request, or something you made? Mail audio@piruzlabs.com.