Gooey Audio has released Talkie, a simple formant filter plugin for macOS and Windows. The plugin is available at no cost for a limited time until February 20th, 2026.
Talkie is basically a one-knob formant filter. The idea here is to turn frequency-rich sounds (mainly synths, but other sources work, too) into vowel-like tones using a single main control. If you ever placed a small speaker in front of your mouth and then changed the shape of your mouth to get different tones, that’s basically what you’re getting here.
Talkie uses a series of tuned filters designed to emulate familiar vocal formants and produce sounds to “Ah,” “Oo,” and other classic vowel shapes we make with our mouth. Now, there are many multi-mode filters with a vowel mode, but Talkie was designed to deliver this type of processing without any additional complications.
So, if you simly need a vowel filter that simple and effecient, this is worth a look.
The interface is as simple as it gets. You get one main morph control that blends between vowel shapes in real time. You can click and drag the morph label to smoothly transition between vowels, or scroll through the available formant modes to switch the overall character.
The five modes on offer are AYA, AE, OA, EO, and IE, each with a slightly different tonal focus and movement.
The built-in visualizer shows the filter frequency response, which, honestly, isn’t necessary but is helpful for understanding how the formants are shaping the sound as you move the control. It also makes the plugin feel more interactive, especially when experimenting with automation or slow modulation.
In my experience, formant filters like Talkie pair best with harmonically rich audio. So, for example, a simple sawtooth wave, sustained pad, or even a basic synth bass can take on a surprisingly human-like quality with this one.
This isn’t an essential plugin by any means, but if you’re into sound design, it can’t hurt to have a lightweight creative effect like this one. It can add a nice twist to transitions, leads, or (if anyone still remembers those) dubstep basslines.
Talkie is available for Windows 8 or newer and macOS 10.13 or later. The plugin comes in AU, VST3, and AAX formats and runs as a universal binary on Apple Silicon systems.
Download: Talkie (FREE until February 20th)
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Last Updated on January 30, 2026 by Tomislav Zlatic.
