So using an Iron Lung vocoder guitar pedal and some compression, an octave pedal and distortion pedal in front of the vocoder, I'm finding the vocoder track has to be cranked up and the rest of the tracks turned down to be clearly heard...Any tips for making the vocoder heard more clearly? The effect is really cool, but it's very hard to make out the words when the rest of the track plays...I've tried turning on sonar track compression but doesn't really help the clarity part, at least with the usual compressor settings..

Might be a matter of carving a space for it with EQ, can you post a clip?

https://soundcloud.com/no...f/example-clip/s-xUk0N

The vocoder track sounds horrible.  It is just a horrible noise to me.  The vocoder sound has no resemblance in this case to what an actual vocoder sounds like!  (coming from a synth guy here) There is no way you are going to get that noise (and that is all it is) to sit in any mix.
 
You need to go right back to the vocoder sound and start again.  Start by removing all the effects that precede it and just try putting a clean signal straight into it and see what comes out first.  I think you may be getting too ambitious as to what you are doing prior to the vocoder.  And even when you do that try adjusting the settings (if there are any and there should be) for maximum clarity.  You are defeating the purpose of the vocoder.   It is called using too many effects.
 

Jeff Evans
The vocoder track sounds horrible.  It is just a horrible noise to me.  The vocoder sound has no resemblance in this case to what an actual vocoder sounds like!  (coming from a synth guy here) There is no way you are going to get that noise (and that is all it is) to sit in any mix.
 
You need to go right back to the vocoder sound and start again.  Start by removing all the effects that precede it and just try putting a clean signal straight into it and see what comes out first.  I think you may be getting too ambitious as to what you are doing prior to the vocoder.  And even when you do that try adjusting the settings (if there are any and there should be) for maximum clarity.  You are defeating the purpose of the vocoder.   It is called using too many effects.
 

I wanted the sound down there around the darth vader octave , so it's unimportant if it resemembles an actual vocoder, onlyt that it's clear in the mix, which it isn't lol...when I don't use the octave pedal, it doesn't have that sinister sound...maybe though like you say, what I'm wanting isn't really achievable with this setup....I wonder if that Roland table top vocoder thingy would work?

Interesting then you are after a sinister sound.  Then the vocoder may be the totally wrong choice.  A few years ago I built a box which actually creates the Darth Vader sound from a mic input.  It has lots of controls on it and it sounds quite excellent.  Sounds like this might have been a better choice.  I am sure there are ways to get the effect though.  Ring mod etc.  Try a different effect.  Even very tight delays set for lots of feedback to give you the metallic effect.  And then octave shift etc.. I bet there is another way to get the effect you are after and it will be much clearer.

Jeff Evans
Interesting then you are after a sinister sound.  Then the vocoder may be the totally wrong choice.  A few years ago I built a box which actually creates the Darth Vader sound from a mic input.  It has lots of controls on it and it sounds quite excellent.  Sounds like this might have been a better choice.  I am sure there are ways to get the effect though.  Ring mod etc.  Try a different effect.  Even very tight delays set for lots of feedback to give you the metallic effect.  And then octave shift etc.. I bet there is another way to get the effect you are after and it will be much clearer.

cool...I'm going to play around with different effects..maybe lose the octave pedal and see what that pitch software in SONAR can offer...
 
edit: one interesting thing, I just uploaded another version..this time using strums chords versus single notes, no octave pedal...it's more vocoder sounding now, which is a bad thing lol...I'll keep tweaking for the darth vadery low and sinister unique thingy..I'm wondering if just turning down the other tracks would make it work better too...

Not to take issue with Jeff, whom I respect, but that doesn't sound so terrible to me.  Why not try blending a clear vocal with this, perhaps with a little added f/x, and low in the mix?  This effect is not so rare, but must be prepared properly.

Vocoder sounds are a ****. Don't know anything about the vocoder pedal you are using. I use the mvocoder from melda occasionally and yeah, it isn't really easy getting clarity. The vocal you are working from must be loud and articulate with much care to ennunciation. Parts of spoken and sung words are typically not so loud and don't carry over well so you must exagerate a bit to get a good envelope. The dynamics of the carrier tone are very important as well - you need a strong, steady tone because if you are putting the vocal envelope on a weak sound it won't come across - so in your case the guitar should be full and steady so you have a solid tone to shape. 
Blending in some of the original vocal is very helpful for clarity.
 Are you wanting to pull this off live? Because if not, a guitar pedal vocoder probably isn't the best way to accomplish the vocoding on a recording(ps those shoes is an old favorite of mine btw). I'm betting the original was done with a talk box, as Mr. Walsh was a fan.

Lol, I just assumed that if Hall and Oates could sing about it in the 80's I could get away with typing it on the internet in the 10's. "You're a rich girl..."