Vocoders allow for amazing sonic experimentation. Try changing the carrier signal to strings, brass, bass, a synth pad, or something wild.
Gating is used for a wide variety of purposes in music production. Most often, a volume gate is used to remove background noise from a recording.
A modern vocoder combines two audio sources to produce a third “blended” sound. Usually, one of the input sounds is produced using a synthesizer while the other sound is recorded from a microphone.