Showing posts with label vocal effects. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vocal effects. Show all posts

7/02/2012

Boss VE-20 Vocal Performer Processor Pedal Review

Boss VE-20 Vocal Performer Processor Pedal
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I'm not a sound guru or anything close to that, but have been playing music for many years now and have learned a thing or two along the way.
I play the guitars and do back vocals on a copy band. We are all some sort of "retired" musicians from the 80's, and are now playing again since 2005 while we have other careers during the day.
This means we don't have much time to deal with complex issues, and will like to use any available time playing and performing instead.
Our rehearsals are carried out in our own studio (similar to a recording Studio), were we have all type of equipments such as PA's, speakers, monitors, mixers, effects, mics, crossovers, floor monitors, basically everything that may be needed. In any given day you'll get pretty decent sound from such kind of equipment but you'll also find yourself spending most of your time trying to be a sound engineer instead of a musician (unless you can afford a specific and qualified person for that task).
Those who have played in these type of studios, will know that even considering there is a pretty decent live sound, the vocals are sometimes affected by echo or too much or too low reverberation, delay, among other things, depending on the mixer setup as well as other aspects such as room dimensions, acoustics, etc.
Any detail will have an influence on the final sound mix and the end result.
Before I purchased the Boss VE-20 processor, the quality of vour vocals was good, but there were ocassional problems like feedbacks or hiss, sometimes noise or wrong delay rate, reverb or too much signal decay during rehearsals. The problem magnitude depended on how much our singer moved across the room or due to mixer parameter changes in certain songs, patches, etc, and these issues affected our performance consistency.
With the Boss VE-20 we are very satisfied because it features pretty decent settings for different singing styles (Rock, Blues, R&B, etc) and some of the effects are just amazing. Despite having a lot of other equipment at our disposal we are now only using the Boss VE-20 effects for the vocals and leaving all other parameters on the mixer at "flat" (0) position, just amplifying the signal through the PA. All the previous issues are now gone.
The quality of the VE-20 preamp has proven to be very good for us (Well our singer is very talented wich obviously helps pretty much)but all the effects are excellent as well.
The unit is very "user friendly" and easy to customize your own settings. As any other Boss pedal it is very robust and intuitive to use.
Effects such as harmonizer and multiple voices are just smashing and sound very realistic. It is amazing how different factory presets will perfectly adapt to different venues or scenarios (ie, Hall, Large Room, Small Room, Arena, Cathedral, etc). At Boss they have really done their homework by having professional sound mix parameters on each preset with perfect balance, and you can even adjust those and save them in a customizable patch.
To be honest we did not tried any other option before this one, as there are similar products in the market today, and therfore cannot stablish a fair comparison, but this one was very useful right out of the box and we feel like it was really worth the price paid.
In our case it has really helped solve a lot of complicated back vocals (those difficult to perform while playing an instrument) as our main singer is now doing most of these back vocals herself. This has also improved our overall vocal sound and now we spend more time playing and less time solving mixing problems on the sound console.
I won't be surprised if in the future Boss develops a bigger version of the VE-20, with more features, just like they have done with many other effects.
But for the moment I will highly recommend this Boss VE-20 Vocal Processor to any amateur and semi-pro band that want's to improve the vocal sound quality, inestead of having a band member becoming a part-time sound technician.
We are a couple of months away from using this on a live performace but for what we've seen so far, are pretty sure we'll be a success.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Boss VE-20 Vocal Performer Processor Pedal

Who says stomp boxes are just for guitarists? The new, easy-to-use VE-20 has been designed from the ground up for singers, featuring some of the finest vocal-effects technology on the market. With the click of a footswitch, you can instantly add lush vocal layers and harmonies to your singing, add real-time pitch-correction, and you can show your creative side with special effects such as Distortion, Radio, and Strobe. You can even create loops and layers in real time with the onboard Phrase Looper. Perform anywhere with the VE-20 since it runs on AC or battery power. Phantom power for condenser microphones Runs on six AA-batteries or AC adaptor (PSA) Easy operation Accessories - Owner's Manual, Leaflet (using the unit safely, important notes, and Information), Dry battery LR6 (AA) type (alkaline) x 6 Unit Dimensions - 13/16 W x 1/4 D x 1/4 H, Weight - 2 lbs. 7 oz.

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6/19/2012

TC-Helicon VoiceWorks Plus Vocal Effects Processors Review

TC-Helicon VoiceWorks Plus Vocal Effects Processors
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I've been using it 4 days a week for the past 6 months and it has not let me down. you have to read the manual over and over again to finally understand it though.
I just wish the manual was more comprehensive...

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VoiceWorksPlus features an extensive effects list including 4th generation TC-Helicon Harmony, Voice Modeling', and the Transducer and μMod (micromod) blocks for distortion/megaphone and flange/detune effects.Also provides a high quality mic preamp, transparent pitch correction, and reverb, delay and dynamics algorithms from the classic VoiceWorks.

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5/11/2012

DigiTech Vocalist Live 4 Harmony-Effects Processor Review

DigiTech Vocalist Live 4 Harmony-Effects Processor
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The VL4 is a lot of fun! I've had mine for about 3 weeks now, so i've had time to really use all the features. First, i'll talk about the highlights. This product really makes your voice stand out. The compression works great and really brings your voice out of the mix. Even has a de-esser to remove the sibilant "s" sounds. The EQ is important for removing muddy mid frequency from your vocals which also helps to bring your voice out of the mix. The harmony works wonderfully and you can change the parameters in many ways. For example, let's say you're playing an A minor chord on your guitar, and singing an "E". You can choose your harmony note to be either an A or a G, depending on whether you want a true 3rd above, or the note closest to a 3rd above which is also a note in the chord. You can also choose the VL4 to choose a harmony note in a predefined scale, rather than based on what you're playing on the guitar. If you're playing a song in the key of D Major, and there are no key changes in the song, and no chords that do not fit in the scale, then you can simply choose all your harmony notes to be in the key of D Major. The strength of the Music IQ feauture(harmony based on what you're playing with the guitar) is when a song has key changes or chords which do not fit in the original scale. The reverb works great and you can change the predelay, decay, intensity, type(hall, studio, stage) and tone. The features which are not so great for vocals are the following:
1. pitch correction--it doesn't sound natural because the VL4 outputs both your original off-pitch voice and the pitch-corrected note, so it sounds like a doubling effect. Maybe if you really play around with the pitch correction parameters you'll be able to get a more natural sound, but i have yet to achieve that.
2. delay--if you can get the tempo of delay that you want, it works fine. The trouble is, the VL4 won't let you choose a fairly slow delay. So if you're singing a slow-tempo song, you won't be able to get a delay of a quarter note or even an 8th note. The delay works best for achieving a doubling effect.
3. lead effects--this effect lets you change the timbre of your voice, allowing it to sound deeper, more femminine, more Elvis-like, with vibrato, etc. Actually, this feature can be useful and fun. But like the pitch correction, it doesn't sound too natural. However, if used sparingly and in a song with complete backing music(bass, keyboards, etc) i think the audience wouldn't know any better.
Now for the guitar effects--reverb and chorus. I am very impressed with these! It uses the same reverb settings as your vocals, but you can adjust how much of the reverb is going to the guitar. The chorus sounds realistic and can be adjusted to be obvious or not-so-obvious. You can get a great guitar sound with these 2 effects, but i'd recommend running your guitar through a compressor and EQ to get a really clean sound.
I'd recommend the VL4 over the VL2 because of the extra vocal effects(they're really useful) and because you can store changes to any presets, and with the step of the pedal, you can get your stored preferred settings. I think having 4 harmonic voices is overkill, but for the features i just mentioned, the VL4 is recommended over the VL2.


Click Here to see more reviews about: DigiTech Vocalist Live 4 Harmony-Effects Processor

The Digitech Vocalist Live 4 is THE low-priced solution for vocalists looking to get accurate vocal harmony on stage or in the studio. The Vocalist Live uses guitar chord analysis to build the harmony structure, not the main vocal, so it is much simpler to use. It tracks what chords are being played and creates a harmony chord in that key. Genius!! The VL4 also has an integrated mixer.Just plug your vocal mic and guitar into the inputs and plug your PA and guitar amp to the outputs.Simple as that. Easy stomp-box operation activates or deactivates the harmony processor. Same goes for the built in digital effects- stomp on/stomp off. An unbelievable amount of Bang for your Buck. A surprising number of songs fool other harmonizers because these songs just do not work with a single key/scale setting. In fact, any song that has the same note sung over two different chords (for example, a C sung in the melody over a C maj / F maj chord sequence) is going to confound conventional harmonizers. Vocalist Live uses breakthrough musIQ technology to directly analyze the output of any electric or pre-amplified acoustic guitar (no special MIDI guitars or hex-outputs needed). Then it generates the correct vocal harmony. For example, if you are singing an A over the chords that are generally found in the key of G, Vocalist will harmonize with a C. But, if you then play an A major, Vocalist will shift to the C#...because like any good harmony singer, it listens to the guitar! With musIQ, forget about the technology, just sing and play! Skip complicated programming and having to analyze each song chord-by-chord; just follow these steps. Plug in your microphone and guitar; Pick a 3rd or 5th-above or below­ harmo

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4/22/2012

TC Helicon VoiceLive Touch Vocal Effects Processor Review

TC Helicon VoiceLive Touch Vocal Effects Processor
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As a vocalist for a two man group that performs mostly standards with midi backing tracks, I was itching to get my hands on this unit. When I was finally able to scrape up enough sheckles to buy it, I was not disappointed. The unit is compact and easy to learn and the difference in sound is amazing. Whether it's vocal harmonies, vocal doubling or just the wide varieties of reverb and echo settings, my vocals sound much warmer and fuller. If I had any complaint at all, it would be that the hookups can be a little hard to access once the unit is mounted to the mic stand. The AUX IN jack is especially hard to get to since it falls right next to the mic stand pass-through. These are minor quibbles compared to the great sound!

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The TC Helicon VoiceLive Touch vocal processor and looper is truly the first instrument for your voice. At your fingertips, the VoiceLive Touch combines TC Helicon's best-selling vocal effects, VLOOP performance vocal looping and a uniquely addictive touch interface. TC Helicon VoiceLive Touch Vocal Processor Features Vocal harmony and effects VLOOP - performance vocal looping of vocals and guitar input including effects Instant touch interface with bright, easy to read, scrolling display Ingenious design allows mic attachment and desktop use for easy access 200+ factory presets 25 Favorite locations for storing custom presets 24 touch buttons with LEDs Touch slider Simple, style based, essentials-only editing Wizard to assist preset browsing Dedicated effect block on/offs Mic input level Headphone output level VoiceLive Touch is the perfect companion for any vocalist whether you sing live or record in the studio. It can easily be mounted on a mic stand or put next to your computer or keyboard. It's there when you need it for any situation. Unique and Easy Touch Interface Navigate around the features and presets with an ease that becomes addictive. One touch and you're hooked! Swipe the slider to browse presets, press and hold buttons to edit or store to a favourite location. Double clicking the slider always gets you home. Voicing buttons offer instant harmony arranging. Talk button bypasses all effects so you talk with the audience 25 Favorites allow you to store and recall your customized effects quickly The Slider opens up a world of hundreds of presets and easy editing Convenient access to mix l

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4/09/2012

TC-Helicon VoiceTone Synth Vocal Effects Processors Review

TC-Helicon VoiceTone Synth Vocal Effects Processors
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Great effects and easy to use. Plugging in my Microkorg and double vocoding my voice is a blast and sounds awesome. The VoiceTone Synth is deceptively deep as well. With far more profiles of sounds than you would first expect by the layout of the buttons. Highly recommend!

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VoiceTone Synth brings together a collection of exotic and current sonic mayhem including jagged HardTune effects, a MassiveBand Vocoder with voice-controlled synth and vocal distortion and megaphone effects. Now vocalists and anyone looking to add a modern edge to their live performances and studio productions can dial-in these effects instantly with the press of a footswitch.

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3/18/2012

TC-Helicon VoiceWorks Vocal Effects Processors Review

TC-Helicon VoiceWorks Vocal Effects Processors
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I'd watched the videos on TC-Helicon's website before buying this from Amazon, my hope was that it would be half as good as advertised. It's two or three times better than I could have ever imagined!
1. The pre-amp is excellent.
2. The compressor is better than my stand alone unit.
3. The doubling is great, really gives you that professional sounding vocals.
4. The harmonies are exceptional, let me repeat, EXCEPTIONAL. I'm not that great a singer, this thing is magic in a box. You do NOT need to use midi for the harmonies, I'd say about 3/4ths of the setting don't require any midi input, don't get me wrong, the midi presets are amazing, you can literally hold a note with your voice, and say hold the C note on the keyboard, and it will bend it as far as you're willing to go up the keyboard!
5. The voice correction, I believe, is making me a better singer. It coaxes you to move your voice to get the harmonies in tune, which is not hard. Yes, you can take it to the extreme and have the "cher" effect.
I don't post reviews often, but this thing is so far beyond my expectations, I had to let others know. You will not regret this purchase!


Click Here to see more reviews about: TC-Helicon VoiceWorks Vocal Effects Processors

VoiceWorks rack mount, 4 Voice Harmony Processor has a full complement of vocal processing tools from microphone preamp to four voices of harmony generation, pitch correction, reverb and tap tempo delay, compression and EQ

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3/03/2012

TC-Helicon VoiceTone Harmony-M Vocal Effects Processors Review

TC-Helicon VoiceTone Harmony-M Vocal Effects Processors
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This really is the best addition I could find for my midi keyboard. The harmonies adjust perfectly to me playing! I would recommend this to anyone. There was only one thing I was slightly disappointed about, I didn't realize Manual Mode only allows 4 notes to be played at a time (but you can add your voice for a 5th). But still, besides that slight detail, it's the perfect foot pedal for any pianist/vocalist!
If you sing and play, you need to buy this! End of story.
Note: If you have a USB Midi cable, you will need a midi program that can process your keyboard input relatively quickly, otherwise your Harmony-M might get stuck on some strange chords :P. To get rid of needing a computer, I recommend just using a standard non-usb midi cable.

Click Here to see more reviews about: TC-Helicon VoiceTone Harmony-M Vocal Effects Processors

By following natural guitar or MIDI-keyboard playing, this new pedal enables singing musicians to add backup harmony singers to their performances without any tedious programming. Live engineer effects are also included, which automatically apply Adaptive EQ, compression and de-essing algorithms so the performer can focus on playing while a fully-produced vocal sound is produced, with dedicated doubling and reverb/delay combinations. VoiceTone Harmony-M is dedicated to singers who are also keyboard players. It listens to the MIDI input and voice to follow the music. The pedal includes classic "notes" and "chord" harmony control modes, and features ¼" TRS mic level I/O as well as input for optional footswitch so it can be placed on the keyboard for easy access. Like Harmony-G it has a tone switch for engaging the adaptive live engineer effects that dynamically polishes the vocal tone by connecting the stereo outputs to the mains. Both pedals in the series feature two-voice 4th generation intelligent harmony allowing for natural back-up vocals. With flexible voicing, including a unique bass setting that instructs a harmony voice to follow the chord root, the intelligent arrangement algorithms follow the keyboard or guitar playing to produce tight harmonies. Additionally, a separate double effect uses the widely respected TC-Helicon overdub algorithm to produce a thick sound typically reserved for studio recordings. The pedals come with six factory reverb/delay combinations and ten presets, each with A/B locations. Topping an already packed feature list, the new VoiceTone Harmony pedals sport a studio quality mic preamp with phantom power, solid metal construction and detailed audio design from input to output. AmericanMusical com is an authorized dealer of TC Helicon products.

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2/28/2012

TC-Helicon VoiceLive 2 Vocal Effects Processor Review

TC-Helicon VoiceLive 2 Vocal Effects Processor
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This piece of equipment will knock you of your socks! Not only with the harmonies which are far superior to anything else out there (smart harmonies that follow your guitar, keyboard or IPod tunes, INSANITY!!!), but it also blows your mind with the regular every day vocalist effects. This thing has a auto-setup EQ and compressor which the machine adjusts automatically depending on your singing style. World class reverb and delay, flangers, choruses, doubler, pitch correction, AUTO-TUNE (which to me sounds better than the antares), gender conversion (YES YOU CAN SOUND LIKE THE OPPOSITE SEX NO JOKE, and it is a good sounding voice too). Onboard mixer, Phantom power, preset saving, preset sequence saving, this thing does everything!!! I wanna marry it! Oh yeah hook up a guitar and run it through the effex processor and hear how insane it sounds.
I own all kinds of equipment and have messed with all kinds of effects processors software and hardware and this is by far the best $800 you can spend as a singer. Stop thinking about it and buy it.

Click Here to see more reviews about: TC-Helicon VoiceLive 2 Vocal Effects Processor

Building on the impressive VoiceLive, the VoiceLive 2 is easy to use with a completely redesigned user interface. The VoiceLive 2 has pushed the envelope of performance effects for vocalists yet again to offer singers smooth studio tone, rich harmonies and ear-catching effects. Many new advancements including NaturalPlayTM harmonies with up to eight harmony voices controlled from a guitar, MIDI keyboard or MP3 player are now available to you the performer.

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2/19/2012

DigiTech VL3G Vocalist Live 3 Harmony and Pitch Correction Pedal Review

DigiTech VL3G Vocalist Live 3 Harmony and Pitch Correction Pedal
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I could have had a career! Singers who don't show up to gigs! The hours wasted trying to teach a drummer to sing harmony! No more. Very simple, just plug it in and be prepared for Shock-n-Awe vocal harmonies to back you up.

Click Here to see more reviews about: DigiTech VL3G Vocalist Live 3 Harmony and Pitch Correction Pedal

Deepen Your Connection with the Audience with Vocalist Live 3! An innovative tool to add to your vocals for live performance, DigiTech Brings you the Live 3 Harmony and Pitch Correction Pedal. Stomp on a switch and fill the room with natural, full-sounding vocal harmonies that adapt to the notes being played. DigiTech Vocalist Live 3 Features Intelligent 3-part Harmony Lead voice plus 2 more Real-time pitch correction Vocal Preamp Channel Strip Warmth (tube preamp), Compressor, 2-band EQ, Low Cut and Noise Gate Gender Control gives the harmonies a male and/or female voice Humanize Control adjusts the natural sound of the harmonies from loose to tight Five Harmony Patches Save harmony settings, each with an A and B part Built-in Guitar Chorus Effect & Guitar Tuner 3 Reverb settings and 5 Delay settings Using musIQ technology, the Live 3 automatically follows the chord progression on your guitar to create musically accurate harmonies. The Live 3 keeps the lead vocals right on target with pitch correction and more pre-effects like warmth, compression, a noise gate and a 2-band EQ. Add in reverb, delay, and a built-in tuner, and you have an indispensable tool that will have you turning heads and inspiring applause like never before. AmericanMusical.com is an authorized dealer of DigiTech products.

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2/08/2012

TC-Helicon VoiceTone Harmony-G XT Vocal Effects Processor Review

TC-Helicon VoiceTone Harmony-G XT Vocal Effects Processor
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Much simpler to use than its big daddy, the VoiceLive2--but it's missing one crucial thing: the dedicated jack for the expression pedal to turn the harmonies on and off in live situations. If you use it sparingly, it's an instrument unto itself, and with the latching footswitch, you end up playing Riverdance on it. Also: in a band situation, it's very very sensitive to outside noise into your vocal mic. You need a completely polarizing hypercardioid, and you'll need to point the other amps away from it. In a crowded cavern-type gig? Forget it. It'll squeal on you.
Perfect for acoustic gigs where you don't run signal interference. Just a beautiful invention. Next time, TC Helicon, give us that expression pedal jack, and you'll have the best performance pedal in the business.

Click Here to see more reviews about: TC-Helicon VoiceTone Harmony-G XT Vocal Effects Processor

Kick your vocals into high gear with VoiceTone Harmony-G XT. Now with improved harmony technology and reverb from its big brother VoiceLive 2, Harmony-G XT will improve your tone and surround your voice with pro effects and vocal harmony.

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