CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted December 1, 2003 CMS Author Share Posted December 1, 2003 Okay, so tell me about pitch correction devices like TC Helicon's. I've never worked with one, have no idea what it can do or how well it does it. My guess is that it adjusts pitch to the closest 'real' note? If so, seems like that would be tough to get used to if you had good monitors, but again, I'm just guessing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Scodiddly Posted December 1, 2003 Members Share Posted December 1, 2003 It works best if you're already a good, in-tune singer. Basically you'd only have it in the FOH speakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sirdaniel Posted December 1, 2003 Members Share Posted December 1, 2003 the vocal producer... They are kinda scary to use. As said, you have to be close. It can actually throw you to the wrong semitone. I got rid of mine because it made me REAL nervous. Recording is a different topic, but live, forget it. It can make a subtle mistake catastrophic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Fear My Potato Posted December 2, 2003 Members Share Posted December 2, 2003 Yeah as a singer I'd never use one, just doesn't seem right to me. Guys like Morrison had such style because they were sometimes a little off, and they made it work anyway. But that's a personal thing. I guess in a scene where the rest of the music is more and more quantized (eg drum machines and synthesizers), it doesn't hurt to get your vocals on that level too. I've also heard that lots of professional musicians use them on tour. Cher reportedly had a {censored}LOAD on her last tour (enough that if she sold them she could buy me a nice new car). I'm also just about 100 percent sure Incubus used them on their albums...just what I can tell from listening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators MrKnobs Posted December 2, 2003 Moderators Share Posted December 2, 2003 Originally posted by Craigv Okay, so tell me about pitch correction devices like TC Helicon's. I've never worked with one, have no idea what it can do or how well it does it. My guess is that it adjusts pitch to the closest 'real' note? If so, seems like that would be tough to get used to if you had good monitors, but again, I'm just guessing. I use the TC Helicon in my studio, and like it a lot. It's not a miracle cure, but it can fix subtle pitch errors without drawing attention to itself. It's the first box of this sort that's actually useable, IMO. I tried and didn't like the rack version of the Antares stuff. I don't use it live, I think that would be silly. I also think it would have trouble tracking with all the other stuff present in the vocal mike. It works by detecting when the note being sung is more than a user specified distance from a user specified list of acceptable notes. The simplest list of acceptable notes is just the chromatic scale, but you can also specify any particular scale you want. This particular box also has a setting for rate of pitch correction, meaning how fast it bends your note up (or down) to the target note, which goes a long way toward making it sound real. Otherwise, with a fast correction you get the "Cher" effect. It's not hard to sing with at all, in fact it's educational. Best to have both the corrected and uncorrected note in your monitor / headphones, I think. If you're at home, you can also watch the pitch meter to show you how sloppy (or perfect) your pitch is. Terry D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted December 2, 2003 Author CMS Author Share Posted December 2, 2003 Interesting info guys, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 3NoteDave Posted December 2, 2003 Members Share Posted December 2, 2003 I've used both the Antares and TCHelicon products. Generally you don't want to have a pitch corrected signal going to the monitors, just the mains. Hearing the pitch corrected signal can really drive the singer crazy and make them sing worse. If the singer will be hearing the pitch corrected signal you would adjust the speed and point at which the unit decides the note should be corrected so that the singer at first hears the out of tune note so that they can start to correct and then the unit kicks in. Check out the user manual from TCHelicon for a better explanation. If you use them live I would use a chromatic scale unless you are absolutely sure of the key and accidentals as well as key changes. You can program songs and control the progression with a foot switch but I think that's too hard to do live. They can be absolutely amazing. Of course you'd want a singer who could sing perfectly but you have to work with what you got. You could always try the unit out and return it if you don't like it. GC has a 30 day return policy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted December 2, 2003 Author CMS Author Share Posted December 2, 2003 I'm not to the point of considering one of these....still hoping for a decent singer to appear out of the mists for my band. But I figure it would be a good idea to know about these devices and if I need one for myself at some point, I'll be more prepared. Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sirdaniel Posted December 2, 2003 Members Share Posted December 2, 2003 The best approach I've EVER seen to "live" pitch correction are: 1- loud instruments and 2- LOTS MORE BOOZE... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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