Moderators isaac42 Posted June 28, 2014 Moderators Share Posted June 28, 2014 I'm thinking about getting a vocal processor. I heard a band (Mach 6, from Corvallis, Oregon) use a Boss VE-20 to augment their harmonies, and I thought, I could use one of those. But is that the best one for my purposes? I don't need pitch correction (though I can imagine using it as an effect at some point), nor do I need effects as such. What I'm thinking is to use it for adding harmonies, first and foremost. I'm in a couple of bands, and I have trouble getting the other singers to sing particular parts. In other cases, the parts I'd like to hear are just too high for anyone in the band other than me, and I can do only one at a time. Another thing I'd like to do is add delay, along the lines of an old Echoplex or Roland Space Echo. The only other thing I think I might use is a chorus or doubling effect, so that it sounds like two or more voices singing together. Any other effects, such as distortion or whatever, I don't see me using, though in the future, who knows? Their presence or absence wouldn't be a deal breaker either way. Any suggestions as to which processors might be better for my intended purposes? I'm looking at buying from Musician's Friend, so this is the page I'm looking at: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/vocal-processors I'm thinking that this is a better place to ask than the effects forum, but if I'm wrong, I could go there. So, thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members highmtn Posted June 28, 2014 Members Share Posted June 28, 2014 @isaac42 I've seen some musicians do a good job augmenting their harmonies with the TC Helicon Liveplay units. You can plug a guitar or keyboard into it and it will create harmonies that match the chord being played on the instrument, like major, minor, diminished chords, etc. They can sound kinda fake, but if blended in with real voices, or in the general mix, they can add a lot to the live sound. If the processor is too high in the mix, the high voices can sound a little too "chipmunky". I'm in a band as the drummer and one of the vocalists, and I have the sound console at the drum kit. I always have some reverb and slapback delay on the live vocals. Not too much, but enough to help fill out the band sound. I've considered getting a harmonizer, but it hasn't come to the top of my "next purchase" list so far. Too many other "necessities". I also use aural exciters on the monitors and the main system, to give that extra sparkle to the sound. I'm using a TC Electronic M300 unit for the reverb and echo. My console has separate sends on each channel that I use one for the Echo amount, and another send for the Reverb amount. I like this unit more than most of the Lexicon units I have used. TC makes more professional units than the M300, but they cost a lot more. I have more than one of these. You can shop around on eBay and get one for around a hundred bucks. I think I have one I paid about $80 for. I have different ones in different systems, and one I use just for rehearsal, so I don't have to pull one off of a performing system. There are good sounding reverb programs in it, and decent delays as well. Also, it's one of the few delay-reverb systems that has knobs on the front panel, instead of push-button menu-driven screens. I reach over and make adjustments on it all the time during a gig in the middle of a song. I've had Echoplexes and Space Echos before. They are low-fi, and have lots of problems with the tape heads getting dirty and the tapes wearing out. I sold my space echo at a garage sale a few years ago. The guy who bought it thought he had just taken me to the cleaners. I was relieved to get rid of it. It was cool when I first got it, but not for very long. I probably used it for 15 years and it served me well, but I like what I'm using now a lot better. The new digital effects are a lot more trouble-free. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted June 28, 2014 Author Moderators Share Posted June 28, 2014 I'm not expecting this to be prominent in the mix, just to fill in for the high vocal we lost when our chick singer moved away. Sounds kind of silly for me to be doing oohs and aahs by myself instead of in harmony, and kind of empty without them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Audixmicguy Posted July 9, 2014 Members Share Posted July 9, 2014 Harmonizers can really fill out your sound but be careful of using any pre-set effects as they are factory set to demo well but on a live stage can cause feedback issues. Usually just have to dial back the reverbs or delays if they are really bright sounding Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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