Digitech Vocalist Live Pro

[Failure Theory]

David,

 

you may try some in ear monitors to control the mic bleed. check out these:

 

http://www.jbl.com/home/products/product_detail.aspx?prod=JBLREF220BLKI&Language=ENG&Country=US&Region=USA&cat=HPH&ser=HDP&featureid=12402

 

http://www.harmankardon.com/product_detail.aspx?Region=USA&Country=US&Language=ENG&cat=HPH?=HKEP710BLK-H&sType=C

 

The harman kardon ones isolate up to 35db of sound. They are just like an ear plug. Either of these will produce much less bleed than conventional headphones because you don't have to turn them up very loud to still hear the same sound. The HK are more $$$ but isolate much more sound. I would say, however, that if you have small ear canals (like me) they will not seat deep enough to get good bass. The JBL's are cheaper and are much more customizable for fit, and super comfortable. They are all I use now.

 

Oh, and you should try recording without the headphones plugged in to see if there is line bleeding.

[HaloRecordings]

 

David, you may try some in ear monitors to control the mic bleed. check out these: http://www.jbl.com/home/products/product_detail.aspx?prod=JBLREF220BLKI&Language=ENG&Country=US&Region=USA&cat=HPH&ser=HDP&featureid=12402 http://www.harmankardon.com/product_detail.aspx?Region=USA&Country=US&Language=ENG&cat=HPH?=HKEP710BLK-H&sType=C .

 

 

I had the chance to experiment a little.

 

I recorded the guitar first (drums and bass had already been recorded). I set the PRO's Global parameter to "Main/Aux Separate". The Main's outputs are controlled by the knobs on the front panel. I turned the harmonies off (full left) so only the lead vocals are coming out of the mains (for recording, I also turn the reverb/delay off). The Aux output is controlled in the Global Parameter menu. There I turned the lead vocals off so only the harmonies are coming out of the Aux. I then panned harmonies 3rd below to full left and the 3rd above to full right.

Hooking up to the mixer for recording;

First I plugged the vocal thru into track 1 for a clean recording of my voice.

Second, I plugged the lead vocals (main out) into tracks 2 & 3. This is to record my processed voice (mainly pitch correction) in stereo. (Because I

[Failure Theory]

Thanks for the run down. When I get some time (err... make some time) I would like to try this out.

[stilwel]

Did anyone else have trouble getting their VL Pro updated using the application on the Digitech website?

 

It won't recognize my VL Pro is plugged into the PC via USB.

 

 

EDIT....nevermind. You have to install the Librarian for the Updater to work (weird).

[Failure Theory]

I am debating between using my Behringer FCB1010 midi controller, or the 3 button footswitch AND expression pedal for the VLPro. Some of my criteria:

 

- Must be able to turn harmonies on/off easily (Both have expression pedals),

- Must be able to change presets (both can do this equally),

- Must be able to turn on/off effects like delay (the 3 button switch turns off delay and reverb at the same time, no way to separate)

- Would be nice to turn on/off lead effects like distortion, EQ, and modulation (3 button footswitch only has 3 buttons

[TheDoctorMo]

I have a GSP 1101, Control 2 and the FC300 (3-button switch that goes by many names). I'm thinking of getting a VL Pro, in the next month, or so.

 

My plan was to create different presets for each type of harmony, then use the foot controllers to change the presets, within a song. It may mean a lot of toe-tapping, but it would be more-seamless, that way.

 

Connect your GSP to your VLP, using MIDI. Then, calling up the GSP preset will prepare your VLP for the next song. Then, within the song, switch presets using the FC300.

 

I thought about getting a FCB1010, connecting it to the MIDI In of my GSP, and letting the bassist change presets before, and during songs. I would also be able to make these changes using my Control 2 controller.

[Failure Theory]

 

I have a GSP 1101, Control 2 and the FC300 (3-button switch that goes by many names). I'm thinking of getting a VL Pro, in the next month, or so. My plan was to create different presets for each type of harmony, then use the foot controllers to change the presets, within a song. It may mean a lot of toe-tapping, but it would be more-seamless, that way. Connect your GSP to your VLP, using MIDI. Then, calling up the GSP preset will prepare your VLP for the next song. Then, within the song, switch presets using the FC300. I thought about getting a FCB1010, connecting it to the MIDI In of my GSP, and letting the bassist change presets before, and during songs. I would also be able to make these changes using my Control 2 controller.

 

 

I have thought about using the Control 2/GSP1101 to send a midi CC to the VLPro, but that limits you a bit, or at best case makes more work for you to line everything up. Are you running the C48 beta firmware. You can fully customize the Control 2 as a midi controller.

 

Here are some of the complications I can think of:

- Preset changes of just one of the units. You would need to have a duplicate preset on the device you don't want to change.

- Preset changing generally has a slight moment of silence between presets (however, it's not noticeable on the VLPro because there are so many pauses in singing). I try to avoid it during songs where I can.

- How would you double up on stompbox switches? I need all of the stompbox switches for the 1101. the "control" switch is only needed 30% of the time. Same for the expression pedal. I use every bit of the Control 2 for the 1101. So this doesn't fill my need to be able to turn on/off the harmony and vocal effects.

 

Maybe you have a good idea for how to get this to work for your scenario. Might not work for me, but I'm interested to hear how it goes. I did just re-realize that I can simply have duplicate presets on the VLPro to turn the delay on/off, then I would use the switches on the 3 button to go up/down to basically turn it on/off. But like I said earlier, I don't doing things that way. I like it more stompbox-like.

 

Are you using the FS3X as well as the control 2 on your 1101? BTW there are 2 - 3 button footswitches currently sold by DigiTech, the FS3X (updated FC300) and the GNXFC. The FS3X is smaller and has the vacuume switches, the GNFX is wider and has plastic pedals. I prefer the latter for its wider spaced pedals...

[TheDoctorMo]

 

Maybe you have a good idea for how to get this to work for your scenario. Might not work for me, but I'm interested to hear how it goes. I did just re-realize that I can simply have duplicate presets on the VLPro to turn the delay on/off, then I would use the switches on the 3 button to go up/down to basically turn it on/off. But like I said earlier, I don't doing things that way. I like it more stompbox-like. Are you using the FS3X as well as the control 2 on your 1101? BTW there are 2 - 3 button footswitches currently sold by DigiTech, the FS3X (updated FC300) and the GNXFC. The FS3X is smaller and has the vacuume switches, the GNFX is wider and has plastic pedals. I prefer the latter for its wider spaced pedals...

 

 

I have the older version of the footswitch. I got it about 20 years ago with my original Digitech harmonizer. I agree that it is kinda tight hitting the switches, especially, the middle switch.

 

It's even more difficult trying to find that switch, on a dark stage, while singing. I need to mount a small mirror on my mic stand so I can see where my feets are.

 

mike

[lenster]

I play in a 3 piece blues/ Rock band and harmonies aren't our strongest part. I've looked at the vocalist pedals and i'm interested.

Then i thought .... would a Vocalist Pro hooked up with the GSP 1101, be able to be controlled with the GC2 .

I'm new to the world of MIDI but thought that this may be possible.

1 stomp changes incorporating my guitar tones as well as vocal harmonies.

Any info or suggestions would be appreciated.

[Failure Theory]

 

I play in a 3 piece blues/ Rock band and harmonies aren't our strongest part. I've looked at the vocalist pedals and i'm interested. Then i thought .... would a Vocalist Pro hooked up with the GSP 1101, be able to be controlled with the GC2 . I'm new to the world of MIDI but thought that this may be possible. 1 stomp changes incorporating my guitar tones as well as vocal harmonies. Any info or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

 

You should be able to do this. look in your 1101 for the midi mapping. I know that with some of the beta firmware versions you can go as far as assigning full midi to the control 2. I have thought about using my control 2 for both 1101 and VLPro, but haven't tried it yet. If you can wait a few weeks I can try it. Oh, I do run two 1101's of of one control 2. It's been a while since I've really done that but I think only the preset changes filter to the 2nd unit, not the stompbox stuff. But I didn't configure any of it, I just plugged it in and I may bne wrong. I'll mess around and get back to you. what do you want to be able to do? I would guess: change patches, turn harmony off/on, turn certain effects off/on...

[Miket156]

 

by Failure Theory: Preset changing generally has a slight moment of silence between presets (however, it's not noticeable on the VLPro because there are so many pauses in singing). I try to avoid it during songs where I can.

 

 

I've been using the VLP for a little over a year. I'm a KB player so my set up is different than guitar players. I believe the reason you get a slight pause in the action when you switch from one program to another is that the effects have to "reset" to whatever FX you have on the next program. I use a dedicated MIDI track from my KB to send the correct chord information to the VLP and its as accurate as you can get. Much better than using MusIQ (which works well if you provide straight chords on your guitar to the VLP). By using a dedicated MIDI track from the sequencer in my KB, I can play anything I want on my KB without concern for providing MIDI information to the VLP, that is taken care of on another track. I primarily use the "Chordal" setting in the VLP instead of MusIQ. If you get a drop out of the harmony parts for a measure, if you provide an additional chord via MIDI to the VLP right after switching programs, you will only get a slight delay for the FX reset and then the harmonies with play because you are giving it new information after you switched programs. You can also send PC, CC and other midi info on sequencer tracks but that would require up to 4 midi channels to do it correctly and thats more channels than i can spare on my sequencer and more complicated than I want to deal with. I use my FC300 footswitch to make program changes within a song.

 

The VLP is a great sounding harmonizer, easy interface, great color screen which is easy to read in dark clubs. I could go on and on, but its a great device for a nice price.

 

 

Mike T.

[Failure Theory]

Thanks for sharing mike! I haven't heard much detail of how keyboardists are using the VLPro. sounds like you have a very good setup. I imagine your harmonies are great, seeing how you tell them exactly what to do!

[Miket156]

I've been using a Digitech Vocalist since 1992. I have my original VHM5 and it still works, although I wore most of the lettering off the keys on the front panel from years of use. The VLP is really a big improvement in sound and capability.

 

I've compiled a lot of classic rock songs over the years and put a midi track for vocals in all of them. I use the internal sequencer on my Yamaha Motif ES8 to create and edit my songs, no computer. I can get by with 16 tracks the ES8 has on board. The thing about using a midi track instead of doing live as you go is that by doing each song ahead of time I can insure that the harmonies come in exactly where I want them to, for the duration I want them to sing, and I can change chords on the MIDI track while I continue to sing the same note and the harmonizes while the note I am singing remains the same, COOL. I could be more automated if I had more midi tracks to spare for PC, CC, and other MIDI info as I posted above, but I do use all 16 tracks available in my sequencer for music in most songs. When I get strapped for more tracks, I can use PC commands in individual music tracks in order to share a track at different times throughout a song with different sounds. In that case, I use the GM sound bank. That is not as limiting as it might sound because I can edit many of the voice parameters within the "Song" mode on my KB and tweak them for a "better" sound than the standard GM voices.

 

I like having everything "under one roof" instead of being tied to a computer and the additional software and hardware that is necessary to sequence separately from my workstation KB. My Motif ES8 also has a sampler so I can download voice libraries or WAV files from various sites and put them in my songs. So I am not limited to the sounds that are in the ROM of my KB. That is already pretty extensive, but its still nice to have more sounds available.

 

I will be interested to hear how your experiment with using external devices to control your VLP works out. I hope you post your results.

 

 

 

Cheers,

 

 

 

Mike T.