Vocalist Live 3 review
Whassup y'all...
I know how much you all marvel at my incredible musical and technical abilities and knowledge :roll:, so I'm writing of my recent DT acquisition.
I just recently upgraded my Vocalist Live 2 - which I've really come to love, and surely helps de-emphasize what a hideous singing voice I have by creating lovely harmonies - to a Vocalist Live 3. I did so because of a couple of crucial features DT added to the '3 - namely pitch correction, the ability to make your \"backup singers\" male or female, the ability to store 5 \"patches\" or harmony setups, and the ability to either mix the git'r signal into the vocal mix, or remove it and run it out separate. They also added the ability to put chorus and/or reverb on your git'r, which I'll get to.
First off, I'll say that the harmony creation is still fantastic. I felt the '3 responded to chord changes just slightly slower than my '2 did; not enough to really make bad harmonies, but enough to notice.
I really liked the EQ (hi/lo) controls for the voice; they're much more effective than you'd think.
The \"humanize\" control for the harmonies is also pretty cool, but you must use it in moderation; too much and it starts sounding pretty sloppy.
I thought the pitch correction control feature was critical. It works - I mean it really works - however, it seriously alters the timbre of your voice, adding a somewhat modulated, mechanical tone to it. I don't mind so much, since my natural voice is already so awful that any alteration is an improvement. :oops:
Another noticeable shortcoming is the guitar sound. I thought it'd be great to have chorus and reverb for the git'r and have just one already-mixed signal going to the board, which is a good thing when you do a lot of open mic's, since the guys doing them often aren't very good with the sound/mixer. But the VL3's git'r sound is pretty bad, and the onboard chorus/reverb FX are definitely substandard. Instead, I turn the VL3's git'r mix-in control to zero, and use the Git'r Thru out to a modeler (RP155) to get a good sound.
So...overall, I'd say it was a good upgrade. I really liked the '2 for it's simplicity and ease of use; but the '3, despite being a bit more complicated to use, makes up for it in a slew of really good features. Thumbs up.
I know how much you all marvel at my incredible musical and technical abilities and knowledge :roll:, so I'm writing of my recent DT acquisition.
I just recently upgraded my Vocalist Live 2 - which I've really come to love, and surely helps de-emphasize what a hideous singing voice I have by creating lovely harmonies - to a Vocalist Live 3. I did so because of a couple of crucial features DT added to the '3 - namely pitch correction, the ability to make your \"backup singers\" male or female, the ability to store 5 \"patches\" or harmony setups, and the ability to either mix the git'r signal into the vocal mix, or remove it and run it out separate. They also added the ability to put chorus and/or reverb on your git'r, which I'll get to.
First off, I'll say that the harmony creation is still fantastic. I felt the '3 responded to chord changes just slightly slower than my '2 did; not enough to really make bad harmonies, but enough to notice.
I really liked the EQ (hi/lo) controls for the voice; they're much more effective than you'd think.
The \"humanize\" control for the harmonies is also pretty cool, but you must use it in moderation; too much and it starts sounding pretty sloppy.
I thought the pitch correction control feature was critical. It works - I mean it really works - however, it seriously alters the timbre of your voice, adding a somewhat modulated, mechanical tone to it. I don't mind so much, since my natural voice is already so awful that any alteration is an improvement. :oops:
Another noticeable shortcoming is the guitar sound. I thought it'd be great to have chorus and reverb for the git'r and have just one already-mixed signal going to the board, which is a good thing when you do a lot of open mic's, since the guys doing them often aren't very good with the sound/mixer. But the VL3's git'r sound is pretty bad, and the onboard chorus/reverb FX are definitely substandard. Instead, I turn the VL3's git'r mix-in control to zero, and use the Git'r Thru out to a modeler (RP155) to get a good sound.
So...overall, I'd say it was a good upgrade. I really liked the '2 for it's simplicity and ease of use; but the '3, despite being a bit more complicated to use, makes up for it in a slew of really good features. Thumbs up.
Comments
PS - you do know that typing in all capital letters is the online equivalent of shouting in someone's face? Mind your manners! :P
But I bet once you nail it down, you'll love it. I use mine every week at open mic and people dig it, not to mention it really opens up what material I can do.
Can't wait to hear what you think of yours. Post soundclips if you can...if I can ever get my studio set up again, I plan to post my cover of Lyin' Eyes, which sounds pretty durn good with the Vocalist helping. Very popular at open mic night (although it hasn't moved Shania to call me up and make longing sighing noises...oh well... :P )
FYI, I now sing lead vocal on 3 songs every night for my band. I'm the weakest singer of us three front men, but at least I'm trying. Having said that, one of my songs made the final cut for a band demo we sent out for booking gigs. So go figure that one out!? I suppose it's the harmonies by the other guys that kept that song in the loop......
When I turn off pitch correction and harmony, the guitar sounds fine ... but of course I lose the ability to do what the VL3 is supposed to do for me.
I am using an AKG Perception 200 condenser mic for vocals, which I try to keep at a low level to avoid picking up extraneous sounds ... but I can't go too low otherwise the vocals are too soft.
What am I doing wrong? Is there something special I need to do to eliminate that guitar bleed through my vocal mic?
But...as far as i can tell, the only thing I can think of that you're doing wrong is using an incredibly sensitive condenser mic for vox, which probably sounds great, but will have the side effect you describe - picking up the git'r sounds, which the VL3 will perceive as vocal notes and try to harmonize them.
Try a nice dynamic mic for vox, particularly one with a limited pattern. Personally, I use the Behringer XM8500; cheap, tough, and sounds great. This will probly solve your problem. Remember, the VL's are primarily geared to live use, not studio use.
So...if it works, wouldja give my number to Anne Hathaway the next time you bump into her at Starbucks? 8)
If I run into Anne, I will make sure she gives you a call 8)
btw ... How did you add the drum tracks to your recordings on SoundClick? Do you also play drums? Sounds good!
Um...drums? He plugs into the wall. ZOOM MRT-3b. I also have a decent electronic drum set, but I don't play it well enough to record. It's strictly for my own amusement, and to justify the drool on my shirt. :P
I run from guitar in and from guitar thru on the vocalist into the gnx4 but i cannot get the guitar sound out of the gnx. I run from the headphone jack out in stereo into my Yamaha home stereo aux input using rca splitter. The guitar and vocals have always worked like that. But when I plug into the guitar thru............. no guitar from the stompbox.
I know my cables are good. checked em each.
did you ever come acoss this problem?
I really want to use the stompbox mode of the gnx4.
So, try this.
Guitar->VL Guitar In->VL Guitar Thru->GNX4 instrument input
Engage the GNX4 tuner. Do you get signal?
Are you using the same headphone output from GNX4 to your stereo system, as you did for VL4?
And when you bump into Anne H at Starbucks, have her call me. :twisted:
Probably needs sent in to HQ for repair. dang it!
I at least can get a signal from the V4 now.
How do I try to clean the contacts in there instead of sending it in? Maybe that would work?
I sometimes grab the thing to move it around on the floor by its pedal. so maybe i pulled something loose.
One thought - does static get better/worse when you move the pedal up and down? You might have to change the parameter to something other than volume - best is probably NO LINK - to establish this.
Um as far as the amount of noise goes,
not sure if I paid too much attention to the fact.
i will keep tweakin and maybe repost later.
Shredd ... just an update ...
I picked up a Shure Beta 58 and that solved my problem. You were absolutely on the mark with my condenser being too sensitive. The supercardioid pattern of the dynamic Shure Beta 58 effectively ignores my guitar, which prevents the \"bleedng thru\" problem.
... and the Beta 58 is great in both the studio and live setting.
Thanks again for the great advice!
So...have ya run into Anne H lately? Does she miss me?? :P