The VoiceLive Play offers powerful vocal processing with simple footpedal control.

• Tc Helicon Voicelive Play Autotune
• Tc Helicon Voicelive Play Demo
• Tc Helicon Voice Live Play Auto Tune Pedals
• Tc Helicon Voicelive Play
• Tc Helicon

TC Helicon, who specialise in vocal processing, offer products in a variety of formats. I've previously looked at their VoiceLive Touch and VoiceLive Rack, which both use capacitive touch control for accessing a wide variety of voice-optimised treatments.

TC-Helicon Voicelive play User Manual. Music Pedal TC-Helicon VoiceLive Play GTX User Manual (37 pages) Music Pedal TC-Helicon Voicetone Double User Manual. Effects - HardTune Hardtune Ah Hardtune some call it the Cher effect and others refer to it as Auto-Tune. What- It has 3 parameters: Shift or down 12 semi-tones, which is equal to. No matter if you're a seasoned professional singer, or if you're just at the start of your career, the VoiceLive Play from TC Helicon will deliver impacting results that will not only enhance your performance, it will boost your confidence level too.

For those who aren't familiar with TC Helicon's current range, the company's goal with these products is a noble one: to bring studio-like vocal processing to the stage. They aim to do this by providing a comprehensive set of effects tailored for the voice within a single unit, including preset-based adaptive compression, de-essing and equalisation; pitch processing in the form of correction, doubling and hard tuning (think Kanye West-style Auto-Tune); and conventional effects such as reverb, flanger, delay, chorus, rotary speaker, distortion and so on.

The VoiceLive Play's chassis and control system has a lot in common with TC Helicon's stomp boxes, such as the VoiceLive 2 and 2 Extreme. These units squeeze a lot of power into a multi-pedal format, giving the singer the same effect-changing freedom that guitarists will be used to. Housed in a sturdy metal shell, the VoiceLive Play's controls are somewhat stripped down as far as multi-effects units go, comprising just three footswitches, a continuous rotary encoder and several rubber buttons, and the device is a little less intimidating too.

Fit & Finish

The footpedal controls themselves are pretty easy to grasp. The upward- and downward-facing arrows scroll through patches (and activate the simple looping function when held together), while the 'Hit' footswitch adds a second layer of effects to the current patch. Holding the 'Hit' button down for a while activates a 'Talk' mode that leaves the signal dry, allowing you to address the audience. Since these are the only footpedal controls, editing patches on stage is quite impractical. It's fair to say that the Play works best if you programme the effects patches before your performance.

Above the pedals is a continuous encoder that allows you to input changes to parameters, with left- and right-facing arrows for menu navigation. The Back and Store buttons do exactly what you'd expect: go back a menu step, and allow you to store and name the current patch. All except the encoder are illuminated in blue or white depending on the status of the unit.

The main display is flanked by six rubber buttons, which are also illuminated. As well as selecting adjacent parameters in menus, these buttons each have a discrete function. An LED on the upper left of the chassis gives an indication of the microphone input level by changing gradually from green to red. The level is controlled by a thumbwheel on the left-hand side of the VoiceLive Play.

Ins & Outs

The VoiceLive Play features a USB connection for computer-based patch management and audio streaming. It also hosts two small side-mounted mics designed to detect the key of your song.The main inputs and outputs are as you'd expect: a mic input and a stereo XLR output. As well as these, there's a USB input for uploading new firmware, patch management via computer software, and streaming stereo audio to and from a host computer. There's also a headphone mini-jack output, while the mini-jack 'Aux' input allows connection of an MP3 player or similar device. You can use this to sing along to MP3 tracks while the VoiceLive Play attempts to filter out the track's lead vocal.

Two internal 'Roomsense' microphones can listen to surrounding instruments through slits in the side of the chassis. Odd as it may seem, these listen for the key of your song, and can follow its chord progressions to help ensure accurate harmonies. How successful this is depends on the sound sources you're near to, plus how close their tuning is to the fundamentals of the current chord, so it's a shame that the usual jack or MIDI socket isn't included for direct instrument following.

The option is there to use the TC Helicon MP75 Modern Performance microphone to control the activation of a single parameter in the VoiceLive Play, as defined in the Setup menu. I used this microphone when reviewing the VoiceLive Rack, and found it to be a worthwhile alternative to the standard SM58.

Software Style

Editing patches is pretty easy once you get your head around the layout of the unit, and if you're used to TC Helicon devices the parameters will be clear to you. If not, it doesn't take too long to pick up the terminology.

The 'Genre' button allows you to scroll through patches by genre of music: all of the presets are based on a famous song or artist, and are designed to make your voice sound similar to the vocal of the song. They can be a good starting point for inspiration within a particular style, but I also found the 'Favourite' genre useful. Using the 'Favourite' button, you can easily add any current patch to this list, limiting the available patches to the Favourite list.

The 'Effects, 'Setup' and 'Mix' buttons let you craft the current patch using seven effect categories, as well as parameters such as the key for harmonising and the mix balance of effects. You can also assign each of the seven effect categories to activate when the 'Hit' button is pressed, for a nice effect boost in the chorus, for example.

The mainstay of other members of the VoiceLive series is their intelligent harmonising, which uses two voices in the VoiceLive Play. That's not quite as many as the VoiceLive Touch or Rack, but it will give you a three-part harmony. Since melodic harmony tracking is so dependent on either the 'Roomsense' mics or your song staying in a single key, I found the fixed-note harmonies to be the easiest to work with. Realistically, you won't be fooled into thinking that there are two more actual people singing, but once the sound is in a mix (and balanced subtly) the effect is more convincing.

As well as the karaoke-like MP3 sing-along mode, there's 'Practice' mode, which has a dedicated button. It's actually quite good fun, as you can see just how the pitch detection is working (as well as how far off-key you are) using the on-screen display. I don't tend to sing staring at my feet, though, so I balanced the pedal on a music stand in front of me to try this out.

Of course, nothing beats a bit of good old-fashioned passion in a performance, but the practice tool is quite a useful aid, and can give you an idea of how you may need to improve, as it tracks your 'problem notes' and whether you're usually sharp or flat.

It's Playtime

The VoiceLive Play occupies a nice spot in the TC Helicon range: it offers a lot of different processing options for the live vocalist, but is sufficiently robust that you won't feel worried about using it in the average venue. Compared to some similar products, it doesn't look at all out of place alongside guitar pedals, amps and other such stage gear, and the footpedal control works well.

Aside from using the 'Favourites' genre to tag a playlist quickly, I found the genre selection useful only as a starting point. This feature, combined with the MP3 vocal removal, were a bit too 'karaoke' for me, though they might find some use with other less experienced users who are looking to learn to make a chart pop sound with no fuss at all.

As with most processors of this kind, successful use in a real-world situation relies on you preparing your patches beforehand. You'll be able to use the VoiceLive Play's software to shuffle patches around and put them in the correct order for a set-list, after which you'll have one or more named patches for each song. Using the Hit control for a boost is a perfectly natural feeling, too, like kicking a guitar distortion pedal for a big chorus.

If you like the idea of the processing in units like the VoiceLive Touch and Rack but don't want to spend quite so much, the Play is a robust way of acquiring this type of a sound for less cash. The hard-tune mode and the noticeably digital sound of the doubling and harmonies are especially suited to urban, chart pop and electronic music, while singer-songwriters will be likely to find the subtler effects and a lower mix of harmonies useful, since a less obvious effect sits much more comfortably in the mix.

Despite the fact that it's more limited than some other models in the range in terms of customisable effects, I found the footpedal format easy to use when actually singing. Although the VoiceLive 2 and its 2 Extreme stablemate provide both greater and more direct control over tone shaping and effects, the Play rewards careful programming beforehand and — most importantly for a singer lost in a performance — keeps things simple on the stage.

Alternatives

As well as other products in TC Helicon's VoiceLive range, alternatives include Digitech's Vocalist Live series, which are a direct competitor in the footpedal vocal effects market.

VoiceLive Roundup

Be sure to check out the reviews of the VoiceLive Touch and Rack in SOS October and December 2011 respectively.

Pros

• Robust, stage-friendly unit.
• Plenty of processing power.
• 'Hit' button is great for boosting choruses.
• Easy to program and operate on stage.

Cons

• Limited effect tweaking.
• The inclusion of patches based on popular songs and an MP3 'voice removal' function feel a bit 'karaoke'...

Summary

The VoiceLive Play combines the meat of the processing from TC Helicon's high-end processors with the on-stage simplicity of a stomp-box unit. Behind the big-name presets is a powerful box: put in the effort to programme it in rehearsal and your performance can be augmented significantly on stage using three simple footswitches.

information

TC Electronic UK +44 (0)800 917 8926.

TC Electronic +1 519 745 1158

Ever since an engineer made the first tape splice, audio technology has been used to improve musical performances. First we had tape editing, then overdubbing and punching in, then DAW editing. Recently we marveled at Antares Audio Technologies’ AutoTune, which corrects off-pitch notes.
Product PointsApplications: Studio, live sound

Key Features:Numerous effects; digital I/O; 100 factory presets; 50 user presets

Price: $1,299

Contact: TC Helicon/TC Electronic at 805-373-1828, Web Site and www.tcelectronic.com.

Plus

+ Realistic pitch correction and pitch shifting

+ Unique control over many vocal parameters

+ High-quality construction and sound

Minus

– None

The Score: A do-it-all pitch shift and correction box that handles modeling as well.
Now arrives the VoiceOne by TC Helicon. This amazing rackmount device provides pitch correction, but also allows control of all sorts of vocal parameters: vibrato, growl, breath, pitch shifting, inflection, spectrum and resonance. As a result, singers can greatly increase the range of their vocal character beyond what they could do naturally.

Features

On the neat front panel of the VoiceOne are buttons that select the effects mentioned. Other buttons are I/O (choice of analog or digital in and out), Store and Recall of presets (user or factory), and MIDI/Utility (MIDI and other general parameters). Input and output knobs adjust the levels in and out. Arrow keys are used to scroll through parameters when you edit an effect. An edit wheel selects either the preset number you want to recall, or sets the value of a parameter during editing. The Enter button confirms a parameter edit or function, while the bypass key is used to bypass all effects.

A multicolor LCD display shows the preset name and number and the effects parameters. It also helps you go through the menu and select parameter values.

On the rear panel are two balanced XLR line inputs. One or the other channel is selectable. Outputs are a pair of balanced XLRs. One channel feeds the dry signal; the other, the voice-modeled signal. Other connectors include S/PDIF digital in and out (24-bit, 44.1 kHz and 48 kHz), MIDI In/Out/Thru, and a footswitch jack. You may use an analog input and a digital output, or vice versa. You may also use both analog and digital outputs at the same time.

A line level device, the VoiceOne can be inserted in-line with the signal, or placed in an effects loop. Set your mixer’s aux send to prefader if you want to hear only the processed signal.

MIDI IN connects to a MIDI controller or sequencer, which can switch different parameters on different MIDI channels. This lets you use a keyboard to “play” the expression of a vocal performance. MIDI OUT provides a MIDI pitch output to a sequencer or sound module. You can also connect the MIDI ports to a sequencer, librarian or another VoiceOne to send and receive preset dumps via MIDI system exclusive (SYSEX).

Pitch correction corrects flat or sharp notes to the nearest note of the scale. The VoiceOne offers a huge number of scales to choose from, such as Minor, Dorian, Pentatonic, Blues and so on. Pitch shift moves the vocal up or down in pitch (up to ±2 octaves) without changing its duration or character. It can be set to create harmonies.

As a unique feature, VoiceOne offers Vocal-trained Pitch Recognition, an algorithm written specifically for the human voice. The formant-corrected pitch shifting is claimed to preserve voice characteristics even with large pitch changes.

Another feature called PureShift enables only the pitch-shifting effects in the VoiceOne, increasing the processing power to create higher quality and less latency.

Then there are the voice modeling effects.

Inflection varies the pitch in controlled ways, such as sliding into notes. A proprietary feature of the Inflection effect is FlexTime, which lets you alter the timing of a vocal track by slowing down or speeding up the rate without changing the pitch. When you use a harmony or doubling effect, FlexTime decorrelates the dry and processed vocals, making them more distinct.

Vibrato is human modeled frequency and amplitude modulation of the voice with adjustable speed and depth. Spectral provides a variety of EQ settings for adjusting tonal balance.

Breath controls the amount of breathiness, ranging from a rasp to a whisper. Growl adds a fair simulation of growling to notes, and Resonance varies the harmonic content to make the voice sound chesty, nasal or anywhere in between.

Each of these effects can be tweaked extensively from subtle to outrageous. You can make adjustments and save your own presets (up to 50), or use the 100 built-in presets. Also included are other features such as an adaptive low-cut filter, adjustable bit resolution and dithering.

In Use

The VoiceOne is easy to use. To adjust an effect such as Resonance, double-tap the Resonance button. Then press the up or down arrow to select a parameter of Resonance. Finally, turn the Edit knob to tweak the parameter. It helps to set each effect to maximum to hear it easily, then back off to a tasteful amount. If you wish, save the preset under a name of your choice.

As I ran the VoiceOne through its paces, I noticed that the LCD screen was clear and readable. So is the user manual, which tells you everything you need to know. It includes full information on MIDI implementation.

I am impressed by the quality of the pitch correction and pitch shifting. Artifacts are subtle or nonexistent. Changes in pitch are believable, as if the vocalist actually sang that way. Even extreme pitch changes sound natural and seamless, not like a chipmunk or robot.

Tc Helicon Voicelive Play Autotune

Playing with the VoiceOne is a blast. Resonance effects, for example, turn the singer into an R&B stylist, a Sumo wrestler or a slinky pop star. Imagine singing out of your chest, throat or nose, and you get the idea. I was amazed to hear the Whisper preset, which removes the voice and substitutes breath. Yet all the words are clearly pronounced.

The presets have clever, descriptive names like “Phlegmmy” or “Tracheotomy.” Even the vibrato effect is divided into different styles, such as “Opera,” “Pop,” “Deep Jazz” and “Folk.” Not all of the presets seem useful, yet they might be just right for video or cinema productions and radio spots.

Summary

Tc Helicon Voicelive Play Demo

The TC Helicon VoiceOne is a technical tour-de-force. Clearly, it required a huge amount of research into vocal styles and the relationship between audio and speech physiology. Thanks to the VoiceOne’s sophisticated algorithms, the sound quality is excellent. It will not turn a mediocre singer into Celine Dion, but it can enhance the vocal style and tone if used with care.

Without a doubt, the VoiceOne opens up a whole new world of effects. I cannot wait to try “Growl” on a flute or “Vibrato” on a cymbal!

Review Setup

Tc Helicon Voice Live Play Auto Tune Pedals

NHT Pro A-20 monitors; TASCAM DA-88 recorder; Mackie 1604VLZ mixer.

Tc Helicon Voicelive Play

Subscribe

Tc Helicon

For more stories like this, and to keep up to date with all our market leading news, features and analysis, sign up to our newsletter here.