TC Helicon Voiceworks Vocal Processor: Your Bands Secret Weapon
One of the most critical elements of a live performance is the vocals. A great lead singer can make or break a band and singing is a talent that, with training, most people can be good at. Unfortunately there are some of us that just don’t have what it takes to be a singer.
If you are already a good or even great vocalist and you feel self conscious of your voice like many vocalists do, using a vocal processor might help you gain some confidence in your voice. Of course, equipment cannot make you a great singer, but great equipment can help to develop the elements of your voice that you feel may need improvement.
The Voiceworks Vocal Processor
One of the finest signal processors on the market designed specifically for voice is the TC Electronics Helicon VoiceWorks Harmony Effects Voice Processor. TC Electronics, the powerhouse of audio technology, is behind the development and manufacturing of the Voiceworks processor. They are known around the world as a leader in professional audio technology and felt that it was time to build an equipment solution dedicated to voice. Many other audio technology companies have built solutions, but tend to not be dedicated to just one line of products. Since no one else was doing it, TC Electronics founded TC Helicon to fill that void. The result is a line of vocal effects and processing equipment that are unsurpassed in their area.
Essential Studio Equipment for Awesome Production
Music gear these days can do remarkable things. It is becoming easier and easier to polish and produce sound in ways that only professional engineers could in the past. Even as little as ten years ago it was almost unheard of to have produced a high resolution demo in a garage and now it is not only possible, it is the norm. The reason for the change is simple. The technology for the effects processor of today is based in the advances from computers of yesterday.
All of the programming and algorithms that have been developed over the last several decades have yielded a plethora of vocal processors that can do incredible things like:
• Create a natural sounding vocal harmony
• Double the incoming vocal signal (referred to as double tracking)
• Perform real-time pitch correction
• Act as a direct interface for recording equipment
Using processors like the Voiceworks or the Helicon Voicelive floor processor to produce sweet and powerful vocals is no longer a dream; it is within the reach of every musician and studio engineer.
Getting Great Backing Harmonies in Your Live Performance
The most powerful function of the Helicon unit is its ability to create voice harmonies from a single lead voice. The powerful harmony generator creates perfect harmony voices in relation to the scale that is being used – making this unit a smart pitch shifting device. There are several harmony modes to choose from - scale, chord, shift and MIDI note. The device can also double or thicken a vocal by adding in a voice track an octave above and below your main vocal line. This allows for perfect backing harmonies without the need for additional vocalists.
The unit also includes the standard effects you would expect from a quality processor. There is a mic preamp with 48V phantom power for use with condenser microphones, three-band EQ, adjustable gender correction, compressor/gate, reverb and delay, all which are MIDI controllable. Also included is the ability for you to save up to 50 songs sequences and define up to 30 user presets per song.
For the vocalist who requires personal control while on stage, TC Helicon also makes a vocal floor processor - the Voicelive. This floor based processor has all of the same functions as the Voiceworks in a handy pedalboard style chassis.
The Hallmark Vocal Processor
The name TC Electronics has become synonymous with quality effects for stage and studio. The TC Helicon follows in that same tradition, taking the core values of the TC line and focusing them on voice. So if you are looking for a way to get pitch perfect vocals and incredible harmonies, investment in this device as a studio or live vocal processor. You will be glad you did.
