USER’S MANUAL v1.
Safety Safety Instructions Caution 1 Read these instructions. You are cautioned that any change or modifications not expressly approved in this manual could void your warranty. 2 Keep these instructions. 3 Heed all warnings. 4 Follow all instructions. EMC/EMI 5 Do not use this apparatus near water. This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B Digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC rules. 6 Clean only with dry cloth. 7 Do not block any ventilation openings.
Introduction Before You Get Started VoiceLive Rack Features 1. Check to see if this manual has been updated click the following link: • High quality, dedicated vocal channel and effects processor www.tc-helicon.com/products/voicelive-rack/support/ • 8 fully editable effect blocks • Total recall of mic preamp and Setup menu parameters in up to 10 user profiles 2. Download VoiceSupport. • Unique touch interface on front panel Get the latest firmware for your product, tips and tricks, and videos.
Table of Contents SAFETY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 GATE Tab Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 GATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LEAD ATTEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HARM ATTEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THRESHOLD (MANUAL Gate Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . INTRODUCTION . . . .
Table of Contents THE WIZARD BUTTON . . . . . . . . . . 36 REVERB Tab Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 The FIND tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 The TAG tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 GLOBAL REVERB ENABLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . STYLE . . . . . . . . .
Table of Contents EDITING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54 SPEED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DEPTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DUCKING AMOUNT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DUCKING TIME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LEAD to REV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HARM to REV . . . . . .
Table of Contents MIDI IMPLEMENTATION . . . . . . . . . . 78 V1 to V4 VOICING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 MAP IN SOURCE / MAP IN NOTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 V1 to V4 MAP OUT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 NATURALPLAY = SHIFT Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 V1 to V4 VOICING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 NATURALPLAY = MIDI NOTES, MIDI NOTES 4 CHAN Modes . .
Front Panel Touch to browse presets based on tags or to load presets on demand. Touch to access input gain adjustment screen or hold to enter auto input gain feature. Touch Home to exit any menu and set screen to show main preset display. Push in to apply power. Connect headphones to monitor main output mix. Touch to access Setup menu and parameters. Touch to access Edit menu and parameters or touch Home to exit. Touch to access Store menu for presets and setups as well as management features.
Front Panel Touch to activate adaptive EQ, compression, de-ess and gate or hold to edit. Touch any to engage effects or hold to jump directly to the effect’s edit menu. Duplicates the switch on an MP-75 mic to activate switched parameters. Tap at song tempo to set delay time in Home mode. 8 Touch to activate autochromatic pitch correction or hold to edit correction settings. Mutes all processing except Tone when Tone is active.
Back Panel Connect dynamic or condenser mic here. Input gain and phantom power on/off located in Setup menu. Auxiliary input from mp3 player can be mixed to outputs and be used to guide Harmony and Hardtune. Passes dry guitar signal to an amplifier or PA. Connection here will remove guitar from the main mix. Main outputs are balanced and default output is stereo. Mono and dual mono modes are configured in Setup menu.
Quick Start ff a. Connections 1. Turn down your mixer channel or main PA volume. 2. Connect a Mic or Line level input from the mixer to the respective input jack on VoiceLive Rack. 3. Connect the XLR or TRS stereo outputs to your mixer/PA. 4. Connect the supplied AC adaptor to the unit and press the POWER button in. ff b. Set input level 1. Touch the Bypass button so it flashes. 2. Touch the Input Gain button. 3. Sing or start playback while watching the IN meter in the display 4.
Basic Operation ff Selecting presets 1. Connect an accompaniment instrument or music player to VoiceLive Rack. This can be either: There are over 200 factory programmed presets in VoiceLive Rack. Presets are loaded as soon as the name appears in the LCD window. • A guitar connected to the GUITAR IN • A MIDI keyboard (channel=1) connected to the MIDI IN To select presets: 1. Ensure the Home button LED is lit. • An MP3 player connected to the AUX IN 2. Turn the large encoder wheel.
Basic Operation 6. Sing while the accompaniment plays. ff Changing the global mix * There are 3 major scales and 3 minor scales; generally Major 2 and Minor 2 will work for more songs. See the Scales Diagram at the end of this manual for details. There are 4 global mix levels adjustable with the front panel Mix knobs. When you adjust these controls at the Home level, the mix screen will show values for the controls as well as Mic/Line input, Guitar input and main output levels.
Basic Operation ff Phantom, Mono, MIDI etc. - the Setup menu ff Preset chaining with the Step feature Each preset can consist of up to 10 steps that you can step through using the Tab/Step arrow buttons or a footswitch. Steps can be edits of the starting preset or other presets copied into the slots. Global parameters are adjusted in the Setup menu. Changes made in this menu are automatically stored as they are made.
Basic Operation ff Restoring individual presets to factory settings To reset a preset to its original settings: 1. Locate the Manage Preset tab in the Store menu. 2. Use Erase User Preset to select the preset to restore and set Confirm to Yes. 3. Touch the Store button. ff Mic-Control and Footswitch assignments External control of parameters via the MP-75 microphone and Switch 3 footswitch can be assigned uniquely per preset or globally. To set Mic-control and Footswitch assignments: 1.
The Tone Button Tone Overview knobs below the LCD and listening to the results. You can also cycle the Tone button on and off while editing to hear the difference between your effected and non-effected voice. The Tone button activates what we call the “Live Engineer Effects”. These are different from standard vocal processing effects in that they adjust their settings to your particular voice and the way you sing at different times of your performance just like a professional audio engineer will.
The Tone Button ff COMPRESS those frequencies resulting in sonic clutter. Reducing bass has the natural effect of emphasizing mid and upper frequencies which allow the voice to cut through dense instrumentation. With the ADAPTIVE control activated, the COMPRESS control reduces the amount of range between louder and softer singing to produce more even-sounding vocals. It does so by listening to your singing over time (less than 30 seconds) and adjusting accordingly.
The Tone Button only briefly required and it then gets out of the way allowing the silky brightness to remain on the voiced portion of your singing. There is only the single DE-ESS control; no other manual adjustment settings are required. The factory setting of 50% gently reduces sibilance without becoming obvious. Higher settings of compression and Shape or a bright, sibilant voice may require a higher setting.
The Tone Button EQ Tab Overview EQ Tab With ADAPTIVE Off The EQ tab is where you control the tone shaping of your voice. It is where you can turn the ADAPTIVE feature on and off for the SHAPE EQ. Turning ADAPTIVE off presents manual parametric EQ controls for users who understand this type of equalization.
The Tone Button ff HIGH FREQ Defines the frequency range for the high shelf with the selection of the lowest frequency above which boosting or cutting is possible. ff PARA GAIN Boosts or cuts the band of frequencies centered at the setting of the PARA FREQ control and its associated WIDTH. ff PARA FREQ Defines the center of the parametric band. ff PARA WIDTH Defines how narrow or wide the parametric band is to be.
The Tone Button COMPRESS Tab Overview input level on the IN meter on the Home screen. A good setting for experimentation is -10 dB. This tab offers further control of the compression effect. The controls on this tab change depending on the status of the ADAPTIVE setting in the same way as the EQ tab. ff RATIO This sets how much gain reduction you prefer when your voice level goes above the threshold. The range is from 1:1 (no gain reduction) to 4:1 (maximum vocal gain reduction ).
The Tone Button GATE Tab Overview you aren’t singing . The factory default attenuation amount of -10 dB should work well in many situations, but you can further reduce the level if you still hear harmonized instrumental chattering when you stop singing. The Gate feature can assist in: 1. Minimizing feedback. 2. Reducing the amount of audible effects processing on sounds entering the mic other than your voice.
The Pitch Button Pitch Button Overview Pressing the Pitch button activates Auto Chromatic pitch correction. For most applications, this is all that is required to set this feature. There is no need to set Key or Scale; all notes that you sing in the 12 tone western chromatic scale are corrected to the nearest scale tone.
The Tap Button Tap Button Overview This button provides convenient access to tempo setting for the Delay and Rhythmic effects. You can tap it at any time to synchronize these effect blocks to the beats of a song. The display will temporarily show the BPM (Beats Per Minute) derived from your most recent two taps. To enter an exact BPM, you can use the up or down Navigate buttons while the TEMPO display is shown on the display for fine tuning.
The Bypass Button Bypass Button Overview Pressing the Bypass button will mute all active effects blocks from the vocal audio path except Tone if it’s active. This is done so that your basic tone remains the same as you address the audience during Bypass. To remove Tone from Bypass, press the Tone button. The Bypass button will flash and the display will show BYPASS as long as the unit is bypassed. Bypass has no effect on the Guitar or Aux inputs.
Detailed Operation Overview ff Electric guitar Connect a cable from your electric guitar to the GUITAR IN. Connect another cable from the GUITAR THRU to your first guitar effects pedal or to your amp. Set your guitar amp volume to a level compatible with your vocals. Much of the operation of VoiceLive Rack is covered in the Quick Start and Basic Operation chapters. This Detailed Operation chapter offers additional procedural detail where it’s needed.
Detailed Operation ff MIDI hookup and channel selection you play. The harmony notes will adapt to the octave of your playing where the Hardtune effect ignores it. If you haven’t already, connect a MIDI cable between your keyboard’s MIDI out and VoiceLive Rack’s MIDI IN. Play a note on your keyboard and check VoiceLive Rack’s display to see if the MIDI indicator lights. If it doesn’t, set the MIDI transmit channel of your keyboard to 1 (VoiceLive Rack’s default).
Detailed Operation tune-type processing products. b) Set the GLOBAL NATURALPLAY parameter in the SYSTEM tab of the Setup menu to SCALE. This will disable the auto input sensing feature of NaturalPlay. Briefly, all of the chords in an entire song and your melody can belong to a single major or minor “Key”. When the match of Key and song is correct, fixed key is harmony is nearly indistinguishable from recorded harmony.
Detailed Operation “Borrowing” from Another Player • Try a different Key, perhaps a 5th away from your first choice. • Choose a different Major or Minor alternate Scale. If you sing with a guitarist or MIDI keyboard player, you can use their playing to guide the Harmony and Hardtune effects in your VoiceLive Rack. • Choose a preset with only the 3rd (High) interval. • Create a Step to change Key at the right moments with the Switch 3 footswitch or MIDI command.
Detailed Operation Steps Overview Next time you load the preset, it will have the “alternate personality” you can access quickly with the TAB/STEP arrow buttons. The Step feature allows you to create a series of up to 10 linked effect changes associated with a preset. In a preset that has steps, for example, tapping the right TAB/STEP button could toggle to another preset’s effects, turn on all of the effects at once, increase the Delay level by 6 dB or all of the above. To delete a single step, 1.
Detailed Operation External Control Overview Now you can browse through the presets while singing and pressing the button on the mic. The display will show the factory setting of the MICCONTROL target in each preset.
Detailed Operation To change Switch3 assignment to individual preset control: 5. Program your transmitting MIDI controller or sequencer application to send any further messages to VoiceLive Rack. 1. Set the GLOBAL parameter in the SWITCH3 tab of the Setup menu to OFF. See The Setup Menu: MIDI Tab and the MIDI Implementation chart for complete details on VoiceLive Rack’s MIDI parameters and individual controller messages respectively. 2. Press Edit and locate the SWITCH3 tab. 3.
Detailed Operation The USB Computer Connection The first time you open VoiceSupport it may take a while to load as it must download all of the newest content. The USB port on the rear panel of VoiceLive Rack offers a digital connection between it and a computer. This offers the following benefits: When the application finishes loading it should display “VoiceLive Rack” in the top right corner and a connection icon, indicating that connected was successful.
Detailed Operation You’re now ready to record your new fully-processed vocal track. Playback will be heard through VoiceLive Rack’s outputs. 1. Connect your mic and a guitar to VoiceLive Rack and either monitor through the headphone out or analog outputs to a mixer. Processing recorded vocals: 2. Set VoiceLive Rack’s I/O tab parameters as such: You can send a dry vocal track to VoiceLive Rack for effect processing then record a new processed vocal track in your audio application via USB.
Detailed Operation Audio Device Name In the Mac and Windows operating systems, and with most audio apps you can select VoiceLive Rack’s audio device by name. In some Windows XP DAW apps, however, the name of the audio device may be “Analog Connector (n) VoiceLive Rack” or “USB Audio Device”. USB and MIDI Control To use VoiceLive Rack’s MIDI IN jack for harmony, preset change or realtime control while USB is connected, enter the I/O tab in the SETUP menu and set USB CONTROL to OFF.
The Input Gain Button Overview To set input gain automatically: 1. Touch the Bypass button so it flashes. Trimming the input level entering VoiceLive Rack’s analog to digital converter is essential for preventing unwanted distortion and minimizing noise. This convenient front panel button offers quick access to this parameter, phantom power on/off and higher resolution metering. 2. Hold the Input Gain button until the SING YOUR LOUDEST prompt is visible in the display. 3.
The Wizard Button Overview 4. Highlight a preset name with the Data Wheel. 5. Press the Wizard button to load the preset. The Wizard allows you to: 6. Press Home to exit or remain in the Wizard menu to load browse and load further presets. • Search for appropriate presets for your application by criteria or “tags”. • Sort presets by number or alphabetical listing. The TAG list contains: • Pre-load a new preset while another is active in order to execute the load on cue.
The Wizard Button ff The TAG tab This tab allows you to assign or remove the assignment of tag criteria for each preset. The Factory presets have been assigned tags but you can change them as you like for easier browsing in the Wizard. This feature is most useful when creating your own custom presets because as you build up a large quantity of presets over time, the Wizard can help you to find them again. To manage preset tags: 1. Load the preset you want to change tags for. 2.
The Setup Button Overview The Setup menu brings together all of the global configuration settings. Changes made in these tabs are automatically stored for the next power up session. If you want to store and recall different configurations, see the STORE menu descriptions. Resetting Setup (Initializing) If you want to put all Setup parameters back to their original factory settings, consult Performing a global reset in the Basic Operation section.
The Setup Button The I/O Tab between wet vocal (vocal with harmonies and effects) and wet guitar. ff IN GAIN ff DIGITAL IN Sets and displays the MIC / LINE input level. Both inputs share the same gain settings and are not meant to be used simultaneously; switching from a Mic to a Line level signal will likely require resetting IN GAIN. To set input level automatically, use the AUTO MIC-GAIN function by holding the Input Gain button and following the prompts.
The Setup Button ff MIC/LINE PHASE or when VoiceLive Rack is being fed by an aux send from a mixer channel where the lead level is mixed in at the mixing console. Selects between NORMAL and INVERTED to help reduce feedback in live performance. This feature is intended to work with low and low mid frequency feedback tones. The mic must be in a stationary position in relation to the monitor.
The Setup Button The MIDI Tab ff SYSEXID ff CHANNEL (MIDI System Exclusive ID number) When addressing multiple VoiceLive Rack units on the same MIDI In/Thru chain with a Sysex editor, each one should have its own ID or they all will be edited in the same way. Sets the MIDI channel that VoiceLive Rack uses for preset change and MIDI harmony control. When a NATURALPLAY preset is set to MIDI NOTES 4 CH, the channel selected is the channel used for VOICE 1.
The Setup Button The SYSTEM Tab ff TUNEREF ff LCD CONTRAST This trims the overall tuning reference for Harmony and Hardtune with respect to A-440 Hz. This is used when an accompanying instrument has changed overall pitch such as a piano that is in tune with itself but not with A=440. Sets the contrast level of the LCD display. Useful for better viewing at different angles and light conditions. ff USB CONTROL Setting this parameter ON should only be done when USB is connected.
The Setup Button GUITAR Tab Overview There are 30 styles to choose from covering everything from tight ambience to giant arenas. The factory default style is called SMOOTH PLATE. This tab offers control of a suite of processing effects for the guitar input. These effects are only applicable when the guitar is mixed through the signal path of VoiceLive Rack and not externally via the GUITAR THRU jack and on to an amplifier.
The Setup Button ff EQ PARA WIDTH overcome room or undesirable guitar resonances. This smooths the sound and can help overcome guitar feedback. The 3 GAIN controls allow +/- 12 dB of adjustment. The 3 FREQ controls range from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. Defines how narrow or wide the parametric band is to be. The ends of the control range are labelled “NARROW” and “WIDE” to add meaning to the numbers in the middle of the control range.
The Setup Button REVERB Tab Overview nature of Reverb algorithms, a decay time of 4 seconds may sound quiet different from one style to the next, even when the rest of the settings are identical. This tab allows you to configure a global Reverb style that does not change as you change presets. This can be useful when you want to, for example, change from one Harmony preset to another for a different interval arrangement yet you prefer the base Reverb effect to remain.
The Setup Button ff LEAD to REV introduce more discrete echo-like motion to the tail where high values (0 to 25) make the tail smoother-sounding. Sets the amount of lead level sent into the Reverb block. This and the remaining send and Lead Level parameters are not stored as part of the styles.
The Setup Button MIC-CONTROL Tab Overview • HARMONY • DELAY This tab allows Mic-Control from a TC-Helicon MP-75 mic to assigned globally. You can assign a single parameter such as Tempo for example to the mic switch and this will not change over different presets. The settings in this global MICCONTROL menu are almost identical to the one used in the preset Edit menu except that GLOBAL MIC-CONTROL replaces the FUNCTION parameter.
The Setup Button SWITCH3 Tab Overview * Harmony Hold is a feature that sustains the last harmony syllable indefinitely as you hold the MicControl button. This edit tab allows you to globally set the target for each of the 3 switches on the TC-Helicon Switch3 footswitch. ff GLOBAL Turns global assignment of the footswitches on or off. When it’s set to ON, the footswitches will control the same three targets regardless of which preset is loaded. When set to OFF, each preset can have its own assignments.
The Store Button STORE Tab Overview ff INS > < DEL Turning the knob to the left deletes the character at the current cursor position. This menu gives you the ability to name and save preset edits for use later. Turning to the right inserts a blank space at the current cursor position. To store edited presets: 1. Edit a preset ff STORE TO 2. Press the Store button This allows you to store your preset edit at any of the 400 preset locations in VoiceLive Rack.
The Store Button MANAGE PRESET Tab To erase a user preset: This tab contains various preset filing options. 1. Highlight the row containing the ERASE... parameter. ff SEND PRESET TO MIDI SYSEX 2. Choose a preset to erase with the leftmost knob. Note that only presets shown as USER are erase-able. This parameter provides an alternative to the VoiceSupport application for offloading individual presets for backup.
The Store Button STORE SETUP Overview Turning the knob left or right will present the previous or next letter in the list respectively. In this tab you can name and store setup profiles. A profile is a collection of all Setup menu parameters that can be recalled. This is convenient when VoiceLive Rack is regularly used with different singers, mics, PA systems etc. You are able to store and recall up to 10 profiles.
The Store Button LOAD SETUP Tab Overview In this tab you can load a previously stored setup profile. If no user profiles have been stored, loading any available EMPTY profile will result in all Setup values going to default values. Ensure that any connected audio system is muted when loading setup profiles because input and output levels can vary dramatically. To load a setup profile: You must have stored a user setup profile previously or only default settings will be loaded. 1.
The Store Button MANAGE SETUP Tab Overview This menu allows you to erase user setup profiles and restore them to default settings. This operation is not undo-able so back up your setups using VoiceSupport if you want to store them. To erase user setup profiles: You must have stored a user setup profile in order to erase it. 1. Press the Store button and tab over to the MANAGE SETUP tab. 2. Use the leftmost knob to select the profile you want to erase. 3. Turn the rightmost knob under CONFIRM to YES. 4.
Editing Editing Overview You can rename the preset and store to another location by pressing Store once and changing the values at the bottom of the Store menu. When you’ve edited the name and found a new place to store your edited preset, press Store again. Basic editing, menu navigation and concepts are briefly discussed in the Quick Start and Basic Operation sections.
The Edit Button µMOD Tab Overview ff DEPTH-L / DEPTH-R These set the amount of modulation of the delay time for the left and right delays. If one delay is set to 10mS, for example, a setting of 50% will vary the delay time between 15mS and 5mS at the rate set by the SPEED parameter. µMod is short for micro-modulation (“µ” is the scientific symbol for micro). The µMod effect is capable of creating many different sounds that range from subtle but lush thickening to creatively destructive.
The Edit Button ff WAVE This lets you choose the modulation waveform from Square,Triangle or Sine to vary the periodic nature of the modulation effect. ff XFB L / XFB R These send cross feedback from the left and right delay lines (XFL L) and from right to left (XFR L). Cross feedback returns the delayed audio to the opposite side’s delay line. This can produce interesting stereo effects.
The Edit Button DELAY Tab Overview TIME: This allows you to set the exact delay time for the left and right delay lines manually with the TIME L and TIME R controls. The delay effect is a configurable echo. You can control how far apart the echoes occur (Delay Time), and whether the echoes fade out quickly or slowly or build on themselves. In addition, there are filtering and stereo controls that allow you to create many popular delay sounds.
The Edit Button ff FEEDBACK L / FEEDBACK R ff HARM TO DELAY Re-introduces a portion of the audio output signal of the Delay block back to the input to add echo repeats. Sets the amount of harmony level sent into the Delay block. The HARMONY effect must be on to feed this send. ff XFB R TO L / XFB L TO R ff UMOD TO DELAY These send cross feedback from the left and right delay lines (XFL L) and from right to left (XFR L).
The Edit Button REVERB Tab Overview ff LO COLOR / HI COLOR These are preset-frequency filters inserted into the Reverb feedback path that tailor the low and high frequency response and decay of the tails. Values toward -50 will cut response in its respective band and a values toward 50 increase response. Reverb is the arguably the most common vocal effect. It can add a spaciousness that softens the abrupt beginnings and endings of lyric phrases.
The Edit Button ff PRE DLY ff HARM to REV Pre Delay introduces a short (up to 100 ms) delay between the dry audio signal and the onset of reverb to help simulate larger spaces and to provide audio separation between the dry signal and the reverb effect. Sets the amount of harmony level sent into the Reverb block. Harmonies must be on to feed this send. ff DEL to REV This allows you to feed the reverb block with the effected output of the delay block. The DELAY footswitch must be on to feed this send.
The Edit Button HARDTUNE Tab ff HARDTUNE AMOUNT ff HARDTUNE KEY Allows you to soften the correction effect. A value of 50% for example will only pull you halfway toward a correction scale target at the speed set by the HARDTUNE RATE parameter. For a true HardTune sound, set it to 100% Sets HardTune’s source for musical information. Most pitch correction products require either scale information, offline editing or MIDI performance to yield correction.
The Edit Button The key that is set in the HARMONY tab will be displayed but not editable when the current preset is based on Scale Harmony and HARDTUNE KEY is set to FOLLOW HARMONY ff NOTE & ENABLED These are applicable when you wish to edit a custom scale for HARDTUNE. A custom scale is indicated by a series of dashes and circles: “-” and “o”. Each of these symbols represents where a note is in the correction scale or not.
The Edit Button DOUBLE Tab Overview ff V1 to V4 LEVEL These settings control the volume of each of the voices and are used to set the number of voices active for Doubling. The range of values goes from Off to 0 dB (Full). The Double effect uses the same type of Humanization technology as in the Harmony effect to create up to four overdubbed versions of your voice. The four voices are set to unison intervals as opposed to the move-able intervals available for the harmony voices.
The Edit Button ff LEAD LEVEL Controls the lead (dry + Tone) voice level when the individual effect is turned on with its respective footswitch. This allows a unique wet/dry mix for individual effects. When multiple effects are active, the lowest LEAD LEVEL value will determine the value. Note that the LEAD EFFECT SENDS parameter on the PRESET tab must be set to PRE in order for any signal to get to the effect block when LEAD LEVEL is set to OFF.
The Edit Button HARMONY Tab Overview 0 dB (Full). Typically all voices are set at the same level unless you want to highlight or minimize a particular voicing interval. The Harmony block in VoiceLive Rack produces up to 8 harmony voices and is the home of the Choir effect. ff V1 to V4 GENDER IMPORTANT NOTE: The parameters available on the HARMONY Tab and their organization differs depending on the value of the NATURALPLAY parameter at the bottom of the tab.
The Edit Button ff HUMANIZE AMOUNT activates the style and level set by the CHOIR STYLE and CHOIR LEV parameters respectively. To create a convincing choir performance, it helps to sing legato (sustained) phrases as opposed to staccato or melismatic riffs. You can vary the amount of humanization for the harmony voices. All the styles except for the last one: TIME & PITCH were designed at middle values to allow you to add or remove effects as you see fit.
The Edit Button required to help soften note to note transitions unless a robot-like effect is desired. Higher values offer progressively less correction. Like Portamento, setting each voice with a unique value of the Smoothing parameter helps the harmonies sound more natural. When NATURALPLAY is set to MIDI NOTES, high values of smoothing will sound out of tune. boards are designed to produce.
The Edit Button for any signal to get to the effect block when LEAD LEVEL is set to OFF. • SHIFT - Many doubling presets that also use the Harmony block are based on this mode. SHIFT allows you to pick pitch shift intervals that fall outside of the standard “musical harmony” definition and as such, require no musical input from you. ff NATURALPLAY This parameter defines how VoiceLive Rack derives the musical information that makes the Harmony voices and Hardtune effects follow your song musically.
The Edit Button NATURALPLAY Settings and Parameter Changes ff MAP IN SOURCE / MAP IN NOTE These allow to customize individual harmony note intervals relative to your input note and create a custom scale. A custom scale is not shareable with other presets until the preset is copied to another location. Following are the parameters that change when the NATURALPLAY mode is set to a value other than AUTO INPUT SENSE, GUITAR, MIDI and AUX INPUT.
The Edit Button NATURALPLAY = MIDI NOTES, MIDI NOTES 4 CHAN Modes Setting Notes Extension to ON allows Harmony voices triggered in Notes mode to continue sounding after the MIDI note has ceased for as long as you sing a sustained note. ff DOUBLING NATURALPLAY = MIDI NOTES Mode Only This changes from an ON/OFF parameter to a selection of the number of voices you can control via MIDI.
The Edit Button TRANSDUCER Tab Overview ff LOW CUT and HIGH CUT Sets the cut-off frequency for these very steep low and high shelving filters. TIP: these and the PRESENCE filters can be used without Distortion effects to apply more radical EQ to your presets. The Transducer effects block uses distortion and steep filters to emulate the sound of radios, phones and devices that generally degrade the audio signal.
The Edit Button ff TRANSDUCER IN and OUT GAIN These act similarly to a guitar distortion pedal or an amplifier with input gain and master level controls. IN GAIN boosts or attenuates the amount of distortion for the distortion type selected. When you adjust the IN GAIN parameter, just like a guitar amplifier, the overall level of the effect goes up and down. Use the OUT GAIN control to adjust the output level of the Transducer block to properly balance the current preset with the others.
The Edit Button RHYTHMIC Tab Overview Turning the effect off then on again clears the previous sample and loops the new segment. Using the Rhythmic features, tap tempo can produce stuttering and panning effects on your lead, Harmony and Double voices in time with your music. MODE = RHYTHM As mentioned, the parameters in this tab change according to the MODE setting. The following are visible only when MODE is set to RHYTHM. Using the Rhythmic Features 1. Select a Rhythmic-based preset.
The Edit Button ff PATH from SQUARE to SAWTOOTH DOWN. The SAMPLE AND HOLD option produces a random value on every beat division. Following these are the syncopated one bar patterns. When a syncopated pattern is selected, the division value shows N/A. When this is set to POST, the captured sample will be a composite of all effects that were on when it was captured. When set to PRE the sample is captured dry but effects can be added and removed as the sample continues to loop.
The Edit Button MIC-CONTROL Tab Overview • TRANS • REVERB This tab sets parameters for the Mic-Control switch on the MP-75 microphone and the front panel Mic-Control switch. • UMOD • DOUBLE • RHYTHMIC ff CONTROL • HARMONY HOLD* When turned to ON, this enables effect control from the mic. The front panel Mic-Control button can similarly be used when the MIC-CONTROL setting is set to COPY MIC SWITCH.
The Edit Button SWITCH3 Tab Overview ff SWITCH 3 FUNCTION Same as above. This edit tab allows you to set the target for each of the 3 switches on the TC-Helicon Switch3 footswitch while the current preset is loaded. * Harmony Hold is a feature that sustains the last harmony syllable indefinitely as you hold the MicControl button. Each preset can have a different footswitch assignment as long as the GLOBAL parameter is set to OFF in the SWITCH3 tab of the Setup menu.
The Edit Button PRESET Tab ff LEAD LEVEL This allows the overall lead (dry with Tone) voice level to be reduced for the current preset. There are additional LEAD LEVEL parameters in the effect tabs (µMOD, DELAY etc) which may be used to reduce lead level further but only when their respective effect is active. ff LEAD PAN Sets where your lead voice appears in the stereo field for the current preset. This can be useful when panning a Harmony voice to one side and your Lead voice to the other.
MIDI Implementation Parameter CC# Range Comments Effects On/Off Harmony Double Reverb HardTune µMod Delay Trans Rhythmic 110 111 112 113 116 117 118 104 0-63 off 64-127 on “ “ “ “ “ “ 0-63 off 64-127 on “ “ “ “ “ “ Style Level Delay Style Level Reverb Style Level Double Style Level Transducer Style Out Gain Harmony Style 50 90 51 62 52 91 53 15 55 105 56 0-24 0-127 0-12 0-127 0-30 0-127 0-5 0-127 0-15 0-127 0-15 12 30 0-127 0-11 31 0-6 89 61 0 to the # of voicings in mode “ “ 88 “ “ “ 3
MIDI Implementation HardTune Parameter CC# Range Comments Gender Voice1 Gender Voice2 Gender Voice3 Gender Voice4 Humanize Style Human Lvl Vib Style Vib Amt Doubling Leve l Choir Lvl Choir Style Key Scale 29 “ “ 64=Gender off, <64=Male, >64=Female 19 “ “ “ “ 23 “ “ “ “ 27 “ “ “ “ 16 0-6 20 24 1 35 maps to 127 0-7 maps to 127 “ “ 72 73 47 48 “ “ 0-14 0-11 0-5 Rate Amount Window 54 57 49 0-127 maps to 127 “ “ Tone Pitch Step 106 107 115 Guitar FX Guitar Level Guitar Rev Style Gui
MIDI Implementation Parameter CC# Range Delay/Reverb Lvl Dry Pan Output Level Bypass Harmony Hold Sustain 86 “ “ 10 7 “ “ “ “ 114 119 0-63 off 64-127 on “ “ 64 “ “ Aux Level All Notes Off 58 123 Maps to 127 “ “ Comments 127 MIDI values map to 201 pan values, Center = 64 Active in MIDI Naturalplay and MIDI Notes, MIDI Notes 4 Chan modes.
Preset List 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 ANOTHER BRICK KANYE LOCKDOWN CLOSE UP 3RD TWO HIGH BRIGHT DOUBLE NOW HEAR THIS! DISTORTO BOP-A-LULA TAP TEMPO 1/4 OCT UP DOUBLE DEEPER YOU CHORALE THREE OPERA DIVAAAAH! M-C REVERSER TUNED 2UP M-C STUTTER DEEP DUCKED FX MICROPITCH ROTARY ECHO DOWN UNISON CHOIR DOUBLE REFLECT ARENA CHANT 2 DOUBLE BALLAD OVERDUB SLAP PANNED DOUBLES MASSIVE STACK LOOSE DOUBLE SILKY DOUBLES 100% WET U
Preset List 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 HARD TUNE DELAY CROONER THINNER YOU POPEYE + OLIVE VALKYRIE DUO DEEPER YOU OCT DOWN MALE POPEYE LIVES DEEPEST YOU THINNEST YOU OCT UP FEMALE HIGHER CHOIR PRO KIDS FREE FALLING STEVE MCQUEEN RUNNING ON MT MENS CHOIR YOU’RE NOTALONE U R ALTO U R SOPRANO SCALE JAZZ 1 SCALE JAZZ 2 SCALE JAZZ 3 SHIFT -4 SEMI SHIFT +5 SEMI FIFTH DIVA TUNED UP+DOWN HA
Preset List 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 CLOCK RADIO DISTORTED RADIO DIRTY SCREAM TRASH-IT OCTAVE TRASH PANNED ANGELS CHAOS SPIRAL DOWN BOLLYWOOD VOCALFUZZ SOLOIST RIGHT DIST DELAY SIMPLE SLAP LONGVERB DUCKED LIGHT FLANGE SLAP ‘N’ ECHO DOUBLE CHORUS CHORUS PLATE CRUNCH DETUNE MONO SPRING SMOOTHED VERB GORGEOUS HALL PRACTICE ROOM JUST AMBIENCE SLAP DUCK HOT SLAP SIMPLE C
Scales Diagram Scale The table at right shows harmony notes in the key of C for the three major and three minor scales.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Where can I find support for this product? The Mic Control parameter seems to be triggering on its own when I sing, what’s happening? TC-Helicon has a comprehensive support system for our products. Go to www.tc-helicon.com/support and click on the links below either Support by Product or FAQ and Contact. A few input devices may cause this. You can a) switch mics b) turn off Mic Control in the Setup menu.
Specifications ff Analog Inputs Connectors, balanced Input Impedance: Bal./Unbal. Mic Input Level @ 0 dBFS Line Input Level @ -37 dBu to +22 dBu EIN @ Max Mic Gain Rg = 150 Ohm Mic/Line Input SNR Guitar Input impedance Guitar Input Level @ 0 dBFS Guitar Input SNR Aux Input Level @ 0dBu A to D Conversion Mic.: XLR, Line: 1/4” phone jack, Guitar: 1/4” phone jack, Aux: 1/8” stereo mini jack Mic.: 2.14/1.07 kOhm, Line: 13/6.
Specifications ff Environment Operating Temperature Storage Temperature Humidity 32° F to 122° F (0° C to 50° C) -22° F to 167° F (-30° C to 70° C) Max. 90 % non-condensing ff Control Interface USB MIDI Pedal USB-B In/Out/Thru: 5 Pin DIN 1/4” TRS phone jack ff Supplementary Display Dimensions Weight External Power Supply Mains Voltage Power Consumption 192 x 64 Blue STN LCD, White back light 488mm x 133mm x 88mm 5 lb. (2.
