vocal processors

b0b · Post by **b0b** » 10 Jun 2007 10:22 am

It seems that singers are never completely satisfied with their performance. To keep from doing endless retakes, I'm thinking of adding a vocal processor to my studio rack.

This one looks pretty good:
http://www.antarestech.com/products/avp.shtml

Here's a review of it:
http://emusician.com/signalprocessors/e ... _producer/

MF has it for $400. What do you think? Got any better (or cheaper) suggestions?

Buddy Lewis · Post by **Buddy Lewis** » 10 Jun 2007 10:57 am

Hi Bobby, I use a minimum of processing going into the recorder. It's a whole lot easier to add processes later than to undo them from the input signal. Also, if you use editing software on the on the vocals later, the effects that you use making the initial take can get in the way while editing later. I own Antares vocal producer and several Antares software. They both work great and save a lot of studio time. I use a relatively inexpensive sure sm27 for vocals and find that with the Antares Vocal Producer I need very little added to the vocals later.

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 10 Jun 2007 11:47 am

Bob, I ended up with an Antares ATR-1 which is PITCH correction only. My Yamaha AW2816 workstation has gobs of pre-programmed effects but cannot do Pitch correction easily. The Antares products are really quite good and very affordable. The Vocal Producer is a very cool processor. I could have gone with either but ended up with the ATR-1 as I won it on an EBAY auction.

If you do not have multiple pre programmed effects at your finger tips then the Vocal Producer is the right choice.

Rich Weiss · Post by **Rich Weiss** » 10 Jun 2007 12:32 pm

b0b, that unit really looks great for the money.
I have autotune and mic modeler as plug ins for my Pro Toos rig, and I can tell you that to buy each plug in (at the time) was far more expensive than the unit you're looking at.
Although I've never used the mic modeler plug in, as I prefer my Rhode mic just the way it is, I use the autotune plugin a lot. (Maybe too much

)

But looking at the specs, it looks like a great deal to me.

Richard Tipple · Post by **Richard Tipple** » 10 Jun 2007 1:51 pm

Bob
I owned the Antares Vocal Producer and found the pitch correction to be a real bear to dial in,,always seemed to be a little bit (Cher) sounding to me. For what all else it did, I couldnt see the justification of its use for what I wanted.
It did have some good Mic sims & vocal EQs.
I could see the unit as a good EQ boost for vocals.
They are nice to dial in polishing touches for vocal tracks,,,,,,,but I sent mine back to MF.

Leroy Golden · Post by **Leroy Golden** » 10 Jun 2007 2:58 pm

b0b,
I own and use the antares vocal producer, and if you are cautious and use it sparingly it works well for pitch. If the performer is too flat or sharp nothing is going to help, but I have saved a few otherwise unusable vocal tracks with it where the singer seemed to be just a little flat all the way through and we made the client a happy camper, and everyone that listened to the tracks had no idea they'd been pitched. So I guess I'm endorsing the Antares, even though it is a little pricey it does work! Just my $.002 worth!!

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 10 Jun 2007 3:34 pm

What Leroy says concerning pitch amplified ten times. If the basic vocal track is close, the Pitch correction can fix a few clams, but if the track is not even close, start over because the only way to fix the problem may be with another vocalist !

Ken Lang · Post by **Ken Lang** » 10 Jun 2007 4:52 pm

I have a DigiTech Vocalist Preformer unit. I forgot what I paid for it but it's pretty good. One nice thing is you can punch a button and get a double, or high or higher, or low, lower, and bass. Plus it has a choice of reverbs you can use.

It's kinda fun to sing and have a harmony part come out. This is a portable unit and can be used on stage.

It's never as good as a real person sing on pitch, but I don't think any processor is.

Ron Randall · Post by **Ron Randall** » 10 Jun 2007 6:21 pm

Hi b0b

I have an Antares ATR1?. It does a wonderful job and is easy to operate. For recording one voice, it is your choice of using it before or after the track is laid down. It is often used on the double bass as an input.
I prefer to use it after the vocal tracks are laid down, and not tell anybody. Makes people feel good.
Technically, things get a little weird if the vocalist sings one thing but hears another thru a monitor. Scrambles the senses for awhile. Don't do that.
I did one project with 3 vocal tracks. The lead singer was very flat. This pushed the harmony singers into the flat region. I processed each track and the sound was very good. No artifacts.
If I have to sing harmony live, I use it right after my pre, and I don't tell anybody.

Leroy Golden · Post by **Leroy Golden** » 11 Jun 2007 4:07 am

I forgot to mention in my previous reply that I always apply pitch correction or any other effect after the tracks are laid down, sometimes I let the singer hear a little reverb while performing the vocal but do not print any effect to the track until final mixdown. My total is $.04 now!

John Macy · Post by **John Macy** » 11 Jun 2007 6:44 am

Are you recording into a stand alone recorder or using software? If you're in the software world, a plugin version makes more sense cause you can use it only on the section or words that need it rather than have to pass the entire track through it. If you are stand alone, I think the TC Intonator works better than the Antares version. For plugs I use Autotune 5 and am just gettting Melodyne added, which looks even better. Plus it is easier to do software updates on a plugin...

b0b · Post by **b0b** » 12 Jun 2007 7:10 am

I use a Roland VS-1880 recorder.

Sounds like the Antares ATR-1 might be the ticket. It's an older unit that sells for cheap on the internet. I already have a good compressor, and the vocal EQ effects in the VS-1880 are good enough. The pitch correction is the main piece I'm missing.

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 13 Jun 2007 1:42 am

Bob, just in case you do as I did, and get one off of EBAY, the manuals are available online at the Antares website. The ATR-1 stays powered up all the time, very strange, no on/off. I found that the actual selected scale is better to use than the chromatic scale as well. The sensitivity settings appear to operate much better when they are set to the LESS sensitive settings. ( the no Cher mode ) The Pitch correction works well and is accurate for subtle changes , a few cents, and not for drastic off the chart correction.

Overall it is always best to have a great track to start with, the pitch correction I feel should only be used when you have a fine performance with a few small clams to fix.

I think I ended up paying about $200 for an excellent condition unit , I am very pleased.

good luck..
sing on key...

tp

Ron Randall · Post by **Ron Randall** » 13 Jun 2007 5:36 pm

b0b,
Yes, it is the ATR1 that I have. One of the first. Certainly less than $300.
One can set how the unit should respond, when, how much, how fast. Any single note instrument is applicable.
Fiddle, upright bass, trumpet, etc.

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 14 Jun 2007 1:43 am

PS, a singer with a LOT of strong vibrato is gonna drive the thing crazy...

Gary Shepherd · Post by **Gary Shepherd** » 21 Jun 2007 11:14 pm

b0b, I have an ATR-1. I was going to use it in my gigging vocal rack but decided not to. I'll sell it. Send me an email if you're interested. I'll even take some strings for partial payment.

Larry Beck · Post by **Larry Beck** » 22 Jun 2007 6:04 pm

I've used a vocal producer for 4 years now and it is almost always in the mike signal chain. I've got an autotune vst plug-in but seldom use it.

I also have a TC Electronics Voiceworks which could probably do most of what the antares does, but I only use it for harmony. It's too complicated to quickly come up with a solution. The antares is quick and easy to use in the studio and solves problems on the spot. That's where the Antares is at it's best. To paraphrase, a good tool right when you need it is better than the perfect tool that requires an afternoon to tweak.

erik · Post by **erik** » 24 Jun 2007 4:07 am

Very informative thread.

Randy Phelps · Post by **Randy Phelps** » 27 Jun 2007 10:12 pm

I'm heading out tomorrow to shop for the TC Helicon vocal processor...

I've been researching it for some time (this thread was helpful!) and in trying a couple of models I think the tc helicon vocal pro is the one for me...

I'll post again after I've had it for a few weeks and learned it.

Alan Brookes · Post by **Alan Brookes** » 6 Jul 2007 3:17 pm

b0b: Which of the units will make me sound like Frank Sinatra at the push of a button ?

I bought a Tascam CD-VC1 Vocal Trainer about a year ago, but it doesn't seem to have the Old Blue Eyes upgrade.

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