TC-Helicon PERFORM-VE, User Manual

7

PERFORM-VE User Manual

This LED is a VU Meter, with the following color codes:

If you find the Auto-Gain procedure set the input trim too low or high for your liking, you can always run Auto-Gain again or you can set the gain 

manually

.

Manual Gain
Press and Release

 the SET button to edit the Manual Gain with the Control Knob.

Green

-23 dB … -13.5 dB

Good Level

Yellow

-13.5 dB…-7.5 dB

Hot level, but still okay.

Orange

-4 dB … 0 dB

Soft-clipping:

Midas Tone.

Red

0 dB

Hard-clipping!

The red LED segments indicate gain provided by Perform-VE’s analog microphone 

preamplifier circuit. When the mic pre is at maximum gain, further gain is 

possible via digital amplification (the remaining 4 magenta LED segments).
Once you stop editing with the Control Knob, the LED ring will return to the MIDI/

LEAD mix display after two seconds. You can then vocalize into your microphone 

and confirm the gain settings are correct for your application. 
HINT: Red in VU meter LED is not a good thing as it means hard clipping and 

digital distortion! Reduce the microphone gain and try again if you see the 

VU LED turning red when you are vocalizing.

MIDI Channel

The MIDI channel that Perform-VE responds to is set 

if

 a MIDI note event is received 

while

 the SET button is held down.

To set the MIDI Channel (without a split point): 

• 

Press and Hold

 the SET button,

• 

Play a single MIDI note on your controller,

• 

Release the SET button. 

Don’t worry about having to repeat the Auto-Gain on the microphone – these 

steps will not overwrite your previous microphone level settings while the SET 

button is down, provided you a MIDI note is received while SET is held down.
When complete, you can verify Perform-VE is set to receive on the correct MIDI 

channel for your keyboard by playing notes and monitoring the SET button; 

the SET button will flash red whenever MIDI note events are received on the 

configured MIDI channel.

SET + Preset 1: Adaptive Tone

Tone automatically adds EQ (equalization), Compression, De-Ess and Gate to your 

overall vocal sound. Tone is enabled by default and we highly recommend leaving 

it on. 

EQ helps to shape the tone of your voice to fit into a musical mix. We remove 

some of the low “mud” frequencies and boost the highs for “sparkle” or “air”. 

Every recording you hear has some manner of EQ on the lead vocal (and pretty 

much everything else too). 
Compression reduces the difference in volume between the loudest and quietest 

notes. This gives you a more even sound that helps your vocal sit better in the 

local mix. It’s almost unheard of for vocals to go uncompressed in modern music, 

both recorded and live.
De-Ess gets rid of harsh “S” sounds and makes them sound more pleasing. De-Ess 

goes hand in hand with Compression, since Compression can make “S” sounds a 

bit more pronounced in the mix. 
Gate “shuts off” an audio input when it falls below a certain volume. This works 

great on things like drums where you want the drum hit to come through, but 

then have the mic silent in between hits. 
For vocals, we don’t want to go as far as shutting your mic off but we do want to 

reduce the volume (gain) of the mic when you’re not singing so that feedback 

becomes less likely.
Since Perform-VE replaces EQ and effects that are often added by a live sound 

technician, you’ll want to make sure that the mixer channel you plug Perform-VE 

into has a flat EQ (not altering any frequencies) and that any effects are 

turned off.

SET + Preset 2: +48 V (Phantom Power)

If you have a condenser mic, it’ll need power to function. 48 V to use it 

with your Perform-VE.  
If you’re not sure what kind of mic you have, but you don’t hear any sound, it’s ok 

to try +48 V - it won’t damage a dynamic microphone.

Holding down the SET button and pressing 

Preset 1 will toggle Adaptive Tone, with the VU 

meter LED as an indicator.

RED

: Off

GREEN

: On

Holding down the SET button and pressing 

Preset 2 will toggle phantom power (+48 V), 

with the VU meter LED as an indicator.

RED

: Off

GREEN

: On