TC-Helicon Voicetone, Product Manual

Page 1: ...PRODUCT MANUAL ENGLISH VERSION synth ...

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Page 3: ...th Sound Descriptions 21 Using the Rez Control 22 Creating Transducer Effects 22 Using the Modify Control 23 For Advanced Users Choosing Alternate Tone Settings 24 Advanced HardTune Vocoder Style Selection 24 Performing a Factory Reset 24 Changing the Tuning Reference 25 Changing the Number of Presets 25 MIDI patch change and channel select over USB 25 FAQ and Troubleshooting 27 Presets and Style ...

Page 4: ...is updated regularly so be sure to check www tc helicon com for the latest news Features o HardTune processor with options for octave shift and gender processing o Vocoder effect with options for an external carrier input or various onboard synthesizer flavors o Transducer effects to create megaphones and distortions in series with HardTune and Vocoder o Tone processing with adaptive compression S...

Page 5: ...n Victoria BC Canada who spend every waking moment of their working lives listening talking singing and interacting with singers and those who have passion for the singing voice All this knowledge and experience is used to design products respecting and empowering the modern vocalist Our products focus on removing barriers and inspiring creativity in performance That s why our products range from ...

Page 6: ...6 Step 1 Connect your microphone to a mic cable Step 2 Connect the mic cable to the Mic Input on Synth Quick Start Make sure Synth is not powered at this time NOTE ...

Page 7: ...channel to off Connect a mic cable from the Mono Out to a mic input on your sound system Step 4 Connect a 1 4 cable from your guitar or instrument to to the Inst in Connect theThru to your amp if you want your guitar or instrument sound passed unprocessed to your amp Quick Start ...

Page 8: ...Step 5 Set the Input Knob fully left Step 6 Connect Synth s power adapter to main power and to the Power Input on Synth There is no power switch so plugging it in automatically turns Synth on Quick Start ...

Page 9: ...etimes orange on louder parts but never red Step 8 For your first listen check that the LEDs conform to the status shown in the boxes below Press the button associated with the LEDs to change them if necessary Select preset 1 or 2 with the Preset footswitch Quick Start Press so LED is ON Press to light LED ...

Page 10: ...and set to Inst you ll need to connect an instrument or audio device to the Inst input VoiceTone Synth is great for experimentation Forget everything you ve learned about singing and focus on being creative Don t be scared to sing talk and make noises when you vocalize Make sure to install the VoiceSupport application It keeps VoiceTone Synth up to date with the latest software as well as tips and...

Page 11: ...ntom power Connect the Mono Out to a PA Getting the HardTune Effect Select preset 1 which has only HardTune enabled Select the key of your song by pressing the Key button Choose Major or Minor for the scale type Getting Vocoder Effects Select a preset that only hasVocoder enabled with Synth 1 to 4 or Robot selected These presets use the internal synth with your voice Select the key of your song by...

Page 12: ...e enabled If there is polyphonic audio coming from your keyboard or instrument then select Auto by pressing and holding the Major and Minor buttons With Auto key and scale the HardTune effect will follow your music Vocoding Your Instrument Select preset 0 that has Vocoder enabled Vocalize through your microphone while audio is being played back from your instrument For more styles see Advanced Har...

Page 13: ...has only HardTune enabled If you re playing chords on your guitar then select Auto by pressing and holding the Major and Minor buttons With Auto key and scale the HardTune effect will follow your guitar chords Vocoding Your Guitar Select a preset that has Vocoder enabled and select Inst as the style Vocalize through your microphone while playing your guitar For more styles see Advanced HardTune Vo...

Page 14: ...Modify Knob This control gives additional sonic flexibility to the Transducer effects Each effect has its own assignment of parameters controlled by the Modify knob Note The Lead Mix Rez and Modify parameters are stored with the preset Changing them only affects the current preset Front Panel 1 2 3 4 5 1 Input Knob and LED Adjust the Input Knob so that while you sing the LED beside it flashes gree...

Page 15: ...s their numerical value 8 Major Minor Buttons and Auto LED The scale type may be Major Minor or Chromatic no key Hold both buttons for a moment to enter Auto mode where musical information is derived from the Inst input Turn off both Major and Minor to enter Chromatic mode 9 HardTune Button and LEDs Press to choose HardTune effects Uni son Octave Up and Down Character effects and off no LED lit 10...

Page 16: ...s of all effect values to the current preset number 14 On Footswitch Use the On footswitch to toggle the current preset s effects on and off If Tone is on its effects remain active whether the On button is lit or not You can hold the On footswitch to set the key for the HardTune and Synth effects from a standing position The On and Preset LEDs will flash VoiceTone Synth can recognize simple major ...

Page 17: ...e Thru jack to your first effect pedal or to your amplifier PA 5 Guitar Ground Lift Push in to overcome buzzing that may occur when the Thru jack connects to a different amplifier PA than the Mono Out Leave out when Thru is not connected 6 Mic Input Connect your mic here When Vocoder is on this input is the modulator 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 USB connector Connects Synth to your computer for backup restore an...

Page 18: ...and this is discussed in the following paragraphs Creating HardTune Effects The HardTune effect quickly and un naturally shifts the pitch of your voice to the nearest scale tone while you sing This is the desired effect It is important for the scale tones to relate musically to your songs In version 1 1 of Synth HardTune may also be used for natural correction Please see the Advanced HardTune Voco...

Page 19: ...Auto LED turns on To change a preset from Auto to fixed key and scale tap either of the Major Minor or Key buttons or hold the On footswitch This can be stored with each preset by holding the Preset footswitch To create the HardTune effect 1 Find a preset with only the HardTune button lit 2 Choose Auto fixed key and scale or chromatic and set accordingly 3 Activate the On footswitch 4 Sing while y...

Page 20: ...hat sounds like it s talking To create a vocoder effect you need two audio sources the carrier and the modulator You can think of the carrier as your vocal cords creating a buzzy noise and the modulator as your mouth forming to pronounce words In VoiceTone Synth the carrier can be an external instrument such as a guitar synthesizer fully mixed tracks etc With no instrument connected Synth s onboar...

Page 21: ...e Auto or fixed key and scale parameters These parameters are described previously in the HardTune description HardTune does not need to be on To produce a vocoder effect with the onboard synthesizer 1 Find a preset with Vocoder on and its option set to Synth or Robot but not Inst 2 Activate the On footswitch 3 Set Auto to on and play the instrument connected to the Inst input while you sing OR 3 ...

Page 22: ... preset if desired Note that the position of the knob does not always represent the Rez value in the preset You can see and edit the current Rez value in the Preset numeric display when you ve turned the control far enough in either direction to pass through and pick up its value Creating Transducer Effects The Transducer block adds distortion and band limiting effects such as megaphone and radio ...

Page 23: ...ue Transducer Styles Modify Controls MegaPh1 Megaphone sound with distortion The Modify control varies the distortion amount MegaPh2 Megaphone effect without distortion The Modify control adjusts a HiCut filter Distort1 Medium distortion sound The Modify control changes the distortion amount Distort2 Heavy overdrive distortion The Modify control changes the distortion amount TelePh Emulates teleph...

Page 24: ...natural pitch correction values on the respective style For example the alternate HardTune Down style retains the octave down pitch shift while softening the effect of the pitch correction 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 Choosing Alternate Tone Settings The factory default for the Tone button accommodates a wide range of singers but there are options to further customize this feature To access the alternate ...

Page 25: ... note from it Press any button to return to normal functionality Note that the tuning reference is not stored It will be reset to A440 when the power is disconnected Changing the Number of Presets The default configuration of Synth is to offer 10 presets You can access less presets for faster access when switching through presets by doing the following To set the accessible number of presets power...

Page 26: ...hannel on Synth 1 You will need a computer application capable of editing and sending MIDI system exclusive messages 2 Copy and paste the following text known as a sysex string into the sysex entry line in your application F0 00 01 38 00 58 22 00 0D 00 00 00 CC F7 3 Where the letters CC are in the string enter the MIDI channel you would like Synth to receive according to the following Hex table No...

Page 27: ...ure the On LED is lit o Ensure that at least one of the three effects is activate o If Vocoder is turned on and Inst is selected make sure there is audio coming from you instrument Try turning up your instrument level if the problem persists The effects sound out of tune o Try using a fixed key and scale o Make sure your instrument tracks are tuned to A440 o If you re using Auto mode turn up the l...

Page 28: ... or visit www tc helicon com support Guitar Performance Tips o To ensure that the HardTune and Synth effects follow your playing it s best to play as cleanly as you can Also at the beginning of your song it s important to play a chord if you want to sing right at the beginning o Your guitar should be well tuned to the onboard tuner or an external one set to A 440 Hz FAQ and Troubleshooting I m tur...

Page 29: ...th 4 style 1 Distort 1 8 Synth Three Auto On Synth 3 style 6 9 Oct HardTune Vocoder Auto On Down 1 Inst style 5 10 Vocoder Auto On Inst style 5 H Ha ar rd dT Tu un ne e 1 1 2 2 Unison Hard Soft Up Octave up HardTune Down Octave Down HardTune Char 1 Male gender unison HardTune Char 2 Female gender unison HardTune M Me eg ga ap ph ho on ne e D De es sc cr riip pt tiio on n M Mo od diif fy y C Co on ...

Page 30: ...ve 5 female gender 4 Unison fifth 9th wave 6 5 Unison fifth up wave 7 with female gender 6 Octave down modulating wave 8 V Vo oc co od de er r D De es sc cr riip pt tiio on n S Sy yn nt th h 4 4 S Sc ciiF Fii S Sy yn nt th hs s 1 Wave 9 unison octave 2 Wave 9 female gender 3 Wave 10 three octaves down R Ro ob bo ot t 1 Root note unison octave wave 1 2 Octave down root note fourth below wave 5 3 Un...

Page 31: ...Mic 18dBu sensitivity 104dB 20hz 20kHz THD Noise Mic Min gain 90dB Frequency Response max gain 1 5dB 40 Hz 0 0 3 dB 200Hz to 20 kHz Inst In to Thru Dynamic Range 119dB Tuning Mute Attenuation 100dB Conversion Characteristics Sample Rate 48 kHz Converter AKM AK4620B AD DA Conversion 24 bit 128x oversampling bitstream EMC Safety Complies with EN 55103 1 and EN 55103 2 FCC part 15 Class B CISPR 22 Cl...