New Stomp-Gizmo...... that sings!

[teb]

OK, so I'm surfing the web for stray bass amps the other day and I see a mention for a stomp box that sings harmony......If you've ever heard any of my recordings, you know that I have one of those singing voices that people call "interesting". They're being polite because "interesting" really stands for "not so hot". Having spent my early band years around folks like Steve Goodman, Dan Fogelberg and a couple guys in our own group with great voices, singing has always been a source of frustration for me. I taught myself to play and don't know squat about music, so trying to sing harmonies has always been hit or miss (mostly miss) and a stomp box that "sings" got my attention. It's called the "Voicetone Harmony G" and it gets clues from what you sing and from what your guitar is playing and then changes the pitch of your voice to make and add harmonies in real time. It sounded pretty bogus and most likely very fake and mechanical at first glance, but I went to their website and they have a long video demo that's pretty impressive. I listened to the samples over and over trying to find something in the sound that bugged me and really couldn't find anything that didn't sound pretty good, so I bought one over the weekend. It's solid, nicely made and it seems to work just like they say it does. You can "steer" the harmony "singers" with a combination of your voice and your guitar parts and you do have to learn to "lead" the box with your playing a little bit at times so that it knows where to go, but I'm impressed. If nothing else, it will help me cure some bad singing habits (mumbling, dropping the end of words, running out of air at the end of lines, etc.) So after a day and a half of messing with it, last night about 3:00 AM I decided it would be a perfect time (?) to record something in my office to see what I could actually do with it and explore the tonal possibilities a bit. I kind of like the results for a first effort. This was not a cheap box ($300), but I'm liking it. Here is the cut:

http://webpages.charter.net/tbradshaw/M ... H%20mn.mp3

For the technically inclined, here's the skinny on the instrumentation:

First take - Rickenbacker 370/12-string in stereo: two tracks capo on third fret:
track one: Neck toaster pickup into the JangleBox compressor for a little sparkle and then into the recorder - no EQ adjustment.
track two: Middle toaster pickup into and through the Harmony G box to guide it and then into the recorder - no EQ adjustment.
I used a rather strange, almost claw-hammer-like fingerpicking technique that I developed a while back that mixes thumb-tapping and upstroke finger-picking. Tracks one and two were mixed about 50/50 to get the basic guitar sound.

Track three - cut at the same time: Vocal with the harmony G - first verse solo, second with one harmony added, third with two harmony parts added and fourth with a fuller tone and two added parts. Both harmonies are set above the lead vocal. The vocal track is a mono feed because I ran out of XLR cables and it was the middle of the night.

First overdub - Bass line - Hofner 500/1 V63 straight into the board, no EQ adjustments. Nothing does thump, thump, thump like a Hofner.I did a half run-through for practice and then cut it, transposing in my head for the capoed guitars as I went along. It's a little strange in places, but it was 4:30 AM and I was getting pretty punchy.

Second overdub - Ric 370/12 at the end - Neck toaster and bridge high-gain pickups 50/50, JangleBox compressor, no EQ adjustments on the recorder. Normal picking.

A little reverb and little bit of over-all EQ adjustment on the mix and that's about it

Korg D1200 MkII digital twelve-track deck. CAD condenser mic for vocal.

The factory site with video demo for the magic box is here:

http://www.voicetonepedals.com/harmonyg.html

[1965]

Wow, that's pretty neat. Sounds just as good on your track as it does on their videos. Pretty impressive.

[lcjones]

I'll have to ditto that. That's really cool piece of equipment. I'm impressed.

[admin]

Teb: First off, may I please thank you for your review and demonstration of this effect. It is always great to have those with talent do the demonstration as well.

Before commenting on the effect, I have to say that your voice and guitar alone are absolutely wonderful and have a quality that pulls the listener in.

The harmonies do add to your work and you have used the effect to very good advantage. Crosby Stills and Teb (CST) here we come.

[jps]

Nice work, Todd! TC Electronics is a great company that does not make anything gimmicky so I am not surprised the pedal does it's job as advertised.

[melibreits]

Wow, that sounds great, Todd! Nice recording.... is that gadget simple enough to use in a live performance setting as well?

[teb]

Yep, with a little practice it would be a snap. Here's a quickie sample. I was too lazy to get out a different guitar, so I just turned the twelve way down and this microphone picks up everything (pick noise, refrigerator, etc.) but regular live mics would be fine and you have the option of getting the guitar sound straight from the box with the vocal feed or just running it through the box and out to the PA or amp.

http://webpages.charter.net/tbradshaw/M ... f/IBYB.mp3

The biggest complaint with this type of thing is often that it follows the lead vocal too closely and thus sounds fake. I think I'll actually be able to record harmony parts by themselves when desired by essentially singing the lead vocal again and not recording that voice. So I should be able to pile up just about as many different harmony voices as I want and have just enough variation that they sound real. In the mean time, having them follow the lead in one smooth take is pretty handy when I'm playing and singing all the parts myself.

[tennis_nick]

Sounds cool! some of the harmony it choses seem questionable, but that might just be my own preferences.

It does kinda seem... TOO close! love the Hof and Rick!

[melibreits]

That is too cool.... I just might have to put one of those on my wish list.... Right after a better PA system!

[jps]

Melissa, check out an Allen & Heath PA12 mixer. I bought one for the Lemon Antennas, great features and quite inexpensive for the quality; I got mine at RMC Audio.

www.allen-heath.com/US/DisplayProduct.asp?pview=42

There are models with more inputs if you need more than the PA12 offers.

www.allen-heath.com/US/