TC-Helicon VoiceTone C1

Help for those of us who need it! I don't have a very good singing voice. The problem is that I do like to sing, and can 'carry a tune' enough to not have someone run out of the room with inner ear trauma, but when recorded, the flaws and missed notes are pronounced. The problem is then compounded by my love of recording and the hopes that I can leave my children and grandchildren some nice memories of me, via music. I play acoustic guitar and have had a blast using the Tascam DP 008 (and the 004) and wanted to add more tracks and more instruments, but with two jobs and a family, I only have time to record (and play) by myself. I added in a ukulele (very easy to learn) and then added in an acoustic bass (more challenging) and then I added in a 6 string banjo (a "Jam-jo" made in the USA), which added a great deal of flavor to my sound. With a bit of reverb, the vocals weren't too bad! I then added in some percussion instruments: shakers, triangle, bongos, and tambourine. Lastly, I added in harmonica playing. Laying down tracks, one by one, is a lot of fun, but in listening back, with headphones, the clear recording highlighted the weakness of my voice. Finally, in enters into my story the VoiceTone C1. Hearing it on youtube with a professional singer is of no value: they are right on pitch! Yet for me, a little push for the right note has been a great blessing! I don't use the "Cher" sound, or turn it up to the point of sounding like Alvin and the Chipmunks: I just wanted some corrective help and it does just this very thing. I set it to the key I am playing and singing in, and it gently adjusts an off note. If one is too far off pitch, it may take your voice to a different note, so if you cannot sing near key, it will not be of much value. It is really for either those of us who very much need help, or for the perfectionist who is so very close to near perfect. These are those who sample this on Youtube are the latter: I cannot discern how it helps them. As to the end of my story: I added in the H1 harmonizer. Used judiciously, it is also a wonderful tool, using my own voice (along with the C1 pitch correction) to harmonize nicely. Like the C1, you can overuse it and it will sound artificial, but as I have learned to use it sporadically, it has been a wonderful tool. It uses my own voice, not someone else's, which is what I wanted. I have found the C1 and the H1 to work very well. I have them connected and do not record or play publicly without the C1. Some have asked if these "singles" from VoiceTone are good for recording: they are. Since I rarely play in public (perhaps a summer barbecue) and love to record, I set the C1 to go directly to the recorder. It sounds terrific. They are well made, and feel substantial, rather than light, cheap plastic. Amazon has good deals on them, and adding in the H1 has been great. I hope this review helps you make up your mind...especially if you are on edge as I am: okay singing, but not great!

I bought this specifically for it's vocal correction. I've used it in recordings several times and though I am still learning about it, have been pleasantly surprised. I run the pitch correction knob at about a 9 or 10 oclock position and find subtle settings are making it work for my purposes. I read it's recommended to record vocal tracks without it and apply the C1 post recording but I've been okay using it straight into the vocal track, without too much phasing issue. I thought I'd never use the Gender control but have found if it's used in slight amounts can be satisfying. I used it connected to the TC Helicon Harmony Singer and it corrected the harmony vocals also. I was surprised to find the Chromatic setting worked pretty well for correction w/o using a guitar input for guidance, though sometimes prefer to play along. I found the microphone was picking up alot of my acoustic guitar playing so I switched to an unplugged electric to solve that.

I'd previously owned a BOSS VE-20 vocal processor, which is almost triple the price of this product (although granted it had much more function, such as delay and reverb) not including a power supply, which must be purchased separately. Unlike this pedal, you about had to be a rocket scientist to navigate through a confusing maze of never-ending menus to program it. Worse yet, pitch correction and gender changes broke up horribly (like listening to someone on a bad cell phone connection), to the point of being totally unusable. I tried an exchange thinking I had a defective product, but the next one had the exact same problem. At that point, I contacted BOSS about the issue, who blamed it on my deep voice. I told them they should put a warning label on the box along the lines of “Do not use this product to sing Frank Zappa or Johnny Cash songs”. What a joke, especially for such an expensive processor. I mainly operate out of a pretty extensive home studio and record vocals “as-is”, leaving things like delay and reverb to DAW plugins while mixing/mastering. This gives me much more flexibility in applying and modifying vocal effects to make them suitable for a given mix. That said, all I was after was something to perform simple pitch correction while recording. The hunt for a replacement led me to this pedal... I had read so many good things about it on all sorts of music gear sites (accompanied by high ratings), so I thought I'd give it a try. I'm sure glad I did, as it suits my purposes perfectly. Pros: - Extremely simple to operate, with very minimal controls. - Upgradable firmware. You can download an application called “Voice Support 2” (both PC or MAC versions available) from the TCH web site which can be used to check for and apply updates. As I would expect, it came from the factory with the latest firmware already installed (1.0.04 build 19). - Pitch correction works well for me between the 12 o'clock and 2 o'clock positions. It makes very natural sounding, subtle corrections when I drift a bit. As others have mentioned, don't expect a silver bullet if you can't even carry a tune. - Gender adjustment has the usual “Mickey Mouse” effect at higher settings, but I've never seen a vocal processor or DAW plugin for this purpose that doesn't. If you're expecting to crank this setting and sound like Céline, forget it. However, I do find it usually mixes well as a harmony backing track when combined with the lead vocal, as long as you don't overdo it. - At any setting, both the pitch correction and gender sound is smooth, with no breaking up whatsoever. I doubt the layman would notice the correction effect at all, and maybe not even some Pros. - The “Mic Gain” dial on the side is a welcome feature. I use it as sort of a “trim” pot along with the input level LED, which flashes green during normal signal detection and red if you're clipping. - Ground lift button, in case of noise from ground loops in audio cables or other sources. I haven't had the need to use it at all, as there's no hum or buzz listening on headphones when plugged into my mixer. That also tells me the pre-amp is nice and quiet. - Rugged case, die-cast metal construction, with a large anti-slip rubber base. - It actually includes a power supply. YAY! Cons: - The power supply cord length less than 5', so get ready to break out that extension cord. Way too short even for studio use... It should be at least double that length. - There's no USB cable supplied, and it requires an unusual size (USB-Mini-B on the pedal end). If you're planning on performing any future firmware updates, be sure you have one around with a USB-A connector on the other end for plugging it into your PC. - Many condenser microphones require 48V phantom power. For whatever reason, this pedal provides only 24V, which in my opinion is a pretty severe oversight. Fortunately for me it isn't an issue, as I use it with a R0DE NT1-A that operates just fine at either voltage. If you're using a condenser mic, you'd be well advised to check into its power requirements before ordering. - I wish the foot switch had that satisfying “click” when actuated, like any other pedal I've ever seen. When placed on the floor, I found myself having to look down to confirm whether or not the “active” LED to was on. I wound up placing it on a table next to my studio mixer and engaging it by hand, so it's really not that big a deal as far as I'm concerned. Other notes: - There is a chromatic scale setting which can be used via the “INST IN” and “INST THRU” jacks, that will put chords from your guitar in control of the key automatically. Pretty neat feature. - The only documentation included in the box is a “quick start guide”, which invites you to download the full manual at the TCH web site. Problem is, it doesn't exist. There's only a PDF listing product information as you might find in an advertisement, and another PDF of the “quick start guide” already included in the box. Truthfully, it's so intuitive to operate, I don't think I would have needed a detailed manual anyway. - For those having issues with key selections sounding a bit off, visit YouTube and search for “TC-Helicon - How to Calibrate VoiceTone Singles”. This calibration procedure is definitely something that should have been included in the documentation, as it can obviously be critical to the pedal's performance. I ran across it by accident, in the “Videos” section for this pedal on the TCH web site. - No fault of the product itself, but I experienced the longest shipping time ever with an Amazon Prime in-stock item (7 days). In the end, I really couldn't be more satisfied with this purchase. Its simple operation and subtle pitch correction are exactly what I was seeking, and the price is certainly right! * Note: I strive to write concise reviews with honest opinions to assist you as a potential buyer, and receive no monetary compensation for doing so. If you've found this information useful, I'd appreciate a click on the “Helpful” button below. Thanks!

Wonderful device. I'd call it the invention of the century.

This unit was fantastic.....for three gigs, then it stopped working. I swapped out the power supply with a known-working power supply. I still didn't get anything from the unit. Since it was purchased four months ago, Amazon won't exchange it. I contacted the manufacturer and they won't deal with me direct. They sent me to an authorized service center, who wants me to ship it to them for repair. We'll see how this plays out, but so far this is one very displeased end user.

Im having a lot of fun with it, using it to get some Gain on my vocals and then a little flattening. The chromatic mode is crazy... how I like to use it live.

A little growl from the gender knob helps me sound like Johnny Cash, and 25% correction polishes my live performances when I'm singing long notes like in a ballad and my voice is wonky. Simple controls. Presets that you could apply with the footswitch would have been nice.

Funciona bien , solo que la calidad del sonido que produce es viejo.. antiguo .. no suena como un autotune vigente , quizás haciendo up date del software

After a lot of experimentation with other vocal effects units, this is the one my playing partner and I finally found to smooth out and bring life to our vocals. Set it to CH, plug in your guitar, and add only a slight amount of pitch correction and your done! We even use a “slight” bit of gender bias to one song.

¡Excelente! Funcionó al primer intento sin complicaciones. Si conectas USB a Fedora Linux 44 se ve como un dispositivo MIDI.

分かりやすい例えは、椎名林檎の長く短い祭りの林檎パートのエフェクトです。Perfumeとかも出来そうですね。 つまみが男声女声、トーンコントロールのみなので分からない事はありません。 コーラスやハモの併用でLas Vegasっぽいエフェクトも可能です。 とにかく、所謂ケロケロボイスが欲しい人はコレさえあれば絶対安心です。他のボーカルエフェクターに入ってるオートチューンはかかりが甘いものが多いので注意です。

Perfetto provato conteneva anche l'alimentatore però tanti dicono che è assente lo vendono a parte ?...hanno il prezzo più basso però ti affiancano l'alimentatore a 30€ aggiungi i 129€ del pedale w arrivi a 160€ invece di 154€ quindi ottimo il prodotto ottimo il prezzo ottimo il venditore che a spedito subito il prodotto dalla Polonia 4/5 giorni lavorativi ti arriva!!

Para efectos de voz y para afinar los acordes de la guitarra