TC Helicon VoiceLive 2
2nd Generation voice pedal works right out of the box
The new TC-Helicon VoiceLive 2
I purchased the original VoiceLive for a performance vocalists pedal but I never used it in that capacity. My band mates in Expecting Rain complained the pedal was distorting the vocals. Making it follow the singer on harmony was a midi programming job, perhaps for a keyboard artist. It was only last year the TC Helicon released a pedal for VoiceLive that could read the chord or key changes automatically, the Harmony Control Guitar.
Essentially all that is wrapped up in the VoiceLive 2. Plug in the guitar (pass through is recommended) microphone, set 48V and auto set the level, tune the guitar and it is ready to produce some pretty amazing harmony voices. More than 200 different presets are in the box. I spent a night auditioning the first 80, found 5 I liked and quit.
The VoiceLive 2 is so easy, it is disarming. There is more complexity under the skin but you can start without going through the details.
To see how easy, I picked a song with several different vocal parts, Cat Stevens Father and Son on Father’s Day naturally.
While the girls went out to get me trinkets, I sat down with the lyrics and chords and ran through the song for the first time ever. Once I had the song more or less learned (15 minutes) I started trying different settings on VoiceLive 2. I wanted an older male (calm, imploring) voice with and without harmony, younger male (urgent, impatient) voice with and without doubling.
In 15 minutes of putzing around I selected Preset 3 with the 4 variations. I practiced and tried other variants and when the girls came back within the hour, I was merrily performing the song like a pro.
They were amazed. One said – you don’t know that song. How did you learn it so fast. Where did you get the voices? Professional secrets I told her.
In one hour I had learned how to use VoiceLive 2. Compared with four years of agony with VoiceLive it was like the Second Coming.
Let’s look at hookup.
That’s self-explanatory except the new USB port which is used to upgrade firmware and backup. It works like a charm.
Have a look at the front. Most of the major effects are controlled by the stomp buttons. There is little doubling up of functions, which I hate on stage. There is no time for complicated sequences and VL2 keeps it clean and simple. To tweak the settings, you’ll need to bend over but the screen is easy to read and figure out. I’m not sure if it will get washed out in sunlight which is my gig today – lunch on Victoria Row.
I have a rule with gear: the more I have to read the manual, the less I like it. Human interface on VL2 is excellent, almost intuitive.
That’s it for now. I’m trying harmony on more than 10 songs today along with other effects. I think it will sound great. Of course, more is less. I intend to use harmony sparingly.
I’ll report back later on how I got along. Also on the agenda will be a run-through video and actual recording of VoiceLive 2 in a studio setting.
The unit reviewed is a pre-production demo unit supplied by TC Helicon who confirmed it matched the production units after a firmware update.
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