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Today's Bonus:
- 3- or 4-part vocal harmony with no programming or learning curve-just sing, play and let Vocalist Live 4's groundbreaking MusIQ(TM) technology do the rest
- Selectable voicing: unison, 3rd, 5th-above or below your lead vocal
- Pitch correction with four adjustable parameters
- Vocal enhancement effects matrix lets you adjust up to five parameters of Preamp, Compressor/Gate, EQ, Lead Effects, Harmony, Reverb, Echo Delay and Guitar effects
- XLR mic /line input with level adjustment, low-noise high-headroom preamp and 48V phantom power, 1/4" guitar input, 1/4" guitar pass-through and Guitar Ground Lift switch, 1/4" line input and 18" AUX input for CD or MP3 players, 18" headphone jack
- 3- or 4-part vocal harmony with no programming or learning curve- just sing, play and let Vocalist Live 4's groundbreaking MusIQ technology
- Vocal enhancement effects matrix lets you adjust up to five parameters of Preamp, Compressor/Gate, EQ, Lead Effects, Harmony, Reverb
- XLR mic /line input with level adjustment, low-noise high-headroom preamp and 48V phantom power, 1/4" guitar input
- 3- or 4-part vocal harmony with no programming or learning curvejust sing, play and let Vocalist Live 4s groundbreaking
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The VL4 is a lot of fun! I've had mine for about 3 weeks now, so i've had time to really use all the features. First, i'll talk about the highlights. This product really makes your voice stand out. The compression works great and really brings your voice out of the mix. Even has a de-esser to remove the sibilant "s" sounds. The EQ is important for removing muddy mid frequency from your vocals which also helps to bring your voice out of the mix. The harmony works wonderfully and you can change the parameters in many ways. For example, let's say you're playing an A minor chord on your guitar, and singing an "E". You can choose your harmony note to be either an A or a G, depending on whether you want a true 3rd above, or the note closest to a 3rd above which is also a note in the chord. You can also choose the VL4 to choose a harmony note in a predefined scale, rather than based on what you're playing on the guitar. If you're playing a song in the key of D Major, and there are no key changes in the song, and no chords that do not fit in the scale, then you can simply choose all your harmony notes to be in the key of D Major. The strength of the Music IQ feauture(harmony based on what you're playing with the guitar) is when a song has key changes or chords which do not fit in the original scale. The reverb works great and you can change the predelay, decay, intensity, type(hall, studio, stage) and tone. The features which are not so great for vocals are the following:
1. pitch correction--it doesn't sound natural because the VL4 outputs both your original off-pitch voice and the pitch-corrected note, so it sounds like a doubling effect. Maybe if you really play around with the pitch correction parameters you'll be able to get a more natural sound, but i have yet to achieve that.
2. delay--if you can get the tempo of delay that you want, it works fine. The trouble is, the VL4 won't let you choose a fairly slow delay. So if you're singing a slow-tempo song, you won't be able to get a delay of a quarter note or even an 8th note. The delay works best for achieving a doubling effect.
3. lead effects--this effect lets you change the timbre of your voice, allowing it to sound deeper, more femminine, more Elvis-like, with vibrato, etc. Actually, this feature can be useful and fun. But like the pitch correction, it doesn't sound too natural. However, if used sparingly and in a song with complete backing music(bass, keyboards, etc) i think the audience wouldn't know any better.
Now for the guitar effects--reverb and chorus. I am very impressed with these! It uses the same reverb settings as your vocals, but you can adjust how much of the reverb is going to the guitar. The chorus sounds realistic and can be adjusted to be obvious or not-so-obvious. You can get a great guitar sound with these 2 effects, but i'd recommend running your guitar through a compressor and EQ to get a really clean sound.
I'd recommend the VL4 over the VL2 because of the extra vocal effects(they're really useful) and because you can store changes to any presets, and with the step of the pedal, you can get your stored preferred settings. I think having 4 harmonic voices is overkill, but for the features i just mentioned, the VL4 is recommended over the VL2.
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I've had mine about 8 weeks, and I use it with a Keyboard setup. I also use a TC Helicon unit which is far and away a better sounding product, but doesn't have the ease of operation that the Digitech does.
Buying it was a bit of a gamble. Nowhere could I find a legitimate review that told me that it WOULD work with my keyboard (Yamaha Motif 8).A call to Digitech got me a dismal response. I called twice, because I couldn't believe the response I got from the first 'expert'.
Anyway, I have it , and it does the job VERY well. I get great harmonies on Eagles stuff(I'm a solo act), and I like the ease of operation. basically it's a 'plug in and play' unit.
Now the bad.
The buttons are very fragile. I don't use this as a stomp box, but the buttons periodically stop working for no apparent reason. As I live in the Bahamas, there are no technicians that can work on the stuff, and so I do my own work. I called Tech support, then e-mailed cos the answering system kept cutting me off. I asked if there was a manual available .."NO' was the answer. Schematics? "NO". The only thing I got in addition to that was to do with the switches. The 'technical Support' person wrote "I'd recommend spraying contact cleaner on the switches",,,DUH!!! .
So what you have is this. A flimsy product, made in China, that has little or no tech support and precious little in terms of advice from the company.Having said that, I'm buying a second unit...you guessed it! I'll use IT while the other one is in the US being repaired. This is my 3rd Digitech unitfrom a Vocalist II, then the 'unusable in a live situation' Studio vocalist, now this....A good product basically. If only the company would get people who are familiar with the product to man their phones/email. And put better-quality switches on the thing!
Addendum: It's 4 months old, I would like to replace the footswitches with better quality ones. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. The Tech support has gone from 'so-so' to abysmal. I asked if there was a service manual .."No". I asked if there was a schematic.."No". Now the thing is starting to make a crackling sound when hooked to the keyboard. I'll get it fixed, probably under warranty, which means shipping it out of the country, and then I'll sell it to someone. I like the ease, and the convenience, but I need something better made and with customer service people who don't reply in monosyllables.
Further Addendum... Two years on, and I've had the switches replaced twice. The first ones were under warranty, the second time (July 2009)it cost me $75. The GOOD NEWS!! The Customer service department has improved considerably, and they are very helpful. I'll take this over the TC helicon, purely on ease of use, and the difference in sound quality isn't noticed much by my audiences....It's well worth the money.
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This is my second Digitech as my first was the VL2 which was pretty amazing. I looked at TC Helicon's harmonizer but was put off by the manual,(and the price$) which required a lot of preprogramming. Digitech has not had a great reputation for quality constructed products. Plastic does not survive well on the road. HOWEVER, I've found the Vocalist Live 2 and 4 to be the exception. All metal chasis, the body is built like a tank.
I'm a solo act and only have one roadie to help set up. I am almost fanatical about keeping my gear and boxes clean and dust free. I also pack everything in padded flight cases for transport. So everything I have looks like I just brought it. The VL4's harmonies are very realistic and easy to select when you use the presets. Really all you need to do is plug in your guitar and send a mono or stereo lines out to your PA or mixer. That's it! Engage the effects pedal and when you want the harmonies, step on the harmony pedal. Wow! This thing is amazing and has really increased my enjoyment for singing and practicing.
I've never had a problem with any of my Digitech equipment, still, they could have done a little better with the knobs and thought to include an on and off switch. If something didn't work I would not hesitate to ship it back and get another. That hasn't happened so I'm hoping and praying I can keep playing for God's glory! Really, I am so thankful that this processor came along because after I started using it, I started getting more offers to play. The VL4 can add studio quality polish to your vocals and overall performance. This is a great harmonizer but make sure you buy from a reputable dealer,( don't bother with floor samples or B-stock on sensitive units like these), and pack it right for your gigs. You'll be very happy with this box.
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I have played as a professinal single for many years. This little harmonizer put a big smile on my face from the first song I played with it. I spent about 2 weeks experimenting, practicing with it, and programing it to do what I want. Then I got serious and started adding it to my repitoire. It makes a big, big difference. I even introduce it to my audience in a joking way and they love it! Here's the way I use it... Since I sit on a stool, I put a briefcase that I use to carry it in, under the harmonizer to raise it up to where I can comfortably reach it with my foot. I programed it to be on only when the switch is being held down. I take off my shoe so I can operate it with my stocking toe which I always leave resting on the switch. That way the harmonies come and go and the audience does not see what I'm doing, even if they are looking right at it. Another trick I discovered is to put several layers of ruber bands around the three volume knobs. That way you can operate them with your toe in between tunes if you need to. (It would be a hassel to crawl down on the floor to do it by hand). If anybody from the company reads this, "please put bigger volume knobs with rubber on them on the next version". If you are a single, duo, or even a trio without professional quality backup vocals, I would definetly invest in this great product. But if you are a professional, be prepared to pratice with it, and tweak the programing before taking it to a professional gig. However the sound is so awesome, I even had a lot of fun doing the prepwork.
I had one issue the first one I bought lost the power supply in the first hour! I looked at some reviews on the Internet and this seems to be common. That I don't like. However, they replaced it right away, (Musician's Friend), and the new one seems to be OK so far.
On the good side I took this thing to an Easter get-together with family. Everyone was amazed! They all had to try it, and it became like Karaoke. I would let them sing and would play with the effects. Even got our little niece to join in. It was a blast.
So even if you're not a professional singer, this can be fun to play with. Similar to Karaoke, everyone will want to try it! Since I'm not a professional guitar player, I haven't used it to it's full potential yet, but as I get better this thing will be a lot of fun I can tell!
