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TC-Helicon Voiceworks for Sax Sound Samples

May 20, 2010 By 2 Comments

I have received a number of requests asking me to post some sound samples of the TC-Helicon Voiceworks effects box. I am playing a tenor  tenor saxophone in all of the samples.

The first sample is bypassing the Voiceworks box and is the dry sample:

 

The second sample sample is the Voiceworks box with the reverb effect. Reverb time is 420ms and Feedback is 25%:

 

The third sample sample is the Voiceworks box with the reverb effect and Chrous. Reverb time is 420ms and Feedback is 25%, Chorus is -6dB.

 

The fourth sample sample is the Voiceworks box with one unison voice, reverb effect and Chrous. Reverb time is 420ms and Feedback is 25%, Chorus is -6dB, unison voice is -6dB.

 

The fifth sample sample is the Voiceworks box with one unison voice,one harmony voice ( above), reverb effect and Chrous. Reverb time is 420ms and Feedback is 20%, Chorus is -6dB, unison voice is -3dB, harmony voice -3dB.

 

The sixth sample sample is the Voiceworks box with one unison voice,two harmony voices( above), reverb effect and Chrous. Reverb time is 420ms and Feedback is 20%, Chorus is -6dB, unison voice is -3dB, first harmony voice -3dB, second harmony voice -6dB.

 

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Improve your Sound with Audi-Graph-Part I

May 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment

How often is a beginning musician asked to develop a quality sound?

A new software application has been developed by a NASA engineer and it is named Audi-Graph. It turns out that the notes on our instrument consist of a fundamental frequency and a number of harmonic frequencies. The timbre of a flute playing a particular note sounds different than a saxophone playing the same note. The harmonics are what make the instruments sound different.  If you compare a professional saxophonists sound to a beginner – you will notice a difference in sound quality. Once again the difference is the harmonics.  Prior to Audi-Graph the student would listen to a good professional sound and then try to emulate that sound. This is usually a process that is trial and error and can take many years.

Audi-Graph provides visual cue’s that can allow a student to make changes ( e.g. more pressure on the reed or opening up the throat ) and see how the changes compare to a professional’s harmonics.  Simply put – if you can match the harmonics  then you will have a professional sound. The Audi-Graph software includes an ever expanding library of classical and other musical styles artists that the student can use as a reference point and try to match harmonics.

After visiting the Audi-Graph website, I was so interested that I purchased the software. I am not a beginner but I see many potential applications that I will write about in future blog articles. In addition to greatly accelerating the time it takes to develop a professional sound, I see many other applications of this software for the developing and professional musicians.

Stay tuned for future articles.

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TC-Helicon Voiceworks and Saxophone

May 18, 2010 By 2 Comments

I recently acquired a TC-Helicon Voiceworks box and even though it is advertised as a vocal harmonizer – I wanted to experiment with it and the saxophone.

I am a full time computer programmer and a part-time professional musician. The first thing that struck me was that the user interface is not very user friendly. I suspect that since the Voiceworks box has so many features – it is extremely difficult to make the user interface easy to learn and use. I next visited the TC-Helicon website and looked for free downloads. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that TC-Helicon provides an editor for the Voiceworks box that runs on PC or Mac. A Midi IN and Midi Out interface is required to interface from a PC to the Voiceworks box. The editor software is easy to use and quick to learn.

Here is the first screen shot of the editor:

tc-helicon1

Here is a second screen shot:

tc-helicon2

Here is a third screen shot:

tc-helocon3

The Voiceworks box has a a long list of tweaks you can make. After much experimentation and using the box on a few gigs here is how I setup the box. I use a wireless microphone. The output of the microphone is input into the Voiceworks box. At the gig I run a midi cable from the voiceworks box to the keyboard so the box can harmonize the note I am playing with the real-time chords that are played on the keyboard. I used the Voiceworks software on my PC to copy the first five presets on the box and I next totally changed the presets to what I wanted. Three of the presets are used to harmonize the saxophone and the other two presets were just using the top notch effects that are built into the box. I did learn not to use the pitch correction feature with the saxophone because it did not work on the saxophone. Here are the setting I used in my presets:

Paul Unison – Chorus -6dB, lowered unison voice to -6dB, Reverb Time 420 ms, Feedback 20%

Paul 1Un1Up – Unison voice -3dB, 1st harmony voice -3dB, Chorus -6dB, Reverb Time 420 ms, Feedback 20%

Paul 1Un2Up – Unison voice -6dB, 1st harmony voice -3dB, 2nd Harmony voice Chorus -6dB, Reverb Time 420 ms, Feedback 20%

I added 2 more effects only presets that are setup as follows:

Paul FX -  Reverb Time 420 ms, Feedback 25%

Paul FX+C -  Reverb Time 420 ms, Feedback 25%, also has Chorus set at -3dB

The street price for the Voiceworks box is about $500. I ordered a 3 button footswitch for $50.

I am very pleased with the Voiceworks box and how it works on sax. I am playing a tenor saxophone.

If you are considering a new effects box for sax you may want to consider this one with the added harmony capabilities.

Are you using a TC-Helicon box with saxophone? If yes, what is your experience and how have you setup your box?

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