TC Helicon Correct - Review
Ok - i decided to check out the tc helicon “correct” voice processor a little more to see what it is doing and to figure out how to get the 2kHz boost that I need to cut.
One of the problems I have is that the device gets jostled in my gig bag so all the settings get changed each time I take it out. I definitely think that theres a lot of coolness to the textures that the device can add, but some of the settings sound just terrible. Yesterday the pedal was off through the whole rehearsal, which I guess was a good thing since things didnt sound that bad.
Still it would be good to dial in the “right settings” so I don’t have to figure it out during a show.
There are a couple basic features:
Pitch Correction: this is the big one and can be disabled with a footswitch. Generally I find that a small amount helps smooth things out, but setting it higher than 50% adds a lot of distortion to the voice. The pitch correction also doesnt really work if you’re just singing the wrong note, so it wont help if you have no monitors.
Warmth: this is a mild chorus effect, which doesnt seem to hurt at all.
Auto-shape: slightly better on. The “shape” knob has more influence on the sound. Since I’m usually light on top end, set this to 3oclock.
Auto-compress: this really muffles things with my mic - LEAVE IT OFF. Set the compress knob to 3oclock to make up for the tight working range of the OM5.
De-ess: since i’ve emphasised highs, a lot of hiss can get through. Turn the de-ess up to about 3 oclock to help with this.
Pitch correction: 12 oclock is about right. Maybe a little less though its easy to turn off if it becomes annoying.
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Tried these settings live and they dont really seem to work. The biggest problem is a little excess gain around 5kHz which results in nasty feedback. In order to cut this down we have to turn down the whole unit which makes the bulk of the vocals softer and a little indistinct. There doesnt seem to be any real way around it for now so I’ve taken this out of the equation.
I wish I had a handy parametric eq to compensate for the mic a little. Dont know if a rack mounted unit is the right choice though…
rig up a hardcase for your effects. your cables will last alot linger, and your knobs wont move…
I used an old XBOX case. it’s was a wonderful $10 investment.
if you turn off the “warmth” amd the “compress” on the pedal and alternativly run it into a secondary compressor/limiter unit, you wont get the horrid feedback.
Comment by Vert S1N — February 28, 2009 @ 12:27 pm