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!

Product looks as it does in photo, comes with everything listed. Pitch correction goes from Mild to Wild, gender goes from deep male to higher female. You can adjust both to find a good balance for your voice; if you naturally can't sing, this particular device will help to correct your vocals to a degree. I personally bought it for the 'autotune' effect that is so popular just to play around with and have fun. This is a quality, well made product that is alot of fun to use. I'd recommend to anyone wanting to alter their vocal output. Please feel free to ask me any questions or to provide any photos/video of the unit in action.An honest and unpaid review,-shaolin

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!

Extremely loud feedback,,,Vocal effects cut out,,not even usable

This is great for giving me different vocal voices singing along with my synthesizer. I set the unit on top of the synthesizer and it's very easy to flick knobs instantly to whatever setting I want. It's simple but straightforward with a deep variation, normal, and a tinny auto-tune type sound. Gives me good options to use between and inside my various compositions. I use it all the time. Great little unit.

Some pitch correction systems promise and under deliver or they are overly complex. The C1 is simple to use, does a commendable job and will not disappoint. Our guitar player is the singer so we leave the pitch correction set to Chromatic and let it determine the key from the guitar input. The hard tuning does give some of the "auto tune" effect that is so popular but it is not suited to our musical style. The gender control, while interesting I believe has limited real world application.We use several TC Helicon and TC Electronic products and have never been disappointed.