Basics Manual
Safety Safety Instructions Caution 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 You are cautioned that any change or modifications not expressly approved in this manual could void your warranty. 10 11 Read these instructions. Keep these instructions. Heed all warnings. Follow all instructions. Do not use this apparatus near water. Clean only with dry cloth. Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.
Table of Contents Before you get started 1. Download the Details Manual Your product ships with this “Basics” Manual. To get the latest “Details” manual visit: www.tc-helicon.com/support and select VoiceLive Rack in the “Select the product...” dropdown menu. To view the product warranty select Warranty on the same page. 2. Download VoiceSupport Get the latest firmware for your product, tips and tricks, and videos. Download and install VoiceSupport from www.tc-helicon.com/voicesupport. 3.
Introduction Thank you for purchasing VoiceLive Rack, a complete, programmable mic channel and vocal effects processor. This product is the result of input from customers like you who requested the premium features of VoiceLive 2 in a 19” rack chassis. We hope you enjoy making your music sound even better with VoiceLive Rack. VoiceLive Rack Features • • • • • • • • • • • • • About TC-Helicon TC-Helicon is the only pro audio company 100% dedicated to providing creativity and control to singers.
Front Panel Touch to access input gain adjustment screen or hold to enter auto input gain feature. Touch to browse presets based on tags or to load presets on demand. Touch Home to exit any menu and set screen to show main preset display. SIXTH ENCORE Push in to apply power. PRESET STEP COUNT MIC-CONTROL HARMONY HOLD IN Connect headphones to monitor main output mix. Touch to access Setup menu and parameters. Touch Home to exit.
Front Panel Displays preset steps if any (Count) and current step in Home mode. Displays preset name and number in Home mode or all edit parameters in edit modes. Displays parameter remote controlled by Mic Control feature using optional MP-75 mic. SIXTH ENCORE PRESET STEP COUNT Main wheel locates presets in Home mode and selects rows in edit modes. Navigate arrows will increment/decrement presets by 1 in Home mode or select rows in edit modes.
Front Panel Touch to activate adaptive EQ, compression, de-ess and gate or hold to edit. Touch any to engage effects or hold to jump directly to the effect’s edit menu. Touch to activate auto-chromatic pitch correction or hold to edit correction settings. ONTROL MONY OLD Duplicates the switch on an MP-75 mic to activate switched parameters. Tap at song tempo to set delay time in Home mode. Mutes all processing except Tone when Tone is active.
Back Panel Connect dynamic or condenser mic here. Input gain and phantom power on/off located in Setup menu. Passes dry guitar signal to an amplifier or PA. Connection here will remove guitar from the main mix. Auxiliary input from mp3 player can be mixed to outputs and be used to guide Harmony and Hardtune. Main outputs are balanced and default output is stereo. Mono and dual mono modes are configured in Setup menu.
Back Panel S/PDIF output always available. Full Mix or Vocal & Guitar (LR) configured in Setup menu. S/PDIF digital input can be fed dry to analog mix outs or used as vocal and instrument (LR) inputs for effect processing. Hardware MIDI ports allow remote harmony and preset control from MIDI keyboards etc. Ensure USB Control is set to Off in Setup menu to use this input. Connect optional TC-Helicon Switch 3 footswitch here for additional control per preset or globally.
Quick Start a. Connections 1. 2. 3. 4. Turn down your mixer channel or main PA volume. Connect a Mic or Line level input from the mixer to the respective input jack on VoiceLive Rack. Connect the XLR or TRS stereo outputs to your mixer/PA. Connect the supplied AC adaptor to the unit and press the POWER button in. b. Set input level 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Touch the Bypass button so it flashes. Touch the Input Gain button.
Quick Start 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. An accompaniment is required so the singer can sing relative to a key and scale. This can be a piano, acoustic guitar, playback etc. Touch the Setup button and navigate to the SYSTEM tab using the TAB/STEP arrows. Set GLOBAL NATURALPLAY to SCALE and GLOBAL KEY/ SCALE to ON. Touch the Edit button and navigate to the HARMONY tab. Set the KEY and SCALE* parameters to match the song accompaniment. This is often the first or last chord in the song.
Basic Operation Selecting presets Modifying presets There are over 200 factory programmed presets in VoiceLive Rack. Presets are loaded as soon as the name appears in the LCD window. The effect block buttons, the arrow buttons and tabbed menus allow you to make changes to the current preset quickly. To select presets: 1. Ensure the Home button LED is lit. 2. Turn the large encoder wheel. Detents in this wheel allow increment and decrement by 1 or; 3.
Basic Operation • • • • Voices - Combined level of the Harmony and Doubling voices. Delay/Reverb - Combined level of the Delay and Reverb effects. Guitar - If a guitar is connected to the Guitar input and no Guitar Thru connection is made, this control varies the level of the guitar in the main output mix. Output - Adjusts the overall output level to the main outputs and the Headphone output. Adjusting the Guitar features The Guitar input has its own Reverb and µMod processors, 3 band EQ and compressor.
Basic Operation To add a step to a preset: 1. 2. Locate the desired starting preset and hold the right Step arrow button. Follow the onscreen prompts to insert and delete steps in your chain. Note that inserted steps are automatically stored. See “Restoring...” below to return the preset to its original state. Performing a global reset This can be performed to initialize all presets and system parameters back to their factory defaults. To perform a global reset: 1. Power up the unit. 2.
Basic Operation Storing and loading user profiles There are 10 slots in which you can save an entire configuration of the Setup menu parameters which is called a Profile. This is useful when you need to recall different settings for a live performance with a mic versus a studio application with a digital input for example. To store a user Profile: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Adjust parameters in the Setup menu tabs to your requirements. Press the Store button once. Tab over to Store Setup tab.
Frequently Asked Questions Where can I find support for this product? TC-Helicon has a comprehensive support system for our products. Go to www.tc-helicon.com/support and click on the links below either Support by Product or FAQ and Contact. The Mic Control parameter seems to be triggering on its own when I sing, what’s happening? A few input devices may cause this. You can a) switch mics b) turn off Mic Control in the Setup menu.
Signal Path Diagram Adaptive or Manual Mic Preamp Compression 3 Band EQ De-ess Gate µMod Pitch Correction Harmony & Doubling Distortion & Megaphone Delay Reverb 18