USER’S MANUAL v2.
Table of Contents Connection Guide . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Soft Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Genre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Favorite . . . . . . . . . .
Connection Guide MIDI In Inst In/Thru USB Phones Power In Switch3 In Aux In Out to P.A. or DAW Mic In Power In - Connect the included power supply (ALWAYS USE A TC-HELICON POWER SUPPLY. USING ANY OTHER POWER SUPPLY MAY DAMAGE THE UNIT AND WILL VOID YOUR WARRANTY.) USB - Connect to your computer with the included cable. Use VoiceSupport to manage presets and update Firmware. www.tc-helicon.com/products/voicesupport Phones - Headphone output. Left+Right - Main XLR outputs connect to your P.A.
Basics Mic Gain Knob Once you’ve connected your microphone and selected the Mic Type (pg. 9 Dynamic, Condenser, MP75), use the Mic Gain Knob to set the input level for your microphone. As you increase the level, pay close attention to the LED on the top of the VoiceLive Play GTX. You want the input to light the LED Green. It’s OK if the LED sometimes lights Yellow, but it should never turn Red. If it does turn Red, reduce the level. Red means the input is overloading.
Basics LCD Display 1. Patch Name (Geddit Started) 2. Patch Number (27) 3. FAV – Shown if the current preset is tagged as a Favorite 4. NP – Shown when NaturalPlay key/scale information is being processed by the system 5. LOOP – Shown when a loop is playing in the background 6. GENRE – Displays the name of the genre selected in the genre screen. Not shown when the genre is set to ALL.
Basics Switches and Operation 1. The UP and DOWN switches allow you to navigate through presets. Press once for a single preset change. Press and HOLD to quickly move through presets. 2. HIT/TALK – In normal operation, this button acts as a HIT button. When activated, a new effect or effects will be added to the current patch. This feature is perfect for adding effects like Harmony to a chorus section of a song, or even to a single line or word. 3.
Basics Control Knob and Arrow Buttons The control knob is used to move through presets and to move through various settings when in Edit, System or other menu areas. The Arrow Buttons act similarly, moving through presets, styles, Genres etc.. Back Exits the current screen or mode. Store When you have made a change to a preset, simply press STORE. The first press will bring up the name/ location window, allowing you to re-name and/or relocate the preset.
Soft Buttons There are six (6) “soft” buttons, three (3) on each side of the LCD Display. Each button is context specific, meaning that when its function is available, you’ll see it lit up with a WHITE or BLUE LED. When there is no function available, the button will not be lit. In WHITE LED mode, the text on the button refers to its action. In BLUE LED mode, the button will select the segment of the LCD screen that is beside the button. Not every menu uses all six (6) buttons.
Setup - Input When pressed, the VoiceLive Play GTX enters the SETUP menu, which is comprised of 9 pages and controls the general functions of the device: Mic Type – Selects the type of microphone. There are 5 settings: 1. DYNAMIC MIC– for dynamic mics (like an SM-58 or OM5) 2. CONDENSER MIC – for condenser mics (like a Beta 87A) 3.
Setup - Input cont. Guitar – Adjusts the guitar input gain. Different guitars have different output levels, based on their pickups and electronics. Use this setting to ensure that your guitar input isn’t too low or too high. (Strat’s tend to be less “hot” than a Les Paul) Without singing into your mic, play your guitar as hard as you would at your most intense. Really rock it out.
Setup - Input cont. Pitch Cor Amt Pitch Correction Amount allows you to control the amount of Auto-Chromatic Pitch Correction the VoiceLive Play GTX applies to all incoming signals from the microphone. For a natural sound, we find that 50% or less is a good place to start. If you’re having a hard time hitting notes accurately, or want an Auto-Tuned sound on all of your vocals, experiment with amounts closer to 100%.
Setup - Output Output – Sets the way VoiceLive Play GTX outputs sound via the XLR outputs. There are 3 settings: 1. STEREO – XLR outputs receive a stereo mix of all voices, guitar and other inputs. 2. MONO – A MONO full-mix signal is on the LEFT and a DRY vocal is on the RIGHT. Any Tone and Pitch Cor Amt settings from the Setup menu are included on the RIGHT DRY channel. 3.
Setup - Output cont. USB Out Level - Controls the level of the USB output. If the device you are connected to is clipping at its input, try turning this setting down. Headphone Lim- There is a built-in headphone limiter, to provide protection from large volume increases, spikes, dropped mics, screaming fans etc. 0dB is the default, but you can set it lower if you want more protection.
Setup - System LCD Contrast – Controls the contrast of the LCD screen. Depending on the ambient light in the room, different settings may have more or less effect. UP/DN Function – Set the behavior of pressing the UP/DN footswitches simultaneously. 1. LOOPING – Enters LOOP mode 2. SET KEY – Enters KEY/SCALE mode Lead Dly – Delays the incoming vocal signal very slightly to compensate for the small amount of latency introduced when effects are processed by the system.
Setup - System cont. Global Key – Sets the key to be used with harmony generation and/or pitch correction. There are two settings: 1. OFF – Key can be set per individual preset, via direct key setting (C, D, F# etc.), INST In (Guitar/Keyboard) via NaturalPlay, Room Sense, MIDI or Aux. 2. ON – When a key is chosen within a preset, that key will remain when the preset is changed. Global Tempo – Sets globally applied tap tempo. There are two settings: 1.
Setup - Loop Input – Determines the input source used for loop recording. There are three settings: 1. LEAD + GUITAR – All voices and guitar are recorded to the loop. 2. GUITAR – Sound coming in via the Inst IN is recorded to the loop. 3. LEAD – Input from the MIC IN is recorded to the loop. 4. AUX - Only the signal from the Aux In is sent to the loop. 5. ALL - If you hear it, it’s going to the looper. Undo – Toggles the loop Undo function. There are two settings: 1.
Setup - MIDI MIDI Chan – Sets the channel that the VoiceLive Play GTX listens to for Notes information. Make sure that your output/control (Keyboard, Computer etc.) device is set to the same channel as the VoiceLive Play GTX. CC Chan – Sets the channel that the VoiceLive Play GTX listens to for CC information. Make sure that your output device is set to the same channel as the GTX.
Setup - MIDI cont. Sysex ID – Identifies the VoiceLive Play GTX when performing system updates. If you are not using VoiceSupport, make sure that the MIDI program you are using to transfer Sysex is set to the same ID as the GTX. PBRange - Sets the Pitch Bend Range, in semi-tones. Max is 12 (Octave) MIDI Control - Sets the unit to respond to MIDI control messages. There are 3 settings: 1. Merge - Listens for control messages on both MIDI and USB. 2. MIDI - Listens for control messages on just the MIDI port.
Setup - Switch3 Introduced with Firmware v1.2.03, you can now customize the buttons on an attached Switch3! Control – Determines the functionality of Switch3. There are 2 settings: 1. Loop - Sets the 3 switches for loop controls: Rec/Play/Odub, Stop/Clear(hold), Undo 2. Custom - Allows you to assign any controls to your Switch3 from a selectable list. Simply press the soft button next to “Switch1, Switch2, or Switch3” and use the Control Knob to change the button target.
Setup - Product Info This page contains information about the installed Firmware version, Serial Number and Manufacture Date for your device. It’s good to have this information handy if you ever need to contact support.
Effects When pressed, the VoiceLive Play GTX enters the Effects menu, which is comprised of 8 pages and controls the effects blocks. There is one parameter common to all effects pages: Control – Turns the effect on and off. There are three settings: 1. OFF – The effect block is inactive. No processing is done. 2. ON - The effect block is active and will process the signal according to the selected style. 3.
Effects - µMod (Micro Mod) The VoiceLive Play GTX effects blocks are: ff µMod (Micro Mod) Contains effects that Flange, Phase, Pan, Rotate or otherwise modulate the signal. There are two parameters: Level – Controls the overall level of the µMod effect. Press the right-middle soft button to select this parameter and use the control knob to adjust the level. 0dB is the maximum volume for the effect.
Effects - Delay ff Delay Contains Delay effects which repeat the input signal based on the style and the current tempo. There are two parameters: Feedback – Controls the amount of the delayed signal that is fed back into the effect. Higher levels of feedback will make the delay continue for a longer period of time. Style – Select the style menu by pressing the lower left soft button. It will be the only one lit on the left side of the LCD screen. There are 18 styles to choose from: 1. QUARTER 2. EIGHTH 3.
Effects - Delay cont. Advanced - To enter the advanced menu, press and hold any of the lit BLUE LED soft buttons. To exit the advanced menu, press BACK. Filter Style - Adds filters to simulate different types of Delay hardware or sound. There are 13 styles to choose from: 1. Digital 2. Tape 3. Analog 4. Radio 5. Megaphone 6. Cell Phone 7. Lo-Fi 8. Hi Cut 1 9. Hi Cut 2 10. Hi Cut 3 11. Low Cut 1 12. Low Cut 2 13.
Effects - Reverb ff Reverb Creates “room” around your voice. Essentially, it puts your dry vocal into a simulated space, small or large, to give a sense of depth and distance. There are 3 parameters: Level - Controls the overall level of the Reverb. Press the right-middle soft button to select this parameter and use the control knob to adjust the level. 0dB is the maximum volume for the effect. Decay – Determines how long it takes for the reverb to fade away.
Effects - Harmony ff Harmony Creates harmonies to accompany your lead vocal, using one or more voices. There are three parameters: Level – Controls the overall level of the Harmonies. Press the right-upper soft button to select this parameter and use the control knob to adjust the level. 0dB is the maximum volume for the effect. Key – The most important setting for any harmony generation is the key. Get it right and things sound amazing… get it wrong and they sound, well, bad. There are two Key modes: 1.
Effects - Harmony cont. Advanced - To enter the advanced menu, press and hold any of the lit BLUE LED soft buttons. To exit the advanced menu, press BACK. Scale - If the Key is set manually (not AUTO), the advanced menu will allow you set the Scale associated with the Key. There are 6 settings to choose from: 1. MAJOR 1 2. MAJOR 2 3. MAJOR 3 4. MINOR 1 5. MINOR 2 6. MINOR 3 A “scale chart” with examples of how the various scales function is available online: http://support.tc-helicon.
Effects - Double Double Creates a sense that one or more vocalists are singing in unison, with small differences in the timing and timbre of each voice. Some refer to doubling as “thickening”. There are two parameters: Level - Controls the overall level of the Doubling. Press the right-middle soft button to select this parameter and use the control knob to adjust the level. 0dB is the maximum volume for the effect. Style – Determines the number of voices and the timing of the Double.
Effects - HardTune ff Hardtune Ah Hardtune… some call it the Cher effect and others refer to it as Auto-Tune. Whatever you name it, if you’re looking for that radio-pop tuned sound, this is your effect. It has 3 parameters: Shift – Takes the input note you are singing and shifts it up or down by a semi-tone.You can shift up or down 12 semi-tones, which is equal to an octave in each direction. Gender – Manipulates the timbre of your voice to sound more male or more female in nature.
Effects - Transducer ff Transducer Contains effects that modify the sound by adding various filters and overdrive components. There are three parameters: Drive – Controls the amount of overdrive applied to the signal. More drive will distort the signal and create megaphone style effects. Filter – Employs a filter that changes the sound of the Transducer to be “thinner” or more “muddy” depending on the preset. Thinner filter settings sound more like a radio or walkie-talkie.
Effects - Guitar ff Guitar Guitar effects are handled in the same way as the vocal effects, with some minor changes. The guitar sounds are selected by style and there is an advanced menu for fine control over parameters. Guitar settings are saved per-preset, unless Global Guitar is set to ON in the Setup menu. If you select a guitar style and modify it, those settings will be lost if you move away from the style.
Effects - Guitar cont. Level - Replicates the Volume or Level control on an amplifier. This control can increase or decrease overall volume of the amplifier without adding distortion. This control is also useful in matching guitar levels from preset to preset. Style - Select from the factory designed guitar styles, which include settings for Amp Type, Drive, Level, Reverb, uMod and Delay. There are 41 styles to choose from: (Styles preceeded by AC are designed for ACoustic guitar) 1. MED CRUNCH 2.
Effects - Guitar cont. 34. AC ROOM 35. AC ROOM +THICK 36. COMP + HALL 37. AC LONG FX 38. AC SLAP ROOM 39. AC PONG FX 40. AC FLANGE 41. AC WIDE Advanced Guitar - These settings can be accessed by pressing and holding any of the BLUE LED soft buttons while on the guitar effects page. There are 3 pages of Advanced Guitar settings where you can edit uMod, Reverb and Delay styles, EQ, Compression, Tempo and Speaker Rolloff.
Effects - Guitar cont. ff Page 2 Treble - Controls the amount of high frequency boost or cut. The EQ point and width (Q) changes between amp styles to reflect their real-world operation. Bass - Controls the amount of low frequency boost or cut. The EQ point and width (Q) changes between amp styles to reflect their real-world operation. Mid - Controls the amount of mid frequency boost or cut. Mid Freq- Controls the specific frequency that the Mid control affects.
Mix Enters the Mix window, where various levels within the VoiceLive Play GTX can be adjusted. The mix controls affect the main output. There are 6 parameters: Harmony – Controls the overall level of all voice generated effects like Harmony and Double. Guitar Level - Adjusts the output level of the guitar. This control is also dependent on the Guitar Input level, set in the Setup screen. Out Level - Controls the overall output level of the VoiceLive Play GTX.
Practice The practice screen gives you valuable feedback about your pitch while you sing. In fact, the stats monitor runs continuously as you use the VoiceLive Play GTX and will give you an up to the minute record of how accurately you’ve been singing. After using the practice tool for some time, you can use the information it gathers to help you focus on improving specific areas of your vocal performances.
Troubleshooting Sometimes, things just aren’t working the way you expect them to. Here are a few things to keep an eye on. Looping Tips When it comes to looping, practice is the key.You might notice that your loops have a small gap between the end of the phrase and when the loop restarts. This happens when you mis-time pressing the PLAY/REC/O-DUB button. Pay careful attention to co-ordinating your button press to the down beat, so that the loop beginning and end is seamless.
Troubleshooting cont. I’m singing, but I can’t hear anything! - Make sure you’ve turned up the input gain, so that the INPUT LED is lighting green. - Have you plugged in your headphones or connected to a P.A.? - Is the P.A. turned on, connected to its speakers and recieving signal? If not, check your P.A. manual to make sure everything is set up correctly.
Troubleshooting cont. VoiceSupport is a bit confusing, where can I learn more about it? - Go to: http://www.tc-helicon.com/products/voicesupport/support/ I’ve been using this thing for a while now, but I’m not famous! - You will become famous for your singing... tomorrow. For any other issues, check our FAQ at: http://tcsupport.custhelp.com/ If you still haven’t found what you’re looking for: http://www.tc-helicon.
