Thanx Joe for the truth.....

You guys all rock!!!!

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God Bless,
Mikey

www.mikeymaestro.com
www.balloonanimal.com
www.1000colorcards.com

i have used the PLG100VH board (the same harmoniser thats in the Tyros/PSR series) in my s90es, i have used the TC-Helicon one on the pa1x pro, and the harmonizer on the sd1+...far and away (and i mean daylight second!) is the TC-Helicon unit found in the PA series, the only one that remotely comes close is the ketron harmonizer.i use the harmoniser both playing live chords and pre-programmed(by me) harmony tracks in midi files..no question TC Helicon wins everytime...( i demoed the new digitech vocalist II a while ago, and its useable but not in the same league either) sorry to rain on the yamaha/and others parade, its just my opinion on the available harmonisers i have actually used/tried.
cheers
PS just wanted to add FWIW!!

[This message has been edited by miden (edited 09-27-2007).]

Zuki, I'm sure that you know that the VP-550 is a stand-alone keyboard VH. I've owned one for some time now (as do many tour groups) and it is one of the most fun and potentially useful tools I've ever owned, particularly if you're a lousy singer like me. The one thing that might be inconvenient for some people, is that is does not have built-in transposition. If this is a real problem for you, you can always midi it to another keyboard that does.

I can't answer you question definitively because I'm not familiar with the G70's harmonizer, but I suspect the answer is no, as it would be diffcult to duplicate all the functionality of the VP550 inside of an arranger. It's just too purpose-built.

Even I can lay down some reasonable background vocal tracks as you can literally "talk" the words or be slightly off pitch, or sing in a monotone. You could really wow a crowd with it, though.

chas

Zuki,

Much of the above information is right on the money. The vast majority of onboard harmonizers provide marginal harmony quality at best and must be fine tuned to achieve this. That's why I swithced to the Digitech VR when it first came out and never looked back. Unfortunately, this processor is no longer made.

One of the problems with performers using vocal harmonizers is overkill. They tend to use it as a lead voice instead of harmony accompaniament, which is the use for it is intended and designed for. And, as DNJ stated, it's an artform in itself. You cannot expect to sing, hit a switch and have beautiful harmony mysteriously appear--it just don't happen that way. You need to set the system up for you, fine tune it to the Nth degree, save the settings, and practice using lots of vocal control. The trigger mechanism is quite complex, sensitive to tiny quirks, and without voice control it's easy to end up with lousy results.

Vocal harmony processors can, and often do, add a lot to the routine of a good performer. I've heard UD live using his Digitech VR years ago and the results were amazing. Of course, his right hand chording is amazing as well. (I didn't know humans had that many fingers on one hand! ) Throughout his performance the vocals were crisp, clear and distinct, and harmony was just a small part of his overall performance.

The bottom line: There is no magic bullet, magic black box, or magic anything else to create quality vocal harmonies. Instead, it's the combination of setting up your keyboard's vocal processor, plus individual singing and playing ability. Eliminate any one of those components and the best equipment in the world won't make a bit of difference.

Good Luck,

Gary

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Travlin' Easy

THE GOSPEL. THE END.

And with the "playing" component, it's true of keyboards as well (arranger or otherwise).