Hi,

I am very impress with the Roland VP-550 vocal harmonizer. I just wonder…Roland G70 and Roland Discover 5 share the same Vocal Harmonizer engine? If not, how would you grade them and compare to the Roland VP-550.

Gosh…I love this Roland VP-550 keyboard but I think it is over price for this one function.

I would like to hear your opinion. Thanks.

Sincerely,

coca

Roland makes some of the very best Vocal harmonizers for sure in keyboards I personally loved the D5 & G70 models for sure among the best no doubt......Im sure Chas can enlighten you on the VP550 unit I think he owns one....may I ask why you think a professional unit like the VP550 overpriced? Vocal harmony is a art form in its own right and must be mastered very seriously in its uses or it will certainly sound inferior.

Hi Dnj,

In compare to a 3rd party unit (digitech or TC Electronics) I think the Roland VP-550 is overprice. Secondly, I am not a professional player...just a home hobbiest player, I can afford to buy new gear every month or so My wife will kill me

coca

http://www.tc-helicon.com/VoiceToneHarmonyM.asp

Coca, if you're under a death threat from your wife (and a lot of these guys are ), AND a home user, then it may be a little hard to justify. I think something like Donny is proposing might make more fiscal sense. On the other hand, it's one of the most fun keyboards I've ever owned and it sounds great. I have an older digitech and a TC Helicon Voice Prism and neither one even comes close (in my opinion). In addition to the usual vocal processing, it also has decent strings, choirs, and a great 'jazz scat' voice that's suitable as a standalone solo voice.

It's not a question of whether you'll like it (you will); it's a question of whether you feel you can cost-justify it for home use (home studio excepted).

chas

Hi Cgile,

How would you compare the VP-550 to the G70 vocal harmonizers? Is the G70 even come close the VP-550?

coca

The VP550 is a vocoder..The G70 includes a vocoder as well as a legitimate harmonizer..The VP550 is not a true harmonizer..

Don't know what you've been smoking, Fran, but since I've actually OWNED one for the last year or more, I think that I can safely say that it is a harmonizer. I don't know what a 'true' harmonizer is but I do know that it will gave you as many notes of harmony (in a variety of voices) as you can play and then layer that with an equal number of either strings, choirs/choruses, or other vocal-type voices. If that's not a harmonizer, I don't know what Fran's definition of one is. However, feel free to defer to whomever you view as the 'expert' on this particular keyboard. BTW, the two (2) Vocoder voices are just two of the voices available to the vocal processor. Man, the BS continues to fly.

chas

BTW, Coca. I don't know how long you've been a member but you will find that in any comparison of features between the G70 and ANYTHING ELSE, Fran will immediately claim superiority for the G70. I think common sense would dictate that a keyboard with a dedicated function is probably going to be somewhat superior to a keyboard with a different primary function and (vocal processing) as just one of many aux. features. You decide.

chas

Chas, of course I responded..He asked the comparison to the G70...What should I have done..respond to say a S900...

I answered the question accurately..If you do not realize your VP550[I do like it] is a vocoder and not a vocal harmonist..you need to get out more..
Go play a DisCover5 or a G70..you will see the full features of a vocal harmonist..not just vocoder features..

The G70 will do most of what the VP550 can do..but the VP550 can not touch the full benefits of the G70 harmonist..
The VP550 can not analyze chords from SMF's or arranger mode and intelligently harmonize to more than 80 different presets..

All with complete edits available..

The G70 also has auto pitch correction..

Hopefully I have shown you why I said the G70 has a "true" harmonizer..

On a side note the Roland harmonist do a great job analyzing the chord structure from SMF's...The other harmonizers you mentioned[and own]..do not...

Fran... can you explain a little more about Auto Pitch Correction?

I have always thought this is like Auto-Tune... You sing, and the harmonizer corrects your pitch, either to the closest half-step, or to a specific scale.

But from reading the manual, I think it refers to correcting your pitch to a solo MIDI track, so you have to sing EXACTLY what the track does, in exactly the same rhythm, or bad things can happen. Do I have this right, or is there a way to allow you to sing freely, but still have pitch correction applied?

Pitch correction can be in realtime..If you are way out of pitch often it creates some artifacts[noticeable to me]..It isn't something that I would use, but it does work..

I have recently been having fun using the Tenor voice...It actually sounds legitimate..

Most folks don't know that each of the special voices have edits that can change the formant..and actually can become very realistic..