How much can a well programmed vocaliser cover up when people have bad vocals and/or sing a lot out of tune?

And does the Korg pa4x do a better job at this then the Yamaha T5...


( yeah, you probably guessed it by now, i started singing, but i am nit really happy with my results...)

Bacus, it’s your first try. If you enjoy singing, keep going, it does get better.

John C.

Man, not many people like listening to themselves. Get friends to listen. Then, work on improvements.

It works!


R.

can you post a sample of you singing so we can better offer some advice?...
cover up ain't gonna cut it no matter what VH you use, ...either your a singer and a player or your not, it's not easy but it can be done with much determination and believing in your abilities to sing in front of people,......but with years of experience and knowledge you can get better at it if you have a good foundation to start with....some never get there no matter how long they try & just remain a player not a singer..

If I learned to sing, trust me, ANYBODY can. A little reverb and e.q. does go a long way to help. I can't stand myself without it. After 50 years of trying I've gotten where I can tolerate hearing my voice now, but not "naked".
I find the Korg processor much easier to work with, as it has the T.C. Helicon software that automatically analyses your voice and optimizes the e.q., and compression settings.

Fx and VH can actually accentuate the problem. Use sparingly.
Eddie

Eddie is right. I've always had a good singing and speaking voice, and over the years have been able to make a few bucks with my vocal abilities, including doing voice-overs for car commercials and doing broadcast news on radio and TV. However, when I listened to myself singing and recorded my vocals, I was not happy about what I heard. I took my wife's advice and went to a community college and took a course taught by a well known, local jazz singer. She was fantastic, she taught me how to properly breathe while singing, and put a lot of emphasis on diction. The course lasted six weeks, two 1-hour sessions weekly, and a final where you sang to an audience of college kids and professors, either while playing an instrument or with backing tracks. I opted to do MY Way, which I felt was a real challenge to my vocal range, and got a standing ovation. I played it on a PSR-500 keyboard, which is probably now considered an antique. Believe me, it really made a huge difference in my vocal quality and was well worth the $120 I shelled out for the course.

Now, there are some folks who absolutely, positively cannot sing and never will be able to sing. However, those individuals are usually tone deaf as well, which would preclude any musician on this forum. When I first met Don Mason, he said he was NOT a good singer, and only did so because the singer in a band he worked with didn't show up one night. He has a unique vocal quality, a bit of a husky voice, one that would work great as a blues singer, and he does extremely well on many ballads that I have heard him perform. He will be the first to tell you, though, that he had to work very hard and long to perfect his vocals. There are very few of us that are born with a good singing voice, and just about every famous singer out there has had some kind of vocal training in order to make it to the top. When I was in Nashville many years ago, there was a singing coach there that was considered the best of the best, and her list of students included Elvis, Streisand, and a host of country greats.

As Donny said, please post a short vocal recording here so we can properly evaluate what we hear, and provide you with some guidance toward perfection.

Good luck, and I look forward to hearing you sing,

Gary

Forget the processors till you find your voice. By that I mean till your comfortable singing. Same as Gary did I Took lessons with a former NYC Opera singer to get the fundamentals. Should of stayed with her longer, she was great. Learn breathing, posture, diction , and by all means open your mouth and "smile" and keep your head up. Really, I used to teach kids and the smile thing and wide open mouth will focus and project your voice. Sinatra use to do long tones to get his breathing under control while doing this
But again find a teacher at least for the basics. Too much to go over here but keep working, you have a good ear so it will come.

Years ago, a stalwart member of this board advised me to use Vocal Harmony as little as possible. I was guilty of doing my best to cover up my vocals. I had no vocal training and limited playing ability on my old Yamaha PSR-2000. Another friend uses what I call the "echo effect" on most of his vocals and seldom sings without that feature in support.

Sibilance is my worst fear and I worked very hard to overcome it but I am not a "natural singer" and I still struggle with sibilant endings in lines, verses and choruses. For the most part, I sing without VH or the "Echo Effect" and I believe I have improved a great deal from when I began. To be clear, when I write and record a song I believe has potential, I have a pro demo made after sharing my feeble attempt with the demo artist. (At least they know how I attempted to create the song.)

As a songwriter, I realize the odds of success, no matter how good the song may be, is a real crap shoot. Most big labels have their own cadre of writers and singers and it is a massive undertaking to attempt to break through the gate guards.

Thanks, Don Mason, for your sage advice. I know Vocal Harmonizers have come a long way and keep my eyes peeled, looking for the best unit at the most reasonable compromise between quality and price. This segment of the SynthZone is invaluable to me as a resource because so many of you make a living doing "cover songs" in bars and restaurants... and many sing the covers better than the original hit song artist.

I salute you Arranger Keyboard Performers for your pioneering spirit, willingness to share techniques, and to provide meaningful and tactful critiques every now and then. You are my heroes. ----Dave Rice (ASCAP) Bowstring Music Publishing

Thanks for all the great advice... And even more so for the encouragement.

Started with a vocal analyzer app on my ipad, that tells me if i sing the correct notes... It allows me to correct my pitch... Also wearing an headset seems to help a lot...

Lets see where this leads to, if i can aprove some more, i might take singing lessons..