I am considering delving into the world of vocal harmonizers ... can anyone give me a brief description of how they work ( during live play, and using sequenced tunes (I've got a kn6000)..... also if I could get some info on price ranges, features etc.
The vocals I would look for harmony on are mostly Lionel Ritchie, Michael Franks, Garth Brooks, Neil Diamond, Kenny Rogers, some 50s, 60s .... that type of stuff....
thnx,
t.

Hi Tony,
think of technichord, and its the same thing.

it measures the pitch of your singing and adds thirds etc depending on the midi information being received from the auto chord information, or midi file chord notes in various ways.

the section on how to use (improve?) the built-in harmoniser in the book explains the ways to use it, with midis, sequences and playing live, and is just as applicable to external equipment.

once your singing is digitised, lots of pitch shifting and bending tricks can be applied, the sky's the limit depending on how much you want to spend.

Reasonable quality can be got from around £250-£300?

Alec

[This message has been edited by technicsplayer (edited 02-06-2002).]

Tony,

For live performance, I use (with the KN5000) and highy recommend the Digitech Vocalist Workstation EX. (approx $425 US dollars).
http://www.digitech.com/products/productpgs/vws.htm

The digitech harmonizer sound quality and features are far superior to the pathetic sounding one included in the KN6500/6000. The Digitech unit will sit conveniently on top of my KN5000 keyboard (though it does cover up the right speaker) for quick access during live performance. I really like the convenient sliders which make quick lead/harmony balance changes easy.

Another option (abeit more expensive) is the Voice Prism by TC Helicon. I checked it out at the NAMM show and it sounds even better than the Digitech and offers even more fantastic featues.
http://www.tc-helicon.tc

I think the Voice Prism is perfectly suited for studio work, not live performance though, as it's a rack mount type unit (so can't easily sit on top of the KN keyboard (for easy access) and I would find the tiny knobs hard to access while performing live. Still, it's a terrific unit which I won't mind owning myself.

- Scott
http://scottyee.com

Scott and technicsplayer ..... thanks for the responses.... I've heard of the digitech before ... I assume that when playing live you can control on/off through a foot switch? ... or does it have to be preprogrammed? .... and switching from 2 part to four part can be accomplished while playing live also?
thnx mch,
t.

Tony, all the above scenerios you listed (including foot switch control) are supported on the Digitech Vocalist Workstation. - Scott