Don, thanks for finding the tutorial. It definitely shows the flexibility of the 970 VH2. My personal experience has been pretty positive with it. I’ve had occasional notes flipping to other chord notes...which is the problem I believe Donny talks about. Overall...the quality of the individual voices seems pretty realistic.

I’ve had many TC units over the years...some sounded better than others. Some of the TC units seem to have a artificial synthy quality to them. I noticed it on Steve Mcnally’s demo of the 4X. Anyway...just my 2 cents.

We can talk about VH till we are blue in the face, ...it has to be heard to evaluate it's quality and that is something you rarely if ever HEAR for ourselves on SZ or otherwise..

From my perspective, VH should always be used sparingly, and not as an upfront voice that is equal to or greater than the lead vocals.

I have recorded several songs using VH, mostly on the bridge or in short segments and for the most part, it just adds to the performance. I've heard it used by others, mostly on other forums, and a significant number of those performances over utilized this feature.

The VH on the S-950, S-970 and Genos, IMO, are very good when set up properly. The Harmony-M doesn't require much in the way of setup, so the NON-Techies tend to think this makes those vocal processors better, which, IMO, is really not the case.

Good luck,

Gary

I agree with Gary .... sorta. YAMAHA harmonizers should be behind the lead voice (because they can't compete with the original signal), and only one above with proper compression to smooth it out. It's not the worst sound, but I could never endorse it.
On the bright side - with TC harmonizers, you can actually feature the extra voices, in equal levels as the lead (when called for). An Everly Bros tune needs both voices to be the same volume. No one is singing "backup" in that duo. Many of you know that I use the harmonizer as a "signature" sound to my shows, and I like to think I don't over use it. I DO however, use it A LOT. I feature Carpenter-like treatments, and Mills Bros bounces all night long.
There is an art to singing like you're in a vocal group, and it's not a s simple as hitting the "on" button. Vocal groups, like the Lettermen had very plain, non distinguishable voices, and sang with no vibrato, or flash. The simpler, the better when blending 3 or 4 voices together.
The biggest mistake I hear in novice attempts is to just turn it on, and leave it on ... even in a chorus that features harmony, sometimes the backups drop out on certain words ... like "a' and "the" ... little words. I'd be happy to discuss the techniques that I've found to work best with anyone who'd like to call. I just hate typing these diatribes. 215-284-1328
Ciao!

Yes, what Dave said.

Thanks, Everyone and Sir Donald Mason:

Very enlightening and informative. Advice from experts is always a good thing.

All the best, ----Dave Rice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTI3WnD6qk0&feature=share

I was mistaken regarding Steve’s VH demo on the 4X. His voice may not be the strongest, but the Onboard TC vocal harmony is pretty impressive.

Ditto ditto ditto to UD's post,....Let's not forget you have to know how to sing first and foremost as you get out of it what you put into your vocals & vocal harmony, no workarounds or substitute for that. Using it correctly & when to use it & trigger it is essential as Uncle Dave mentioned above is imperative while playing & ultimately using it as if there were professional background singers behind you is an art form all in itself too. I learned from the Master (Uncle Dave) & will never forget the lessons I was taught watching him perform on stage many many times & will always be grateful for that and so much more. Vocal Harmony is to be taken as serious as is playing your keyboard, if you cant do that don't even use it & embarrass yourself in front of an audience they deserve only the best.. Good Luck.

By coincidence, last night I stopped to visit with a couple seated at a table near me. The man asked how I achieved the background singers. I explained to him that it was a device that followed my chords, sampled my voice and reproduced it in the harmonies I pre-selected.
He looked at his wife and said, "See I TOLD you I heard multiple voices, they are recorded ahead of time, like he said."
You can't win, but at least they liked it.

Don, was that the harmony m or 970 vh2? Just curious.