HI gang. I found myself in an interesting predicament last night. I Used my new(ish) 4x for the second time since I got it from Don Mason, and I started having a strange issue with the vocal processor. Mind you, I'm very well versed in harmonizers, and TC products, especially. Here's the issue ...
It was business as usual for most of the night, but occasionally, the harmonizer turned on/off with no warning, and no trigger from the assigned foot switch. I tried to trouble shoot wires, change foot switches; all the usual methods to put out a fire on the job, but the problem persisted. After exhausting all the mechanical "fixes" that I knew, I dove into the voice processor, itself.
When I tested it at home, I thought the EQ sounded ok, so I didn't change anything before taking it on the job. I wrote my needed presets, and took it to work.
Well, it seems that Don likes the adaptive compressor, and those settings were squashing my mic signal in such a way that the signal didn't get to the harmonizer at a steady rate. This was the entire issue - I turned off the compressor, and the mic pre works as it should. Whew ... I was starting to get nervous.
Compression is a tricky area, and it's very sensitive to small changes in signal strength. I use it in my studio, but hardly ever on stage. My vocal style is very dramatic, and changes a lot, so it's best for me to use my breath control, and mic technique to keep my sound velvety smooth. The electronics help even out many voices, but for a singer who uses a wide dynamic range, it can be a nightmare. (it WAS for me!)
The adaptive EQ and compression can be a good thing for many users. I'm not poo-pooing it at all. I just wanted to put this out there incase anyone had similar troubles trying to get a steady operation from their mic, and didn't know where to turn.
'sall guud now.
So, anyone want to sell me the music rack that you don't use? Korg wants an arm and a leg for a new one!
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