TC Helicon Voiceworks vs Focusrite Voicemaster Pro

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pdaniels

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So I'm going to be able to afford a channel strip/Voice processor in a few weeks, to replace my pathetic Art Tube Pro. Please don't laugh.

I want something that will give me very professional results paired with my C1. So I need a great preamp, compressor, and EQ, and whatever other goodies I can get in it too. I do R&B/pop/house music, so I think an uncolored preamp would be best (I could be wrong?). Male voice.

It should be noted here that my only local pro audio store doesn't seem to carry anything, and though they will special order me whatever I want, I have to shell out cash for it before they will order it, and they'll give me a hard time about returning it if I don't like it (because it was special ordered). I think they keep my original deposit(?).

So I'm stuck reading reviews on the web trying to find the magical box.

The one that I think will probably sound best is the Focusrite Voicemaster Pro. Lots and lots of good reviews.

But I am intrigued by the TC Helicon Voiceworks, which has Preamp, EQ, Comp/Gate, Reverb/Delay, AND 4-part harmony generation AND pitch correction--not that I need it. ;)

It seems that the Voiceworks is so new that nobody has used it, and no magazines/pro audio sites have reviewed it. So while I am fairly confident that the harmony and pitch correction will be great, how will it sound just as a channel strip, perhaps compared to the Voicemaster? Has anybody used/bought this unit, and if so, does it hold its own in terms of the sound of just the preamp, eq, and comp compared to other channel strips in this range (<$700)?

If it does, then HOT DAMN!!! :) :) :)

http://www.tc-helicon.tc/Default.asp?Id=537
 
Focusrite

I own a voice master pro. I cannot tell you if I prefer the VMPro or the TC Helicon Voiceworks cuz I never tried the unit.

All I can tell you is that I appreciate the VMPro. I also own a C1. The VMPro is the only outboard preamp I have. My 01V as fairly decent preamps, at least, cleaner than the Mackie 24-4 VLZ I use to have. When I tried the VMPro for the first time (it was with the C1 :)) I was discovering a new world! Wow! I spend about an hour expirementing the unit -the EQ, Vintage Harmonic, Tube Sound, etc. well, I was happy!

Then I tried my GrooveTube AM62 Tube mic. Once again, wow! Never heard that clarity before.

Next step was a SM57 on a snare. ....and guess what? wow!! hehe. An in-your-face snare sound. And the compressor is basic, but works as it should.

Ok enough, this post is useless anyway cuz I didnt heard the TC Voiceworks. :)
 
Go to the store, play with them both. Then you will know.....
 
Thanks guys
Middleman, I would go try them out at the store, except that the store doesn't have either of them. They have to special order them in for me, and I have to pay a non-refundable deposit for them to do that. I'm in Canada. And not big-city Canada.

So I guess what I am really asking is: Has anybody out there had any experience with the Voiceworks unit that they can share with me?
 
Sorry about that Canada. Living here in California we have more people than you have trees. I assumed everyone must have a GC within a few miles. That's a tough one.

All I can do is reiterate what Kryogh said. The Voicemaster Pro is a great peice of gear that will put you one step closer to a pro sound but without breaking the bank.

TC has a free disk they will send you to hear their unit. You can find it here. http://www.tc-helicon.tc/

There is also a review here. http://www.avartists.com/vocal_tech.html

The TC product has an autotune built in which is neat. However, its all gonna come down to the sound of the mic pre. If that isn't in the ball park then compressing, EQing etc is not going to matter much if you start out with a bad sound.
 
TC Helicon Gear

I recently purchaced a TC Vioce Prism Plus (the same as the origional Voice Prism with the Voice Craft Upgrade Card) for $960. While I was waiting for that to arrive, they gave me a Voice Works unit to try it out. After using the voice works for about an hour, I was impressed. The only thing that I didn't like about it was the controls. The whole double click the button and scroll through the menu with the arrow keys just didn't seem very "user friendly". Also, I'd prefer the mic input on the front of the unit so I don't have to go around the back of the cabinet to change cables around. Aside from that, I think it was easier to get the results I was looking for with the Vioce Works then it was with the Voice Prism. I tried setting it up in both midi and non-midi modes and it sounded great. The preamp sounded really clean with no noticable noise. I didn't try the fx section since I recorded to disk and then ran it through a separate processor so that I could record it once and then play with the fx until it sounded just right. In the end, both the Voice Prism and the Voice Works sounded great and got the project done.
 
Thanks guys!
Middleman, I saw that review too, and got all excited, until I read it. They honestly don't even mention the Voiceworks in it! It only seems to be about the VoicePrismPlus. They did say there are more articles coming, so I'll have to keep an eye there.

And that was a great suggestion about the CD. I ordered that; now I just have to wait until it gets here. I have to say I'm a little sceptical about the CD, though--I mean, after being professionally mastered, will their demos really give me a sense of what the unit sounds like? And who knows if the recordings were even made with the same pre/effects on the unit--they could have just used the Works as an effect for a different voice processor. Which gives me an (expensive) idea... :(

I want the new Joemeek MC3 when it comes out. I suppose I could use that as my voice channel, and just patch into the Voiceworks Aux-in for the autotune and harmony (and maybe reverb/delay). I could do the same with the Voicemaster, too. This is starting to get way more expensive...

Agds850 thanks for your imput. I don't doubt that the preamp is pretty good; I just want to ensure I can cut professional-level vocals with it.

One more thing: I read in a few places that the Voicemaster's pre is good but "dark" sounding. Should I be worried?
 
"One more thing: I read in a few places that the Voicemaster's pre is good but "dark" sounding. Should I be worried?"

I would not classify it as dark, in fact it is much more clear and open than my Soundcraft mixer or the DMP3. More high end and musical sounding. Notes just seem to linger and resonate smoother. So dark is not what I would classify it.
 
pdaniels,
If you decide to go with the voicemaster pro (which I would have no problem recomending), I would check out saved by technology
http://www.savedbytechnology.com/
(look under featured products, then micpreamps)

It is going for $854 Canadian. Since your outside of Ontario, you only pay 7% gst instead of the full tax you would pay if you ordered in through the states.

Good luck with your discision.
 
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One suggestion, I have not tried the Voiceworks. But, I think that for all the effects it has it may not be a great pre-amp. More money spent on 100 features = less money spent on building a great pre-amp. I am not saying the pre-amp is good or bad. I do know that it costs bucks to add each feature to any product. This just takes away from the pre-amp design and quality components.
 
Thanks again for the comments! :) :) :)

I checked the "savedbytechnology" site, and I just might start shoppong there. At least I'll save being screwed by the Government in duties for importing from the states!

But do they ship??? I didn't see any way to "add to cart" on the site, and NO mention of shipping at all!

One more preamp I just came across that again doesn't seem to have any reviews or much feedback is the Roland MMP-2. OK, so I searched this BB and found a few rave reviews. Then I realized that all those reviews and comments were posted by the same person, so not really a definite answer.

Has anybody used/tried this unit? any thoughts? The write-ups I've seen for this product have promised that Roland will be adding upgrade plugins, but I've searched the Roland sight and haven't found any info on that. Is Roland providing any support for this?

As you can probably tell, I'm drawn to "cool" stuff. But to seriously consider it, it MUST be based on good sound, or else it's just going to end up being an expensive toy.

And who needs another one of those? :(
 
Yes they ship. Just don't bother emailing them (they don't respond to emails well) Just call them and order.
 
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