• Registered: 2012-02-23
  • Posts: 16

Topic: [VOICELIVE PLAY] Strange glitches while singing

HI, this is my first post!
(i'm writing from rome, so be patience with my english^_^)
i've bought this awesome unit, voicelive play, one week ago and i'm so happy with it, as i was in past with the voicetone line of pedals; but yesterday, in a rehearsal situation (i sing in a -loud- rock band), i experimented some strange glitches during my performance (no harmonizer, no doubler engaged); pitch correction was set to 33%, but i don't think this was the problem, because the artifacts were present randomly, with high or low background noise. i thought "maybe it's the gate", but disengaging the gate didn't solve the problem. so the question is: what is happening? (i sing with an sm58, maybe it's the microphone) i didn't try to disengage the pitch correction, but i hope this wasn't the problem for obvious reasons... also global key was set to off.
thank you!

  • From: Victoria, BC
  • Registered: 2011-07-25
  • Posts: 2,086

Re: [VOICELIVE PLAY] Strange glitches while singing

Hi guzgurvic,

The most common reason for "glitches" "warbles" etc. is mic bleed. Essentially the system is listening for what it thinks is a "voice" and then applying processing to it.

There's a few things you can do to help:

1. Pay close attention to your monitor location/position in relation to your mic. Move them around to see if you can find a place where they bleed less.
2. Look at where you're mic is, relative to the guitar/keyboard/bass amps and instruments. Moving away from loud sources of notes can help.
3. Work with the Gate on, so you can eliminate some input at lower levels or when you're not singing.
4. Turn off Pitch Cor Amt in Setup. Any pitch correction, chromatic or not, is looking for a note to try and move you towards. The more mic bleed it hears, the more it will try to correct the non-vocal sounds.
5. Try inverting the phase of your monitors. I have a short XLR cable that simply reverses pins 2+3 (or whichever pins are not the ground). I plug it between the monitor input and the feed coming from the board. When the signal is phase inverted from what's entering the mic, it can partially cancel bleed.
6. Turn the band down.
7. Try a different mic with more rejection. Users here can likely offer some suggestions for which mics work best for them.

The issue is something that's unfortunately unavoidable with current technology, but most of our users go through a bit of trial and error to find a compromise that works for them.

Hope that helps!

Craig

Craig @ TC-Helicon's Website

  • Registered: 2012-02-23
  • Posts: 16

Re: [VOICELIVE PLAY] Strange glitches while singing

first of all, thanks for your reply!^_^
i'll try to follow these advices, i suspect that the problem is my mic position, near the drum's crash; by the way the strange thing is that with the voicetone correct i've never had this kind of problem (with autotune engaged); maybe it's not the pitch correction, anyhow i'll keep searching for a solution

  • Registered: 2012-02-23
  • Posts: 16

Re: [VOICELIVE PLAY] Strange glitches while singing

ok, sm58 sold. audix om-7 incoming. i'll post my feedback soon^_^

  • Registered: 2010-12-15
  • Posts: 8

Re: [VOICELIVE PLAY] Strange glitches while singing

HELLO! I had exactly the same problem and sing in a covers band. I put the eq to the "more comp" setting and still getting alot of bleed from the band when I am not singing. I use in ear monitoring too so really hear it!

I did email TC about this and if there was a way to increase the noise gate. I did previously use a Digitech 300 for years after trying lots of pedals and that had a noise gate you could tweak and I had a good balance...sorry back to my point so TC replied nothing they could do but maybe I could get a separate noise gate or the desk would have one. Well our desk does not...so stuck.

TC Helicon could you possible put an update to tweak the noise gate plssssss for all us singers in bands? smile

  • From: Charleston, SC
  • Registered: 2008-08-05
  • Posts: 345

Re: [VOICELIVE PLAY] Strange glitches while singing

gibby, more comp is only going to cause MORE problems for you. That would make the mice MORE sensitive to background noise. It's be better to use no comp and just gate...or more and faster gate, but i don't think you can set the gate parameters, as it is an auto gate.

roxville's Website

  • Registered: 2010-12-15
  • Posts: 8

Re: [VOICELIVE PLAY] Strange glitches while singing

Thank you Roxville, I guess I may have to look for a sep noise gate?! I did email TC and ask would they consider doing a software update enabling users to tweak the amount of the noise gate. It is a fixed level on the voicelive play sadly not auto and is with the band very low! As the band pickup and bleed when I am not singing/singing and when I try put my volume up it feedbacks sad

  • From: Vienna, Georgia - nearly ;)
  • Registered: 2012-02-14
  • Posts: 44

Re: [VOICELIVE PLAY] Strange glitches while singing

guzgurevic wrote:

ok, sm58 sold. audix om-7 incoming. i'll post my feedback soon^_^

That's what I did. I mean, I did not sell the SM58, but I use the OM 7 now. wink

It has MUCH less feedback. Unbelievable!

Last but not least one can here, that the technology is some 30 years newer: it sounds much more brilliant. For my ears: better.

  • From: Charleston, SC
  • Registered: 2008-08-05
  • Posts: 345

Re: [VOICELIVE PLAY] Strange glitches while singing

I think the TCH  MP-70, which can be gotten for VERY little money now (I think they discoed it), or the MP-75 have at least as good rejection as the Audix mics do. I have an OM5, and it works fairly well. I mean, you would think TCH tailored the sound of their mics to work as well with their other products as possible.

My local GC or other music stores here don't carry any TCH products at all, so I have never heard or tested the mics. But with the confidence I have in their other products, I'm on the verge of ordering maybe even a couple of MP-70's.

Last edited by roxville (2012-02-25 21:49:13)

roxville's Website

  • Registered: 2012-02-23
  • Posts: 16

Re: [VOICELIVE PLAY] Strange glitches while singing

ok, i want to share my experience with you, and the winner is... AUDIX OM-7! really, if you are experiencing warbles or artifacts pick one of these superb mics (not only for the excellent noise rejection but also for the sound quality... amazing!!!), tonight i played in the same situation, with the same volume,ecc.. i've only changed microphone and the tc worked flawlessy (YEAHH!).

  • Registered: 2012-02-23
  • Posts: 16

Re: [VOICELIVE PLAY] Strange glitches while singing

Sound Zero wrote:
guzgurevic wrote:

ok, sm58 sold. audix om-7 incoming. i'll post my feedback soon^_^

That's what I did. I mean, I did not sell the SM58, but I use the OM 7 now. wink

It has MUCH less feedback. Unbelievable!

Last but not least one can here, that the technology is some 30 years newer: it sounds much more brilliant. For my ears: better.

yes, now i know you're right!^_^