With regards to vocal harmonizing, I've tried Waves Harmony, Antares Autotune Pro X, Melodyne and a host of obscure free plugins, but NOTHING seems to come close in turns of realism using hardware like for instance the TC Helicon Woiceworks (2003!) even the Yamaha Tyros 4 harmonizer sounds convincing both with midi chord detection, and pitch correction within a set scale. Why can't modern software seem to deliver?

 

Last edited: Jan 20, 2024

Why Helicon isn't available in a vst is beyond me.

But, I guess it's not terribly expensive and can't be pirated lol I wonder if someone has ever tried to hack one and get the source code they run...

 

You should also try Eventide solution.

 

Well, I'm old school... I think artificial harmony sounds artificial but that's an acceptable sound in modern music.

My solution is usually construct harmonies with Melodyne. More work but better results imho.

 

I can't stand the sound of artificial harmony so just sing them myself.

 

there's only one peice of hardware that you need to get perfectly convincing vocal harmonies everytime..

a mic

 

The only time I do fake ones is if it's sort of that wall of harmony in the background, it will be mixed low and no one is willing to pay for it being done the right way...

 

BOOM... cannot beat real singers. Even better if they naturally sing in tune and nobody uses autotune.
You cannot get Joe Cocker's backing singer sounds with artificially induced harmony. Voicings, yes, minor fluctuations no, because they weren't perfect.

That said, you can get some interesting sounds with artificial harmonies that real singers do not sing.

 

Creating a polyphonic choir from a single take is easy with any type of hardware harmonizer or even with plugins such as autotune, melodyne etc.. Unfortunately, when you harmonize the same recording, the choir sounds artificial, this is because there are those micro differences that come out when singing with real singers at the same time. When I have only one take of vocals and I need to transform the hook into a chorus, this is my workflow: I take the different repetitions of the hook lyrics and stack them in sync: first track first repetition, second track second repetition, etc..(a kind of round robin): after that, I start to harmonize each one with melodyne.
Example:



In this song, the singer sings the same phrase 6 times: I offset and stacked the tracks and therefore the phrases will never be identical. In this way, each track sings the same lyric but it is no longer the exact same take

I don't know if I managed to explain it in words, maybe it would be easier to do a video tutorial

 

No, we get it

 

Absolutely. As an effect, I don't mind that at all, though as a replacement not one bit.

 

Thanks everyone, I agree that virtual harmony is not for everyone, but you can't deny its usefulness for a singer in a live situation. Not sure this debate answered the original hardware vs software question though. For instance, Waves Harmony is so flexible and powerful but the chipmunk sound, as noted by me and some commenters on the YouTube promo, can't seem to compete with the above-mentioned hardware alternatives. Perhaps the software approach may be a compromise for real-time performance compared to dedicated hardware processors, and AI might be the solution.

 

Last edited: Jan 22, 2024

If you can afford it , I say use both software and hardware. So , just my 2cents here , i have a
"TC Helicon Voicelive rack mount unit"- ( with the Brick foot switch box ); this thing is AMAZING !!
Of course using it in the studio requires a bit of understanding on routing it properly , but it is
great for all vocal doubles , harmonies , octave stuff and pitch correction as well.

have a look here for some specs and pricing .......
https://reverb.com/p/tc-helicon-voi...-Shop_unpaid&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google

And also , using Antares Softies as well , so my combinations are sweet and endless !!

 

Thanks for the tip Oon3 I saw one of these on Reverb last week and it disappeared, then after your posting, I found and bought the SAME one on eBay today for 150 Australian dollars, but it looks like it fell off the back of a truck! Fingers crossed it works ok. Here it is on eBay: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/296179252453?hash=item44f5a8bce5:g:d10AAOSwb8tlrb5K

 

Hey , good for you !! ya know ya can buy those rack mounts ends and replace them both, ( they can
be mounted to the sides with screws so no worries. Also , a medium to medium light rubbing compound
and a buffing wheel for your drill should take care of most the scratches on the front.

[ NOTE :: check with the seller and make sure this unit comes with the power adapter your going to need for it !! ]

 

Last edited by a moderator: Jan 22, 2024

Thanks for the tips 0on3! Seller says that the "Controller knob is sticky but works" so may benefit from using an editor on a PC. What do you use? I tried VOICESUPPORT2 but it won't connect with my old Voiceworks unit (2003). There is also Vyzor but I can't find a working download link anywhere: https://www.kvraudio.com/product/vyzor_editors_for_tc_helicon_by_tc_helicon

 

I find that very fun, creative, and gives the best and absolutely natural results (obviously..), too!
However, software like eventide harmoniser, some pitch-shifter, doubler, or just simple or less simple chorus or/and flanger, also sounds nice for some vocal effects. Depends on what you're aiming for, eh? In my genre, which is industrial-goth christian rock (last one is attempt at a joke) pretty much everything goes... and oftentimes it's needed, cause I don't have a voice like Schwanzenegger exactly.

 

Last edited: Jan 22, 2024

I have the original Voice Live Editor and all the mauals , I have uploaded them for you.

https://mega.nz/file/xo10RAKZ#Hr8PcTnY4zCNZF1GoRqTQ_2WZhXN2vp6DAaNt63GX60

 

You should hear what zplane reTune and iZotope Nectar v2.04 Harmonizer sounds like when they are chained together, it's the best "Real-Time Harmony Vocal Effect" that i have heard in the audio plugin world.

I chained together zplane reTune and iZotope Nectar v2.04 Harmonizer VST's to create the "Real-Time Harmony Vocal Effect" in the below audio clip, i figured it out back in 2016, because i wanted a good "Real-Time Harmony Vocal Effect" in VST so badly, because there was none.

You won't find a standalone audio plugin to do this harmony effect or any decent harmony effect in Real-Time, i have searched for years, and the reason it works so well with those 2 plugins chained together, is because zplane reTune uses Real-Time Polyphonic AutoTune.

I use both VST's chained together, because i use zplane reTune's "Real-Time Polyphonic AutoTune" for pitch correcting the "Real-Time Harmony Vocal Effect" from iZotope Nectar v2.04 Harmonizer, and zplane reTune makes the "Real-Time Harmony Vocal Effect" sound a lot better.

if you just use zplane reTune's "Real-Time Polyphonic AutoTune" by itself on a single voice, you won't get a "Real-Time Harmony Vocal Effect", because zplane reTune isn't a Harmonizer, it's just Polyphonic AutoTune.

In simple terms:

iZotope Nectar v2.04 Harmonizer = Creates the harmonies / 4 different voices in Real-Time from your single voice.

zplane reTune = Pitch Corrects the harmonies / 4 different voices in Real-Time with Polyphonic AutoTune.

Listen to the below audio clip.

zplane reTune + iZotope Nectar v2.04 Harmonizer (Both VST's Chained Together) (Set to use 2 Harmony Voices)
https://vocaroo.com/gGAoyH6EPLl

 

I still have a DigiTech VHM5 Vocalist 5-part Digital Vocal Harmony Processor hardware and I'm amazed no one hasn't come up with software solution for this gadget...
It's up for grabs if someone wants to buy it, haven't used it for a long time as me too has been looking for an app like this
https://en.audiofanzine.com/vocal-processor/digitech/vocalist-VHM5/