Vocal Harmonizer Presets.....?

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zlaja
Posts: 17
Joined: Mon Oct 19, 2009 10:39 am

Vocal Harmonizer Presets.....?

Post by zlaja »

Hi to everyone!

I would like to ask Korg PA800 users if they have vocal harmonizer presets which are good for back vocals.
I have some but I think that it can be much better.

Thank you!
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Rob Sherratt
Platinum Member
Posts: 4590
Joined: Mon Apr 16, 2007 1:49 pm

Post by Rob Sherratt »

Hi zlaja,

I've experimented quite a lot with creating different vocal harmony presets. Everything depends on the tonal range and quality of the vocalist and also on the song you are playing. I have a bass vocal range and good harmonies are difficult to generate with my voice.

The group's lead female singer has an alto vocal range and good harmonies are easy to generate. I use a custom preset with the vocal harmony parts each set to "gender +10", in chordal mode, generating close harmonies with the voices set to "down 1", "up 1", "up 2" and "up 3". The actual range of harmony notes you can specify is from "down 5" to "up 6" but I do not like the distortion or alien voice that happens when you spread the resampled vocal harmonies too far away from the original. I use "chord" harmony mode so that the vocal harmony intervals follow the chord I am playing.

Just to explain what happens. Suppose I play a chord of Cminor7, and she sings an E flat in the C4 octave. The harmony notes that are generated in that case are:

Down 1 = C4 (the root note)
Up 1 = G4 (the fifth note)
Up 2 = Bb5 (the 7th note)
Up 3 = C5 (the root an octave above)

Say instead that the note she is singing is a Bb4 (ie the 7th note). Then the harmony notes that are generated are:

Down 1 = G3 (the 5th note below)
Up1 = C4 (the root note)
Up2 = Eb4 (the minor third)
Up3 = G4 (the 5th note above)

I also set the pan and level of each of the harmony voices so that Down 1 is panned full left, Up3 is panned full right, and the other two and the original vocal are center.

When I play chords I use the full keyboard scan range, and I try to only play two or three notes in my left hand that define the octave and fifth notes, and in the right hand I try to play in the C5 octave, three different notes that define the 7th, 3rd, and 9th intervals (if any) that I want to use.

The presets I use for her harmonies are completely useless for my voice. The presets I use for my voice are completely useless full stop, nothing works well!

Please experiment with making your own vocal presets. Please experiment with playing the chords/ piano part outside the range of the vocals and the harmony notes that are generated. Hopefully the info I've given will allow you to experiment and find something that works well for your own vocals.

Best regards,
Rob
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