TC-Helicon PERFORM-VE, User Manual

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7
PERFORM-VE User Manual
This LED is a VU Meter, with the following color codes:
If you find the Auto-Gain procedure set the input trim too low or high for your liking, you can always run Auto-Gain again or you can set the gain manually .
Manual Gain
Press and Release
the SET button to edit the Manual Gain with the Control Knob.
Green
-23 dB … -13.5 dB
Good Level
Yellow
-13.5 dB…-7.5 dB
Hot level, but still okay.
Orange
-4 dB … 0 dB
Soft-clipping:
Midas Tone.
Red
0 dB
Hard-clipping!
The red LED segments indicate gain provided by Perform-VE’s analog microphone
preamplifier circuit. When the mic pre is at maximum gain, further gain is
possible via digital amplification (the remaining 4 magenta LED segments).
Once you stop editing with the Control Knob, the LED ring will return to the MIDI/
LEAD mix display after two seconds. You can then vocalize into your microphone
and confirm the gain settings are correct for your application.
HINT: Red in VU meter LED is not a good thing as it means hard clipping and
digital distortion! Reduce the microphone gain and try again if you see the
VU LED turning red when you are vocalizing.
MIDI Channel
The MIDI channel that Perform-VE responds to is set
if
a MIDI note event is received
while the SET button is held down.
To set the MIDI Channel (without a split point):
• Press and Hold
the SET button,
•
Play a single MIDI note on your controller,
•
Release the SET button.
Don’t worry about having to repeat the Auto-Gain on the microphone – these
steps will not overwrite your previous microphone level settings while the SET
button is down, provided you a MIDI note is received while SET is held down.
When complete, you can verify Perform-VE is set to receive on the correct MIDI
channel for your keyboard by playing notes and monitoring the SET button;
the SET button will flash red whenever MIDI note events are received on the
configured MIDI channel.
SET + Preset 1: Adaptive Tone
Tone automatically adds EQ (equalization), Compression, De-Ess and Gate to your
overall vocal sound. Tone is enabled by default and we highly recommend leaving
it on.
EQ helps to shape the tone of your voice to fit into a musical mix. We remove
some of the low “mud” frequencies and boost the highs for “sparkle” or “air”.
Every recording you hear has some manner of EQ on the lead vocal (and pretty
much everything else too).
Compression reduces the difference in volume between the loudest and quietest
notes. This gives you a more even sound that helps your vocal sit better in the
local mix. It’s almost unheard of for vocals to go uncompressed in modern music,
both recorded and live.
De-Ess gets rid of harsh “S” sounds and makes them sound more pleasing. De-Ess
goes hand in hand with Compression, since Compression can make “S” sounds a
bit more pronounced in the mix.
Gate “shuts off” an audio input when it falls below a certain volume. This works
great on things like drums where you want the drum hit to come through, but
then have the mic silent in between hits.
For vocals, we don’t want to go as far as shutting your mic off but we do want to
reduce the volume (gain) of the mic when you’re not singing so that feedback
becomes less likely.
Since Perform-VE replaces EQ and effects that are often added by a live sound
technician, you’ll want to make sure that the mixer channel you plug Perform-VE
into has a flat EQ (not altering any frequencies) and that any effects are
turned off.
SET + Preset 2: +48 V (Phantom Power)
If you have a condenser mic, it’ll need power to function. 48 V to use it
with your Perform-VE.
If you’re not sure what kind of mic you have, but you don’t hear any sound, it’s ok
to try +48 V - it won’t damage a dynamic microphone.
Holding down the SET button and pressing
Preset 1 will toggle Adaptive Tone, with the VU
meter LED as an indicator.
RED : Off
GREEN : On
Holding down the SET button and pressing
Preset 2 will toggle phantom power (+48 V),
with the VU meter LED as an indicator.
RED : Off
GREEN : On