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Customer Review
Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2016
I got this unit to help my C+ quality voice during home recording funtime. It's a well made unit that is easy to use after a few trips through the instruction manual. It has a learning curve as would be expected, and the manual is not crystal clear in some instances. But trial and error has resolved my questions so far, and it's been fun getting the unit to do what I want it to do.
I didn't expect miracles out of the pitch correction feature, and I wasn't disappointed; I still don't sound as well as I would like. But I do find a substantial improvement as compared to the vocals I have recorded directly into my Tascam DP-32SD. The mic simulations are useful, as is the proximity adjustment. I also make heavy use of the compressor and deesser features; those two have some interaction, and getting the relative settings correct is not a trivial task. The manual could have been better in this regard, but I have found (and saved) settings that work well enough for me.
My main disappointment is the limited EQ built into the unit. Each preset has 2 EQ settings. The type of EQ for each can be chosen from a list and set individually. But there is no simple three band parametric, or graphic, equalizer as I would have expected. The two available EQ's can be set to simulate a 2 band parametric, but I find that inconvenient. I would much prefer an 8 or 10 band graphic, or a 3-4 band para. I am sure the unit is inherently capable of this, but it's not an option in the unit I received. The device is certainly based on a processor and firmware, but I don't see any option for a firmware upgrade (as with the DP32SD recorder, which I have upgraded). This lack of upgrade may turn out to be a problem in the future if bugs in the firmware pop up.
The unit has plenty of presets, but I don't think they can be saved to an external device (such as a notebook computer) via the midi interface. Perhaps there is software that can do this, but I haven't yet found it. So I am careful when saving a preset to make sure I don't inadvertently overwrite a preset that took days to develop. There are too many settings to simply write them down; a PC-based program that connected via Midi would be a huge improvement in utility for this device. Even better (for me) would be a USB connection, but that is not an option at this time.
I have tried recording direct via the TA-1VP, and also by recording first to the 32SD and then post-processing through the TA-1VP. Both methods work well, although there is an inevitable loss of quality caused by the added A/D and D/A conversions of the post-process method.
I also use the TA-1VP for some guitar recording, and all bass recording. This was an unexpected benefit.
So I am very pleased with the vocal/sound processor, but wished it had better features for EQ and computer connectivity.
I didn't expect miracles out of the pitch correction feature, and I wasn't disappointed; I still don't sound as well as I would like. But I do find a substantial improvement as compared to the vocals I have recorded directly into my Tascam DP-32SD. The mic simulations are useful, as is the proximity adjustment. I also make heavy use of the compressor and deesser features; those two have some interaction, and getting the relative settings correct is not a trivial task. The manual could have been better in this regard, but I have found (and saved) settings that work well enough for me.
My main disappointment is the limited EQ built into the unit. Each preset has 2 EQ settings. The type of EQ for each can be chosen from a list and set individually. But there is no simple three band parametric, or graphic, equalizer as I would have expected. The two available EQ's can be set to simulate a 2 band parametric, but I find that inconvenient. I would much prefer an 8 or 10 band graphic, or a 3-4 band para. I am sure the unit is inherently capable of this, but it's not an option in the unit I received. The device is certainly based on a processor and firmware, but I don't see any option for a firmware upgrade (as with the DP32SD recorder, which I have upgraded). This lack of upgrade may turn out to be a problem in the future if bugs in the firmware pop up.
The unit has plenty of presets, but I don't think they can be saved to an external device (such as a notebook computer) via the midi interface. Perhaps there is software that can do this, but I haven't yet found it. So I am careful when saving a preset to make sure I don't inadvertently overwrite a preset that took days to develop. There are too many settings to simply write them down; a PC-based program that connected via Midi would be a huge improvement in utility for this device. Even better (for me) would be a USB connection, but that is not an option at this time.
I have tried recording direct via the TA-1VP, and also by recording first to the 32SD and then post-processing through the TA-1VP. Both methods work well, although there is an inevitable loss of quality caused by the added A/D and D/A conversions of the post-process method.
I also use the TA-1VP for some guitar recording, and all bass recording. This was an unexpected benefit.
So I am very pleased with the vocal/sound processor, but wished it had better features for EQ and computer connectivity.
