Electro Harmonix

Reviews | Electro Harmonix Voice Box
88
F
ounded by Mike Matthews in
1968, Electro Harmonix have
been at the forefront of
stompbox effects for over 40
years. Now, for 2009 they’ve turned
their expertise to making a vocoder and
harmony generator in stompbox format.
At its heart, the Voice Box has a
256-band vocoder (the more bands, the
clearer the diction), which is impressive.
In comparison, the microKorg has an
eight-band vocoder. The Voice Box also
has six harmony/two octave modes for
accompanying solo singers.
The box itself is sturdy, looks great
and is very much in keeping with the
retro/psychedelic look of the Electro
Harmonix range. Input-wise there’s a
balanced XLR mic input with phantom
power and a low and high gain selector
for using with different output mics.
There’s also a jack instrument input for
plugging in guitars, keyboards and other
sources. Output-wise, there’s a balanced
XLR for the effect-only output and a
jack instrument output for plugging into
an amp.
Under control
Control-wise, fi rst up is the blend dial
that controls the balance between your
dry/effected voice. Next up are two
reverb dials (dry/harmony). The reverb,
while fairly dark sounding, is very
useful. You could have a dry vocal with
reverbed harmony effect for example, or
vice versa.
Following on are the deeper controls.
First is the ‘gender bender’ formant
shifter that changes the generated
harmonies to sound more male or
female. This works great in practice.
The voice mix dial fl ips between
different harmonies in harmony modes
(3rds/5ths and Octaves) while in octave/
unison and whistle modes, it fl ips
between high and low octaves, or a
blend of the two. Finally, it acts as a
harmonic enhancer/treble EQ when in
vocoder mode.
So how does it work in practice?
The vocoder is amazing. There’s lots of
scope for shaping the fi nal sound with
the gender, reverb and voice mix
controls and you can hear every word
clearly and precisely.
Conclusion
I found the harmony generation a little
unstable and inconsistent at times,
though useable results are possible after
plenty of practice! While I can’t
complain at all about the generated
tones, the box would often have
diffi culty picking up any of the quick
major to minor changes and some of the
more Jazzy infl ections.
If you don’t sing perfectly in tune
and at a consistent level, the box
sometimes has trouble following – I
advise using a compressor and getting
some singing lessons before using the
harmony modes! Also, in order for the
voice box to track at its best, you really
need to run an instrument through that
has plenty of bite/attack. Guitar and
Rhodes are a good bet, though the
vocoder works great on all inputs.
All in all, it’s a fantastic vocoder and
a very capable but sometimes
frustrating harmony generation box. The
harmony processor is very much reliant
on very in-tune singing and decent
vocal/instrument levels going in (ideally
use a compressor between the mic and
the voice box). While the harmony
generation is not quite as foolproof as I
would have hoped it’s the best sounding
vocoder I’ve used and is worth the price
for this alone.
Electro Harmonix
Voice Box | £160
Veteran guitar effects company Electro Harmonix add
a vocoder/harmony stompbox to their ever-expanding
product line. Dan ‘JD73’ Goldman does the robot!
VERDICT
BUILD
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VALUE
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EASE OF USE
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VERSATILITY
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RESULTS
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A great vocoder and a clever
harmony generator as long give it a
clean, consistent and in-tune input
SPECS
Power: 9V adaptor
Vocoder: 256 bands
Controls: blend, reverb (dry/
harmony) gender, voice mix,
mode
Mic pre gain:15dBs in Lo
Mode, 25dBs in Hi Mode.
Inputs: bal XLR mic input
with phantom power, jack
instrument input
Outputs: bal XLR mic
output and jack instrument
output (to amp)
Harmony modes: 6
Octave modes: 2
A/D and D/A Conversion
Sample Rate: 36kHz
A/D and D/A Conversion Bit
Resolution: 24-bit
User Presets: Nine
(one per mode)
Switches: Mic bypass/
preset
Dimensions:
203 x 177 x 88mm
Weight:
0.9kg
WHAT IS IT?
A 256-band vocoder and
harmony generation
machine in compact
stompbox format.
CONTACT
Who: Electro Harmonix
Phone: [phone]
Web: EHX.com
HIGHLIGHTS
1 One of the best vocoders
I’ve ever used
2 Plenty of control
3 Natural sounding
harmonies
ON THE DVD
FMU213.rev_ehx 88 26/3/09 4:25:43 pm