TC Helicon VoiceTone D1 – The Perfect Vocal Octave For Flute !

Ever thought of Octavin Your Flute Just as Good as Octavin Your Vocals? The TC Helicon VoiceTone D1 Doubling Detune Pedal Has Got You Covered!

Whether or not you are familiar with the name, TC Helicon is one of the leading pioneers of cutting-edge vocal effects and processing.  They were one of the first to realize working singers and vocalist’s as well as professionals want affordable full control over their sound the same way a guitar player wants control over their axe.  Since the introduction of the or original Voice Live 1 of which your author owns and still uses one daily, many industry players have followed suit with similar vocal effects.

Over the past few weeks I’ve had a chance to play around in depth with the VoiceTone D1, currently lists at Amazon India at around 11K Inr.  If you’re familiar with TC it should come as no surprise that this little pedal on first glance looks and feels more expensive than it is.  With chassis mounted gold-plated XLR connections, rubberized well-labelled knobs with smooth detents and an all-metal housing with anti-slide rubberized base the build quality is first class.

VoiceTone D1 – Technical Specification

Design

Size	Height: 5.4 inches (140 mm) Width: 3.5 inches (90 mm) Depth: 2.3 inches (60 mm)
Weight	Weight: 0.92 lb. (0.42 kg)
Construction	Two part dies cast metal Rubberized base

Connectors

Analog Inputs	Connectors, balanced: Mic.: XLR Mic Input Level @ 0 dBFS: -42dBu to +1dBu EIN @ Max Mic Gain Rg = 150 Ohm: -126 dBu Mic input SNR: >104 dB Phantom Power: 24V (always on) Guitar Input impedance: 1 MOhm Guitar Input Level @ 0 dBFS: -7 dBU to 17 dBu Guitar Input SNR: >115dB Dynamic Range: >104 dB, 20 Hz to 20 kHz Frequency Response: +0/-0.3 dB, 20 Hz to 20 kHz
Analog Outputs	Output Impedance, Bal./Unbal.: 200/100 Ohm Output Full Scale: +1 dBu Dynamic Range: >104 dB, 20 Hz to 20 kHz Frequency Response: +0/-0.3 dB, 20 Hz to 20 kHz
Control	USB for firmware and control Mic Control using TC Helicon MP-75

VoiceTone D1 Usability

Aesthetics and build quality aside the real clincher is obviously how useful the VoiceTone D1 is in the wild. The short answer: Outstanding.  With the VoiceTone D1, at your disposal are a total of 8 types of doubling and detuning:  Tight, Loose, Group, Detune, Thick, Octave Up, Octave Down, and Shout. Now here is why it gets Very Special.

Starting topside on the VoiceTone D1, you’ll find only 3 simple controls: A knob for the type of doubling selected, a Dry/Wet control and an engaged/bypass footswitch. The only indicators you’ll find are a red LED to signify if the doubler is engaged and a green signal indicator light. On left and right sides of the unit are a built-in input gain control and Mic control respectively for when an TC Helicon MP-75 mic is used. For those of you unfamiliar with the MP-75 it features a built-in button to control the engaged/bypass function on the pedal itself via standard XLR cable. On the backside are your in/out XLR connections, power in and mini-USB for future firmware upgrades.

On the Top of that.. The Voice Tone D1 has Such Premium Preamps Built Into it, That Microphones Such as Shure SM7B, SM58, WH20-XLR Sound Like they were Condenser Microphones.. Seriously Its That Good.

VoiceTone D1 Takes on Proper Flute (-12) Octave

Yes, you read it right, this is one of the limited pedals that can do this kind of stuff with a wide range of flutes varying from there base and scale. And that without distorting or making popping noise – a problem I faced while my father tried to octave Flute on his Roland Boss VE-500, Which is an excellent vocal processor, but the octave isn’t just that great.

Ideal Flute Octave Settings

Not Only Lower Octave, But the TC Helicon Does +12 Octave in Flute also Flawlessly, We Just Liked the Lower Octave So Much, That we had to Highlight it..

Conclusion

Not Only the VoiceTone D1 Excels in delivering TC Graded Quality and Nailing every Expectations that a Pro Musician Keeps. But also never fails to Amaze how Out of the box their products can be used and applied.