Digitech Vocalist Performer Processor
Introduction
Thank you and congratulations on your purchase of the Digitech Vocalist Performer. This vocal harmony product is a breakthrough in ease-of-use, sound quality, and affordability. Whether you sing for your own entertainment or for the entertainment of others, Performer can be your “singing partner” who can effortlessly hit the high notes and provide full-sounding backup hour after hour. Performer offers the latest vocal harmony technology that has made DigiTech the world leader in natural-sounding vocal harmony processing. In addition, Performer features a high-quality reverberation effect to further enhance your vocals.
Features
- Two assignable voices for harmony, automatic doubling, and special effects
- Built-in stereo reverb with three preset types
- Stereo harmony and reverb output
- 50 user programs
- Part A and Part B switching
- Easy user interface
- Sound source for cue-in note and guitar tuning reference
- Optional microphone stand mounting bracket
- Optional DigiTech FS300 footswitch
Jump Start
- Connect Performer as shown on page 6. The Signal LED will glow red during the ~5-second power-up delay.
- Press the Mute button so it lights and adjust the Harmony and Reverb knobs to 12 O’Clock.
- Sing into your mic and adjust the Input knob so that the Signal LED shows red only on the loudest notes you will sing.
- Sing a song you know. For a starting pitch, press the cue button. The cue button volume is controlled by the Reverb Level knob.
- You can change the harmony sound by using the buttons from the Harmony group.
- Select a different Key or Scale from the respective button groups. Enjoy! Don’t forget to read this whole manual to make the most of Performer.
Front Panel
- Harmony buttons
These allow you to turn on and off up to two harmony voices at a time. - Scale selection buttons
Choose a Major or Minor scale that sounds correct with your song. - Store button
This is used when you want to save the settings you have chosen. - Program window
This window displays the currently loaded program. There are 50 user program locations. - Part A and B buttons
The A and B buttons allow you to change harmony settings in the middle of a song without changing programs. - Data wheel
Turning this wheel cycles through the programs and loads them automatically. - Cue-in note
This is the on/off button for the sound generator that can be used to derive a starting pitch for the key you have chosen. - Key Select keyboard
These buttons allow you to select the “key” of your song. For most songs, the key needs to be set only once before you begin singing. - Mute button
You can turn the harmony effect on and off with this button. - Harmony level control
This knob allows you to control the blend between your voice and the harmony voices. - Reverb level control
This knob allows you to vary the amount of reverb effect blended in with your own and the harmony voices. - Reverb type buttons
There are three preset reverb settings adjusted for general usefulness and simplicity. - Input level control
This controls the analog level before it goes into the digital circuitry. - Signal indicator
This is a bi-color LED that glows green when the Performer has recognized the pitch of your voice and red when the input signal is in danger of distorting.
Rear Panel
- Power entry jack
Insert the plug from the supplied adaptor here. This turns the unit on and off. - Footswitch jack
The three switches on the FS300 do the following: Switch A – Toggles between the A and B settings you have programmed. Switch B – Turns the reverb effect off and on Switch C – Mutes and unmutes the harmonies (Bypass) - Output jacks
The output of Performer is stereo or mono as desired. Use one or two mono 1/4” cables to connect to your mixer or amplifier. - Line input jack
If you have connected your microphone to an external mixer, or you will be running a pre-recorded vocal track through Performer, you would insert the cable from the external line-level source here. - Microphone input jack
Connect a balanced XLR-equipped cable from your microphone to this input.
Live Performance
The graphic below shows the typical connection scheme. Your voice is fed through the microphone directly into the Performer, where it is harmonized and sent to your mixer/power amp. The output from Performer can be either mono (one cable) or stereo (two cables).
Studio or Alternate Live Setup
The graphic below shows how you can drive Performer with an effects send from your mixer. This is useful if you want to add equalization to your voice before it is sent to the Performer. If your mixer has multiple effects sends, you could have different effects on your voice and the harmony voices. This setup also allows you to add harmonies to a recorded vocal track. A vocal track record, to reel or digital multitrack, can be harmonized aweref it were being sung live.
Operation
Setting the input level
Adjust the input level control until only the loudest notes you sing cause the Signal LED to turn orange briefly. The LED shows green when it hears a signal, orange at 3 dB below clipping (di, distortion), and red when the input signal has clipped.
Setting the Harmony Level
You can adjust the Harmony control to find the blend you like when at least one harmony voice is activated. Unlike standard mix controls, Performer’s Harmony control has a “smart” volume curve. As you adjust the volume of the harmonies with this control, your voice does not reduce in volume as it would with a standard mix control. Past 1 o’clock of the Harmony control’s travel, the volume of your voice is reduced quickly until it becomes zero at the fully right position. This allows you to produce only harmony voices for special effects and alternate mixing arrangements.
The Reverb Effect
Reverberation is an important effect that makes sounds appear bigger by adding the simulation of an acoustic space. The three reverb effects in Performer have been chosen to allow you a broad range of acoustic spaces. The “Room” reverb is a medium-sized, highly reflective room that adds richness with a very short duration “tail”. The “Hall” type emulates a large concert high-frequency frequency damping for a darker, longer effect. The “Plate” reverb type copies the classic effect whereby a metal plate is hung on springs to produce a bright and slightly longer “tail” than the Hall setting. While Performer’s reverb is very good, too much reverb in the mix is annoying to the listener, and it is best to be conservative in how much you add.
The Harmony Options
Bass (Octave down)
This setting produces the same melody as your input vo, ice, but in the octave below. Adding the Bass harmony to your voice produces a sound reminiscent of gospel music. Adding one of the other harmony choices produces an even bigger sound. If you want to be the Bass singer in your group but you just can’t sing that low, try adjusting the Harmony level control all the way to the right. This is a way you can sing the part in a range you are comfortable with, but the sound will be an octave lower.
High and Lower
These are the “smart” voices that produce the 3rd intervals. The High button is a third above you, ur voice,ce and the Lower button is a 3rd in the octave below. Much of contemporary popular music features “3rd above, harmony, where the main vocal is closely followed in choruses and selected lines with this harmony. The “3rd in the octave below” harmony produced by the Lower harmony voice produces a sound reminiscent of the Beatles.
Higher and Lower
These voices produce the 5th intervals. The Higher button produces a 5th above your voice, and the Low button produces a 5th in the octave below. The MinexcMinexceptionption the Low voice is actually a 6th in the octave below, and the Lower voice becomes the 5th.
Used by themselves, these voices produce a Gremonk-type of harmony sound. When used in conjunction with the High and Lower harmony voices (3ds), you can produce a sound more like the Eagles or Crosby,,Sti ls and Nash. A fun special effect is to enable only the Low voice and turn the Harmony mix fully to the right. This can make your talking voice sound a little deeper for announcing and effects.
Part A and B
Songs sometimes change to another key or use a different scale somewhere in the song. Perhaps you would like to stay in the same key but change to a higher or lower harmony voice in the bridge of your song. These are the reasons for A/B switching. With A/B switching, you can pre-select an alternative harmony sound in each program and switch back and forth using the front panel buttons or, more conveniently, with the optional FS300 footswitch.
To create a program with unique settings for the A and B parts, press the Part A button and select settings that will work for the main part of your song. Now press the Part B button and do the same for the alternate harmony. Store as described below. When you change programs using the data wheel, Part A is automatically loaded first.
Stereo Voice Panning
All stereo panning is pre-set in Performer. Your input voice is panned center, and the harmony voice pan position depends on how many voices are on. When only one harmony voice is activated, it will be panned to the center. Two harmony voices will be panned hard right and left. If you prefer the harmony voices to appear closer to the center of the stereo image, adjust the pan controls on your mixer accordingly.
Storing Your Programs
When you’ve found a selection of songs you would like to ing with you, you can store the Key, Scale, and Harmony settings into a memory slot for instant recall at your next performance. Press the Store button when you have found settings you like. This will cause the program number to flash. At this point, you can choose to store your settings at this location by pressing Store, ainn, or use the Data Wheel to find another location before pressing Store again.
The Optional Footswitch and Mic Stand Mount
If you perform live, it is strongly recommended that you invest in the FS300 footswitch. The FS300 has three buttons that allow you to bypass the harmony voices, switch between the A and B parts of each, program, and mute the reverb effect to talk to your audience between songs. The Mic Stand Mount is handy if you have nothing to rest on the Performer. It brings all the controls within easy reach.
Specifications
- Microphone Input Balanced XLR, 1 KOhm
- Line Input Unbalanced 1/4 TS, -10 dBV level, 2.2 KOhm
- Microphone Input Range -39 dBV minimum to -17 dBV maximum
- Line Input Range -29 dBV minimum to -7 dBV maximum
- Line Outputs Unbalanced 1/4” stereo or mono, -10 dBV nominal
- Sampling 16 bit A/D conversion @ 48 KHz
- Frequency Response (dry) 20 – 20KHz
- Signal to Noise >92 dB A weighted
- Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise < 0.04%
- Power Requirements 9 VDC, 500 mA, tip negative
- Size 6.75” H x 6.8” W x 1.75” D
- Weight 1 lb
Warranty
The company shall not be liable for any consequential damage as a result of the product’s use in any circuit or assembly. Proof of purchaseis considered to be the burden of the consumer. DigiTech reserves the right to make changes to the design and add or improve this product without incurring any obligation to install the same on products previously manufactured.
The foregoing is instead of all other warranties, expressed or implied, and DigiTech neither assumes nor authorizes any person to assume any obligation or liability in connection with the sale of this product. In no event shall DigiTech or its dealers be liable for special or consequential damages, or from any delay in the performance of this warranty due to causes beyond their control.
Customer Support
- This warranty is provided by: Electus Distribution
- Address: 46 Eastern Creek Drive, Eastern Creek NSW 2766
- Ph: 1300 738 555
- Website: https://digitech.com/