I was wondering if anyone has been able to get the Boss Vt-1 Voice Transformer to work with a sound card on a PC computer? I am concered on how much quality loss would occur with the vt-1 unit putting out an analog signal and the soundcard then converting to digital. I DJ online sometimes and would like to know if this unit would work on an internet audio stream to create a realistic female voice.

Quote from: Kristi on January 25, 2007, 09:44:46 PM

Quote from: melissa90299 on January 25, 2007, 11:28:16 AM

I use Sonar 2.0 and I have a Delta 4, I have never had much success when raising the pitch on my voice, which specific Sonar effect do you use to raise the pitch?

Melissa,
While I do the recording in Sonar, I do the pitch editing in SoundForge.  It will let you adjust +/- an octave or any fraction of it.  It is great for when I record someone's track and a couple of notes are out of tune.  I can fix it no problem.  And when you have them both installed, many of the features load as plug-ins for Sonar so you can use them without exiting the program.  Cool, huh?

Hope this helps.

Kristi

Soundforge, yes I was thinking of adding that, thanks!

I having been working on my singing voice, I sound like a little gutsier version of Diana Kral and I sing in the same key.

Quote from: Julie Marie on December 16, 2006, 07:41:12 PM
When I auditioned for the lead vocals in a T-Girl band I kept thinking about how all of the members used guy voices when singing.  Granted, it's pretty rare to find the genetic male who can sing female.  I have a deep voice and can push it fairly well but no way can I hit a female voice.  It just breaks and cracks.  But there was something that bothered me about singing in a guy voice.  I've pretty much stopped doing Karaoke simply because of that.

After the audition was over I mentioned having been out with my brother and our wives for dinner and in the lounge was a local singer/guitarist.  So we went in to hear him.  At one point he was looking for volunteers from the audience to sing backup and I was volunteered by my brother and wife.  I was given a mic but just didn't sound nearly as good as the performer, and the vocal parts were well within my range.

When I sat back down I mentioned this to my brother and he said, "He has a voice processor.  He can adjust it to make him sound a lot better than he really does.  He probably set your mic off so he sounds better."  Then he started laughing.  So I mentioned this to the band members and they were all familiar with it, "if you have the money to buy one".

Last night I find myself intrigued by this device and wondered how much one would cost.  So I went online.  There were a lot of voice processors but none that would do what I wanted.  After a few more searches I ended up at a website that had what they called a voice transformer.  When I went to the manufacturer's website to get some literature about it they had a picture of the equipment and under it the heading "Gender-Bending Vocal Effects"!  Then I read some reviews and one said, "Perfect for changing a man's voice to a woman's! 100% believable!"

Guess what I did?  

Looks like I've accepted the position!

Julie

I've been a vocalist for many years and have a naturally high voice. Bands sometimes used me for female backing vocals and then doubled them up to sound like more than one person and they sounded exactely like female backing vocals.

My voice is my strongest feature in my transition but it did cause problems as a 21 year old guy when girls would laugh at me and say 'when is your voice gonna break'.........

I was wondering if anyone has been able to get the Boss Vt-1 Voice Transformer to work with a sound card on a PC computer? I am concered on how much quality loss would occur with the vt-1 unit putting out an analog signal and the soundcard then converting to digital. I DJ online sometimes and would like to know if this unit would work on an internet audio stream to create a realistic female voice.

Sure it would work, depending on how you did it.

What kind of sound card?

Its an Auzentech X-Fi Prelude 7.1 (currently the best pc soundcard available I believe)

I purchased the VT-1 last night and hooked the Mic out of the Vt-1 to the mic in of the soundcard.  The VT-1 I purchased has been modified for use on a telephone as well. Connects to the phone via a regular rj-11 mini plug. I tried that function first and called several friends and spoke to them in the built in pre-set female voice. That sounded amazingly well. Even my girlfriend was fooled (and mad as hell I might add... heh)


As for use on the computer:  Still trying to tweak the female sounding voice from the vt-1. Sounds a bit off though to me anyways. Perhaps this is due to the VT-1 putting out an analog signal from the mic out port then the soundcard converting it to digital. I am not sure. As for recording the sound, it works well with Windows Sound Recorder, however I tried to talk on a voice chat with Yahoo with no success. Yahoo is registering sound being transmitted, however I believe the signal is too low from the mic for people to hear.

Any suggestions as to how to help remedy this problem? Maybe an external preamp for the mic? I had hoped the sound card's internal preamp would be well enough, however perhaps that is the issue.

But what are these electronic gizmo's for?

Raevyn,

What kind of a mic are you using?  Some are much better than others.  If you want really good sound you can probably get a mic used in the $300 range.

Your sound card is a nice one, though rather limited.  I like its optical capabilities (this might help you with your quality issues, but you would need an outboard processor and interface), but like everything else Creative has anything to do with, it is still a card with one stereo input.  You can effectively split it and record two channels at the same time, but that's about all you will be able to accomplish.  It is a fantastic one for gaming and listening to music.

Most sound cards really built for recording have more channels and a way to interface with a mixer board.  If you are interested in exploring this more, let me know and I'll be glad to help.

As it stands right now, in order for you to get some decent capabilities you should have a mic preamp, either on a mixer or a standalone one.  Then you can have control over the volume and quality of the sound going in.

Kristi

Berliegh:


The Boss Vt-1 is a voice transformer. Basically what it does is change your voice. You can change for the pitch and the formant independantly. This allows for creating a more natural sounding voice than what a "normal" voice changer device can do. Most of those simply change pitch which results in a voice that doesn't sound "real". You, of course, get what you pay for with such technology however.

Posted on: November 21, 2007, 06:22:34 PM

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>What kind of a mic are you using?  Some are much better than others.  If you want really good sound you can probably get a mic used in the $300 range.

I am sure you will get a giggle from this. Its the mic that is part of my Creative Labs HS-600 headset/mic combo. It has been passible thus far in voice chats and the little DJ'ing I have done online. What can you recommend which would be better? $300.00 USD is about my limit on what I would wish to pay for a Mic.



>Your sound card is a nice one, though rather limited.  I like its optical capabilities (this might help you with your quality issues, but you would need an >outboard processor and interface), but like everything else Creative has anything to do with, it is still a card with one stereo input.  You can effectively >split it and record two channels at the same time, but that's about all you will be able to accomplish.  It is a fantastic one for gaming and listening to music.


The main reason I wish to have a setup is to use to DJ online (mostly on the Second Life virtual world). I have done a little bit of this thus far, but I would like to delve more in to it. Something to transmit my voice onto the audio stream either as a male, female, robotic, etc etc. Mostly talking and occasionally singing, etc...


>Most sound cards really built for recording have more channels and a way to interface with a mixer board.  If you are interested in exploring this more, let >me know and I'll be glad to help.

I would definatly appreciate any help you could give me concerning this. My experience with more channels, and a mixer board is more or less non-existant. Where could I go to learn more information? Would a sound card more made for recording help me sound better DJ'ing online? What equipment could help me with this. Money is always a concern, but not a very huge one when it comes to the equipment cost.


>As it stands right now, in order for you to get some decent capabilities you should have a mic preamp, either on a mixer or a standalone one.  Then you >can have control over the volume and quality of the sound going in.

Would a mixer be able to connect to the soundcard I currently have? I am unsure how this would connect. Would it connect to the VT-1 then the VT-1 to the sound card or vice versa? Please excuse my ignorance on this, but I would certainly like to learn more about this.

Thank you for any assistance you could provide.

OK, there's a lot of material here.  And please note up front that I do not make any money from Musicians Friend, though I've bought a lot from them.  They are an easy way to check prices and have a great selection.  Be sure to check places like ebay, as you can get a lot of these things slightly used for great prices.

You might want to check out this mic and read the reviews.  Though I have never used this particular one, as far as price vs. performance you will not see much better reviews without going higher in price.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Heil-Sound-PR40-Dynamic-Studio-Recording-Microphone?sku=271012
Since you sound as if you are doing this from home, I would definitely get a large diaphragm mic.  You'll likely be happier with it.  And put a pop filter in front of it.

Also on that page you will see links to some articles that tell you all of the equipment you will need.  It will tell you how to do a podcast, which if I'm understanding you, is about the setup you are going for.

Here are more choices which would serve you well:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/AKG-C-3000-B-Condenser-Microphone?sku=271137 (I use this one.)
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Shure-KSM27-Studio-Microphone?sku=270278
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/R0DE-NT1000-Microphone?sku=271576

Or for a really low end, you might want to look at something like this:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Behringer-B2-Pro-Condenser-Microphone?sku=270491
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/MXL-MXL-V63MBP-Computer-Desktop-Recording-Kit?sku=273102

Now from here there are so many ways you can go.  Personally, as far as interfaces, I am a big fan of M-Audio and I use a 10 input/10 output system, though it does not sound like you need anything quite so complicated for what you are doing.  There are lots of other good brands out there as well.  If you don't mind living with two tracks, this unit is really slick:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/MAudio-Fast-Track-Pro-Mobile-USB-Audio-MIDI-Interface?sku=241710
It just connects up to the computer via a USB cable and that's all there is to it.   Your voice transformer can be looped into it.
Here's some more interfaces:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Edirol-UA25-USB-Bus-Powered-Stereo-Audio-Interface?sku=705371
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Echo-Gina3G-PCI-Audio-Interface-?sku=700662

As an alternative which will give you more bang for the buck, consider getting a mixer, which can indeed be hooked to your current sound card.  Nearly all mixers have a left and right out.  So you will need to rig a stereo connector
to your computer sound card's mic input from the outputs on the mixer.  The mixer will let you control which channels go to the left or right.  Virtually all of them nowadays have the mic preamps built into them and the specs will tell you how many.  As with the standalone interface, your voice transformer and any other effects you have can be put into the effects loop.

One good low-cost option would be to replace your sound card with something like this:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/MAudio-Delta-1010-LT-PCI-Digital-Audio-System?sku=701376

Another option, if you have a firewire port on your computer, would be this unit, taking the place of the mixer and the interface:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/PreSonus-Firepod-FireWire-Interface-with-Cubase-LE?sku=184131
I also comes with Cubase, which is a decent recording package.  Note that this is a rack mounted unit, so you would need a way to mount it, but you might do well to mount your voice transformer while you are at it.


Well we still haven't talked about mixer boards, cables, recording software, or speakers.  But I haven't overwhelmed you, I'd be glad to talk some more.

Good luck!

Kristi

I have no idea to the point of all this? surely if you haven't got a female voice, surgery is the answer?

Quote from: Berliegh on November 22, 2007, 07:18:02 AM
I have no idea to the point of all this? surely if you haven't got a female voice, surgery is the answer?

Whats the point, Berliegh?  Because it's there!  Seriously, some of us enjoy this stuff as a hobby, vocation, or avocation.  Hopefully no one will consider this to be a substitute for developing a feminine voice.

Actually, I've only heard really bad things about the surgery.  I would no go there.

Kristi

Quote from: Kristi on November 22, 2007, 08:12:46 AM
Actually, I've only heard really bad things about the surgery.  I would no go there.

There is a very fine line between raising the pitch of your voice surgically, having it sound like you have a permanent sore throat and losing it all together.  There are no guarantees to the surgery, only risks.  If nothing else, it doesn't teach you any of the nuances of how women speak, and that's just as much of a risk of being read as having a poor voice is.

Wow Kristi, I had no idea you are such a sound geek, that is impressive. Do you have anything we could hear on myspace? I had some really nice stuff up but it was all done in my male voice so I took it down. I have developed a really nice female singing voice, I am still working on developing more breathiness, like Diana Krall, if you like I could send you the mp3s of her to illustrate what I am talking about although you probably already know. My singing range is now exactly like Krall's.




Posted on: November 22, 2007, 10:28:42 AM

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Quote from: Enigma on November 22, 2007, 09:25:12 AM

Quote from: Kristi on November 22, 2007, 08:12:46 AM
Actually, I've only heard really bad things about the surgery.  I would no go there.

There is a very fine line between raising the pitch of your voice surgically, having it sound like you have a permanent sore throat and losing it all together.  There are no guarantees to the surgery, only risks.  If nothing else, it doesn't teach you any of the nuances of how women speak, and that's just as much of a risk of being read as having a poor voice is.

With daily practice, raising pitch is easy, it's the resonance, timbre, word choice, context and everything else that is hard. What makes it even harder is this baby talk that young women speak these days. There is a woman I know who is a mature, powerful woman in every other regard except her stupid little baby talk voice. I don't know why we (as women) ever got there i.e. talking like babies. It is nauseating.

Quote from: melissa90299 on November 22, 2007, 10:32:30 AM
Wow Kristi, I had no idea you are such a sound geek, that is impressive. Do you have anything we could hear on myspace? I had some really nice stuff up but it was all done in my male voice so I took it down. I have developed a really nice female singing voice, I am still working on developing more breathiness, like Diana Krall, if you like I could send you the mp3s of her to illustrate what I am talking about although you probably already know. My singing range is now exactly like Krall's.




Posted on: November 22, 2007, 10:28:42 AM

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Quote from: Enigma on November 22, 2007, 09:25:12 AM

Quote from: Kristi on November 22, 2007, 08:12:46 AM
Actually, I've only heard really bad things about the surgery.  I would no go there.

There is a very fine line between raising the pitch of your voice surgically, having it sound like you have a permanent sore throat and losing it all together.  There are no guarantees to the surgery, only risks.  If nothing else, it doesn't teach you any of the nuances of how women speak, and that's just as much of a risk of being read as having a poor voice is.

With daily practice, raising pitch is easy, it's the resonance, timbre, word choice, context and everything else that is hard. What makes it even harder is this baby talk that young women speak these days. There is a woman I know who is a mature, powerful woman in every other regard except her stupid little baby talk voice. I don't know why we (as women) ever got there i.e. talking like babies. It is nauseating.

Melissa great taste....Diana Krall is a fine musician and vocalist........

I completely agree with some of the points with pitch altering surgery and it depends on the gap you have within your vocal chords. Some of the operations do go wrong and it's not perfect.....but some also go right as well......like the male opera singer who is now a female opera singer....the same as the GRS operation....that doesn't always work out either...

Transition is very much a gamble...

Who is the male opera singer who is now female opera singer? I would love to hear the before and after.

Quote from: melissa90299 on November 22, 2007, 11:05:19 AM
Who is the male opera singer who is now female opera singer? I would love to hear the before and after.

Yea, good question.....my friend told me about her. She was treated for throat surgery through Charing Cross Hospital but I don't know which surgeon it was.  I'll keep digging and find that information out for you Melissa..

Urban myth.

Quote from: melissa90299 on November 22, 2007, 11:29:36 AM
Urban myth.

I'll get the information you require when I see my friend tonight..

When it comes to my voice I refuse to consider surgery as the cost is too high and the results uncertain.

I must be a cheapie because I believe that I can take my voice to max femininity by raising the pitch and timbre on my own.

I am doing that with muscle control, diction, and listening.  Sometimes it works better than others.  I felt where my voice used to resonate in my chest, pushed it up as far as I could push it, falsetto to get its max range, felt how much higher it was resonating (my lower neck), and took care to project from my mouth.  I'm pleased with the results so far and will keep working with it every day.

Any comments from those who have also worked to make their voice more feminine would be appreciated. 

Sincerely,

Wing Walker