Until now, you needed to enter a key and scale to tell a vocal harmony generator what to do. No more. Instead, the VL2 parses the notes from a guitar plugged into the box (a patent-pending technology from 3dB Research that DigiTech calls MusIQ), and generates the harmonies based on the chord you’re playing. No, I’m not making this up.

So ignore the name, and let’s check out what the VL2 can do in the studio.

GOZINDAS AND GOZOUTAS

Input-wise, there’s an XLR in with phantom power for your vocal mic, line input in case your mic is going through a fave preamp, and guitar input. There’s a level control for the mic/line in, but not the guitar; the VL2 assumes you’ll plug your guitar straight into the box (processing could screw up the pitch detection), and use the Guitar Thru jack to feed your amp, signal processor, or whatever. For outs, there are stereo line outs, and a mono XLR out if you want to feed an input like your mic would normally feed.

EFFECTS, TOO

A single knob selects more or less compression. Reverb also has a single control for more or less reverb, with a choice of Studio, Room, or Hall effects. An “Enhance” control (basically EQ) also offers three options: Resonance, Clarity, or Shine.

The Harmony Mix is a little more complex. A single knob controls the amount of all harmonized signals, but each harmony line has three buttons. The first line can be a third above, third below (whether it’s major or minor depends on the guitar’s input), or set to unison for detuning effects. The second line can be a fifth above, fifth below, or unison. Any two options (one from each line or two from one line) are available simultaneously; choosing Unison 1 and Unison 2 creates a thick unison effect.

Finally, there are two footswitches. One enables/disables the effects, and the other turns whatever harmonies you’ve selected on or off.

APPLYING THE VL2

You begin by tuning your guitar with the built-in tuner, so the VL2 can recognize what you’re playing. Then you play, you sing, and harmonies come out. That’s it. But pay careful attention to your voice’s pitch — if you’re a bit off, then you’ll have two harmony lines being a bit off as well, which is not pretty.

The chord detection stays on a chord until changed. So if you hit a chord and sing a capella, no problem. But if you want to change key, you’ll have to hit a chord first.

By the way, although all the literature about the VL2 refers to using guitar with it, that’s apparently not an absolute. I fed in various synth sounds, from kalimba to bass played an octave higher, and the VL2 worked perfectly (even when I was really sloppy about levels).

CONCLUSIONS

The first time I heard my voice through a harmony generator blew me away. The only downside was taking the time to choose the correct scale and key, and for live use, changing presets when switching from one song to another. The VL2 takes away all the work — but leaves the harmonies. Still, this is the kind of thing that has to be heard to be believed, so check out the audio example to the right.

Sure, you’ll get a more human vibe if you overdub your own harmonies. But if you mix the harmony lines so they support rather than overwhelm, and use the effect sparingly, the VL2 can wrap harmonies around your voice you can’t get with “real” voices. I wasn’t expecting the VL2 to work as well as it does, but put the laws of physics on hold: This box rocks.