TC-Helicon VoiceTone Harmony-M User manual

PRODUCT MANUAL
ENGLISH VERSION
harmonyM

WARNING
To reduce the risk of fire or electric shock, do not expose this appliance
to rain or moisture.
CAUTION
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for
a Class B digital device pursuant to Part 15 of FCC Rules. Operation is
subject to the following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause
harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference
received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.
The lightning symbol within a triangle means, “Electrical
caution!” It indicates the presence of information about
operating voltage and potential risks of electrical shock.
The exclamation point within a triangle means, “Caution!”
Please read the information next to all caution signs.

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
QuickStart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Front Panel Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-13
Back Panel Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Getting To Know Harmony-M
How to Set the MIDI Receive Channel . . . . . . . . . .15
Loading Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Making Harmonies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Singing/Talking Without FX or Harmony . . . . . . . . .15
Using the Tone Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Adjusting the Harmony Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Changing the FX Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Thicken Your Voice with the Double Button . . . . . . .16
Editing Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Storing Edited Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
How Harmony-M Reads the Sustain Pedal . . . . . . .16
What Do the Voice 1&2 Buttons Do? . . . . . . . . . . . .17
What Does Higher Lower etc. Mean? . . . . . . . . . . .17
Changing the FX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Remote Control with a Footswitch . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
For Advanced Users
More Info on Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Advanced FX Style Select . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
How to Use Alternate Tone Settings . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Changing the Number of Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
External Mixing with Mono and Dry Outputs . . . . . .19
MIDI Setup Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
To Reset MIDI Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Performing a Factory Reset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
How to Change the Tuning Reference . . . . . . . . . . .22
How to Use MIDI CC’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
MIDI CC Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
FAQ and Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
MIDI Implementation Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Table of Contents
TC Helicon Vocal Technologies Ltd.
[email protected]
Manual revision 1.2 – SW – V 1.0 Prod. No: E60509213
English Version

4
Welcome to VoiceTone Harmony-M
Harmony-M was built for the singer who wants the
highest quality and most interesting live vocal production
possible. It puts a complete vocal production center
into your hands including harmony singers that follow
your singing and keyboard playing. It’s also highly useful
as a studio tool allowing the creation of background
harmony and even guide parts for singers.
Ease of use and convenience were of utmost
importance in the design of Harmony-M. This allows
singer/musicians to utilize all of its features quickly and
easily.
Harmony-M presents a selection of professionally-
authored patches. When out-of-the-box sounds aren't
enough, Harmony-M provides editing controls to
customize the presets to your preference.
Product information is updated regularly, so be sure to
check www.tc-helicon.com for the latest news.
Features:
o Adds one or two harmony voices that follow your
MIDI keyboard playing
o Overdub-style vocal doubling feature adds richness
to your lead voice
o High quality reverb and delay effects
o Part A/B switch to allow instant selection of your
two favorite sounds
o Quick and easy tweaking and storage of presets
o XLR mic level input and output in stereo or mono
o Clean, studio quality mic preamp with phantom
power
Introduction

5
About TC-Helicon
At TC-Helicon we truly believe that the voice is the
world's most beautiful instrument. We don't mean to
degrade other beautiful instruments, but the singing
voice is the anthropological source for all things melodic.
You should know there is a dedicated group of
engineers, researchers and product specialists based in
Victoria BC, Canada, who spend every waking moment
of their working lives listening, talking, singing, and
interacting with singers and those who have passion for
the singing voice.
All this knowledge and experience is used to design
products respecting and empowering the modern
vocalist. Our products focus on removing barriers and
inspiring creativity in performance. That's why our
products range from near-field personal vocal monitors
to floor-based vocal multi-effects pedals.
Enjoy!
The TC-Helicon Team
a TC Group company
Introduction

6
Step 1:
Connect your microphone to a mic cable
Step 2:
Connect the mic cable to the Mic Input on Harmony-M
Quick Start
Make sure Harmony-M is not powered at this time.
NOTE:

7
Step 3:
While you’re connecting and setting up, lower the fader
on your mixer channel to off. Connect a 1/4” phone
jack-equipped cable from the Left/(mono) Out to a 1/4”
line level input on your sound system.
Step 4:
Connect a MIDI cable from your keyboard’s MIDI Out
to the MIDI IN on Harmony-M. Set your keyboard to
transmit on MIDI channel one.
Quick Start
Input
Tone
Humanize FX Harmony
Preset
Manual Double FX Voice 1 Voice 2
Hall
Room
Echo
Slap
Combi
SFX
Higher
High
Low
Lower
Bass
Octave
48V Stereo
3
Mic input Output Footswitch Power MIDI in
Pan
MIDI Out

8
Step 5:
Set the Input Knob fully left then set the Humanize, FX
and Harmony control knobs to the detent at the 12
O’Clock position.
Step 6:
Connect Harmony-M's power adapter to main power
and to the Power Input on Harmony-M. There is no
power switch so plugging it in automatically turns it on.
Quick Start
Input
Tone
Humanize FX Harmony
Preset
Hall
Room
Echo
Higher
High
Low
3
Mic input Output Footswitch Power MIDI in

9
Step 7:
While singing through your microphone, raise the Input
Knob until the Input Light turns green, sometimes
orange on louder parts, but never red.
Step 8:
In preparation for your first listen, check that the LEDs
conform to the status shown in the boxes below. You
can press the button associated with the LEDs to change
them if necessary.
Quick Start
Input
Tone
Humanize FX Harmony
3
Mic input Output Footswitch Power MIDI in
Input
Ton e
Humanize FX Harmony
Preset
Manual Double FX Voice 1 Voice 2
Hall
Room
Echo
Slap
Combi
SFX
Higher
High
Low
Lower
Bass
Octave
48V Stereo
3
Mic input Output Footswitch Power MIDI in
1
Press so
LED is ON
Press so
LED is OFF
Press to light
LED
Press to load
Preset 1 if it’s
not already
loaded

10
Step 9:
Slowly raise the fader on your mixer channel as you sing
into your mic. Once you’ve reached a comfortable
listening level you should hear your voice clearly with
some reverb effect added.
Now you’re ready to hear Harmony-M’s harmony
voices. Tap the On footswitch so that its LED lights
solidly and sing a song while playing the chords on your
keyboard. If the On LED is flashing, this indicates Bypass
mode and you can hold the On footswitch to exit
Bypass before proceeding.
You can now experiment with all of Harmony-M’s
features starting by pressing the Preset button to cycle
through the different presets and then pressing the A/B
footswitch to hear each preset’s A and B settings.
Please read this short manual to ensure you get the
most from Harmony-M!
Quick Start

11
3. Humanize Control
Allows you to raise or lower the amount of variation in the
pitch and timing of the harmony voices. At TC-Helicon, we
call this “humanization”.
4. FX (Effects) Level Control
Raises or lowers the mix level of the effect selected with
the FX button. Full right position is approximately 50% wet.
5. Harmony Level Control
Adjusts the mix levels of the harmony and double effects.
Full right position is 100% wet, which means your dry voice
is muted.
Note that the Humanize, FX and Harmony controls are
“global” meaning that they affect all presets. Also, they have
been programmed for optimum sound at the detent in the
center position. This is intended to reduce the time
required for adjustments.
Front Panel
Input
Tone
Humanize FX Harmony
3
Mic input Output Footswitch Power MIDI in
1 2 3 4 5
1. Input Control and LED
Adjust the Input Knob so that while you sing, the LED
beside it flashes green, sometimes orange but never red.
2.Tone Button
This engages the Live Engineer Effects which
automatically modifies your voice and makes it sound
smoother and brighter. When engaged, this effect is
always on your voice, even in Bypass.

12
6. Preset Select Button and Preset Display
Press to cycle through the 5 presets numbered 1 to 5 shown
in the Preset display. Hold to store edits you make.The dot in
the corner of the display indicates that MIDI is received on
the correct channel.To change the receive channel, see How
to Set the MIDI Receive Channel on page 15.
7. 48 Volt Phantom Power LED
For condensor mics, hold the Manual and Double buttons
for 2 seconds to engage and disengage phantom power.
8. Manual Mode Button
When lit, this engages direct control of four harmony
voices as opposed to the two harmony voice method
interpreted from your playing.
9. Double Voice Button
Press this button to simulate the sound of you singing
along with yourself for added thickness.
10. FX Button and LED Display
Pressing the FX button cycles through the effect styles
and FX Off (no LEDs lit) for the current preset.
11. Stereo Select Button
Press and hold the Voice 1 and Voice 2 buttons for 2
seconds to toggle between stereo and mono output.
The FX and harmony voices are panned in stereo mode.
12.Voice Buttons and Display
Ensure that the Manual button is not lit, press either of
the Voice 1 or Voice 2 buttons to:
Front Panel
Preset
Manual Double FX Voice 1 Voice 2
Hall
Room
Echo
Slap
Combi
SFX
Higher
High
Low
Lower
Bass
Octave
48V Stereo
3
6
712
8 9 10 11

13
14. Preset A and B Select Footswitch
If you only need to access your two favorite sounds in
performance, tapping the A/B footswitch will toggle
between them quickly. If you would like to access more
presets with this footswitch, hold it to enter Preset
select mode. Now, pressing the A/B button cycles
forward through the five “A” preset settings or “B”
preset settings, depending on whether an A or B was
loaded when you held the footswitch.
15. On Footswitch
Tapping this footswitch engages or disengages the
doubling and harmony effects in the current preset. The
reverb and delay FX will remain active on your voice
whether the On LED is lit or not. Holding this footswitch
for one second enters Bypass mode which disengages all
processing except for Tone. This allows you to talk to
your audience without any processing other than the
Tone effect.To exit Bypass mode, hold this footswitch.
Front Panel
A) Change the associated voice’s harmony interval
B) Enable the harmony voice when its LED is off
C) Turn the voice off
Setting the same interval for both voices adds thickness
to the harmony voices.
13. LED Indicator Bar
This translucent bar indicates the A or B selection of
each preset and status of the On footswitch.
3
14 15
13

Back Panel
14
3. Footswitch Input
Connecting an optional TC-Helicon Switch3 footswitch
here allows placement of Harmony-M on your
keyboard. The Switch3 footswitch controls A/B, Bypass and
On functions from left to right.This jack can also accept a
single button pedal for remote control of the On
footswitch. Functions that require holding the
footswitches, such as MIDI Setup mode, are not available
from the external footswitch.
4. Outputs
These 1/4’ jacks supply the main output of Harmony-M
in stereo or mono. For more information on mono
operation see “External Mixing with Mono and Dry
Outputs” in the “For Advanced Users” section.
5. Mic Input
Plug an XLR-equipped microphone cable from your mic
into this jack.
12 3 45
1. Power Input
Accepts the connector from the supplied DC power
adaptor. Connecting power to Harmony-M turns it on
immediately as there is no on/off switch on the product.
2. MIDI In
Plug a MIDI cable from your MIDI controller keyboard
or sequencer into this jack.

15
How to Set the MIDI Receive Channel
For harmonies to be cued from your playing, the MIDI
channel your keyboard transmits on and Harmony-M’s
receive channel must be set the same. If the dot in the
Preset display window does not flash when you play
your keyboard despite a correct MIDI cable connection,
Harmony-M’s receive channel can be set as follows:
Press the A/B and On footswitches together. Play a note
on your keyboard. Press the On footswitch to exit back
to normal operating mode.
Loading Presets
You can load presets by MIDI program change message
or by hand. Press the Preset button to advance to the
next preset and change the sound. To access the two
sounds assigned to a preset while playing, press the A/B
footswitch to toggle between them.To enable or disable
MIDI program change reception and to learn more
about MIDI remote control, see MIDI Setup Mode in the
For Advanced Users section.
If you would like to access more than two presets while
playing, hold the A/B footswitch to enter Preset Select
mode. In this mode, pressing the A/B button cycles
forward through the five “A” preset settings or “B”
preset settings, depending on whether an A or B was
loaded when you held the footswitch.
Making Harmonies
Play a song on your keyboard while you sing. Press the
On footswitch to hear the harmony voices in the
current preset. Press the On footswitch again to mute
the harmony voices so you can sing with no harmony.
Singing or Talking Without FX or Harmony
You can enter Bypass mode by holding the On
footswitch for one second.This allows you talk to your
audience or sing with only the Tone effect on your voice
regardless what was set in the current preset. To exit
Bypass mode, hold the On footswitch.
Getting to Know Harmony-M

Using the Tone Button
When you activate the Tone button, your voice will
sound smoother and brighter. There are three high
quality studio effects that accomplish this: adaptive
“Shape” EQ, adaptive compression and de-essing.
Adjusting the Harmony Level
Turn the Harmony control to raise or lower the amount
of harmony added to your voice. If the Double button is
on, the extra voice it adds will be adjusted as well.
Changing the FX Volume
Turn the FX control knob to raise or lower the mix level
of the effect style selected with the FX button.
Thicken Your Voice with the Double Button
Activating this button will simulate the effect of you
singing along with yourself to make your lead voice
sound thicker. It can be stored on or off in each preset.
Editing Presets
You can change the Double, FX, Voice 1, Voice 2 and
Manual mode features to your liking by pressing their
associated buttons. Pressing the Preset button will cancel
your edits and load the next preset.
Storing Edited Presets
You can store an edited preset for the next time you
need it. Press and hold the Preset button to store both
the A and B settings for that preset number. If you save
your two favorite A and B settings in preset number 1,
they will be ready when you power up without you
having to scroll forward to load them each time. Note
that the positions of the Input,Tone, Humanize, FX, and
Harmony controls are not individually saved with
presets, they are global (affecting all presets).
How Harmony-M Reads the Sustain Pedal
If you play a chord, then press the sustain pedal while
singing, you’re able to add a keyboard riff that doesn’t
affect the harmony.
Getting to Know Harmony-M
16

17
What Do the Voice 1&2 Buttons Do?
Pressing either of these buttons can be used to select a
harmony “voicing” for that voice or to turn the voice off.
Voicing is the term describing a pitch-shifted version of
your voice at a musically determined pitch. When the
Manual button is lit, these buttons become inactive.
What Does Higher, Lower etc. Mean?
These names define the harmony arrangement in the
current preset. The following list describes the typical
voicing intervals produced by Harmony-M:
o Higher - Generally a 5th interval or 7 semitones
above your voice
o High - Generally a minor or major 3rd interval or
3-4 semitones above your voice
o Low - Generally a minor or major 3rd interval or
3-4 semitones below your voice.This is the same
as the Higher voicing only one octave below it.
o Lower - Generally a 6th interval or 8 semitones
below your voice.This is the same as the High
voicing only one octave below it.
o Bass - This deep voice remains on the root note of
your current keyboard chord even when your
voice’s pitch is moving up and down
o Octave Up and Down - Follows your voice exactly
12 semitones above (Octave up arrow) or below
(Octave down arrow) regardless of the chord you play
Changing the FX
Press the FX button to change the reverb and delay
style in the preset you are currently on which can be
stored as the preset’s A or B setting.
Remote Control with an Optional Footswitch
You can connect either a single button momentary footswitch
or aTC-Helicon Switch3 footswitch to allow handsfree control
of Harmony-M. A single-button footswitch remotely toggles
only the On function. The Switch3 footswitch controls A/B,
Bypass and On functions from left to right.The footswitch must
be connected at power up for Harmony-M to recognize
whether it is a single or triple function footswitch. MIDI Setup
mode and Preset select are not possible with the footswitch.
Getting to Know Harmony-M

More Information on Manual Mode
The Manual button disengages Harmony-M’s musical
intelligence. If you sing while the Manual button is lit, you
can directly “play” four harmony voices as if they were a
polyphonic keyboard part.Your harmonies will not move
automatically in response to your sung melody as they
do in normal operation, but you will be capable of
unique and unusual harmony arrangements. This
method of harmony generation is also called “Notes” or
“Vocoder” in other harmony products and it is most
commonly used by commercial MIDIfiles.
If you want to use commercial MIDIfiles that have been
authored with harmony control tracks, set the Manual
button to on and ensure that the MIDI channels of your
MIDIfile and Harmony-M match.
The Voice 1 and Voice 2 buttons as well as their
associated LEDs are disengaged in Manual mode
because the notes you play on your keyboard determine
what the harmony notes are.
You can store a preset with the Manual function active
by holding the Preset button.
Advanced FX Style Select
Each effect style (Hall, Room etc.) has three selections.To
browse additional Hall sounds, for example, first cycle the
FX button to the Hall style, then hold the FX button.Tap
the FX button to sample the options that are numbered
in the preset display. Once you’ve found one you like, press
and hold the FX button to exit. Hold the Preset button to
store if desired. Note that cycling through the FX styles
again outside of Advanced FX mode will return your edit
to the default style.
How to Choose Alternate Tone Settings
The factory default setting for the Tone button
accomodates a wide range of singers but there are
options to further customize this feature.
To access the Alternate Tone settings, hold the Tone
button until you see the Preset number display flash.You
For Advanced Users
18

19
For Advanced Users
can tap the Tone button to cycle through the numbered
choices shown below:
d: Default setting best for most situations
1: Choose this if you have a very bright-sounding PA
2: This option adds “warmth” to your voice
3: Increased compression. Caution: this slightly
increases the likelihood of feedback
Hold the Tone button to exit. Toggling the Tone button
will now activate your alternate choice.
Changing the Number of Presets
The default configuration of Harmony-M is to offer five
presets each having an A and B setting. When using the
Preset select mode this allows you to cycle through five
presets with a reasonable number of footswitch or Preset
button pushes. If you want access to more presets and are
willing to step through more than five, or would like to
reduce the number so you can cycle through three favorites
for example, there is a way to set this in Harmony-M.
To set the accessible number of presets, power up
holding the Preset button. After a moment, the number
“5“ will show the default number of presets. Tap the
Preset button to extend the limit to up to ten (shown as
“0”) or down to three (1 and 2 are not options). Hold
the Preset button to store this setting and exit to normal
operation. Note that the extra presets are not pre-
programmed so you can build your own.
External Mixing with Mono and Dry Outputs
If you prefer, you can leave the level balancing between
your dry voice (Tone active only) and a 100% wet, mono
signal of the Harmony, Double and FX to your sound
engineer. Ensure the Stereo LED is not lit then connect
the outputs to two channels of your audio mixer. The
Left Out will be the wet effects and the Right Out will
be your dry voice.These can be adjusted as needed by
your sound engineer.The Harmony control should be set
to its full right position in this output scheme.

20
MIDI Setup Mode
The MIDI operations of Harmony-M will work for most
simple setups, but there may be times when more
detailed control is necessary. For this, it’s possible to
change the default settings for several necessary options
in the MIDI Setup mode. Harmony-M’s buttons have
alternate functions in this mode and are listed below.
To enter MIDI Setup Mode, hold the A/B and On
footswitches. The 3 LEDS in the indicator bar will flash
indicating MIDI Setup mode. It is not possible to enter
MIDI Setup mode using an external footswitch.
To exit MIDI Setup mode, press the On footswitch only.
In MIDI Setup mode, the following settings are selected
by the buttons on the face of Harmony-M:
o Main Receive Channel (Selected by the Manual
button) - Receive Channel is ready to be set by
default as you entered MIDI Setup mode (Manual
button lit).To change the receive channel:
1. Play a note on your keyboard.
or
2. Manually adjust the channel shown in the Preset
display window with the Voice 1 and Voice 2
buttons.
The LED in the Preset button indicates channel
ten and the 10s position. If the Preset button is lit
and the number 6 is shown in the window for
example, the receive channel is set to 16.The
default channel is 1.
o Continuous Controller (CC’s) Receive Channel
(Selected by the Double button) - By default, the
CC receive channel changes along with the Main
receive channel. If you need to change the CC
channel separately to avoid unwanted parameter
changes from your arranger keyboard or a
sequencer, press the Double button and then
move a slider on your keyboard that’s transmitting
on the desired CC channel.This can also be
manually adjusted with the Voice 1 and Voice 2
For Advanced Users