Things to Consider when Buying Vocal Effect Pedals / Processors

Types of Vocal Effects

The most common reason why people use vocal effects is to improve the sound of their voice. And and this is usually accomplished by basic effects like EQ, compression and reverb.

Most PA systems have these built-in for sound engineers to add them. But having your own vocal reverb pedal with EQ gives you more control.

Vocal processing effects also let you alter your sound in unique ways. Those who are into experimental styles of music will appreciate vocoder, synth, alien, robot and other out-of-this world voicings. These vocal effect types are also great for creatives, streamers, voice actors, podcasters and other media content creators.

Vocal effects processors nowadays utilize Digital Sound Processing (DSP) technology to create distinctive sound effects. Some can change the character of the voice using "formant shifting" effects. This can deepen or lighten the character of the sound to artificially change the apparent gender and/or age of the singer.

Pitch correction used to require high-end equipment. But now, you can get a mobile processor or an autotune pedal quite easily. This accessibility has made pitch correction a staple in popular music.

Some use multiple effects to achieve a unique tonal character. While others use it subtly to polish their singing. It can also be used in conjunction with harmony for male/female voice style backups.

Input/Output and USB Recording

Most vocalists will use just a basic XLR connection into a PA or mixing console. But those that sing and play guitar may need dedicated outputs for guitar and vocals.

Having extra outputs allow for more routing control. The guitar can be routed separately to the guitar effects/amp, while the vocals can go straight to the PA. Most vocal processors come with headphones out, allowing them to double as Headphone Amps.

Direct USB recording used to be considered as a secondary feature. But you need this feature if you're into home recording, live streaming, podcasting, voice acting and the like.

Looper

Loopers are popular among one-man-band performers. But even regular vocalists appreciate their advantages. Using a looper lets you layer and texturize your voice in ways that would not be possible otherwise.

Most vocal effects processors come with built-in looper functionality. While some even offer looper only vocal pedal effects. Aside from spicing up your performances, loopers can also be great for practice and training your ears and voice.

Vocal Harmonizer

One of the most prominent features of vocal processing is the ability to add one or more harmonies to a part being sung. They serve as virtual backup singers that you have total control over.

Some can even automatically change the harmonies to match the chords being played on an instrument. This feature is what we call 'Smart Guitar-Controlled Harmony'.

Without this feature you need to manually set the key for each song. You'll have to change patches if you want to adjust the interval of the harmonies within that key.

The number of simultaneous harmonies varies, ranging from 1 to 4 additional voices. Some have enough processing power to let you tweak the character of the harmonized voices in various ways. You can change pitch and timing variations and even gender.

Pitch Correction (AutoTune)

Pitch correction has taken some genres of music by storm and it's not just being used to fix tuning problems, but also for its own distinctive sound.

It can be handy if you're looking for some discreet help with a few tough songs. And it's a great tool for replicating the vocal sound of T-Pain, Kayne West etc. You can usually control how pronounced the effect is, which means pulling the pitch of your voice toward the desired note. If you're looking for a natural sound then a lower speed and amount of correction is usually better.

The 'Hard Tune' effect locks the pitch to a target note very quickly which produces an artificial sound that many have used in modern EDM / Hiphop songs. It can also result in a rapid warbling if you drift between notes.

Most vocal processors allow you to set a scale to tune to. But generally, chromatic mode should be sufficient if you are getting anywhere near the note. However the scale setting can be useful for that pronounced hard tune warbling effect to control which notes it warbles between.

Guitar Effects

Many vocal processors already have a guitar input for their smart chord-based harmonies. So it makes sense to add guitar pedal effects to make it into an 'all in one' performance unit.

Generally, these effects are tailored towards acoustic players. They offer reverb, delay and modulation, EQ/Filters and more. You'll want these features if you're a singer who also plays guitar, and want to keep your rig simple.