T C WORKS TC VOICETOOLS 1.0 (MAC/WIN NT)

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FIG. 2: When you bypass TC VoiceStrip, the entire control panel turns gray, which lets you know that the processor is disengaged(click for large image).

A Nice VU
TC VoiceStrip’s master controls consist of round, porthole-style input and output VU meters, input and output clipping indicators, and Input and Output level controls. In Stereo mode, an In/Out switch appears between the two VU meters, so you can use both meters to monitor input or output levels. Left and Right level controls are provided for the input and output sections. When the plug-in is bypassed, the control panel turns entirely gray except for the clipping indicators, making it easy to determine at a glance whether the processor is engaged (see Fig. 2).

TC Works included 21 presets that provide users with a good idea of TC VoiceStrip’s capabilities. Most of the settings are quite tasteful, and you can apply many of them to preexisting recordings with only a few minor tweaks to get good-sounding results. Even the more exotic settings, such as the booming, in-your-face Rap preset or the “telephone voice” ThinFX preset, sound more musical than gimmicky. I applied the plug-in to a variety of prerecorded source material—including a multitrack master of a Lisa Loeb song, a semiprofessional demo by a rock band with a male vocalist, and some a cappella vocals lifted from a hip-hop single—and the plug-in let me give the vocals a smooth-sounding, professional polish in all instances. The analog-style processing rounds off the rough edges that often accompany raw digital recordings, providing a more natural sound quality.

Correctional Facilities
Whereas TC VoiceStrip is the kind of processor that you would use often on entire tracks, its counterpart, TC Intonator, is an effect that most users would probably apply sparingly. TC Intonator is a pitch-correction plug-in that fixes intonation in real time. Although I have yet to encounter a pitch-correction plug-in that can transform a tone-deaf warbler into Maria Callas, TC Intonator does a reasonably good job of correcting notes that fall a few cents sharp or flat of the ideal. If you have hopes of turning your 17-year-old sister into the next Christina Aguilera, however, you’re probably better off investing in a voice coach.

Minimum System Requirements

TC Voice Tools
Power Mac; Pro Tools 24/Mix;
Pro Tools 4.x/5.x

TC Intonator provides a good selection of controls that supply a considerable level of flexibility to help you achieve the results you desire. The well-designed interface includes a guitar tuner-style bar meter that shows in red how sharp or flat the signal is compared with the desired note (see Fig. 3). The amount of applied correction is shown in green. You can select scales and modes from pull-down menus and create your own scales by engaging the 12 buttons on the keyboard display.

Each button shows the detected pitch in red, which is helpful when you want to select existing notes from a performance as reference points. Four knobs allow you to select the amount of pitch correction, manually adjust the pitch, select attack time over a 2 to 2,185 ms range, and set the low-cut filter’s frequency from 55 to 265 Hz. The low-cut filter offers standard fixed-frequency and adaptive modes. Other features include an input signal indicator, an input level clipping indicator, and a tuning reference control for fine-tuning the plug-in to a recording.

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