Roland VT-4 Vocal Transformer Review (July 2024)
$170.00
Description
In this review post, we’re going to be discussing the Roland VT-4 Vocal Transformer, including an overview of its unique features.
Product Description
The VT-4 is an effect processor for the instrument inside us all—the human voice. And like the human voice, the VT-4 is easy to use, yet devastatingly effective. Whether you’re a solo electronic artist, DJ, or singer in a band, the VT-4 lets you craft and shape your own unique vocal sounds, from subtle augmentation to radical transformation. Everything is hands-on, with no menu diving or programming to get in the way. Jaw-dropping effects like harmonizing, vocoding, pitch shifting, hard tuning, and more are just a push, slide, or turn away. And with its compact size and five-hour battery life, you can use the VT-4 anywhere.
Today’s musical styles increasingly use unusual vocal sounds with heavy processing, making them stand out and grab the listener’s attention. With the VT-4, you have a wealth of modern and retro vocal effects at your fingertips, with no need to resort to a complicated setup with a computer and plug-ins. All the effects are top-notch, with everything from delay and reverb to mind-bending formant and vocoding effects. Better still, the VT-4’s performance-oriented interface lets you ride the controls while you sing to constantly alter the sound to suit the track and enhance the vibe of your performance.
Great-sounding pitch and formant effects are hard to come by, especially without a computer. And real-time tweaking of these effects often results in nasty artifacts and other unpleasantness. With the VT-4 you have totally smooth, instant control over both pitch and formant, with dedicated faders for each. Dramatically change your entire persona from male to female, big to small, or good to evil—the choice is yours.
Achieving complex vocal effects is easy with the VT-4, and you can even use multiple effects at the same time. Use the central Auto-Pitch knob to dial in just the right amount of hard-tuned effect, then press the Megaphone button for some lo-fi raunchiness. Or run the vocoder through a tape delay or vintage chorus. Each effect has a selection of one-touch variations, so you can get different vocoder characteristics, various lo-fi effects, multi-part harmonies, and distinct kinds of reverb and delay. Chain your effects, set the controls just how you like them, and then simply hold down a preset button to save that setup for later. Changing presets and tweaking controls is smooth and immediate, with no jarring artifacts, glitches, or dropouts.
The VT-4 works great on its own and can harmonize and vocode without any input other than your voice. But plugging a MIDI keyboard into the VT-4 opens even more expressive possibilities, letting you control the Auto-Pitch, harmony, and vocoder engines in real-time with the notes you play. You can hard-tune your voice to specific notes as you sing, or create instant multi-part harmonies with voicings that follow your chords. The VT-4’s small footprint sits nicely on most keyboards and is easy to integrate into your setup, dishing out huge backing vocals and funky vocoded leads by the bucketload.
Product Features
- USB port
- MIDI input
- Weight: 554 g
- Output level: -10 dBu
- Adjustable reverb effect
- Input level: -40 to -12 dBu
- 1 Microphone input: 3.5 mm
- 1 Headphone output: 3.5 mm
- Stereo line output: 2x 6.3 mm jack
- Desktop effects unit for vocal effects
- 8 Memory locations for your own settings
- Dimensions (W x D x H): 174 x 133 x 58 mm
- Vocoder, pitch-shifting, harmonizer effects, and more
- Direct and creative operation via faders, knobs, and buttons
- Battery operation up to max. 6 hours possible (4x AA batteries)
- 1 Microphone input: XLR / TRS combo with 48 V phantom power
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Solid build quality
- Solid functionality
- Incredibly dependable
- Worth the investment
- Excellent sound quality
- Favorable customer review ratings
- Very easy to use, with plenty of useful, musical-sounding modes
Cons
- It has No class-compliant USB driver
- A bit Pricey
Roland VT-4 Vocal Transformer Demo
Our Verdict
One of my new fave little vocoders. The reasonable pricing includes a USB/Audio MIDI interface.
Finally, the VT-4, like the VT-3, functions as a 2-in/2-out USB audio/MIDI interface, and the onboard delay and reverb effects sound very musical and fit into any style; you can also save your favorite effect/vocoder settings to the onboard scene memories for instant recall. This is a far better device in terms of price, use, and sound – and it’s compact, too!
Where to Buy
The best place to buy this product has to be Amazon, due to their competitive pricing and fantastic customer service.
Roland VT-4 Vocal Transformer , Black
$212.99
Pricing History
Price History for Roland VT-4 Vocal Transformer , Black
Statistics
| Current Price | $212.99 | July 26, 2024 |
| Highest Price | $229.79 | September 22, 2023 |
| Lowest Price | $212.99 | December 28, 2023 |
Last price changes
| $212.99 | December 28, 2023 |
| $224.49 | December 20, 2023 |
| $229.79 | September 22, 2023 |
Buyers Guides This Product Is Featured In
Best Vocal Autotune Pedals
Additional information
| Item Weight | 2.1 pounds |
|---|---|
| Product Dimensions | 5.24 x 6.85 x 2.28 inches |
| Country of Origin | China |
| Item model number | VT-4 |
| Batteries | 4 AA batteries required. (included) |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Date First Available | October 19, 2018 |
| Color Name | Black |
| Battery type | NiMH |
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