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iRig Mic review
There's no shortage of ways to get sound into your iOS device, but one thing has been missing from the field up to this point: a handheld accessory to help you hone your Sammy Hagar (or Anderson Cooper) impression while you're FaceTiming with Gramps. The iRig vocal mic fills that gap, and the included Vocalive app does its part to help you rap over your favorite beat, add sick and twisted FX to your vox, and share your jams with your file-sharing friends. But is the iRig a Napster-level entry into the iMic field? Is it more of an eDonkey, or just kind of a KaZaA? Read on for our impressions of the SM58-feeling cardioid. %Gallery-119713%
VocaLive, iRig Mic, iPhone conspire to create vocal talent where none exists
When you think about it, an iPhone-based rig that lets anyone carry a decent vocal effects rig around in their pocket sounds like a recipe for disaster. Just look at that gentleman in the promotional image above, for example: for all we know, he sounds like one of the week one American Idol rejects -- but thanks to the miracles of modern technology and around $80 in spending cash, he fancies himself the next Clay Aiken. Ah, well, no use trying to stop this train. A new $20 app called VocaLive (there's also a free version available) from IK Multimedia includes 12 real-time effects that can be chained up to three at a time, along with a recorder that can run up to four tracks for an extra fee. You can use the iPhone's built-in mic or a handsfree if you like -- but for "best" results, you can pre-order the company's $59.99 iRig Mic that was announced back in January, which plugs into the phone's headset jack and features a second connector for real-time monitoring. Either way, your friends and family are sure to quickly regret it.
Voice Tutor puts vocal exercises in your pocket
Whether you fancy yourself the second coming of Pavarotti or just the best vocalist in your own shower, the truth isn't always pleasant to the ear: not everyone can sing. Everyone, however, can learn to sing better -- and that's the point of Voice Tutor, a sharp app from the experienced vocal coaches at IMPACK and Kimad Productions. For US$4.99, it lets your iPhone or iPod touch provide a full menu of workouts, fixes, and expert tools for polishing your voice and fixing the issues that may hamper your rock and roll nights. There's one important point about this app that may not be immediately obvious, and it's the source of some sour notes in the App Store reviews: it does not record your singing performances or do any direct analysis. This misperception isn't helped by the microphone-themed graphics in the app, unfortunately. The initial diagnostic pass on your personal vocal issues is done by manually comparing your sung scales by ear to four sample recordings from the app; it may help to have a trusted friend or straight-faced spouse listen to you and the samples to give an objective assessment. You self-assign a category of practice to your specific situation; whether you sing with tension, breathiness, cracking, or with a connected and smooth tone, there's a full set of exercises for you. A screencast of the app in action is watchable here. I consider myself a reasonably solid amateur singer, with musical improv training and performance experience (not to mention plenty of karaoke), so I was pleased to come up as "connected" on the diagnostic pass in Voice Tutor -- I had my children help classify me. The training philosophy of the app centers around mastering the "break," the transition between chest voice and head voice that tends to divide vocalists into the traditional SATB parts. In Voice Tutor's world, you work toward a "connected" voice to maintain a smooth and relaxed vocal style regardless of whether you're singing from your chest or head voice. Each vocal challenge area includes special workouts to help address the problems or issues you may have when singing, with almost 200 individual program segments in the Vocal Focus part of the tool. Once you graduate from your training session, you can head into the Give Me a Workout section anytime you need to warm up or "clear the pipes" before an audition or performance. The app's final section, Riff n' Run, is designed to give more experienced vocalists the tools they need to handle more complex phrasing and develop an individual style fingerprint. Even in a relatively brief pass with Voice Tutor, I can already feel the exercises and instructional content gently nudging my voice in a better direction; the workouts made me stretch without straining, and I noticed some rough spots starting to come around. It's not pretending to be a substitute for a qualified vocal coach and a tireless accompanist, but consider how much musical instruction is squeezed into the app and how often you might need a warm-up or workout on the go -- at five bucks, you can have it for a song.
Declaration of Independence reading gets perfect vocal score in Rock Band 2
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Declaration_of_Independence_gets_100_vocals_in_Rock_Band_2'; Back in July, a GameSpy preview for Rock Band 2 claimed "the phoneme detection system used for the 'talkie' parts [in Rock Band] has been completely stripped and a new one has been put in place [for Rock Band 2]." Well, Harmonix definitely stripped out the old system, but it seems to have forgotten to put a new one in its place, as the new game seems to award perfect vocal points if it detects any noise during the "talkie" parts.We first became aware of this problem when we saw this video of a singer using a bunch of gibberish to pass the Beastie Boys' "So Whatcha Want" with a 100% rating on Expert difficulty. It's an impressive illustration of the faulty phoneme detection, but it's not wholly satisfying -- the singer is occasionally on rhythm and his voice occasionally does kind of match with the on-screen words. We wondered: how bad would a vocal performance have to be to fail this song?The answer, apparently, is "worse than a monotone recitation of the U.S. Declaration of Independence." As shown in the above video we've put together, even a dry reading of a 200+-year-old political treatise can be victorious in a Rock Band 2 vocal battle. Rest assured, there's no computer trickery going on here -- this video was taken as a direct feed from the Xbox 360 and has not been edited in any way. Now we only have one more question: when will Harmonix put in that improved phoneme detection system it's long been promising.
A 'significant leap' for Guitar Hero due this holiday for consoles and DS
Activision is planning to innovate the Guitar Hero franchise. In a conference call yesterday, Publishing CEO Mike Griffith said, "For the holiday, we will provide a significant leap forward in innovation for Guitar Hero worldwide, on all platforms." That includes PlayStation 3, PS2, Xbox 360, Wii and DS. Griffith also said that more information will be provided "in the coming weeks."We wonder if this has anything to do with those recent rumors about Guitar Hero IV going multi-instrumental. Guess we'll find out soon.
Voice searching coming to Windows Mobile?
While Microsoft sure has its hands full with that other search engine, it looks like the mobile flavor of Windows could be getting a welcomed extra. Apparently, a questionably obtained CAB file has been acquired that enables users to vocally search for terms on Live Search for Mobile, and better yet, to input text via your voice "on any field that supports text entry." Of course, the application is indeed stuck in beta, which practically guarantees that you'll hit a few bugs if you load this up, but if you've got nothing to lose or you just can't resist a good challenge, be sure to give it a whirl and let us know how it goes.[Via BoyGeniusReport]
Voice Pay enables secure vocal transactions
In the continual quest to make depleting your wallet entirely more convenient, Voice Pay's online payment system actually expects you to vocally confirm your next decrease in fundage. Dubbed the "world's first payment system interlinked with advanced voice biometric technologies," the system records and stores your "vocal fingerprint" so you can phone in a payment or purchase products on-site that support it. Of course, it's entirely likely that you'll be repeating all sorts of random numbers, passwords, and mother's maiden names in public in order to get that bill paid, but we're sure the hardcore yappers won't mind a bit.[Via Textually]
Taylannas' Menus That Talk vocalize what's for dinner
Auditory menus might be an old trick, but it's likely to make Taylannas some serious coin if implemented in any number of eateries. The Florida-based startup has announced plans to dole out "slim electronic tablets about the size and shape of a DVD case" that sport touchscreen displays, speak numerous languages, and can even have its buttons imprinted with Braille to help the blind wade through the interface. As the title implies, the menus will vocalize what's on the docket, as customers can select different segments (drinks, dinner entrees, desserts) to be read aloud. The obvious benefactors are those who are visually impaired, but even customers who are hard of hearing were taken into account as the Menus That Talk devices also have a "detachable hand-held earphone" that reportedly syncs with most modern hearings aids. Still, we have to wonder if restaurants that rely on a quiet, low-key atmosphere won't disable the volume functions or demand a built-in whisper mode in order to maintain sanity during the evening rush.[Thanks, Joe B.]
