Antares AVP-1

It's pretty intuitive to use; Antares have broken up the front panel into different modules that you can turn on and off independently, including a mic modeler, auto-tune, compressor, de-esser, and EQ section. The LCD display is large so you can easily access the parameters of each module without too much hunting around. Also, the input buttons on the front are pretty easy to use and intutive.

The sound quality is darn good for a < $500 studio-quality piece of gear. I use 2-3 of the modules: auto-tune (what I bought this for) and de-esser, and sometimes the compresser. I find the auto-tune quite good, although it takes some fiddling to get it right (particularly the auto-tune time). Make sure that you set your scale correctly, or it will do all sorts of wierd (and not in a good way) stuff. The de-esser is top-notch, again, take your time and set it up properly for your rig. The compressor is good, although I find it a bit harsh, so I tend to use the limiter in my Korg D1600 MkII for that. I'm not really interested in the mic modeler as I have a $800.00 AKG XL II large-diaphragm condenser that I really don't want to turn into a $75.00 Shure SM57 or SM58 (with good reason obviously!). This could be more usefull for folks with low-to-mid-end vocal mics I would guess. The EQ is good, althoug it is only 2-band, not really usefull for me.

Oh - a note about levels to those folks who complained about this unit. You HAVE to use the levels tool in the setup to get accurate levels on this thing. The blinky LEDs level meters on the front panel are only approximate, so whenever I'm laying down tracks with this I always use the levels tool in the setup page - that one is trustworthy.

I've had no problems, and it seems solidly built.

Never had to use it.

I bought this unit probably for the same reason as most, the auto-tune function which seems to work great. There are other functions but all are difficult to edit. This is 2006 and I guess I've become spoiled by the fact that most new gear comes with PC editor/librarian type programs. I was quite surprised to find that the AVP-1 offers nothing in that regard (don't these guys make high dollar software??). I e-mailed Antares tech support to find out if there were any PC programs that could be used but couldn't receive a satifactory answer from the resident smart ass there.
All that aside, the manual seems quite adaquate and the buttons are laid out in a reasonble logical fashion
My unit is at ver. 1.0 which appears the be the only version.

Other than the autotune function I have other outboard gear to handle most the other offerings of this unit. I don't get much out of the mic modeling function but I'll be the first to admit that such subtle changes can be hard for me to detect.
The unit certainly will get the "Cher effect" which can be cool.

This unit hasn't been out of the house much yet but soon I'm going to find out how reliable it is when the gigs start.

I may have mentioned the tech support person I e-mail corresponded with seemed rather arrogant and aloof. There doesn't seem to be a great deal of info about this unit at the antarestech website except, of course, the desire to sell them.

This unit resides in my mixer rack and will soon be hitting the road for some live workouts. As long at it does the "autotune thing" I'll be happy with it.
One last thing that is rather misleading in the manual, if you plan to use a foot switch with this unit you'll want a momentary switch (like a sustain petal) as opposed to a latching amp channel switch or you'll be doing the "double stomp".

I bought this unit specifically for the pitch correct function for which it has failed. As far as getting a good sound, well if you dont mind audible electrical clicking/popping sounds everytime it tries to pitch correct then this is the machine for you.
Editing is simple but you have to overwrite presets but you can restore back to factory presets later if you want but then you lose your new settings.
The manual is really irritating with its pathetic try hard humour. Antares should really stick to explaining things simply and effectively instead of confusing people with dumb jokes that arent funny. I mean its meant to be a manual not a comedy but then again the trouble I have had with this unit is laughable.

Most of the presets are quite good but everytime you use the pitch correct expect to hear things you dont want to hear.(audible crackles etc). I use a rodes mic and m-audio pre before the avp-1 and a yamaha aw16g after it.
It has a preset called telephone which is good, if you like that nasally telephone sound much used by many different artists. The leds are useless, they are supposed to let you know when you go over by turning red.I find them difficult to use.

As far as pitch correction goes I cannot depend on this unit at all. It has let me down too many times. You think you just recorded that perfect vocal and then you listen back and hear pops and clicks that completely ruin the take. I certainly would not use on a gig.

I bought in march 2004, I then had exchanged for a new unit beginning of 2005. The new unit had the same problem. It is now being sent off for repair. When it comes back if there is still a problem I will be getting a refund.The shop where I bought it tried to convince me that its difficult to use and that I am using it incorrectly -one word-B*llsh*t. Antares replied to my email however I did not find it very helpful as they couldnt really do much for me via my inbox and I am not going to spend money making overseas calls from australia.

I would definitely not replace if stolen. Perhaps I was too gullible when the sales reps convinced me this was a miracle machine that all the 'big artists' use for pitch correction.
I wish it did the job they advertise it as doing, Ive tried two and neither lived up to it.
It definitely needs better leds, and an on/off switch and some free memory space to store settings and pitch correct that works.
If you want to use for pitch correction I would not recommend you buy this unit. If you want for the other features ie- compressor,eq,mic modelling,double tracking, its ok but I would still look at something else first.

Just a fast update of my previous review. In two days I sent FOUR emails to Customer Support of Antares, and I received incredibly FAST, kind and complete replies even if I didn't bought the unit new but second hand on Ebay, and I was still not registered.
Now I'm a regular registered user, and Antares support is really awesome and professional!

Just an added value to my previous review.

The unit seems not so easy at a first look, but after a deeper look you can easily target any need in a few moments. You can turn on/off in one click every single section of the unit, and access instantly general parameters and specific module (autotune, modeler) parameters in a moment. It's a unit that does not need something like SoundDiver editing, you can do al your settings with front panel and the large lcd display.
There are a good amount of presets, but depending on your microphone type you can achieve immediatly a good sound or not. Generally the first module to work with is in my opinion the micmodel, and then all the other. There are no user specifi banks, so when you save a preset you have to overwrite one of the originale presets, but it's a glance to recall every single factory preset. And you can dump via sysex midi all the memory and then put it back in the avo, so it's easy also to make a backup of presets.
The only missing feature is a good and magaeable use of the MIDI out port: it's used now only to dump out presets, it could be usefull to have ability to set it as amidi thru for the Program Changes received in the MIDI in, or at least to generate Program/Parameters Change as you turn preset or parameters knobs (so you can chain to AVP, for example, a multieffect and drive with a single MIDI controller both devices).

I use it both live and studio, always with condenser type microphones (small and large), and it's an incredibly good machine. Simply choosing your mic as input and adjusting the prossimity effects without modelling anything as output, you can achieve an incredible sound (but I doubt it can do the same with a cheap $30 mic). The autotune is useful if you set it to be large as time, so to correct your pitch costantly but allowing to you vibrato and voice bendings without the "Cher" effect. Also the compressor is musical, and desser is really usefull. Overall quality is really good. It has unbalanced trs input and output, but it's better to have your own mic preamp, and there is no noise so it's not a problem for nearly alll home/project studio. Due to the high quality and features of this baby, I think it's not a problem even for the more professional studios.
In a word: with only this I can achieve a better and definitive voice sound both studio and live, without destructive eq or other infinite chains of outboards. I think you have to buy a decent mic (and today the $150 mics for home recordings are really good enough), then you have the definitive tool for your voice.

Until now I had no problem, it's seems a reliable machine.

I know there is people hating plugins, and those probably hate more an outboard with a bunch of plugins inside! But at Antares they know what they're doing, and the Antares Vocal Producer is what his name means: a real producer for your voice (and not only). Consider it's a pitch fix, mic modeller, tube simulator, compressor/gate, desser, eq .. all with Antares plugins quality. Everyone serious about voices should at least try a listen to this piece without any preconcept. The only feature you have to be aware of is autotune, usefull and nearly "transparent at all", but to be used only where needed for studio tracking. For live stage set it with a medium sensitivity and a long tempo, plug a switch to disengage it (only the autotune, it's possible) when not needed, and keep it all the rest of the gig ... you'll be not disappointed and you'll sing better and more relaxed.
Add this to the ability and control yourself your voice live and have "that studio quality" on stage ... plus all the other modules and the ability to use it the same in studio, with other source types, plus all the creative possibilities (telephone voices at a glance without eqing more) and it's a perfect machine for home, studio projects and live singers caring of their sound and performance at all.

Relatively easy to use, the manual is very thorough and explains evferything well. Comes with editable presets.

My signal chain is as follows: mic > preamp > AVP-1 > DAW. I guess preamps arent AnTares' bag, but it wouldnt hurt matters to include a preamp in a vocal strip! The sound quality is decent - I use this mainly to just add a bit of compression/de-esser and to gate vocals before they are committed to record. I like to record the dryest vocals possible, so that i can edit them later with software insert effects [such as the software equivalents of the micmod and tube and auto-tune on this unit] - so for my purposes this unit works ok. if I could afford another dedicated compressor/gate then i would, but this unit will have to suffice for now.

This unit has no power seitch so its meant to be left on all the time, but it has frozen on me quite a few times and i had to unplug it and plug it back in to reset it [my presets were still saved retained though]. So due to that - I wouldnt rely on this unit live where equipment failure is critical. In the studio [where I mainly use this item] Im more forgiving to malfunctions as i can take my sweet time fixing them.

Called them once to ask a question and they were very knowlegeable and helpful.

PROS:
-quick and easy to use, nice display
-everything a vocal strip should have [except for a preamp!]
-decent sounding for an all-in-one unit

CONS:
-need a PREAMP!
-an on/off switch would be nice

Although I'm familiar with their plug-ins the layout wasn't as nice as a big 19 or 21" monitor however, the layout proved to be useful and functional.
When tracking with this unit it takes a moment to dial in the delay of the singer (the point at which they usually go sour on their pitch) and getting that just right helped to eliminate the artifacts of the sound over all.

I'm using this in betwen a Joe Meek VC1, and TC Electronic/Helcion Voice One. It sounds great. Behind the voice one I'm running it into a Roland VS-2480. Nice sound! There is a bit of noice from the tube, but its the right kind of noise and is very friendly to the sound---really really warm.

Nothing wrong with this particular unit. Turned on just fine. Powered up and works great from the settings. Rack mount stand alone units see to always have this aspect down.

Since my unit works right from the get go, I'd have to say that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. This is a blessing in disguise from other parts and services that I've purchased through out the years. I'm really happy that I don't have to try and contact these guys. Thanks for making something that works from the onset of use rather than days later, cusotmers upset at you and lost money. Amen.

I've used this machine on three vocalists, a metzo-tenori clean male vocalist with rough rock overtones, a soft female altoish jazzy vocalist and a growly baritone of a voice. All worked well in this combination.

This saved me hours on the back end of editing by working only on those long legato notes that sometimes fall out of tune with even the best of singers. I don't believe it will work well with a bad vocalist. This still holds true to the addage, crap in and crap out.

I emailed Antares in the states as a last resort, and things have changed somewhat. They gave me an Eprom refresh guide and a guide to resetting the machine, both scenarios are easy to follow.

The noise is still there, but Antares have promised to repair or replace the unit, and will supply a loaner if it has to be sent away. THAT good people is support !!! It may have taken a few calls and emails but Antares have DEFINITELY come to the party, and I am impressed finally !

OK, in all honesty at present if you've read my previous review this is not an option BUT once repaired this little unit would be fantastic as a "quick shot" vocal setup live, and is built quite solidly. I WOULD use it without backup, but obviously not in it's present state.

Please refer to previous review, and note that Antares HAVE significantly come to the party, and I look forward to having the issue resolved shortly. Cust support via email came within 4 hours !! MY Unit obviously has a fault, but what manufacturer doesnt produce the odd bung machine ? ... I can accept this and now that Antares are in full support mode, I can only suggest that I bought a "dud" and will be well looked after by Antares into another machine to solve this problem. It was always the suport that mattered the most - I dont mind it being broke as long as someone can fix it !!!, and Antares HAVE come up on top here. Kudos to you.

please see previous review, I like to give a fair apraisal, and the previous support scenario was a problem ! THis no longer appears to be the case, and thus I felt it pertinent to update my review to reflect this.
Antares AVP1 appears to be a wonderful piece of kit.
I would like to see the following options if anohter unit is developed :
On/Off switch on the front panel !!!
Better/more accurate scale metering ! ( not that important as it is an insert effect and levels in can be set and monitored from the send/desk ).
A nice pre-amp. Would be a killer piece of kit if it was developed into a vocal strip but at present is only an insert effect. At present it's a vocal "assister" could be fantastic if it was a complete strip ??!! Anyone else agree ?

easy to use. doesnt work though.

It looks ok, but the meters are useless and really no point them being there. All functions seem to work well, particularly Mic Modeller. Comes with an ugly wall wort, and NO FRONT PANEL ON/OFF switch ! This is always a bad thing. I'm really unimpressed with the Auto-tune function and have been searching in vain for other reviews. It crackles HORRENDOUSLY in auto-tune mode. Ive rung Antares in the states - no reply, Ive emailed them, no reply, Ive rung the local importers, they don't get back to me either. I have tried every scale of setting from male to female voice and max/min autotune sensitivity but it still CRACKLES BADLY in autotune mode - almost like it's struggling got cope ??? I would definitely not recommend purchasing this unit for hte autotune function, I have had to revert to the software version of autotune which annoys me because I paid alot for this piece of garbage just for that part ! Antares take note- your support crew are unhelpful ( read none at all ), your suppliers dont know anything, and the box I bought from you crackles - NOT HAPPY !

Nope.
Nope.
and as for the statement below, it didnt even work properly once !

hahahahahahahahaha !!!!!!!!
do they exist ????!!!!

It's either dud or I have been given a bad/low powered wall wort or it simply doesnt work ( which I find hard to believe given the software versions work fine ) ... so Antares get you $hit together with your tech support please - I was sooooo disappointed, and I buy a LOT of gear !