Focusrite Voicemaster

This baby is incredibly easy to use. In fact, it is so simple, I don't see how anyone could you go wrong?
There are some tricks to it of course. For example, the output is easilly overloaded, so it doesn't deliver as much out put as say my Joe Meek VC6Q. I find I often have to suplement the output with the trim on my board. This limitation aside, the controls are laid out very clearly, while still providing a high level of detail and control for those of us who know what they're after, and like to tweak knobs.

For the money the sound of this unit (I have the new Voicemaster Pro) is absolutley incredible. This one unit totally transformed my home studio set up. I use it on every track I can, from snare drums (which it kicks butt on) to electric guitars. This baby can deliver some of the best clean electric guitar sounds I have ever heard. With the tube sound and vintage harmonics engaged and tweaked, I can get a fantastic warm and smooth clean guitar sound that is nothing short of magic. The V.H. section also gives brightness and attack to snares, and accoustic guitars, totally bringing these instruments to life. It may well be one of the most versitile sound shaping boxes ever made!

I definetly depend on it, and I am now very impressed with Focusrite quality in general.

I have never needed it!

I can't say enough about this unit. It offers so many ways to shape, polish and attune just about any sound source that dollar for dollar you couldn't make a better investment. Some people complain about the unit because, say the compressor doesn't have a ratio control, or the tube sound doesn't really sound like tube saturation. Well, they would be right of course. These things are true. But you have to forget about what you expect it to have and listen to what it can do. The compressor, while being limited, is great in that it very subtly and smoothly controls dynamics (when used properly), and the tube sound is great simply for its odd ability to push sounds forward - making them more present and in some cases more 3D.The tube sound also provides a bit of an edge to electric guitar, and a great hot saturated sound to certain vocals. Great for rock vocals that need to sound urgent. By overloading the input preamp slightly (just into the red) and cranking the tube sound you can get a fantastic raw lo-fi crunchy vocal sounds which are ever so popular now (listen to The Strokes, or any indie emo band out there). And then there is the EQ. Man, the EQ rocks. It is very specific, and doesn't do "everything", but then again it is one of the most musical I have ever used. It beats the pants of digital Eq's, even parametric ones. The beauty of the EQ is that it is specifically tailored for voice, which happily makes it great for guitars, string instruments, and some purcussion. I don't find it as usefull for bass tracks, but it would be far better than a normal console strip, or a direct to DAW path way. In short, you couldn't spend your money better! GO out a get a voicemaster pro! You won't be disapointed.

Its very easy to use and the layout easy to understand

This unit sucks. Compared it to my old Digitech VTP-1, this unit is noisy, weak and the sound is not that great. Tried it with a C414, U87, and audio technica AT4050 with vocals, acoustics guitars, drums and it is a major dissapointment. There is not enough gain on the Focusrite unit.

Don't know cause I am selling the unit.

Don't know cause I haven't call them.

This product is a disgrace to the focusrite product lines. I thought that focusrite makes better products and this one is a turn off to the name. I also bought their other lower end product, the Compounder and it is also dissapointing. I guess if you want quality, get their higher end products that cost in the 2 grand range.

Shouldn't be difficult to use - just a row of knobs on a channel strip. however I am puzzled by the two treble controls - there is one on the compressor, one on the eq. One is a dynamic eq I guess on the compressor, but I would have preferred an adjustable ratio control instead of this extra treble control. I would also have preferred the threshold control to have more range. I also like to record my vocals with the minimum of processing, then pass them through the unit again so I can hear the effect of various tweaks (not possible whilst singing). However passing a signal from my hard disk recorder back into this unit just isn't practical as there is no -10/+4 switch - I need to use another amplifier (the Behringer composer!!!) just to get a decent level into the preamp stage of the Voicemaster.

It took me a while to get some good results from this. However, now I have gotten used to it, the sound quality is measurably better than my behringer ultragain+composer I was using before. Still not absolutely amazing, but I think any current limits are due to my voice and room acoustics rather than this unit. I didn't like the vocal saturator though as much as my Aphex Aural Exciter C2, which can make vocals stand out from a mix while still letting them blend in. The eq is very good though.

not had any problems so far. It is all hardwired (no software) so should last a while.

Not tried.

I use synthesizers, drum machine and piano. I use the voicemaster solely for vocals, although I would use it for piano too if it was stereo. I feel the unit is let down by the lack of flexibility in the threshold/ratio settings on the compressor, and by the lack of a +4/-10Db switch. However the sound quality is pretty good if your vocal level is right.

Easy to use single-channel mic preamp. Can't store settings :( (I've been spoiled by using the t.c. Gold Channel, which can.) The manual is only 12 pages , (though it can take awhile to read it in all four languages), and gives homely advice on using compression, recording a voice, etc. but no technical info. Clearly intended for the project studio.

Very clear, crisp sound. Not particularly "warm", but not cheesy or sterile (unless you make it that way). I'm using it with a Shure Beta 87A stage condenser microphone. It has a signature of its own, so it can't be that "flat", but you will recognize it's sound from the Focusrite imprint on a lot of popular recordings. I'm using this as a pretty basic mic preamp for live performance and recording pre-demos on a digital 8-track. It's a fairly quiet mic preamp with +60dB gain; has a line-level input (no instrument input, though); 48v phantom power; low freq. cut; basic EQ with semi-parametric low freq. control, fixed-bandwidth mid & high freq., and a mid-scoop button; a very effective optical de-esser; cool-sounding "saturator" which adds distortion by degrees; smooth compression with attack/release/threshold and make-up gain controls (even a treble make-up control!). It has separate outputs for de-essed (to send to reverb) and un-de-essed signal (straight to board) so siblant "zings" can be eliminated in the reverb. I compared it to the Avalon 747VP (great, warm, tube mic pre--and quieter than the VoiceMaster), Joe Meek British Channel (not good for voice), and some others. I chose this one for live PA applications because it is a single rack-space, solid state, versatile, good sounding, reasonably-priced device.

Only had it 3 weeks.

No expereience.

I'm using this for a mixture of rock, pop, country and blues using a Shure Beta 87A mic, a t.c. electronics FireworX for reverb and delay, into a Korg D-8 for rough demos, and plan to use it live with a pair of JBL powered EON 10's for small venues. I like the voicemaster's clarity and very versatile feature set. It's a little noisier than I would want for recording (I would check out the higher priced "red" or ISA series focusrites for studio use). It doesn't have a natural warmth, even using the "saturation" feature. But for the money, I didn't find anything as good. I began with the idea of getting a tube mic pre, but the Focusrite has got me interested in solid state's clarity again, so I'll probably be checking out their other lines when I put together a studio of my own.

This is only a channel strip - it's not rocket science ! the front panel is well labeled.. but don't expect too many numbers - this is supposed to be a creative tool. Manual is good... has some good recording tips.

I purchased this gear becuase the sound is impressive. I dabble in home recording but I feel this unit has pushed my sound well into the semi-pro league. The compressor is especially good. High compression and max enhancement can give you a great "metal" sound. The unit is very quiet but there is so much gain available that it's easy to get buzz happening if you really crank all the stages - especially in the vocal saturator - but the class A circuitry even makes the noise sound good ! -if you want that dirty sound with attitude. It's very versatile, all the effects sound quite sweet. The de-esser can be a little sensitive - if your not careful you can loose too much... at the right setting it sound fine.

Had it 6 months now... no problems.

I tried to get some circuit details so I could change the line input to unbalanced -10 level. The guy emailed me a few times but I could tell they didn't want me poking around inside - I don't blame them. I've heard other companies (eg Mesa Boogie) are more obliging. They did offer other suggestions - I'm not complaining.

I only wish they had provided a switch for -10 +4 line level.. other than that I'm very happy with the unit... great sound.