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JSmails

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Posts posted by JSmails

  1. Here is the patch I got from YouTube/KoR in its raw form. He also had a BOSS and a Philips Everplay, but with a different mic, so I was getting feedback and had to tweak some settings to the patches I posted in the first post. 
     

    Here is that patch:

    Mic: 27, Off, off, off

    Dynamics: On, 100, 5

    Pitch: OFF

    Tone/SFX: ON, Distortion, 100, +30

    Double/Harmony: Unison 100, -3, Db, 0

    Delay: Off

    Reverb: Off, Room, +3, 25

    Harmony Button: Reverb

    Master: 100, 75, Db

     

    Let’s now go through the settings you should tweak to make any patch work for you. 
     

    The first tweak is Mic Sensitivity. The higher the number, the more the mic picks up and the “hotter” it is. This should be your very first check as to where you may be getting feedback. So many different mics, and settings later, that make a difference here. 
     

    In general, you want the mic sensitivity as HIGH as you can get it without getting distortion/feedback. The higher the number, the louder the entire patch will be. 
     

    The next setting in Mic is Low Cut. You can leave it on or off. Since, for our purposes, we aren’t using very big woofers, this should be turned ON to cut out the really low voice range. Turn it on and off as you will. It won’t change much going to 2” speakers. The next two settings just leave OFF

     

    Dynamics is next. THIS is the next place to look if you’re having feedback issues. A lot of Kylo patches turn Dynamics ON, place it at 100, then the last number is the key. In the patch above it is set at 5, but that is too high for my setup, so in my patches in the first post, I tweaked it to 3 and 2. Play around with this setting to get rid of feedback. 
     

    Pitch is next. If you turn this on, just play around with it and always leave the Octave setting on the end at 0. 
     

    Tone/SFX gives Kylo that dirty muffled sound. Generally, set the SFX to Distortion, then 100, then play around with the level at the end. Most go with +30 but there’s a lot of different ways to do it. 
     

    Double/Harmony is how the patch above shifts the voice because pitch shift is off. You can turn this ON, then set it to unison, the harmony level is set at 100 because we want our voice to go through 100%. Adjust the GENDER lower to get the sound you want. Key of Db or choose what sounds best to you. Lastly “directlevel” set to ZERO. This means 0% of your actual voice will be in “harmony” with the adjusted voice. 
     

    In other words, this setting is just a simpler pitch shift. 
     

    Delay is off. I haven’t seen any patches that Kylo used a Delay. 
     

    Reverb can be on or off. Just play around with the settings. If there is any reverb in Kylo, there certainly isn’t much. 
     

    In the patch above, the “Harmony Button” is set to reverb if one wants to be able to toggle the reverb on or off. In costume, this really doesn’t matter as you won’t be hitting any buttons anyway. On stage, sure. It’s not really necessary for our purposes. 
     

    Master setting should be 100. You can always set it lower, OR just adjust the volume knob on the side. The “NoiseThreshold” is the noise gate. I generally go for 75-85. Adjust to your environment. 
     

    And that’s it. 


    To recap, if you start programming the BOSS, or program a patch and it’s not loud enough, or it’s too loud, or if there is feedback, the first thing to look at is the Mic Sensitivity. After that, check to see if Dynamics is turned on and what the “Enhance” level is. That “pushes” the sound more “out front”. Lower the “enhance” or turn off Dynamics altogether. 
     

    To change your voice pitch down, either use the Pitch Correct OR the Double/Harmony, but there’s no real need for both. 
     

    Lastly, play around with the settings. If you have a patch you like, and you play with some settings and louse it up, just don’t save the settings and turn the unit off then back on. It’ll reset that patch back to what is saved. 
     

    It’s a very simple unit to get the hang of, but there are plenty of different ways to program the sound coming out. 
     

    If you have anything to add, please do!

    • Like 1
  2. I know there are other threads about the BOSS VE-5 and Kylo, but none post findings about trying to program it for Kylo’s voice. I’LL make an attempt at it here. PLEASE feel free to chime in and help out. 
     

    Firstly, the voice is SO HARDWARE SPECIFIC that if you have a patch, and your hardware doesn’t exactly match what hardware the patch was created with, it likely won’t work very well. That’s why you need to know how, and what, to tweak the settings to YOUR setup. 
     

    A patch that sounds good going through my Phillips Everplay doesn’t work very well going through my JBLs. A lot of settings need tweaking. I am hoping to help out with this thread. 
     

    Here are a few patches that sound good on my setup. My hardware: Aker mic, Pyle mic amp, BOSS, Philips Everplay. 

    Mine:

    Mic: 25 On, off, off

    Dynamics: On, 100, 2

    Pitch: On, Soft, Maj(min), Db, -5, 0

    Tone/Sfx: On, Distortion,100, +30

    Double/Harmony: Off

    Delay: Off

    Reverb: On, Ambience, +5, 10

    Master: 100, 85, Db

     

    And here is another that I tweaked from a YT video. This one doesn’t use Pitch, but it changes pitch in Harmony. 

     

    Mine 2

    Mic: 25, On, off, off

    Dynamics: On, 100, 3

    Pitch: OFF

    Tone/Sfx: On, Distortion, 100, +30

    Double/Harmony: On, Unison, 100, -3, Db, 0

    Delay: Off

    Reverb: Off

    Master: 100, 75, Db

     

    Both of these patches are pretty loud and are up near feedback levels. 
     

    But let’s say you don’t have EXACTLY my hardware, you try the patch out, and it sounds like crap with crazy feedback etc.? In the next post, I’ll try to break down where you can/should tweak the settings to get a patch to sound right on your setup. 

     

  3. 1 hour ago, Squiggle said:

    Aw sweet. Thanks! I've had that chest bag in my Amazon cart for months. Hadn't even thought to check outside the Kylo threads for a speaker.

     

    Thanks again!

    I’ve kind of run into an innovation gap in the past few months, so I haven’t messed around with the Zoom and the bag and speakers and the capelet altogether. Sounds like a lot of work just writing it down. Yikes. :)

     

    I like the Tronsmart. It’s about the same length as the Philips. It’s not as tall, but it is a little bit wider in that it’ll stick out more. IMO, it’s certainly louder and sounds better. 
     

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    I’m sure there are other options. Like dual JBLs. 
    R85u0Yx.jpeg

     

    They aren’t quite as “thick” as the Tronsmart. And good lawd do they get loud together. Maybe too much. Shorter than the Philips and not as long as the Tronsmart. 
     

    In a quiet environment you can likely get away with using one of them and they are crazy small and easy to hide under the capelet. 

     

    • Like 1
  4. You could try two JBL Go2’s or buy a Tronsmart from Aliexpress. 
     

    The Tronsmart is thin, not as thin as the BT3900, nothing is, but the Tronsmart is louder by itself and is “almost” as thin. Meaning, it can likely stay on your chest under the capelet. 
     

    Here is Danny’s WIP where he bought the Tronsmart. 
     

     

     

    And the MVRK bag that should be able to hold it and your Zoom or Boss. 
     

    Everything would be hidden under the capelet. 

     

     

    • Like 1
  5. This has got to stop. Does ANYONE know how to find a mic that works with this thing? No matter what I buy on Amazon, the plug doesn’t work. 
     

    If I search Amazon for headset mics with an NL4, the answers are sketchy at best. Every single mic that comes up doesn’t have an NL4 end. 
     

    This is absurd that Boss would choose this mic end. 

  6. 1 hour ago, Darth Palmer said:


    Apologies if I missed it earlier in the thread but what mic did you end up using?
    Thanks in advance, interesting thread, definitely making me consider picking up a Boss!


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

    You quoted ME and I was asking. LOL!

     

    I’m still using a modified Aker mic with my mic preamp I’ve used with my Zoom forever. I’m hoping to get a mic I can plug straight into the Boss. Less failure points. 
     

    If you’ve used a Zoom though, the Boss is MASSIVE comparatively. I have no idea how this became the choice for Kylo. If I use it for my TFA, I still can’t picture how it won’t give me a hunch back under the cape. But others have certainly used it and nobody sees the back anyway. 
     

    Doug, @DarthFrazier,  took his Zoom apart and put that and the preamp into a smaller box. I have no idea how he’s going to get used to the size of the Boss. Maybe he’ll take the Boss apart also? IDK. For Vader, it doesn’t really matter how big the items are on the back of the belt as it’s covered by the cape entirely. 
     

    I played with the dual JBL Go2’s last night. Awesome, LOUD sound. Clear. I can’t wait to try to get these in my armor. I’d also like to use them for Kylo as they are way louder than the Everplay. The Everplay is certainly thinner, but not by much. The Go2’s are a great choice IMO. 

    • Like 2
  7. I’ve been trying to get away from transducers for a long time. They make suitup simple, for sure, and they play prerecorded stuff, breathing/lines/music, just fantastically. But the spoken word is always garbled it seems. I hate when I ask a question and just get a blank stare, or “What did you say?” 
     

    In playing with the Boss, I wanted a cleaner patch than I get with my Zoom. I want less processing and Vader’s voice more “in front” like in ANH instead of hidden behind a ton of reverb like R1. It also has to sound good through the dual JBL’s. 
     

    Here is my first patch for Vader using the Boss and JBL’s. Some settings will need to change based on your mic setup and your voice. Here is my patch:

     

    Mic- Low cut On

    Dynamics- off. 

    Pitch Correct- On/Electric2/chromatic/-6/0

    Tone/SFX: On/preamp/Gain +5db/Bass -6/Mid +4/3.15khz/Treble +3

    Double/Harmony- off

    Delay- off

    Reverb-on/room/-3/30

    Master- 65/Noisethreshhold 85/D

     

    I hope that gets you in the ball park for Vader. 
     

    Now to try out some Kylo sound, which is what this thread was originally. :)

     

     

    • Like 2
  8. 5 hours ago, VaderTime said:

    239f9f4e451359ac483cc2018b3ce825.jpg
    Got mine loaded up and started playing with voice. Need to get cheap mp3 player for breathing loop and my splitter for 2nd JBL.

    I used this youtube video to get up and going with settings.

     

     


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

     

     

    What mic did you end up getting? 
     

    For some reason I can’t find a single headset mic on Amazon with the NL4 connector. 
     

    Any help would be great. 

  9. My thoughts after messing with the BOSS for a few hours….

     

    This thing has a LOT less options than the Zoom. It is also a much bigger footprint. With that said though, there are certainly enough options to create a decent Vader and a decent Kylo. 
     

    Also, with all the amps inside this thing, your output can get LOUD. Preamp is a chain option. Mic sensitivity can make it louder. The Master volume can bring it up even louder. 
     

    I ran the Boss out to my one Croove. Good lawd was that LOUD. And surprisingly clear. I actually had to go into the patch and start turning down volume levels the Croove was getting so loud. 

    The patches you put together on the Boss are VERY specific to the speaker you are outputting to. I was modeling a Vader patch using my Everplay. Had it going good and clear. Then decided to try the same patch in the Croove. Feedback city. I had to turn all volumes down. 
     

    I’m mostly surprised there isn’t a multiband EQ on it. The only EQ I found was basic, like a car radio EQ. Turn up and down “Bass”. Turn up and down “Treble”. It did let you adjust the hertz for the midrange, but I didn’t notice much change no matter how much I changed the mid settings. 
     

    Since I prefer a Vader with a clearer sound, as it’s that clear sound that will allow others to figure out what you’re saying, the Boss output seems way clearer than the Zoom. Probably because the VE-5 was designed for Voice processing and the Zoom was designed for guitar processing. 
     

    I’ll have to play with more settings, but sometimes while doing my Vader impression, the Boss will hold the note I’m holding higher than it should be. There’s some modulating going on in something that shouldn’t be there. 
     

    I will say, 100%, it’s easier to program than the Zoom. It’s a much simpler setup, I.e. less options, but the Boss is only intimidating for the first 1/2 hour or so. 
     

     

     

    • Like 3
  10. 1 hour ago, darkhos628 said:

     

    Excuse me but where do you plug a 1/4" Jack Connector on the Boss? The only Mic Input is an XLR connector.

     

    Boss does both according to the manual. 
     

    6wVtVCV.jpg

     

    tBdPwN0.jpg
     

    Unfortunately, from my experience, if you use the 1/4” IN, your mic has to provide its own power. Hence the mic amp. 
     

    Is that not the case with an unpowered XLR headset mic? It sure would make it simpler. 
     

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1
  11. The boss works fine with my current mic and the mic amp I use with my Zoom. The mic amp is 1/4” which plugs in fine to the Boss. 
     

    I’d like to get rid of the mic amp. Just one less failure point to worry about. 
     

    Is there a cheap XLR mic I can plug into the Boss? I bought a couple of items from Amazon. If they don’t work I’ll return them. 

  12. 1 hour ago, VaderAZ said:

    The mic port on the boss is a female XLR which is what the headset plugs in. There is a male XLR out as well, I’ve never used that. I have only used the 3.5 “line out” to speakers.

    image.thumb.jpeg.91d8857c0666b6a27ef6784a7c788374.jpeg


    this is the mic headset I use https://www.samash.com/shure-wh20xlr-headset-microphone-with-xlr-connector-swh20xlr?gclid=CjwKCAjwkY2qBhBDEiwAoQXK5eWAhNVd7SZkEIIqaIISeIB-POJgrsewcbjeTRkSIz6leQb7mzNKdRoC47kQAvD_BwE

     

     

    A 1/4” plug plugs into that port also. Unfortunately, to work right, I also need my mic amp. I can turn on phantom power, and that brings my mic up without the mic amp, but it sounds terrible. So I can run my mic with just a 1/4” adapter. Once I turn off the phantom power, the sound is great,  but then bleeds off. 
     

    IDK. I’d like to use my current mic. Is the IN on the BOSS a mini-XLR? And will it work unpowered, so no mic amp? I must admit I’ve never seen that IN port before. And it does work with 1/4”. 

  13. 13 hours ago, DarthFrazier said:

     

    I've not totally convinced myself!

     

    But, this morning I made paper mockups of the small JBL Go2 speakers for size. They fit under my bells with plenty of room for arm movement. I'll start by purchasing these and then move toward dissecting my sound system and consideration of the Boss. I'm waiting to know if it can also provide the breathing. 

    I have the JBL speakers on the way to give that a shot. I was also thinking under the bells. 

    • Like 1
  14. 21 hours ago, DarthFrazier said:

     

    Yes, of course.

     

    I'm just exploring the Boss for potential ease of use. I find the Zoom difficult to program after significant time passes. I removed the components from the housing and that makes it challenging to remember each button action. Also, since I'll likely add new speakers with built-in amps and a simple line-in signal, I can get rid of my amp. Frankly, I'm tired of cobbling things together to save money. I want an amazing voice and a simpler, reliable system. So, I'm looking at everything. 

    100%
     

    The BOSS has its own mic amp, correct? So it’s just microphone to the BOSS then 1/8” aux cords to any speakers you’d like to use. Pretty simple. 
     

    I’ve been looking for a used BOSS for about 5 years. I still can’t bring myself to pay full price for it. Which is INSANE. I’ll spend upwards of $5000 on my costume but $300 for a simple, reliable voice changer is too much? Insanity. 10 years ago I had bought the Vortex2 for at least that much. 
     

    You’ve convinced me Doug. 

    • Like 1
  15. On 10/23/2023 at 10:46 AM, DarthFrazier said:

    I'm seriously considering this setup for Vader. I've run out of room under my armor for transducers which had worked well until I gained weight. My only concern is the lack of noise-canceling adjustment—something I've always relied on with my previous voice systems. This system is a bit of an investment and I'm leery to not have that option. Thoughts?

     

    Edit: OK, second issue. Can you use the "phase looper" mentioned in the product description to provide the breathing loop?

    You can also just hook up the Everplays to your Zoom. That’s what I do for Kylo, and eventually, probably Vader. 

  16. You could just do a basic, single speaker, setup. It’s Kylo. Basic amplification will get close enough unless you have a really high voice. Talking inside the helmet muffles the sound a bit, and a little bit of acting goes a long way. The costume makes people hear what they want if you get even close. 

     

    The toughest part of Kylo voice amp stuff is hiding everything. For TFA and SKB it’s TOUGH. For the other movies, he has a cape one can hide stuff under. 
     

    Lastly, I’m sure there are apps out there for Android that do some voice changing or pitch shifting. Getting it all set up and hidden is the hard part. 

     

     

  17. The volbox is just a kill switch and volume DOWN adjustment. 
     

    With the extra cord it takes to run it, I run it down my chest, under the outer robe, to below the belt. When it’s in place, I put on the belt. 
     

    It sits, hidden, inside the robes by where I can stick my hand in and turn it up, or down. I plan on putting a magnet on the back, then another inside the leg of my inner robe so it just snaps in place and stays there. 
     

    I also use this for my Vader Zoom setup. It has velcro on the back and just sticks via velcro to my Aker which is on my belt and runs to my transducers. Here nor there. 
     

    Suffice it to say, it makes it easy to turn the sound off, so I can breathe as loud as I feel, I can talk to other troopers, handlers, laugh, etc. without the voice on. Then when someone is coming in for pics or whatever, I can turn the voice back on and interact. 
     

    No real pics of it “in action”, but it’s dangling in front of my right leg, behind one of the outer robe “flaps” and easy to access through those slits below the belt on the outer robe. 

    • Like 2
  18. 12 hours ago, Occanum said:

    @JSmailsDid you heat shrink connectors on the left (output) side?

     No. On the left side of the zoom is the silver, mono, adapter with a black 1/4” to 1/8” cord plugged into it. That cord, and adapter, is zip tied to the zoom so it doesn’t ever think of coming out. 
     

    That heat shrink look is just how the cord came. :)

    • Like 1
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