The VocoPro Hero-Rec Basic--Most of my Audio Wish List in One Machine

Item: Hero-Rec Basic

Company: VocoPro

Format: karaoke machine

Source: http://www.vocopro.com/

Price: $800 msrp--may find it for less elsewhere

Rating: Good

In my last review, I discussed SHARM, an excellent piece of software I plan to use in all of my upcoming recordings, so today I'd like to shift gears and talk about my favorite hardware solution to a hypnosis office's sound equipment needs: the VocoPro Hero-Rec Basic.

Now, technically, the only sound equipment a hypnotist needs is a voice. However, for a deluxe office, it's nice to have equipment that will do the following:

provide background music

mix your voice in with the background music

enhance your voice

output that mix either through the air and through headphones

record the session in real time for reinforcement

deliver the recorded session as either an mp3 or a CD

Before I got the VocoPro, I cobbled together a system that could do all of that, basically out of spare parts, used outdated equipment, and extra gear from my music career. I might someday write an article on how to do that—it works if you're patient, willing to buy a little here and there to build up, and like to tinker with tangles of wires and so on. Or you can get it all (or nearly all) in the VocoPro Hero-Rec.

Now, over in Britain, companies like Hypnoke and Hypnocom have made systems specifically designed for hypnotists, and I applaud them for it. Unfortunately, import/export laws make it nearly impossible for either of those companies to ship their products to the United States—so instead, we use a karaoke machine.

That's right—a high-end karaoke machine like the ones made by VocoPro will do nearly everything a hypnotist needs, and it does it really well. Let's take those points one at a time:

First, you probably want some soothing background music. The Hero-Rec lets you play your music from any one of many sources: it has a disc player for CD or DVD; an eight-inch stereo input for an iPod, Zune, or laptop; a USB slot for a thumb drive; and an SD slot in case you use a card. Heck, you probably won't need to, but you can run a TV set through the VocoPro or use it as an FM radio (nice if you like to listen to NPR between clients). My preference is to put the music I want on a USB thumb drive and set it on repeat.

Second, you want to be able to mix your voice in with the music. The Hero-Rec Basic is more than equipped for this, with four input channels that are hybrids to accept either quarter-inch or XLR inputs. (Think guitar cords or mic cords.) The Hero-Rec comes with two wired, hand-held microphones to plug right in, and they are actually pretty good sounding mics. Fancier units come with wireless mics and built-in receivers.

(Personally, I don't like using a hand-held microphone during a session. I get tired of holding it or of staying close to it if it's in a mic stand. So I use the wireless headset I have for music gigs. Still, if I didn't have that, I wouldn't hesitate to use the Hero-Rec mics. They're that good.)

Third, you want to enhance your voice just a bit. Because Hero-Rec caters to the karaoke market, the reverb and delay in the unit are well done, with plenty of editable parameters. You can of course leave off the effect and just use your voice's dry signal if you prefer. Personally, I enjoy that "Voice of the Almighty" sound that the effects provide.

Fourth, if you're like me, you want to be able to play background music during the intake and then have the voice/music mix playing through two pairs of headphones: one set for your client and one set for you. Well, the Hero-Rec Basic has both modes. A powerful speaker provides playback, but you also have an eighth-inch headphone out jack. (You will need your own signal splitter.)

Of course, now that you are sounding so smooth and professional in your client's headphones, you may want to record the session for your client to take home as reinforcement. Once again, the Hero-Rec Basic has you covered, providing one-button recording to an SD card.

The fifth and final step is to deliver that session recording to your client, and this is where you'll need something besides the VocoPro machine. Okay, sure, you could keep a supply of really small SD cards bought on clearance and just record each client session to a new card, but more realistically, you'll want to take the SD card over to your computer to either upload the mp3 for your client or to burn a CD of the session. There's just not much way around this.

Another bonus feature of the Hero-Rec is that if you need a PA system for a show or public presentation, you have an easily portable but very powerful one right there. It even comes with a remote control for operation from stage.

So, are there problems with the Hero-Rec? Not really. The first unit I had came with a noisy fan, but the company happily replaced the unit. I might enjoy having a switch to go from headphone to speakers, but again, that's not really a big deal. The fidelity isn't quite good enough to handle Audiostrobe recordings (if you're into that kind of thing).

Perhaps the one feature I would love most would be disc-burning capability. That feature would make this truly a one-stop shop for hypnotists.

I noted with interest the Voco-Pro also has a small device called the Carry-Oke. It appears to have most of the features a hypnotist needs, in one small hand-held unit, for a price that's closer to the new hypnotist's budget. I'd love to review that product, but I haven't actually put my hands on one.

For now, though, you really can't go wrong with the Voco-Pro Hero-Rec Basic. It's an investment that helps take your office experience from plain to deluxe. The high-quality craftsmanship means you'll be using it for years. And it looks very professional in your office, which never hurts as a bit of social proof. All in all, this is the dream machine for the American hypnotist.

Full Disclosure: The makers of the VocoPro Hero-Rec Basic were kind enough to provide me with a review model.