I have to give SoundTech credit: The company's new Vocal Trainer Kit has taken my singing to an entirely new level. What was previously limited to the shower is now good enough to let me sing at any karaoke bar without embarrassment. The package--the SingingCoach software, a hefty microphone with a tripod desk stand, and one of the company's LightSnake Intelligent XLR cables to connect the mic to your PC--is designed to help singers of all skill levels improve their abilities. Despite the software's simple animation and limited vocal instructions, it does a more than competent job.
To use the kit, you hook the LightSnake cable, which is a garden-hose-size USB cord, to your PC on one end and to the microphone on the other. This took some doing. The cable's ends cleverly light up at the USB port and the microphone connector when sound is transmitted to let you know when the software is recording your voice. But, as I learned, the lights won't work if you plug the cable into a USB hub; it must be connected directly into a PC port. Also, the nearly-one-pound mic was too heavy for the spindly tripod, which broke in half within minutes of assembly.
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