Diki,
Thanx for listening - I've decided that the Compressor/EQ is the weak link in the harmonizer. You have the option to bypass it, but there's almost no gain without it and the sound is WAY worse. As for drums and balance - I just pushed the buttons - in fact, I usually do it with just piano. In a live setting, so many things are different, and the feedback I get from the crowd is my barometer, so I stick with settings that please the masses.

The Compressor is not much different from other units I've had - it's sensitive and temperamental, and almost unnecessary for my type of singing style. I hardly ever shout, I work the mike for dynamics ... it's really almost useless except for the input gain.

Every demo on line has the same "sock over the mic" sound ... it's obvious that the quality of the mic section is just not a priority for this model. The 3x is a totally different animal, as is the VLT2.