TC-Helicon Play Acoustic 4-stars Reviews

great vocal effect

Great effect with great features. Configuration is slightly more complex, due to the quantity of different parameters, however when one gets used to it, it is very simple. Great tool for single singer bands, or individual performers. I only miss possibility to be mounted on microphone stand, but with switch-6 it is possible to control the device widely.

If you have budget for only one pedal, it's this one!

I have been using this pedal for few years already. It's incredibly customisable. There are plenty of guitar and vocal effects, probably you won't ever need them but it's nice to have it anyway.

Best thing about it: It replaces about many pedals (delay, reverb etc.) And vocal pedals ( delay, harmoniser, reverb, autotune..) plus tuner and looper.

So if you have budget for only one, this is the one.

Excellent quality, though there few compression options.

It's a very durable, sturdy piece of gear. The sound quality is great and I have no complains whatsoever about this. There is also an incredible amount of parameters to tweak. But the one thing I have to point out is the little control over compression that the user have. I find this very strange as there are so many parameters one can change, but such an important one as compression for the vocals is very poorly managed. There are only a few general options such as "no compression", "normal compression", and "extra compression", and this setting then applies to every preset at once (not individually). I find this strange. As for the rest, really no complains at all!

Good bit of kit but somewhat fiddly

Some of the effects sound good but I think there’s only a couple of the vocal harmonies that are actually useable for many songs. Takes a bit of practice, like the onboard tuner and the basic looper

Solid and well made kit. Will persevere it’s it to get more use of the sounds

great pedal overall

I wanted something simple to use for solo live shows. There are loads of youtube videos on this model which helped me get it set up. It needs a plug(has no battery option) which is a bit of pain.

I used it for vocal loops, and guitar fx, overall it was versatile and definitely worth buying

The outlet did not work until a wire was inserted between the contacts.

Great vocal effects, acoustic sound not so

It is pretty fast in correcting your singing and it is has to work hard when I use it! Harmonies are pretty decent for the price you pay. The acoustic guitar sound could be improved. Using a Boss AD10 for that now, linking it to the TC Helicon to make use of the autotune

Build like a Tank

Cons:

built quality

a lot of effects on the voice

great reverb

Cons

minimal effects on guitar

Little disappointed feeling

Want to be short as possible. I am a singer and play acoustic guitar along. Bought this little "body" with high expectations, but was left little behind as unit being tested in real life on smaller venues and stages. In the end I would say it is a steady built, nice features, easy to use, but if you feel like your creative personality being digitalized and overtaken, then one should choose other more simple TC Helicon pedals. But in general, it was ok to have it.

Good for some things

Th acoustic processing is not that good. The body and tone shaping abilities have a very compressed and processed sound. TC seems to have been 30% focused on the guitar, 70% on the vocals. the vocals processing has frankly waaaaay more options than are necessary and most of the additional voices are very chipmunk-y. I use it simply as an added delay for big songs and as a secondary processor for an additional acoustic channel. Would never use as a standalone for acoustic gigs.

Just the right one for me.

I have looked into those tc helicon harmoniser and this is the one that fits the bill just perfect. Two harmony voices is plenty for a solo singer. Mine has only chorus and reverb for guitars so I' have to check if there is an update to get the delay as well.

The reaction time to chord changes is good if you know how to help the machine (don't delay playing that chord).

It's fun to play with! I love it.

Do I really need a degree?

Terrific bit of cost effective kit, but oh, so, effing complex - to me an ageing old fart! Once there, it sounds brilliant.

Versatile

The TC-Helicon Play Acoustic builds upon the wide variety of vocal effects processors offered by TC, in this case catering more for the solo, acoustic performer. With the success of artists like Ed Sheeran it was inevitable that a product would come along tailored to this market, and the Play Acoustic certainly has a great list of features; a range of standard vocal effects, multiple voices from octaves above and below to thirds, fifths, and other configurations, a built-in looper, some great guitar effects and DI functions.

So how good are the effects? Well there are some set to famous song presets e.g. lush Beatles harmonies on "Norwegian Wood", Clapton-esque octaves on "Layla", etc. These are handy for quick-fixes, and available to customise. The typical criticism of these devices is the robotic nature of the harmonies on offer/vocals not always staying in key. The advantage with the Play Acoustic, like some of the other guitar/vocal combos in the TC range is that by plugging your guitar in, the Play Acoustic works out the key based on the notes you feed through on the guitar. This lends things a more organic sound compared to other models.

What is the PlayAcoustic lacking? A tuner would be great for solo performers, but with TC's separate chromatic tuners this is understandable. The menus can also be a little dense, but saving favourites is a good way to save time. Besides this the Play Acoustic is a compact, useful and adaptable effects package.