TC-Helicon Play Acoustic vs. BOSS VE-8 vs. DigiTech Vocalist: Hands-On Demo, Review, & Rankings 

To my ears the Boss had the best acoustic guitar tone and equally good vocals. I'm going with Boss.

Thanks T.S. for the comparison. It is exactly what I was looking for. I will watch the detailed video you mentioned too. By the way your video is professional and informative without going into too much detail. In a word, concise! Well done. pS: Funny you played Wind Cried Mary, I just started playing this in my acoustic trio. It sounds cool acoustically!

Very helpful to see the three units played side by side. Thanks for posting. I would probably buy the Boss as I preferred the guitar tones over the other two.

Dude T.S Miller Thank you so much for this video, it was EXTREMELY helpful and it is helping me make a solid decision. One of the most clear, straight forward, high quality videos I have ever watched! So well done!

God bless you. Thanks for taking the time to make this. You have saved me a lot of time and money!

Wow! This was great demo/review. Exactly what I was looking for. Thank you!

Been doing research on different vocal effect processors... also ended up going with the TC Helicon Play Acoustic! Also, after hearing the demo, would love to hear a full length cover of 'Flume' from you! Sounds great. Keep jammin', my man.

Just so you know.... THIS video actually changed my mind, I was going to get the Boss, then after your review I totally changed my mind and got the TC Helicon. I would have hated having to hit the button twice to stop loop! And the sound was very crisp, as well as my preference to edit things much more user friendly like you said with a good display. Also I’ll use it on dark stages so being lit up matters. So seriously dude you totally rocked that review and HC Helicon should give you a check for all the business you’ve probably given them with that thorough review! Thanks! It will be here tomorrow and I can’t wait!

Brilliant comparison. I was confused between the TC Helicon and Boss VE-8. Thank you

Hands down the best review of these types of pedals. You have helped me with my decision where no other review did. Thanks!

Best review that I have watched today, and I've watched a lot! Thank you!

Excellent comparison and review. Thanks!

You have a great way of speaking about the products. You are very precise and careful about what you like and don't like.

Terrific comparison video--thank you! I really appreciated this. Also, you have an amazing voice. :)

Been using the TC Helicon Play Acoustic for almost a year now from using it for my full indie-rock band, duo acoustic gigs to theater sound design and to bending song covers! The TC Helicon Play Acoustic does the job well for me. I remember checking your video out before I bought the TC Helicon PA! And I forgot to say thank you for helping me in choosing which vocal processor to buy. (Decided on buying it when I heard you reviewing it using the songs I love, especially Bon Iver's "Flume") Thanks again for this video! Cheers from the Philippines! - AENRI

Thank you for your amazing work!!👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

I have the TC Helicon play acoustic and have been using it daily for 4 years now. It is very well built, and sounds great, almost bullet proof, standing up to almost any nonsense that goes on while on the road. I have used it in live performances and for recording settings, and it suits my needs perfectly. 😎

This is exactly what a product review video should be..I was debating to get the Boss or Helicon..i watched this and just ordered my 'Play Acoustic'.

Great review on all 3 products. I like the TC Helicon the best and I also own one lol...and love it.

Good honest review, well presented!

Much thanks for the video comparison. As a purist(preferring less effects) I had to go with the VE-8 especially liking the EQ manipulation of the guitar and vocals. Thank you again..

I watched this time ago, i kept money and i just bought tc pa, thanks it works very well! Great video.

Thanks so much, very professional and quality content!

Thank you so much for the great review. It helped me to decide, and I bought the Play Acoustic. Would you post your custom settings for both songs? Thanks again. Really awesome!

Great review! I decided to get a Play Acoustic. Do you recall the basic voice settings you used for your "The Wind Cries Mary" demonstration in the video? (Like harmony, doubling, etc.?) With so many presets and settings, I'm just looking for a nice sound like the one you achieved without it being overkill.

Loving the review. Is flume layered with two harmonies from the pedals? Or are there more harmony parts?

Excellent review. I used to own the Harmony G-XT and moved to the Play Acoustic about a year ago. This pedal as per your review is very easy to use and the harmonies sound great. The Play Acoustic allow you to tag setting within a Genre (IE; Favorites) and allows you to filter the majority of the settings and just recall your Favorites Group. A very handy feature indeed.

Please tell me the settings you used for Flume

Not having ever used any of the three units I have to say that clearly the VE-8 sounded far better than the others in regards to the vocal harmonies. Perhaps the others could have been adjusted to match a little closer but the VE-8 certainly sounded far better to my ear. That's the one I would buy if judging by this test alone.

I'm very late to this party, but great video! I'm thinking of getting either the VE-8 or the PA, and had a question or two. First one is about another pedal entirely, but hopefully you can answer. Is the Acoustic Resonance of the Boss AD-2 the same as in the VE-8? If so, would running my acoustic through the AD-2 into the PA give me the best result? Seems like it would, but idk. I'm interested in the PA's vocal flexibility but really liked the guitar sound of the VE-8. Lastly, is there a newer pedal at a similar price that you prefer over these?

One thing I've found on the Boss VE-8, is it's nearly impossible to use a 12 string guitar and the Pitch correct at the same time......It will sound like the guitar is seriously out of tune.... When you turn the pitch correct off, the problem with the guitar disappears ... if your using a 12 string, You have two choices....Either sing out of tune or play out of tune.... Best advice, Learn to sing in tune... God as my witness, I have been working hard on that, lately!....:D...............and thanks for posting this... Very well done!

cool editing!

I never comment videos on RU-vid. But you helped me big time with this choice I had to make. I'll go with TC too, I've seen and heard pretty much everything on the net, I'm sure I won't regret it. Thanks!

Great review, thanks

How in the world does anyone prefer the TC Helicon!? It's lacking low mids, it sounds tinny and thin, it sounds robotic and "harmony pedal-y" which is not a good thing....the VE-8 has a rich, smoother EQ, way more natural reverb and harmonies, by a long shot. A long, long shot. I was really impressed by the sounds of the VE- after watching this and might be getting one now.

Great video! What are the settings for flume? (Boss Ve-8)

I agree with quite a few of the comments in that the Boss sounds the most natural, both guitar-wise and vocally. The TC sounds way more processed/canned. Given the greater connectivity and routing options and the superior sound, I say the Boss VE-8 is the hands down winner. I also think that the ease of use on the fly is easier with knobs than with a screen interface--especially on the fly.

Have to say the ve-8 had the best separation of harmonies and made your voice sound less processed when singing flume. Actually, I liked your version a hell of a lot more than bon iver’s. Actually made it sound like a Novo Amor song.

beautiful playing and gorgeous voice..! What microphone is used for your vocal in this demo? Thnx :)

Hello! I have a Godin Nylon and I'm researching the best pedal. Which one do you recommend for nylon guitar? was in doubt between the play acoustic and the Fishman aura spectrum. thank you

Great review! Can you describe what gear you use for recording the demos? And what preset or the amount of reverb and settings for the voicelive? I enjoyed so much your video. Cheers from Mexico!

So @T.S. Miler ... Did you NOT hear how awesome "Flume" sounded when you played it on the VE-8? I think you need to watch this video again! :)

Now that this video is two years old, for somebody solo playing, which harmony pedals would you suggest nowadays

Really great video and killer performances too.

Hello, I would like some information: Was the Tone Style parameter off play acoustic?

I had a completely different take on the Boss VE-8 vs the TC Helicon. I agree that the Boss has a more "limited" palette of effects but, the TC Helicon sounded very processed to me and my bandmates where as the Boss VE-8 had a much more "acoustic" sound to it. Being a guitarist myself I found the Boss interface much more intuitive than the TC Helicon. I felt the screen visualizations to be very similar. I found the looper, on both units, difficult to use.

Excellent concise review! 👍Ive used the Play Acoustic for around 18 months now and find it very intuitive & easy to use so plug & play really. It's easy to alter presets ( if you must!) but I have done only a few minor tweaks. I agree with your comments re the looper and also it isn't so easy to use or flexible when incorporating harmonies. The body rez is great and again can be plug and play with the preset tones. A minor gripe is the chorus which is difficult to hit the sweet spot, it's either too little or too much, even after much fiddling & tweaking. Great pedal though, a must have for solo acoustic players!👍👍

which camera are you using to make this video tutorial? Thanks!

Hello T.S. Miller, I do performances where I sing to recorded tracks so I don't tie in an instrument just sing, I'm using the vocalist live because I can just sing into it and it picks up my harmonies just from my voice, That works perfect for me, will the TC-Helicon Acoustic work the same way or does it have to be accompanied by a guitar or keyboard. Can you let me know, Thank's Ed,

Is FLUME a preset that comes with the TCH Acoustic Play? Great review video, thanks for taking the time.

Hey nice vid dude...what amp you going thru with these pedals at gigs? Thanks

I would love to see a quick test of all of these with the nylon string I see you have behind you ! That's what I am currently considering using with either the TC or the Boss

Hi sir, please if you read this I just wanna ask your settings of your vocals and guitar effects used for TC Helicon, like your vocal processing what present and settings you did use and for guitar mix as well. I just got my TC Helicon now, I would love to explore more of my new rig in busking. And at the same time I love your review on 3 and they all sound great but since I have TC, I wanna maximize how to use this and explore. Lastly what is your mix using Flume? Or is it s ready preset already for TC. I appreciate you sir for replying.

Great review, I agree with the ranking and came to the same conclusion so bought the TC Helicon

Can you share your vocal settings for the TC Play Acoustic for the first song?

Would love to know what you think would be a better purchase. TC Helicon Voicelive 3 or Boss VE8

Great review! I found that after the latest update you now have delay for the guitar on the play acoustic, and tweaking the compressor settings makes a world of a difference to getting a mic'd up sound, but that I found after months of tweaking it and getting to know the pedal. Looping time can also be increased now, so I don't think there's any close competition for some time...

Hi. Does the play acoustic match the harmonies to the chords your playing? Thanks 😊

I have the Boss Ve-8 now it works really good, i used to have the tc helicon but the middle rotating button was very fragile , i had to send the unit back twice unfortunately and i do agree it is the best out of the three but it’s not durable unfortunately. The ve8 is super durable but not as easy as the Tc helicon . Great video!!

I use the Digitech in a band setting because of the LIVE ADAPT feature. I don't have to run my guitar through it. It intelligently "hears" the stage sound and captures the Key.

I like your compass guitar. I have an old one and the pickup system in it needs very little to get a great tone. Great comparison great video.

Great video!!!

How do i change the default setting for the foot switch on the VE-8 so I can change effects unit with the foot switch, the instructions dont make this clear.

Great demo thanks 👍👍🎶🎶🎶🎶😵

could anyone tell which of them would be best to play with musical keyboard?

Great review however it is a bit misleading to say that the play acoustic cant apply independent effects to the guitar ? I am sure that was just a minor oversight but very important point - thanks

This was very helpful - thank you! I can see how they each have a different sound that just depends on what you want. Before watching this, I thought I wanted the Digitech because it is the cheapest and has all the features, but the tone was lacking in comparison to the other two. The VE-8 seemed a bit more natural sounding while the TC seemed VERY produced. Just depends on how subtle you want it to be. Thanks again!

Can we mute the guitar? I know the gtr is needed to guide the harmonies, but I want it also to go through other patch such as an amp, so it doesn't go altogether with vocals straight to the PA /mixer.

Hi, two questions on the tc helicon play acoustic; is there a phaser effect for the guitar and can you create separate loops for vocals and guitar? Thanks. Very good demo by the way. Really accurate.

Great video. What type of microphone is that?

Great Demo man! You sound like Jack Johnson!

If I don't care about guitar effects, what is your opinion on the TC Helicon VoiceTone Single H1 Intelligent Harmony?

i own PA, VE8 and Perform VG... had the PA the longest and had a love/hate relationship because I could never dial in my vocal effx EXACTLY how I wanted, but I was used to it... never used looper, too short. The PA just recently stopped working (vocal) after 7 years, so I purchased the Perform VG. Such an EASY, well engineered unit!! I love this little thing, EXCEPT that the vocal's relationship to guitar is weird, they're literally tied together... no independent control of guitar and the reverb is hard to dial in. Just ordered VE8, haven't got it yet, but it appears that if they could put VE8's sounds into the VG unit, with its ease of use, it would dominate the market!!

How did you get the ( sounded like 5 part harmony? ) on the tc helicon! That one 4 second blip sold me

FYI, tc helicon's vlplay acoustic has delay, reverb, chorus and eq. There the voicelive play GTX (discontinued) that has even more flexibility. I owned them all, had a great sound coming from the guitar. I use the voicelive 3 extreme now. And yes, you can update the firmware and get double the loop time.

Does anyone on here know if it is possible to run USB out of the VE-8 into an iPhone to GarageBand for recording live performances? I know you can do it on a computer but the last thing I need is to be hauling around a laptop to my gigs. I bought the VE-8 purposely so I could downsize and do away with my mixer and just run straight into my powered EVs. Any help would be much appreciated.

I have the VE-8 and the TC-Helicon VoiceLive 2. I prefer the VE-8 for acoustic guitar and the VoiceLIve for electric. The Boss has a degree of latency on the guitar input which you wouldn't notice if strumming but is not good for solos. Although the VoiceLIve2 has many more harmony options, many of them are just too gimmicky. The VE-8 has less options but sounds better to me although there are still too many gimmicks.

a question...how many traces can you make loops?

Before the video even starts just thank you for making this. Really needed this video xD

Thanks for posting this review...was leaning toward the VE-8 until I saw this review and then saw the price difference...The Boss is priced (currently) nearly 40% more than the TC-Helicon...

Jeez, I agree with some of the other commenters, the VE-8 sounded way better than the other two. Gonna buy one!

Which ones are battery powered . I would like to use it busking

Does the Boss VE-8 have an octave up option?

Great demo. Great musician too!

I have the TC Play Acoustic, love it. Wish it had delay... Good review!

I have TC Helicon’s H1 harmony pedal, and it has very reliable vocal tracking. TCH really focuses on making gear for vocalists, and it shows.

please answer me, will "TCH Play Acoustic" work with flute and wind instruments?

Ok. So... I actually went to Guitar Center and tried the Boss. I was surprised how very little it did to my guitar to be honest. It could have been the amp, but I have to give kudos to guy who reviewed all three because he was right. It was not user friendly at all. Also, I own a first generation VOICELIVE. The vocal sound is certainly better better out of the box. I will be getting the 3 extreme. Thank you for the video!

thank you :)

I really am in a toss up between the tc and boss here. I want to get one of these pedals today, but really am on the fence. I LOVE the natural sound of the boss. But I also would say I need the vocal options of the tc for my voice.

IMO - the TC sounded very "slick" - the Boss sounded the most "natural" - not as over-produced. The Digitech sounded a bit robotic. The quality of the processing on the TC was stellar, though. Good review.

Well! Demo 2 “Flume” couldn’t be more different between the VE10 and the other two. VE10 offered a cleaner brighter almost live sound where the others were darker and broody. Was it just not possible to get the VE10 in line with others or visa versa? I liked both but maybe the VE10 better. Still on the fence.

Can you chain other pedals to the boss ve-8

Wtf. I’m also a T.S Miller 😂 Respect! Good review ps

Have you tried the TC Helicon Harmony Singer? Smaller pedal would be preferred but I’m not sure what the sacrifice would be in terms of sound quality.

Hello. Can you SAVE loops with the Boss VE-8 ? If so, how? Thanks for great video

I have the boss pedal and for my guitar it is absolutely freaking fabulous. But after buying it and working with it for a while, for the vocals, especially harmonies, it is lacking. From this video, it appears the vocals are better with the TC Helicon acoustic. My question is if I have both of them both is it somehow possible to hook the two together so I can get the best of both worlds.

Have you reviewed the Boss VE-500 against Helicon?

I have the VoicelivePlay (the blue colored one). It's been 4 years now. I bought for 25,000 INR and now its available for 20,000 INR now. This is the most bang for your buck vocal processor. I have been using it for both live and recording and i preferred it more than the BOSS VE-20 at that point of time. I tried the Boss and the TC in the local store, and I was like..screw the BOSS get the TC. However, for a guitar pedal instead of combo Voice+Acoustic or the Voice+Electric, a separate guitar processor is advisable, when its guitar processor no one comes close to a Pod HD500X or the BOSS GT-100. I am still using the Voicelive play with the new Boss GT-1. I am also using the TC Helicon voice rack IOS effects in my Ipad, and it smokes the Vocalive app (full of latency) any day. I wish TC helicon would strengthen their IOS app like their vocal processor.

I have a TCH play acoustic and have used it for 5 years solid gigging and practicing. Just remember that with harmonisers, less is sometimes more. Updating the firmware will give you guitar delay, and an extended loop function.