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TC-Helicon Play Acoustic

351 Customer ratings

4.6 / 5

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handling

features

sound

quality

215 Reviews

TC-Helicon Play Acoustic
4.180 kr
Free shipping incl. VAT
In stock within 7-9 weeks
In stock within 7-9 weeks

This product is expected back in stock soon and can then be shipped immediately.

Standard Delivery Times
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slightlymad 17.04.2021
I've been using this unit for about two years now as a one man band. I used it in different venues, form big and small, and different systems.

I would definitely say the pros of the product are that it has a lot of options in general in a relatively small unit and it seems very well built.

But, even though there are a lot of options for a unit small like this, there are also some essential features that should be there but aren't, as for example, vocal compression and limiter.

I found the LOOPER totally useless, it has a problem with keeping being in the rhythm, you have to be very very precise to get something usable out of it, and I've been using RC-3 looper for years and now I'm using EHX 22500, so I'm not a beginner in looping.

I'm disappointed in the VOCAL EFFECTS, especially the reverb. I couldn't get a nice direct normal reverb like you have on every basic available DAW, it is like it's always "somewhere in the background", whatever I do with the parameters.

The BODY REZ function doesn't necessarily improve the sound to make it sound more like a natural acoustic guitar, definitely not as it is marketed. It is ok to add compression to the guitar, but you have to really play with it, or it can even make the sound worse.

I think that since this is a digital unit, TC should maybe consider updating some of the effects, especially vocal reverb, add compression to the vocal because this should be a must on a VOCAL processor unit.
I use the unit as a travelling musician and would much prefer that TC offers a unit as this is in an even smaller size, maybe without the looper option (since it is useless).

In general, it is still the best thing in my knowledge that comes in this compact size. I need to have something as a travelling musician when I end up on different gear without any reverb or compression, etc. I was considering just buying my own mixer, but the problem then is switching the effects and playing at the same time.

So I could recommend the unit if you really need it, but in general, I think it could utilise more useful functions.
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d
Used it for 6 years, love it!
dustytherocker 06.09.2021
Use it live all the time. Lasted through years of really really hard gigging almost every weekend (I mostly use it as just an vocal pedal for the rock band I'm in... some of the shows we play don't have stages and the crowds get really wild... the pedal gets jumped on, beers spilt on it... all the above) And it still works great!

Sounds great! lots of options for different harmonies ect... Won't do a show without the pedal anymore.

Makes the acoustic guitar shine as well when I do acoustic shows. The looper is just as good as any other one, and the chord tracking works just as promised. There is some eqing that puts the guitar behind the vocals in the mix, so it sounds wayyyyyyyy better than if you were to plug your guitar and vocals into a PA and hope for the best.

Giving 4 starts for quality just because there is a knob in the center of the pedal that can be broken... Mine went through an unreasonable amount of damage, I'm sure... However, there could have been a more durable option considering how well the rest of the pedal is put together. I've found other consumers of this pedal that had the same central knob break. You can still use the pedal, but you can't create custom effects. You can still download presets from the TC helicon website (which is pretty cool) but, if that knob breaks, the only way to make additional presets is to find a friend who has one of these pedals, create the preset on theirs, save it to your computer and then upload it to your pedal... However, the rest of this pedal can really really take a beating.

But, when it finally breaks, I will buy the exact same product immediately. Really impressed with it!
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A
Play Acoustic
Anonymous 06.07.2016
This pedal was originally bought for doing acoustic gigs where I just wanted backing vocals. Having played with the unit for a week and realising the amount of pre-sets you can download from the manufacturers website (listed by artist, song and genre!!) I haven't even needed to get into programming this thing yet. I also didn't realise that it had other functions such as looping, and the guitar effects I am now using as my go to pedal when recording acoustic guitar (and sometimes amp mic'ing) in the studio.

As the unit takes an audio input from the guitar to work out the harmonies, the unit is now setup as an aux effect (along with my other rack effects) to my mixer, so when a client comes in wanting harmonies to go along with any instrument, it works a dream. I've used it for creating harmonies when recording anything from dance tracks to basic acoustic set ups. This seems to get faster results than any plugin I've used. The only slight let down, was that the unit came with a US and EU plug adapter for the power supply, but no UK plug - so I am having to use an ugly adapter, as the manufacturers won't replace or sell me one!!!! All in all, this has definitely been a good purchase.
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M
Little disappointed feeling
Moodshakez 09.12.2019
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.
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r
Excellent quality, though there few compression options.
ricardoiorio 10.10.2022
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!
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J
This is perfect...
Joeybsaga 03.02.2022
This is perfect for Solo Acoustic Singer/Player. Two thumbs up...
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D
Has great features but odd quirks and not so easy to adjust
Dave-P 15.08.2024
Having wanted as combined solution for acoustic and voice I thought this was it. Overall the sound is good if you can put up with the channels on the back not actually being separate. No matter what I tried, either using Stereo , Mono , Supposedly Seperate channels the Vox and Guitar elements seems to be somehow overlapping, and coming out of One channel or the other. Neither were ever totally separate!. Annoying. Interface isnt great for live adjustment, although good for general processing, Vocal effects are great and easily useable out of the box. Guitar Sounds leave something to be desired and need adjustment. Settings in general hard to trim to a Desk / Monitoring process easily, and not that easy to do if something is wrong levels wise. Found it a pain in general but usable , have gone to a Headrush Prime in the end as much better adjustability and separate Channels!
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Ra
Just the right one for me.
Richard aus Q. 17.03.2019
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.
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G
More than a box
Grammy 27.12.2021
Love my play acoustic from the day I received it and continues to amaze
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A
If you have budget for only one pedal, it's this one!
Allufin 26.10.2022
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.
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TC-Helicon Play Acoustic