TC Helicon Play Acoustic vs mixer with reverb for solo gig

[Fattymagoo]

Thanks to everyone here who steered me towards a powered speaker (Alto Trouper) for solo guitar/vocals gigs. Now all I need is some EQ and reverb for my guitar and vocals.

My question is, can I get away with using the TC Helicon Play Acoustic straight into the powered speaker (the speaker only has a 2 band EQ) or should I go the passive mixer route? I'm assuming I can adjust the EQ for guitar and vocals seperately on the pedal.?.?... Also, I'm curious if it is relatively user friendly. I've never liked messing with complicated multy effects pedals. The mixer would be slightly cheaper, but would be lacking so many features that might help make a solo act more interesting. Thanks in advance!

[Marty C]

The Play Acoustic does have good eq and effects for the guitar and great vocal effects as well. However the vocal only has a few settings for pre-programmed eq. If you like the settings and they go well with your powered speaker, you are off and running. There are rare cases when it does not. I still think it is a great improvement over a mixer alone.

The tone button (which offers the vocal eq settings) , which has de-esing and compression, is one of the best features.

I do feed my Play Acoustic direct to a Powerwerks PW 150 with a Powerwerks 200 watt sub. Great sound with the Play Acoustic. Not that great with mixer alone. I actually feed the speaker from the headphone out of the Play Acoustic into the 1/8" aux in on the Powerwerks. This leaves the two Xlr and 1/4" inputs for anyone else to join me. I think I can get more volume from the direct xlr, but so far I haven't needed it. I usually don't play in front of very large, loud crowds. If I find I need some vocal eq, I go first to a low cost Mackie mixer prior to the Powerwerks. Three band eq sometimes helps. All depends on the environment. I keep one handy if I need it. However only used it once.

Gain staging is important. Be careful not to turn the Play Acoustic output too high. It overdrives the Powered speaker and muddies everything up. Start about 50% and see where you can go from there.

Heard great things about the Alto Trouper. I would have purchased this instead had I knew it was available. But I am happy with what I have and it serves my purpose very well.

Good luck with your project. The Play Acoustic works well with my powered speaker and hope you find this does the same for you.

[martingitdave]

For a solo artist with one guitar and one mic, the TC Play Acoustic is the perfect preamp/2 channel mixer. Add the switch-3 or switch-6 add on and you've got everything you need. If needed, you can sum the guitar and voice into a single XLR and use the other XLRs on the Alto for another device. A mixer like the Yamaha MG06XU is great (I have the 10XU), but the TC sounds better and includes all the effects you could need.


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[Captain Jim]

Another Play Acoustic user - it sounds good run direct to the PA or amp, but there is more of a learning curve than a mixer. If you want the vocal volume up just a bit, you can't just reach for the knob (or slider) and bring it up - you have to reach down to the floor and get into the set-up.

I use the Play Acoustic to both channels on a Loudbox (guitar and vocal), then a line from that to a Bose PA. Makes it easy for a quick tweak on either with the LB.

Depending on the pickup you're using, the Play Acoustic gives you some nice presets. I also like the reverb options, and (of course) the vocal harmonizer.

[YamahaGuy]

I've used my Digitech Vocalist Live 3 as a mini mixer direct into a powered speaker with good results. The guitar effects are OK and the ability to balance the sound of the vocals and guitar is nice. The best part is how simple it is to setup.

[steve_mac]

Another PlayAcoustic user, though I run mine into a small cheap mixer with everything set flat, just so that I can tweak the volume more easily.

[Irish Pennant]

I had a Play acoustic for a few weeks and returned it. I ran it through a mixer, never tried it directly in a powered speaker. The Play Acoustic sounded good, it wasn't too difficult to figure out how to use it. It even excepted the FS3X foot switch from my Jamman Solo looper. I returned it though because I found that I prefer my guitar and mics to go through separate devices.

As for a mixer, I think they are the center of the hub for a PA system. It's where you route and expand from. If you had time before you had a paid gig. I'd get a decent mixer first. You can always get the Play Acoustic some time down the line.

Edited to try to stay closer to topic.

[martingitdave]

Originally Posted by Irish Pennant

In my mind the mixer is the center of the hub in a PA system. You can add to a mixer with more flexibility. The Play Acoustic is well regarded on this site. Over time, you can always get both. If you need to get up and running because you have a paid gig coming up, I'd get the Play Acoustic first, actually I'd get a Zoom A-3 and a Jamman looper with a FS3X pedal. If you want to get a PA for home practice in order to build up your gear for something some time down the line, I'd get a decent mixer first. A mixer with a couple more channels than what you think you need.

Agreed. With a little tweaking and programming, the Zoom A3 also makes an excellent two channel mixer with volume knobs. If you want to go that way PM me. I'm selling one cheap. However, the vocal effects in the TC PA are better.


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