Your experiences with multi-effects units for acoustic playing

[troggg]

Ramon, thanks for recounting your experiences. If you were less into looping, do you think your basic sound needs would be served with the Play Acoustic?

Looping is something I'm probably going to work my way into, as opposed to just plunging right into it.

And are you using an additional TC footswitch (apologies if I missed it)?

[ModlrMIke]

I don't have my Playacoustic yet, but I'm going with the Switch 6. It's actually slightly less to buy right now, and you get more functionality.

[troggg]

Yeah, the dude in India looks like he's got one (Switch 6). As an aside, if I become a busker, I'm definitely gonna play a lot of slide; that really seems to fascinate people on other continents.

Speaking of the RC500, the guy I bought my L1C from had one and I heard my guitar through it. It had no problem dialing in some very usable EQ. He got a lot of mileage out of it ... only thing is the 16 bits bugs me (not that I swear in a blindfold test I could pick it out from 24 bits, but still) and I really disliked a Boss AD8 and am mad at Roland for abandoning the Jupiter 50 synth which I owned. He was big on looping, so if that's high on your feature list, the RC500 certainly isn't chopped liver.

Apparently the latest firmware for Play Acoustic provides much of what a singer songwriter would get for paying twice as much for VL3 or VL3X. Delay and the ability to save guitar presets being two of the biggest features. Well, also the ability to use the Switch 6 which they just added last year.

[varmonter]

You might want to also consider the boss ve8.
It has 3 sections one for guit one for vocals and
one for looper which can loop guitar and vocals separately or together.
It has boss quality effect for guitar.
as well as effects for vocals and several different
harmony settings If you like or use auto tune( i don't)
it has that as well. I just bought one so can't rave
about it yet but i sat down and hooked it up at home
and was up and running in n time. I may read the manual today
as there are many sub menus in the unit. But the sound
quality seems to be there . And the effect are yummy.

[JakeStone]

Can't go wrong with either the Boss VE8 or TC Helicon Play Acoustic.

Of course with these multi-effects units .. there are compromises ... SO need to decide what is important.

I had the VE-8 and Play Acoustic at the same time and compared them for live use.

Personally, for live use and switching on the fly... The Play Acoustic and Switch 3/6 is my choice.

The Switch 6 is programmable to utilize what is important (your choice). I can use it for advanced looper functions (on off, overdub, stop, erase) and control over guitar boost, delay, chorus, reverb and vocal enhancement etc. The PA also has "scenes" which I can toggle through.

For solo or duo work... It has everything I need.

The Boss VE8 had excellent guitar sounds and much more versatile array of Input/Outputs. I wasn't crazy about the vocal harmony.. But it was usable.
Also.. VE8 looper was clunky, even with added boss Foot Switch.. Not as clean and easy as others.

[Nymuso]

For acoustic gigs I really don't need much. I start with a good, solid acoustic tone on the board, and have a patch set up on my Zoom multi-effects with just bypass and volume pedal. One patch to the left I have chorus, one to the right I have a slight detune (very close to a chorus sound) reverb I add at the board (which I keep close enough to reach). I have volume pedal set on all my patches, but the three patches I mentioned are the ones I use the most. I also have a few patches set up with delay that I use for one or two numbers, and I use a looper function for one song.

Slick, quick and bare bones. The rest is pure talent.

[DenverSteve]

I've rotated a lot of pedals through my board but am currently using the Zoom G3Xn and really liking it. It has a fair amount of effect possibilities and has built-in looping which I use a bit.

IMG_3644.jpg

[6L6]

Welp...

I've played a lot of solo acoustic gigs over the years. My favorite setup is:

K&K-equipped dreadnaught > BOSS DM-2 Analog Delay > BOSS CH-1 Super Chorus > Fishman Mini or Performer amp (depending on size of the venue). Very important to place the DM-2 in front of the CH-1.

In my BCB-6 carrying case you'll also find a BOSS RV-3 Digital Reverb/Delay, BOSS TR2 Tremolo, BOSS BF-3 Flanger, and BOSS TU-3 tuner. The RV-3 gives me everything from great slapjack echo for Rockabilly covers, to that incredible sound heard on Chris's "Wicked Games".

These pedals cover everything I need and all are "BOSS bulletproof".

[Foss38]

Try Boss AD10 or TC Helicon Voicelive3 or Play Acoustic

[Hurricane Ramon]

Originally Posted by troggg

Ramon, thanks for recounting your experiences. If you were less into looping, do you think your basic sound needs would be served with the Play Acoustic?

Looping is something I'm probably going to work my way into, as opposed to just plunging right into it.

And are you using an additional TC footswitch (apologies if I missed it)?

I was thinking on buying a Play Acoustic and using my Tascam DR44WL to record . Then I saw the Play Electric then , VL3 and then the VL3X and well , you know what I thought at that point .

EZ and good hunting man .

HR

[Nymuso]

I have and have had several multi-fx units, but my mainstay is my Zoom G1Xon. It is small, light, inexpensive and does everything I need. It runs on AA batteries or external power, and has an integrated expression pedal that I have set on Volume for all patches.

[lukeap69]

Can the multi-effects unit intended for electric guitars be used for acoustic guitars as well?

[RockerDuck]

Originally Posted by lukeap69

Can the multi-effects unit intended for electric guitars be used for acoustic guitars as well?

They are actually the same effects. I've always used the same effects for acoustic and electric.

[geewhiz]

I've used a Zoom G3 for about four years now. A touch of compression, a bit of EQ, sometimes some delay or reverb depending on the song. And even the auto-wah . We have a drummer-less trio and we play a really wide range of stuff from 80's-current pop, alternative rock, classic country, etc. Yeah, some of it is cheese but the the Zoom lets me get a really wide range of effects - although I do use it fairly judiciously (except for the wah!).

For what it's worth - I use a Martin D16 with a Fishman UST into a Fishman Loudbox mini, then out of that to the PA. Somewhat surprisingly, on three or four occasions I've had other acoustic players approach me at gigs to comment on how good the guitar sounds. Go figure - that's a lot of junk to run through and I'm certainly not chasing authentic tone.

[lukeap69]

Originally Posted by RockerDuck

They are actually the same effects. I've always used the same effects for acoustic and electric.

Thanks mate.