TC Helicon Product Reliability?

MarkF_48 · #1 08-25-2015, 07:03 PM

Let me preface by stating that I have several TC Helicon products, most have worked well with the exception of one (original Voicelive with an intermittent power supply boot problem). I want to upgrade to one of their newer Voicelive boxes, but I'm a bit reluctant due to some of the problems I've been seeing on TC Helicon Support board. It's mostly been display issues and few problems of units not powering up correctly. The TC Helicon guys that participate on the board have usually been helpful with solutions or directing to support for a repair. The problems I see there makes me wonder about reliability and what percentage of these have problems that aren't brought up on TC Helicon's board.
A large NY retailer that I usually try to buy from carried TC Helicon products for many years, recently dropped all of TCH's products, which has made me wonder if they may have had a problem of too many returns to make it worthwhile to carry TCH gear. It may well be other reasons as well.
I do like the TCH stuff for what it does, but I just hedge at spending a tidy sum of cash for something that could be a source of aggravation.

If you have a TCH product, have you had problems and if so, was the problem fixed quickly and been reliable there after?

tadol · #2 08-25-2015, 11:05 PM

Can't say I have alot of experience with them, or even many other pedal units, but I was given a G-Natural because of major failure of the footwitches. They are really, really cheap switches, so I was able to get some new ones for a couple bucks apiece and repaced the bad ones and the unit worked fine again. But based on that experience, I would not buy one of their really expensive units because I do not think they put high quality components into them. I got one of their voice processor units used at a very fair price on this forum, and I have been enjoying it and it has not had any problems so far, so I feel good about it. But I'd be very cautious about higher price units -

8TrackJoe · #3 08-26-2015, 03:43 AM

I have the VL3, purchased it back in April when the price drop occurred. Thus far I've not had any problems with it. I've been on the TCH Forum and one of the VL3 FB Pages. Before my purchase I was concerned about the same issues that you are bringing up. One of the things I considered was much of the time with user forums we hear about the bad things such as what you are describing. Those posts usually out weigh the good posts. Plus how many total units have been sold with no problems compared to the units that are problematic. I agree that there appears to be an issue that may have been associated with a certain batch (my opinion only) since the same issues seem to be posted about more than once or twice. Since I've had my VL3, I've upgraded the firmware twice (no problems), taken it to church and performed (no problems) and have used it at the house several times a week and most times it stays powered on (no problems). Now with that it could sputter out on me the next time I power cycle it as could any of my gear. If you are looking at the VL3 I would suggest buying new and know the return policy of the company you are purchasing from. Good luck.

Joe

mtm · #4 08-26-2015, 05:42 AM

I have owned the VoiceLive 3 (the original one, not the Extreme) since it came out and did around 50 gigs with it. I broke the large control knob, which I think is the least robust component of the unit. I did not carry the unit in a proper case or bag but in my backpack, so it's partly my own fault. However, I think this plastic knob is not really suited for a piece of gear which is mostly controlled by foot on stage. I've not yet managed to get it fixed by support but glued it back together myself 'cause I needed it right away for some gigs. Since then, I was more careful with it and so far, the knob is alright.

That being said, it is a fantastic all-in-one unit for my kind of gigs, with acoustic guitar and vocals, and occasional looping. I always get complimented on how good the sound is, no matter how crappy the house PA. Software, etc. worked flawlessly so far.

I cannot really say if the quality of the installed components is low. Seems ok to me with the only exception being this control knob, which is just a bad design decision to put such a large plastic thing on a floor unit.

SpruceTop · #5 08-26-2015, 06:51 AM

I currently own a TC Helicon VoiceLive 2. I also had the original VoiceLive. I've never had any problems with either of these devices.

Marty C · #6 08-26-2015, 05:52 PM

I have had 5 different TC units:
- Harmony G
- Voicetone Create
- Voicelive Play GTX
- Play Acoustic
- Voicesolo Fx-150

Never had a problem with any of them. Currently using the Play Acoustic about 6-8 hours each week. Fx 150 is new and haven't used it much. Oh forgot I do have a MP-70 mic. Not real crazy about how my voice sounds through it but had no issues.

Harmony G and VT Create had about 200+ hours when I upgraded to the GTX. GTX had about 500+ hours when I upgraded to the Play Acoustic. This unit has about 200 so far. All rough estimates, but fair numbers.

Hope this helps. As you can see I am not hesitant about buying these products.

Wardo · #7 08-26-2015, 09:46 PM

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dragonfly66 · #8 08-26-2015, 10:25 PM

I have the original VoiceLive 3 and it had a whine when using the guitar effects that was fixed by a repair shop under warranty after the official warranty had expired. I was using for acoustic guitar and started using for electric guitar and noticed the whine well after the warranty had expired. It was a known problem so they extended the warranty to fix the problem. Sent to service center and had it back within 4 days.

I recently bought the VoiceLive 3 extreme because I wanted the backing track feature. I have previously had VoiceLive Play GTX and Harmonizer. I only had one problem with the VoiceLive 3 that was handled without issue by their support. I would have no problem trusting their products. FYI, the big knob on the VoiceLive is not a button that should be manipulated with your foot so I would not expect it to last if doing so.

mtm · #9 08-27-2015, 03:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dragonfly66

FYI, the big knob on the VoiceLive is not a button that should be manipulated with your foot so I would not expect it to last if doing so.

If that wasn't clear: Of course you do not manipulate it with your foot! However, the unit is standing on the ground, cables might be dragged over it, you can accidentally touch the knob while singing and using the foot switches, etc. The knob simply is not as robust as I think it should be (and as the rest of the unit is).

MarkF_48 · #10 08-27-2015, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marty C

I have had 5 different TC units:
- Harmony G
- Voicetone Create
- Voicelive Play GTX
- Play Acoustic
- Voicesolo Fx-150

Never had a problem with any of them. Currently using the Play Acoustic about 6-8 hours each week. Fx 150 is new and haven't used it much. Oh forgot I do have a MP-70 mic. Not real crazy about how my voice sounds through it but had no issues.

Harmony G and VT Create had about 200+ hours when I upgraded to the GTX. GTX had about 500+ hours when I upgraded to the Play Acoustic. This unit has about 200 so far. All rough estimates, but fair numbers.

Hope this helps. As you can see I am not hesitant about buying these products.

I've almost the same units you have....
- Harmony G
- Voicetone Create XT
- Voicelive Play GTX
- Voicelive (original)

The only one that's ever given me issues is the Voicelive which I bought used. It has an issue that sometimes when it boots the display only partially comes up, half or so of the characters are missing and the unit is dead so far as passing sound. If I power it down and wait a minute or so it usually corrects itself. Only one time that I can recall it locked up while I was using it, which again powering down and then back on cleared it. This has a totally different type of display that the current Voicelive's, but it almost seems each generation inherited some similar problem that affected the display.
When I bought the VLP GTX I was reluctant because of problems I read about, but the price was low enough when I got it I felt I could take a chance. The price of the current Voicelive 3 units and problems I've seen make me hesitate to take the chance.

catdaddy · #11 08-27-2015, 06:14 PM

I've had a TC Helicon Harmony Singer stomp box for about 18 months now with no issues. I also own a TC Helicon Voice Prism Plus (rack unit) that I've used for more than 10 years with nary a problem.

simophon · #12 05-23-2017, 02:46 PM

Hi there,

I have a TC Helicon Harmony G (not XT). I got it 2nd hand, and the guitar signal seems to be weak: with guitar knob on highest position it's still not as loud as guitar directly into the amplifier. Is this normal? Mic input is much louder.

Marty C · #13 05-23-2017, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by simophon

Hi there,

I have a TC Helicon Harmony G (not XT). I got it 2nd hand, and the guitar signal seems to be weak: with guitar knob on highest position it's still not as loud as guitar directly into the amplifier. Is this normal? Mic input is much louder.

Been a while since I used it, but yes I think this is normal. When I used mine, I fed by signal from the harmony G to a Zoom A2. I had to put the Zoom into a mode called "high gain" to get enough volume so the guitar output balanced the mic output.

simophon · #14 05-23-2017, 03:04 PM

Thanks, Marty C. Can someone else confirm this?

Maybe this is because the overall output (voice+guitar) shouldn't be too high, to avoid distortion in guitar amps..

Kalani · #15 05-24-2017, 04:27 AM

Been gigging 5 days/wk for several years with the TC Flashback delay, HoF reverb, Ditto X2, Polytune mini and Harmony Singer with no problems. I've also owned the Harmony GXT for years as well as the Play Acoustic---no problems either.

I lost one of the pedal button screws on the DittoX2; TC answered my email right away and immediately mailed me 2 new ones---no questions and no charge---that's service!