TC-Helicon VoiceLive 3 Extreme Guitar and Vocal Effects Processor Pedal Reviews

Even though I'm only using a fraction of the functionality of this device, it is one of the best pieces of gear I've ever purchased. Has worked flawlessly for 5 years now!

I'm a pro singer and guitar player. I gig around the world, mostly singing for symphony orchestras. I have been using this pedal for the past 6 years and trust me, there is nothing like it in the market.

This thing has it all, the vocal effects are beautiful and when used well, your voice will always sound produced, unlike regular singers who go straight mic to console, which make them sound raw and amateur, even when adding mixer reverb. People ask me all the time if I' really singing, or rather lipsynching, because it sounds so well.

Apart from the vocal suite, the guitar effects and IR sound very organic. The vocal and guitar engines are independent to each other so you don't share effects between them.

As if that wasn't enough, you can play backing tracks and pre program your effect changes, which make the pedal truly unique. No more worrying about witching effects, you can focus solely on your singing and playing.

My favorite feature is the headphone monitor, which allows me to hear myself and the band with individual volume controls. This thing even has a stereo room mic to let you do that.

Don't listen to the band reviews, they are mostly amateurs and baby boomers who simply don't understand how to operate digital. This is the best vocal pedal in the market by far, and it is pretty much unique in most of its features. It's a Swiss Army knife.

I've been looking for this processor everywhere I heard great things about it and watched tons of videos on YouTube. Definitely want to invest in one but how is it that everywhere i look MSRP is over $1,200 bucks and Amazon has it for $1,500 how is it Sweetwater selling it for $699 that's odd unless it's not new or refurbish just saying

I had been using a Voicelive 2 for 10 years, first as solo, then in a duo with a bass player. It was mounted on my board with a Ditto X2 Looper & an old Ice Box Chorus. My Mic is a Sennheiser E945. My guitars are a Taylor 816 with an Expression 2 pickup & a Breedlove C25/CRE all run through a Bose L1 Model 2, (upgraded to a Bose L1 Pro 32). Even though I only used a small percentage of its features, it enhanced my shows tremendously. I only used 2-3 settings, & people came up after our gigs & often remarked how well we harmonized. I was pretty pleased with our sound. But after hundreds of shows, my VL2 started malfunctioning from time to time. It was purchased used, so it had to to be 15 years old. When I couldn't find a VL2 replacement, I upgraded to a Voicelive 3 Extreme. I'm glad I did!!! The VL3X does so much more! It's an amazing machine. As a vocal processor, it delivers a clean, crisp sound straight out of the box, but can be customized any way you want with its endless array of options. As a harmonizer, the same holds true. I can't list everything it does here, but you can define any sound you want. In fact, with more than 250 presets, what you want is already there. The biggest surprise is the guitar effects. Getting the right sound from an acoustic guitar from stage has been a lifetime pursuit. The Bose system got me 75% of the way there. The VL3X takes my guitar sound to another level. Needless to say, I love this pedal. And I haven't even touch on the Looper end of things. I have not been this excited about a piece of equipment in years. The downside (if there is one)is the learning curve. You have to read the manual & watch YouTube to unlock all its features. But if you do , I am sure you will be as pleased with it as I am. My thanks to Mike Winebrenner and Sweetwater for getting it to me in record time. They are the best!!

I used a Digitech Voice-live 4 for thirteen years and I loved it. It finally died on me and I set out to fing another vocal pedal. Alas, Digitech no longer made vocal pedals. I tried several other pedals, including all of the boss line. Nothing was working, until I ordered a TC Helicon Voice-Live 3 extreme.

This pedal is absolutely fantastic. The harmonies can be tweaked a thousand ways. The possibilities are endless and the quality of the sound is fantastic. There is a learning curve with this vocal pedal, but the end results are far worth it.

I cannot say enough good things about my sales engineer Aaron Regenold and Sweetwater. They let me try a pedal and when it did not work out, they took it back and sent me the TC Helicon VLX3 TO TRY. Aarons advice on this pedal was right.

The guitar effects aren't the best, but good enough for most situations. The acoustic guitar effects are really pretty good, especially since they have 5 acoustic rez settings, as well as an overall acoustic setting.

Once again, Sweetwater and Aaron regenold saved the day!

I have been using this amazing processor for a few weeks and have already set up a few presets to use during Worship Services. I have downloaded and mixed in some backing tracks and applied automation so I can have smooth flowing music without worrying about foot triggers. The sound is great and I am really pleased with the vocal effects. I play an acoustic guitar and use the global settings so my guitar stays constant as I move from preset to preset. I also play an electric guitar and can easily turn on and off those effects. Over the next few weeks I plan to bring my Keyboard and Electric Drums into the mix.
There is a lot of online support thru Sweetwater, TC-Helicon and the general public.
So far, this has been a great addition to my equipment list. I am planning to start using the VL3 live next month.

I have been sparring with my VL3X for two years now...and finally I am winning! It does what I tell it, when I tell it...and it does it amazingly well. I am now at a point where I have my iPad (using Onsong) on my music stand with all my songs on it. Touch a song from the list on the iPad and automatically (by midi) the VL3X jumps to all the right settings for guitar rhythm and lead, and voice lead and harmonies. Loops or backing tracks are also automatically set up ready to go at the touch of a footswitch. I love it! BUT...there are a couple of things you should know before taking on this project:

The TC Helicon VL3X is very complicated, and by extension of that, it is a bit delicate...and it has a couple of issues that (hope not, but may) happen in the early going. This is a good point to say GET IT FROM SWEETWATER. If any of these issues happen they WILL look after you till all is well.

My first unit was DOA. Unboxed, plugged in...white screen. No boot up. Went to the internet and found that this is "an issue". Apparently the is a little card inside that has an "iffy" seating arrangement and if it is not right the machine cannot start. I had already done a LOT of study of the manual and did not want to waste all that effort...and I really wanted the promised results. Sweetwater replaced the unit in short order.
The second unit arrived, booted up, and I went to work. More on the "work" later. Six months in, turned her on and...white screen...no boot up. Considered suicide. Sweetwater, bless them, sent me unit number 3. The good news is that I had my programming backed up on computer and was able to hook unit 3 up by USB and using TC Helicon"s excellent VOICESUPPORT2 program, was able to pour my previous work into the new unit. Unit #3 has been behaving for almost a year now. Must admit that I always say a little prayer when I hit the on button. I am careful with it. Transport in a padded bag. Wipe it down after every trip with a "Swiffer" pad (great by the way for dusting all your gear, don"t know how I managed before Swiffer!). So...POSSIBLE hardware teething problems. Glad I soldiered through it.

Now. If you are not tech savvy. If computers are a mystery to you. If layers of menus, USB sticks, midi, DAWs are a mystery to you...you probably don"t want a VL3X...unless you are prepared to devote a LOT of time to your education. A VL3X is like a whole pedal board of equipment...mixer, very fancy guitar processor, looper, audio recorder and player, vocal harmony and effects unit, even the crude beginnings of a Digital Audio Workstation all hooked together behind the scenes by midi, and all jammed into one box! You better be serious! If not, frankly, you might be happier with a simple guitar processor and a TC Helicon Harmony Singer 2.

OK. Now as a somewhat seasoned (and very happy) VL3X user...my one major issue with the VL3X. I really wish that TC Helicon had, or will?, expand the unit"s midi capabilities. With my iPad I can send any number of midi messages to the VL3X, but as far as I can figure, it only recognizes a few. For instance: When I start a song by tapping the iPad the iPad begins non-linear scrolling...highlighting and centering each section of my lyrics as I get to them. The iPad can send a midi message triggered by that same tap that could simultaneously start my loops or backing track on the VL3X...but although it has "midi in" the VL3X has no way to process and execute that start command (as far as I can tell). Maybe with the next software update? So I have to balance on one foot, touch the iPad screen just right and simultaneously hit a programmed pedal on the VL3X. A balancing act!

So, summing up: The VL3X is an amazing but delicate piece of gear which is pure magic for those prepared to put in a lot of training both of it and themselves. From this side of the process...5 stars.

I never tough that something like tis exist , great for my live shows thank you sweetwater.

I'm a music director at a church who rotates volunteer instrumentalists and vocalists from week to week. Because I am unsure of who will show up, this thing gives me the freedom to fill out my band whenever I might have a part missing. The guitar effects are great direct out of the box, the vocal harmonizer tracks rather well, & the backing track / automation / looping features are very useful. This can be a one stop shop for a solo artist that has a little time to dive in and learn the features.

As a professional vocalist with 4 shows a week and 200+ songs in his repertoire, this thing is the best that has ever happened to me.

Both guitar an vocal effects are top notch, I can't say I miss any existing effect at all. You even get vocoder, talk-box and rhytmic modulators, what more could you ask for?

Sequencing pedal presses in the Backing tracks are a great and unique feature, and looper are a nice addition if you're into that. The FX quality is unbeatable.

Customisation is infinite, everything was so well thought out. I've read the bad reviews where they talk about a "learning curve", imho if you're going to spend this kind of money on any sort of gear, you might as well put the effort to learn it thoroughly. I actually find that it's pretty easy and user friendly, menus are very logically laid out and easy to use, then again if you don't even know what "reverb" means, well you probably shouldn't spend your money on pro gear if you're not willing to learn and better your craft.

Bottom line do not be fooled, it's a very user intuitive product, and there's a myriad of tutorials to help you out. One of the coolest things about this unit is that it can be as easy or as advanced as you want it to be, depending of how in-depth you want to go with it.

Recent purchase of TC Helicon Voice Live 3 Extreme. I rate it as the best vocal processor period. Well built for the stage and road. Quality components thru-out. It takes our vocals up to current studio standards. This is a live performance processor.
As far as the effects go, the Pinkfloyd preset has gilmours tone recreated with the Floyd vocals. The Barrywhite and numerous other presets with modern country rock is phenomenal. The staff at Sweetwater has the best customer service in the industry. Expert advice and prepared to answer your questions. No wonder why TC Helicon has them as a number one dealer. You get free lifetime tech. support from Sweetwater on any of their purchases.
Recently solved a problem with multiple instrument inputs and drums with external mixer. The technical staff was expedient for a remedy, and my circuit loading was solved.
I only came across a few companies that have outstanding tech support without a crazy wait time and unneccesary voicemail menu system; that would be Hitachi-Densi,Yamaha Instruments,and now Sweetwater added to the list. Well done fellows. You can't go wrong with this company.
Multi-instrument,Singer Songwriter,VJ Performers, EDM,Blu X,Progressive Rock House,Country Rock. Thanks a million your friend.
MARYJANEROBI

It does it and does it all,,,,,

Loveed everything about this demo. The real world example of seeing and hearing a performance (beautiful song and playing by everyone!) was without parallel. The Harmonies sound so natural, clarity and studio quality sonic detail was there.

The Interview and discussion was great as well. I will look for more detailed videos how to create, save, store and call up patches, effects, guitar sounds, setting harmonies, length/duration of loops etc.

I used this to replace a voice live acoustic and a laptop for back tracks. I've gotten a chance to fully test it out at one of our gigs and it performed flawlessly. I love the automation sequencer and the ability to play back tracks. Definitely would recommend if you're in the market for one.

I give this Ten Wows !!!!!!!!!!!!!The possibilities are so Wow Wow !!!!

This unit has changed my life. I perform Pink Floyd on YouTube and live, and I have been waiting a long time for something this powerful that allows me (a family man) to que up a band and sound crew in a moments notice and pre-program everyone's parts so all I have to do is plug in my guitar, press a button and perform. I am blown away by the technology.. you won't be disappointed!

Great set of features including ubstick OTG input for loops and setlists harmony settings, an updated harmony engine that gives my TC VoiceLive Rackmount a run for its money due to the updated new features and an extensive amount of effects including great reverbs that are timed and even customize-able. I especially love the synth engine they put inside it and I am currently using it with my synth arsenal. I love everything about it so far and there is nothing that it cannot do in terms of interesting and creative vocal textures. Give it a whirl and prepare to get overwhelmed with the amazing number of features and flexibility! It is also very easy to dive into and pick your sounds at the Wizard level that comes with all the modern VoiceLives...Highly recommended as a versatile tool that outdoes them all for vocals and guitars!

Awesome product, take alittle time to go through it all and watch videos, read the manual and the thing will give some awesome vocal and guitar effects. When I first tryed it I didn't want to get off of it.

I figured it wasn't going to be as easy as they show it on Sweetwater videos. But I grabbed one and am pleased so far. Some parts are still confusing and sent in a small list of questions which got passed to a higher tech. That was two weeks ago.

I bought this unit manly to play my harp through to acquire all the different tones I can run my harp thru is endless and fun but laboring to find ones and make adjustments to be where I want the sound.

Can't get the guitar out to work with guitar amp, so I use the XLR out to amp which keeps me from using a mixing board.

The effects and adjustments are endless, too much control unless you have the time to pick apart each preset you use and if you do, you'll be busy for sure, but....you'll be pleased at the end result. This is an awesome unit, I highly recommend, especially if you play alone, or a song writer you can create your own songs and do several over-lays and come out with some exciting stuff. But some pretty funny stuff too when first learning.

Only one big problem and that in order to use the stomp pegs to get your timing right, its hard to hold the harp and press with your elbow to select which button you want and then to turn it off to keep the tempo in sync. It doesn't work for me to put on the floor since I am changing settings several times within the same loop to build up the effects I'm looking for. In fact, it is such a nice piece of equipment, why would one want to put it on the floor just to stomp on it?

Bottom line, if you want to create your own music without maxing out the limits available, this machine is a must!! I love it and have had it for just under a month and I'm still learning how to use this beast. But it, well worth every penny!

My background is in Guitar and Harmonica. Started playing harp by being inspired by John Mayall when he first hit the scenes in the late 60's. Johnny winters and Chet Atkins were my guitar hero's back then as well. I have over 30 keys in the harp section which I've learned over the years the 12 positions as well as cross-harping. I play because of passion more then because it's cool to and this VL3X has taken me to another level. Try it, you won't be disappointed!

This thing is awesome! I use it on a three piece show with female singer and a steel guitar player/lead guitar player. All the functions are unbelievable. Selectable outputs are awesome. Vocal effects are awesome, guitar effects are usable on a pro performance level. Don't think I'd use the guitar effects in studio. I have an Eleven Rack and Boss GT-100 and both guitar models are a little better, true sounding. But it will pass easily in a live situation. Automation is great, don't forget to turn off the "all hit" on the "hit" buttonmap or you will be running around in circles turning off the harmony in your vocal layer will automating. Overall I love it. I do wish you could use the auxiliary input and monitor input simultaneously. It's not a problem when you use a board with plenty of monitor outs. Unless you don't mind a mono monitor input. You can also use the Auxiliary inputs for the input for VLX3 auxiliary stereo mix for monitors or IEM's.

I originally got this for vocals exclusively not realizing its guitar potential. The level of depth that it brings with each option in both vocal and guitar is beyond impressive. The harmonies and doubling effects are fun to play with and the looping is easy and useful too. Still not fully utilizing its full potential and its already doing more than i anticipated. Not upset I went for it! Money well spent.

I just received my VoiceLive 3 Extreme a few days ago....can't wait to learn all the features it has to offer. In the short time I have opened the box, I have loaded some back tracking (drums for now) with ease, working on the looper features just for beginners. The presets are awesome and allowed me to use the unit right out of the box. Wow!! If you are a user of the VL3 Extreme I would like to pick your mind from time to time and if you are in Missouri, we should start a user group to share thoughts and ideas.

As a stand alone gigging pedal it's amazing, but when I run it through my other pre amps, compressors and Izotopes Alloy 2, it's on! If you dig deep into editing you really don't need another multi-FX pedal for gigs, or for the studio. "Re-sampling" vocals on some of my tracks by routing out of the DAW, through the pedal and recording them back into the DAW with real time FX changes is another feature that gives a human touch instead of clicking a mouse in the DAW. Bottom line, great versatile pedal board!

It's going to take me a while to figure out everything this gadget can do. Very impressive piece of work.

This unit has met and exceeded my expectations. In fact it is incredible! I have a full head rush unit, and I got this to replace it believe it or not. This really is an all in one unit. The learning curve is a little steep but worth the effort. It is compact but powerful. I am a one-man band using an acoustic guitar and I find that the ability to shape the sounds for the guitar are all there. The harmony portion of this unit are phenomenal. I highly recommend this to anyone.

While it's great to use right out of the box, it can get complicated quickly once you start customizing.
But that passes and you'll find a niche that not only brings your show to a new level, it makes you think about looping differently.
With a bit of work, I am now able to use VLX3 for electric and acoustic guitar, but I have several presets set aside for playing bass.
I've only had the thing for a little over a week, and it's becoming the centerpiece of my solo gigs.
We'll Done?

I was really just looking for the best vocal processor I could find to do some one/ two man shows for fun. I wa going to play tracks via AUX and play bass/ lead on the tracks and then play the other live and sing.. well two birds with one stone on this thing. I can load backing tracks, and I can build 3 stage loops. And My effects board has had some downtime, as I've been into making my tracks on the VL3X without it. It will NOT DO ONE THING, However, that is very disappointing..
*ONLY COMPLAINT*
It will not play a backing track while building a 3 stage loop.
I could understand if the backing track took up one of the three stages, but to put it as either or, you cant do a true "from a beat, on" build of a multi stage song if you want to.
There is a way to trickthe audiece into thinking you did, but it takes up 3 of the blank presets per song, and it's not a true live loop with the beat
All in all, though.. for the capability and functionality it has, still gets 4.5 STARS in my book. Its the best thing Ive found for under a a grand

Only 2 reasons I don't give it a 10 ... 1 the SD card inside is know to fail at some point and 2 while the harmonization is miles above everything else out there it does still have some draw backs if you play simple chords it is great but if you are like my guitar player and have chords with moving melodies and a lot of motion the sensing will have trouble picking up the chords.
The way I use it is my guitar player and I use the backing track with the drum part on it and using the programing mode I program the harmonies and effect on the vocals to turn on and off automatically at specific points in the track. It is all saved in the unit and backed up to a usb drive incase we crash. These guys have thought of almost everything.

I want to put my plug in for the next version which I pray they will make:
add features needed:
1) and second track that can be synced to the backing track that can be heard or not heard through the outputs. this second track could be use to record a simple chord pattern that is held to trigger the vocals or used to specify the notes to be sung making moving harmonies possible. By not having to hear the tracks output it could work in the back ground to feed the vocal harmonizer the information it needs in the form or held chords the change at the appropriate moment to properly guide the harmonizer in selecting the harmonies.
2) the ability to sit in front of your computer and load track and inset changes and button press triggers and then download that all to the unit once you have it set as you want. (the live pressing can be tendinous and hard to dial in perfectly)
3) Consider using and SD drive instead of an SD card and make it change out if you need more space.

Honestly if you added these two features and called it Voicelive 3 Age of Ultron - I would buy it in a heart beat

I purchased this unit because my Voicelive 2 stopped working. As I dig into this version I'm realizing it's incredible capabilities for me as I singer/guitar player. I've always appreciated the quality of the vocal effects from the very first version which unfortunately also failed after a few years. I'm hooked on the benefits these units provide and I don't even really use all the big harmony effects as I like to keep my performance believable and as organic as possible. They simply make for a better quality show. My only negative is when they fail you are out of luck. Repairs take forever and my first repair on my original Voicelive did not last. 3 units now and I've spent over $2500 to keep the magic going. When you are a gigging musician it puts your back against the wall to buy another. In the end I am still happy with what it does for my performance and there isn't a better alternative out there in the live vocal category unless you have an engineer who's very good and very fast with effects changes. I wish they'd send 2 units so I could sleep better or a least be empathetic on the service end of things.

I bought this for my husband, he has had his eye on it for a year. He's a singer in a local band. We have been playing with it to see everything it does. So far it has been just wonderful, we are still messing around with it. I will do another review after we see all that it does. Thank you for everything. I love the customer service that is provided, you are all very awesome in what you do. Thanks and God Bless.

I purchased my voicelive 3 extreme about 2 months ago. My intention was to use it as part of a duo. I also purchased a acoustic paired down version for my acoustic guitar player/partner.
I watched tons of YouTube videos as research. I play a Martin D18 with an LR Baggs anthem pick up and we use Senhieser dynamic mics for our gigs with a Bose L1 for our PA. We play folky bluegrass stuff mostly.
The learning curve is pretty steep coming from an acoustic background. I don’t use pedals when I play so it adds a whole different level of distraction for me. I would not count on getting the box and thinking you and just gig with it without setting it up and playing with it ALOT. It is useful in the beginning stages but I am not able to get the most out of it yet. But...that is all me. It’s not the fault of the voicelive. The pedal is cool and with time it will make a good tool.

If it had a book to show how to use it, i would love it I'm sure still in box while i find little things on internet to help me learn how to use it.

I ended up having to buy two because you can't actually play a different guitar preset than a vocal preset. The presets are tied together. There is some way to program it to one guitar setting (maybe more??) and be able to change the vocal preset. It's a complicated piece of equipment and barely user friendly. Very poor user friendly engineering. They are working on writing a new user manual. Believe me - they need a better user manual. The tutorials are not great and it's tough to get the information you need on how to use it. Other than lack of ease of use, the sounds are fantastic live and you have such a large range of presets to choose from. To that extent I ended up with two so I could have a large range of guitar and vocal presets. As always Sweetwater is the best and I'm elated I purchased many items from them this year. Their customer service is the best I've experienced along with their amazing customer support. The next thing is that recording into my DAW from the device did not produce great sound. There is probably a way to edit settings on the machine to correct this. So I still prefer to record as I normally would and not use the TC Helicon. I would still recommend this product due to its versatility.

I think this unit is going to be pretty spectacular, but to operate it takes more than a little bit of time. I own many programmable effects units and have yet to find one (particularly guitar effects) that doesn't take weeks to get up and running and months to refine. This is no different. Thus far I am enjoying the vocal effects, but am still unsure how useable the guitar section is going to be. There will be times when I will want to use this for one or the other (vocals only or guitar only) and I'm not quite there yet. All the screens are pretty well laid out and it is only because of my familiarity with digital programming that I am able to get it running at all. If this is your first journey into digital effects you may be frustrated, but stick with it. It just isn't plug and play.

i've had this product for about a month, and am starting to enjoy it, now that i'm not so intimidated by just how much I don't know about sound/effects. i am a novice when it comes to working anything other than a combo amp, and was a bit disappointed when i discovered that the device didn't work right with my combo amp set-up. i had to buy a separate pa system, to get the thing to work with my guitar/mic.but, hey, I'm a novice, and it was my own fault for not knowing any better. i think this product will serve its purpose, as i learn how to use it over the years.

Upgraded from the VLX3 to the VLX for the backing track options and auto effect features.
First of all this unit is packed full of features. In fact, there is so many it is hard to select what / where you want to start. For vocals; the presets are just ok but after making some adjustments I have it dialed in for the songs I cover. I like all the features of the TC Mic Mechanic but the VLX is missing a few like feedback elimination and an easy to adjust pitch correction and compression. It is also hard to find what each preset does as the manual on line is not great so you need to keep trying things until you find your sound.
TC NEEDS TO FIX THIS!
For a soloist the backing track functions works great.
Some things to think about.
- If you are in a duo with two singers don’t expect to both have pitch correction, similar effects or shard backing tracks.
- If both duo members own a VLX (like we do) the units do not talk to each other to share any settings.
- Getting someone on the phone for help is next to impossible!
- Videos on line are very generic and angled to sell more product not educate existing owners customers.
All this being said – I love the TC Helicon VLX and give it two thumbs way up!

Used the VL3X for the first time on 6-22-2015 all sounds were great for both guitar and vocal. 10 songs into the set the guitar cable went bad. Had to stop the set 3 songs early to replace the cable. I little bit embarrassing to say the least.

5 stars to the guys at Sweetwater! Always take care of me : )

I do a guitar/vocal solo 2 or more week nights a week. I bought this to replace a well used Boss VE-20 that was beginning to have issues.
As a vocal effect processor/Harmonizer this thing is very impressive. Although I only use about 4 of the 250 presets, I won"t leave the house without it. It"s excellent.
As far as holding 100 tracks, so far It has been useless. I foresee a lot of potential there, but theres a lot of bugs to work out there yet. And I haven"t been able to get much tech support from t.c. Helicon.
The verdict is still out as a guitar effects processor as I haven"t attempted to use it for that yet. But based on the vocal effects, I expect the guitar effects will be very good also.

I've had this VL3X since August 2016. Overall I really Love it! SO much so that I literally tell it "I love you" out loud every so often. I'm not a "gear head" but I really like this unit because it makes my life as a solo musician so much better!

I checked out a lot of FX pedals in my time, including the Line 6 500HD. I think the amp sounds are better in the Line 6 stuff, but it is not quite as versatile as this one.

The pros:
- it's everything I need in 1 unit. Small enough to travel too!
- has all the effects that I need for guitar AND vocals
- looper for guitar AND vocals! Awesome!
- has XLR outs for playing live.
- Plays backing tracks with a press of one footswitch. This is really important for me as a solo musician!

Cons:
- looper is difficult for me to use. First you have to go into "looper mode" which takes time. Then I'm confused by all the looper mode options "smart" "serial" "free" "quantize". It's cool that there is all these options, but I haven't grasped the meaning of each. I guess I'll have to spend more time with it.

For a looper I would just like a Boss type looper that I press a foot switch and it records and I press the same footswitch and it plays. Then I would like a separate footswitch that stops it. I would do all this without having to go into "looper mode" I know the VL3X has a single "one button looper" option to make this happen, but I have not been able to get it to work yet. Again, maybe I need to put more time into this?

- the backing tracks and looper do not have their own output. I would like to have a separate output for the backing tracks / looper as this would allow the backing tracks to be recorded on a separate track AND it would allow a soundman to adjust the levels appropriately for live and recording.

- I wish I could use the backing tracks and the looper at the same time.

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Overall, I am happy I bought the VL3X! It is worth the money to me. However, I have gone through 3 units in the 9 months that I have owned mine. It keeps having power up issues; the screen is just white when I power up and it even froze during a performance :( I'm not sure this thing is reliable enough for me. Sweetwater has been great with taking care of me on thses units. I'm not sure what to do now though because now Sweetwater is making me pay for shipping every time I have to send this thing back. I wrote about my problems on the Tc Electronic user forums, but I haven't received any help.

Furthermore, I have been building my live performance around the VL3X and I don't even have it for a big festival performance this weekend :(

I can say that as a vocal processor this piece does a great job! The guitar section, especially the preamp, leaves a lot to be desired. If you are not using it for guitar tone then I'd recommend it. Amp models are not good at all though and the support staff could know there own product a little better. 5 stars as a vocal processor 2 stars as a guitar effect

I've had two of these and constantly in for service. The have got me through a few years of gigs but not without some headaches. Thank God for the Sweetwater team helping me when they have issues.
I will probably move on after my newer unit gets fixed and use as a backup or leave in the studio.

First off let me say I "LOVED" it, qwerks and all! note quotations.
Quit working a few days after extended warranty expired. Go figure!!
Just my opinion,too risky for the cost
Unless money is not an object.

Had great features and fun to use but not overly user friendly.
Too expensive and needs the bugs ironed out .
$60.00ish plus S&H just to get it looked at, then extra for
labor and repair and reshipping. As they say it makes a great paper weight.

I have a Boss ve-2 vocal harmonist
that I've had for about 6 years with no problems.
it doesn't have all the bells and whistles the TC has but
a dependable girlfriend is easier to maintain than a trophy wife!
Buy it you'll love it!! just arrange the prenup.
Sweetwater is great though!

ps.
I have a practically new TC-HELICON SWITCH 6 six button footswitch for sale.

I have been owning this product almost 3 years now, I have never been able to fully do something worth it.
The guitar fx are poor compared to line 6 or stompbox pedals from boss or any other, so if you want to kill your guitar sound or just sound amateur, buy this product. Then I decided to use it only to loop vocals, it turned out Midi sync never really worked and loops never synced. I called support etc. their videos are more the CEO playing and having fun than real tutorials. So I decided to just use it as Vocal fx without looping (looping is zero practical), the device use is through windows and sub menus instead of musically oriented knobs. Well, the voice translates poorly and there are a lot of things we all wished to be different like global settings for the mic, etc. Tune correction etc. It has been a horrible experience because you are advertised a product that looks, promises and costs like a TITAN and you end using a poor Smurf.

I wish I have something different from my voice, like the new Boss Vocal processor.
Now they have this new firmware which I am about to do, after 3 years of loosing time and money.

I have gone through two of these, and both proved extremely fragile. I treat my gear with care, but it only took a minor jar to damage these, screen booted blank and there was no way to recover. Not recommended for live performance.

I purchased the Voicelive 3 in 2014 and had problems but was dependent on it so bought the Voicelive 3 extreme as a backup in 2016. When first purchased had problems with each unit but figured both units were a new line ect. BUT, today I have both units down and have no guitar processor, no looper, and no voice processor.

BUYER BEWARE! Looking at the price of a new one and again wonder should I just buy two so I'm covered or split everything up for better guitar, better looping, and voice processing. Most of my friends have moved on to other units, better specs, better sound, better modeling, better looping, AND dependable. Every friend who has had one, usually due to my recommendation at first, has moved on due to the poor track record AND experiencing break downs and difficulty getting service. AND again I didn't use it hard, it was always bootup operating glitch problems.

Sweetwater has been great but this particular model from TC Helicon should be avoided! Not sure I can even get them functional $$ wise and sell them since the price is what it was in 2016, and that might tell you something there.

Again I depend on my equipment to make a living as my friends do as well, this is not dependable equipment thus not pro level.

I have had 3 of these. They are great. Best sounding vocals I've ever achieved, guitar sounds good too. Problem is I am on my 3rd one in just 2 years. Screen goes out on every model I get.

I owned the earlier model voice live and as a vocalist it was helpful when I could not rely on a sound man to know his stuff but this unit makes a LOUD popping noise every time I turn it on and the vocals are robotic. I am a real singer and this is more toyish to me. I am not happy with it to be honest. If your voice is average you may like it but if you can really sing its not good in my opinion. It not natural sounding and theres a slight delay thats really problematic and I am not talking about an effect. Thats just the way this sounds. I do think it has nice acoustic guitar preamps and effects but not for electric guitar IMO.
I have a feeling there"s better options for vocalists out there and as far as backing tracks I think an mp3 player and my phone is fine. I wouldn't feel comfortable relying on this for a looper, a dependable piece of equipment or to be taken serious. I wish I didn't buy it.

So far I am not in love with this unit. I find that the vocals are hard to control. My first unit was defective... horrible feedback and then a blue screen.

The replacement is better.... I just can't get the sound I am after... my Boss 300 is far superior (so far)
The vocals through the TC sound thin and tinny as compared to the Boss or simply going into the Fender SFX amp set to null...
So far not a big fan of it... but the jury is still out. I have to keep unhooking it because I won't use it to gig

Buyer beware, the Mic Control button setting is only global, which means that you can only set one global effect per button, and it will remain the same for all presets.

Older models allowed you to assign whichever effect to the Mic Control button on a per-preset basis. Different presets would have the option to activate different effects through your Mic Control button.

They removed that feature for this thing, now whichever effect you set on each button, you're going to be stuck with it throughout all of your presets. This is regardless of whether you're using an MP75 or MP76 microphone.

This means that if you have a few songs with, say for example a more unusual effect like transducer or synth, you're still going to have to go back to the pedalboard and activate it, loosing your precious connection with the crowd.

They don't tell you this anywhere. On other advertisements and videos, they make it look as if you can, but you cannot, Mic Control is global only. Major deal breaker

Wow, I purchased a VL3 well over 6 months and I have to say I am NOT impressed by the team at TC Helicon.

The first unit I had a "known" issue with a noise floor digital whine. Sweetwater kids sorted that out for me straight away. They ended up having to return a whole batch of units to TC Helicon because when they did their own Quality Control checks on the units, THEY ALL FAILED. Sweetwater did however make sure I received a unit in full working order.

All of their FirmWare upgrades are Buggy as hell with regards to the looper. It is decent as a guitar processor and vocal unit but as a looper it has some serious issues.

Great concept! Mediocre implementation.

Hold off for the Voice Live 4... Not sure I would trust the VL3X given my experience thus far.

I bought my TC-Helicon VL3X from Sweetwater a while ago, and -- per numerous reports on line -- spent weeks of my life learning how to use it. "It's an instrument!"

Got familiar with it, created backing tracks, worked up my own harmonies, got the VL3X Editor, and...

First bump in the road: backing tracks.

I constantly tweek my backing tracks, so need to update whatever backing-track source I am using and... the VL3X is... slow...

And adjusting the volume of the BT relative to your voice and guitar WHILE PERFORMING is... not easy.

Second and final bump: horrific feedback.

I began playing regularly, and wanted to bring my VL3X along.

For about 6 weeks now have had terrible feedback problems.

We — myself and two PA technicians — focused on my Talyor 12-string. When I played it, that's when most of the out-of-nowhere feedback built up.

But after 6 weeks of diagnosis — with suggestions from Taylor Guitars — it wasn't the 12-string.

Turns out it was the VL3X.

When I wrote to TC-Helicon? No response. Disappointing.

Despite my huge investment in the VL3X, I pulled it and replaced it with a BOSS VE-2. Tonight I gave the BOSS VE-2 a 3.5 hour test live.

No feedback issues.

None.

Nada.

Zip.

And for the first hour, I played my Taylor 12-string.

Even better: the professional musician who follows me was listening to the last hour of my set and commented on the "great harmonies" (coming from the BOSS VE-2).

"Your other box [ the VLX3 ] didn't sound that great. Wasn't sure what it was doing."

And on stage?

The BOSS VE-2 has KNOBS!

It is so easy to select harmonies, keys, the balance between dry/wet. I made numerous changes during my 3.5 hour gig tonight and so easy!

I've come to the conclusion that the VL3X must have been a "creative project": make a Swiss Army Knife box with vocals, guitar effect backing tracks, a pizza oven...

And, yes, in my home "studio" it sounded good.

But take it to the kind of gigs I'm assuming lots of us do? It's just not what's needed.

I now use ShowOne on my iPhone for backing tracks AND click tracks. What an awesome app. Totally brilliant.

... and it takes seconds to load backing-track revisions

... I don't need the backing-track capability of the VL3X

For guitar effects, I use a LR Baggs Full Isolation DI/Floor Box for my acoustics, and just a couple of BOSS pedals for both acoustic guitars and electrics.

... again, it's easy as all get out to make necessary changes on stage

... long ago I stopped using the VL3X for guitars

And now for vocal enhancement, I'm using the BOSS VE-2.

I will say, it was a thrill to hear it tonight — and after watching one YouTube video about how to best use it.

I've never had that thrill from the VL3X. And I can't tell you how many TC-H and YouTube videos about the VL3X I've watched.

Perhaps I'll find a use for the VL3X recording...

... but will say I feel the financial, learning-curve, and problem-solving investment I've made in the VL3X hasn't left me feeling warm and fuzzy

... and the non-response from TC-H in the context of helpful thoughts from Taylor Guitars... left me wondering...

My advice, based on my experience: avoid complicated Swiss Army Knives.

On stage, when things get hairy, you need simplicity!

Have 2 none working units if anyone wants to add to your collection!! Both have been to factory authorized service before and after warranty.!! If you look at the dates of the 1 star reviews it is apparent this product is still unreliable if not useless. Since I have bought 2 and have spent money in repairs my advice is stay away from this product.

Used recently on a few gigs after leaving it on for 8 hour periods. Seemed to work and locked up when booting on a gig last night! Done.

Should be discontinued because I will NEVER buy ANY TC Helicon again. And my advice to Sweetwater is stop carrying the product.

I have tried to use them for the past few years (purchase when first came out), THEM as I have had 2 in my possession so when one dies I have a backup. They are completely useless if dependability is a feature you need. Just spent another hour making sure it would boot and work AFTER being serviced at a authorized service center for about 2 months. Service center is great, TC Helicon great, this is the biggest failure the company has ever made.

Friends who use them have 3 or more to make sure they have one that works! Seriously, if the cost was tripled and it worked I would likely buy one but to sell me 3 because they are a inferior product is ridiculous.

In the strongest terms, DO NOT purchase. Go with other companies or a combination of other products from TC helicon. That's my plan now.

I'm heartbroken to report that these simply do not last. I had mine for about a year before the screen started to glitch and now the screen doesn't work at all. After researching I realized MANY have experienced the same exact issue. I tried countless times to fix it, but every time the same problem quickly returns. The screen will go completely blank making it a useless brick as I cannot see what preset I am, make any adjustments, or even tune my guitar without use of the screen. I now have a $800 piece of garbage. I loved how it sounded and I used it for touring for the year that it worked. The screen has blanked out on stage during a performance multiple times, which is beyond horrifying. It now is permanently blank. It is inexcusable in my opinion to have this big of a manufacturer error on something so expensive. Google voicelive 3 extreme blank screen before you purchase and spare yourself from the disappointment and frustration I experienced.

I bought this processor a few years ago, and never got it to work as advertised. It is utterly too complex for the people who need it the most to improve their performance. There is no clear tutorial on how to set up and use this unit. The sponsored videos are useless, as they race through the manufacturer's propaganda. This week I dragged it out again to attempt to make it work and ended up disappointed. I'd give it away rather than have it create wasted space. The advertising on many seemingly useful gadgets is the same, with no guidance as to the type/level of technical knowledge required to set up and operate, which, in my view, is the equivalent to false advertising!

Been in the music market for 40 as a musician and sound engineer. Used many TC Helicon devices with good results. Bought the TC Helicon voice live 3 extreme thinking the same thing and was totally wrong. This thing is nothing but junk. Sent it in on the warranty issue everybody was having with the screen going blank to get it back and now it does other things wrong with the screen. Customer service was absolutely horrible on dealing with this matter it's just now the heaviest most expensive paperweight in the shop.

I was initially interested in using this for looping and harmony for small coffeehouse style gigs. I have found it to be very complex and that there are very limited tutorials available.
I was not pleased with the tones, other than the harmonies which are quite good. The guitar tones are not. The most frustrating thing is the ever changing focus of the switches, and the inability to directly transfer backing tracks or loops too and from my computer via USB.