In addition to polishing your sound, the best vocal effects pedal can completely reshape how you perform. You can spice up a stripped-down solo acoustic set by layering a few harmonies live, and adding effects. You can also unlock more creative control, spontaneity, and presence with a good vocal pedal.
Author's Pick | Author's Pick Product Image | Product Title | *GEARANK | **Sources | Check Prices |
 | 90 | 4925+ |
The Best Vocal Processor Pedals and Processors | The Best Vocal Processor Pedals and Processors Product Image | Product Title | *GEARANK | **Sources | Check Prices |
 | 90 | 225+ | |||
 | 89 | 1150+ | |||
 | 900 | 450+ | |||
 | 88 | 250+ |
*Gearank = Rating score out of 100.
**Sources = Number of gear owner and user opinions analyzed for these product Gearank Ratings.
Research Process: How Gearank Works
The best vocal pedals can do more than just reverb and delay. These tools shape your sound in real time, helping with everything from subtle vocal compression to harmony generation, pitch correction, formant shifting, and even full-on vocal transformation. Think of them as a compact vocal rig at your feet, giving you more control without needing to rely entirely on the FOH engineer or studio gear.
Sure, not every vocalist uses effects, but for many of us, they’ve become an essential part of the performance toolkit. I’ve worked with singer-guitarists, DJs, loopers, and even touring vocalists who treat their vocal processor like a second instrument. Even outside music, vocal effects are now key for podcasters, streamers, voice actors, and content creators who want a more engaging, professional sound.
Whether you’re singing live, streaming online, or laying down tracks at home, finding the best vocal processor for your setup can completely elevate your vocal game. In this guide, I’ll walk you through the top options on the market, break down their features, and help you figure out which ones are worth plugging in, so your voice always gets heard the way it should.
Author’s Pick
TC Helicon GoXLR
Delivers quality vocal effects, customizable mixing, and intuitive controls in a sleek package. Motorized faders are an added luxury, great for music production and broadcasting.
Pros:
- Tried and tested performance, widely used
- Impressive sounding reverb and pitch shifting
- Intuitive control interface
- Allows for real-time monitoring
- Only 1 mic XLR input
- Plastic chassis
- Old Model
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The TC Helicon GoXLR is a long-standing favorite among streamers and content creators. And it continues to maintain its popularity as a versatile audio interface solution.
Its enduring appeal lies in its user-friendly interface and comprehensive feature set, making it a reliable choice for those seeking to enhance their vocal performance and stream quality.
You can effortlessly adjust EQ settings, apply compression, and experiment with various effects in real time, all directly integrated with popular streaming software.
The built-in sampler and customizable presets add a layer of versatility. With it, you have more exciting and creative avenues for enhancing your voice and controlling your audio signal.
Unfortunately, connectivity options are quite limited. If you need a multi-microphone setup, this is not for you.
If you want something that works reliably and has been tried and tested, then the GoXLR remains a solid choice.
- Profile: Table Top
- Harmony: None
- Pitch Correction: Yes
- Looper: None
- Effects: Reverb, Echo, Pitch Shifting, Gender (formant shifting), Megaphone, Robot, Hard Tune, Sampler
- Phantom Power: +48 V, Switchable via Control App
- Inputs: 1 x 1/8″ TRS, stereo
- Outputsputs: 1 x 1/8″ TRS, stereo
- USB Port: 1 x USB 2.0, type B
- Power: 12V DC Power Supply (included)
Best Vocal Effects Pedals
TC Helicon Ditto Mic Looper
Simplicity meets creativity with the Ditto Mic Looper, making it easy to create layered performances on the fly.
Pros:
- Easiest to use vocal looper on the market
- 48V phantom power for Condenser Mics in addition to Dynamic Mics
- Road worthy and reliable
- Basic one track looping
- Limited to five minutes of one-track looping
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With the success of the TC Electronic Ditto looper pedal for guitar, it’s only natural for their sister company, TC Helicon, to cash in on the hype with their take.
The Ditto Mic Looper follows after the original Ditto Looper pedal, with simple controls and a compact profile, designed for mics.
It has a single loop level knob and two footswitches. So it doesn’t take long to master its controls, which include record, play, stop, erase, undo, and overdub.
A big plus is that they included 48V phantom power. This means it works with all good hand-held condenser mics, such as the Shure Beta 87A, and standard dynamic mics, like the Shure SM58.
Max loop time is only 5 minutes, which can be limiting. For more looping features, look at our guide to The Best Loopers. It also doesn’t offer other effects, so it isn’t a good option if you want an all-in-one vocal effects pedal.
If you want a compact vocal looper with high-quality sound, it doesn’t get any simpler than this.
- Profile: Pedal
- Effects: Looper
- Total Loop Time: 300 Seconds
- Phantom Power: 48V
- Inputs: 1 x XLR
- Outputs: 1 x XLR
- USB Port: Updates
- Power: Power Adapter
TC Helicon VoiceLive Play Acoustic
Designed for acoustic performers, the VoiceLive Play Acoustic enhances vocals with studio-quality effects and adds rich guitar processing for a polished live sound. Its smart harmony and reverb settings will make your solo performances sound full and dynamic.
Pros:
- Great for acoustic guitarists who sing
- Vocal effects like reverb and compression sound really good
- Bodyrez effect can improve your guitar sound.
- I wouldn’t use the intelligent harmonizer on recordings
- Limited vocal effects options
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The TC-Helicon VoiceLive Play Acoustic features vocal and acoustic guitar effects in one stompbox. It is ideal for singers who play acoustic-electric guitar.
The vocal processor section has a dedicated mic preamp and lets you utilize some of TC Helicon’s popular vocal effects. This includes essentials like natural sounding reverb and echo. You also get dynamic processing, pitch correction, and smart harmony. The harmonies are useful for performances but not good enough for recording.
You also get emulations of guitar pedals. This includes the BodyRez (acoustic guitar sound enhancer effect), Corona Chorus, Flashback Delay, Hall of Fame Reverb, feedback suppression, and EQ controls. It also has a simple looper functionality.
This combination of vocal and acoustic guitar effects makes this the best vocal pedal for solo live performers who play acoustic guitars
Other popular pedals from this company include the TC Helicon VoiceLive 3 and Harmony G XT.
- Harmony: Smart Guitar-Controlled Harmony
- Harmony Voices: Up to 2
- Pitch Correction: Auto Chromatic, Hard Tune
- Looper: Up to 30 seconds
- Effects: µMod (Modulation), Transducer (Synth), Doubler, Reverb, Delay, Adaptive Tone (Smart EQ, De-essing and Compression)
- Phantom Power: 48V
- Guitar Effects: Hall of Fame Reverb, Corona Chorus, BodyRez (Acoustic Guitar Tone Enhancer), Feedback Suppressor, EQ,
- Inputs: 1 x XLR, 1 x 1/4″, 1 x 1/8″ (Aux)
- Outputs: 2 x XLR, 1 x 1/8″ (Headphones), 1 x 1/4″ (Footswitch),
- USB Port: Direct Recording, Update, and Control
- Power: DC Power Supply
Boss VE-5 Vocal Performer
This versatile pedal gives you high-quality vocal effects while keeping a portable profile. It’s a great choice for live performers and solo artists
Pros:
- Easy to start using
- Can run on Batteries
- Creative friendly
- Can clip to a mic stand
- Limited functionality
- AC adapter is sold separately
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The Boss VE-5 Vocal Performer is a compact and versatile vocal effects processor that your hands can control.
It feels very intuitive, with quick access to various vocal effects, including reverb, delay, harmony, and pitch correction.
It has a built-in microphone, and can run on batteries. It also has a range of inputs and a USB port for direct recording and playback.
Durability and reliability are up to par with other Boss products. Its rugged construction and high-quality components make it a trustworthy companion for vocalists who rely on their gear night after night.
Keep in mind that it doesn’t ship with a power adapter. You’ll also need to mount it on a stand to use it on stage.
This is the vocal effects processor to get if you need something compact yet reliable.
- Harmony: various vocal harmony effects, including intelligent harmony, pitch correction, and manual harmonies
- Harmony Voices: Up to 5
- Pitch Correction: Hard Tune
- Looper: 38 seconds (mono)
- Effects: Pitch Correct, Harmony, Delay, Reverb, Dynamics
- Phantom Power: Yes
- Inputs: 1 x XLR-1/4″ combo, 1 x 1/8″ (aux in)
- Outputsputs: 1 x XLR, 1 x 1/8″ (stereo line/headphones)
- USB Port: None
- Power: Rechargeable Ni-MH Battery (AA, HR6) or Alkaline (AA, LR6) x 4, AC Adaptor (PSA series: sold separately)
Boss VE-500 Vocal Performer
With advanced vocal processing, harmony generation, and deep tone-shaping options, this is a true powerhouse for live vocal performances. In addition to great effects, it has a built-in synth engine for more experimental sounds.
Pros:
- Wide range of useful effects
- Three-part harmonies
- Pitch correction
- Allows for deep editing of parameters
- No Power Switch
- No Headphones Out
- Not as Intuitive
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The Boss VE-500 is a versatile multi-effect pedal packed with different effect types tweaked to work well with vocals.
It can run up to 9 effects simultaneously from its wide selection of effects, and it does so while keeping a relatively compact profile. It has the same level of versatility as multi-effects pedals that guitar players use, only this one is specifically for vocals.
Essential effects like EQ and reverb work great for polishing vocals. Or you can go all out using more dramatic effects like modulation, distortion, formant filters, 30-sec looper, etc.
I’m impressed with the intelligent harmonize feature, which can generate 2- to 3-part harmonies. And it does so in conjunction with an instrument that is also plugged into the unit. The harmonies don’t sound like actual humans yet, but they are in pitch.
Other nifty features include real-time pitch correction and pitch shifting. You can use it subtly to help you sing in tune, or you can use it as a dramatic shifting effect, as can be heard in many EDM, pop, and hip-hop tracks.
Given its extensive feature set, you’ll have to do a little menu diving. This means the learning curve is quite steep. But you get more control over your wet and dry signal, right at the front panel. However, the extra effort will allow you to make the most out of the VE-500’s capabilities.
The Boss VE-500 is the perfect choice for vocalists who want a reliable multi-effects processor for improving their singing.
- Harmony: Key/Scale Based Harmonies / Can also be based on an instrument
- Harmony Voices: Up to 3
- Pitch Correction: Soft to Hard Tune
- Looper: 30 Second, Single Track
- Effects: 9 different effects (Reverb, Delay, EQ, Filter, Distortion, Vocoder, Modulation, and more) Looper, Harmonizer
- Phantom Power: 48V
- Inputs: 1 x XLR (mic), 1 x 1/4″ (instrument)
- Outputs: 2 x XLR (L/R), 1 x 1/4″ (instrument thru)
- USB Port: Updates / Librarian
- Power: 9V DC Power Adapter (Included)
Things to Consider when Buying Vocal Effect Pedals / Processors
Types of Vocal Effects
Vocal effects do more than just sweeten your sound—they shape your vocal presence in a mix. A solid vocal chain usually starts with the basics: EQ to clean things up, compression to keep your levels tight, and reverb for that extra space and depth.
A lot of PA systems already include a few of these effects built in, but they’re often limited and hard to tweak on the fly. That’s why I like having a dedicated vocal pedal. A good reverb pedal with EQ gives me way more control over how my vocals sit in the mix, especially on a loud stage.
Now, if you’re into experimental sounds or creative vocal textures, you’ll want to dive into the weirder stuff—things like the Vocoder, synth voicings, robot tones, and other effects that completely flip your voice into something wild. These types of effects are perfect not only for musicians but also for podcasters, voice actors, and streamers who want to stand out.
Modern DSP (digital signal processing) has opened the door to advanced tools like pitch correction and formant shifting. That means you can subtly tweak your tone, or completely change the apparent age or gender of your voice if you want to get really creative.
Input/Output and USB Recording
Most vocalists stick with a basic XLR connection straight into a PA or mixing console, and that works just fine for simple setups. But if you’re singing and playing guitar, it’s worth looking for a processor with more input options.
Some pedals will route guitar and vocals separately while still letting you apply independent effects to each. That kind of flexibility is great for solo performers who don’t want to haul around a huge rig. Many processors even include a headphone output, so you can use them as Headphone Amps for quiet practice or tracking vocals without a full interface.
And if you’re recording at home, doing live streams, or producing a podcast, you’ll definitely want a unit with direct USB out. It just simplifies everything—clean signal, straight to your DAW or broadcast software, no extra gear needed.
Looper
Loopers are one of the most underrated features on a vocal processor. With a looper, you can stack harmonies, layer rhythmic vocal parts, or just experiment with phrasing and timing. I’ve used them not just in live shows but also as a practice tool—it helps train your ear, tighten your timing, and hear your own tone in context.
For solo performers, a looper adds serious depth to a set. You can build a full arrangement live without needing a band behind you, which is a game changer if you’re trying to keep your act lean.
Vocal Harmonizer
If you’ve ever wanted virtual backup singers on command, this is where vocal harmonizers shine. They let you add one or more harmony lines to what you’re singing in real time.
Some units sync with your guitar or keyboard chords to generate harmonies automatically, while others let you set the key manually. Either way, they’re incredibly useful for adding fullness to your sound without dragging extra vocalists on stage.
The number of harmonies you can add varies—some processors give you one or two extra voices, others let you go up to four. A few even let you tweak the tone and pitch of the harmonies to make them feel more human. I’ve played with processors that let you add slight timing or pitch variations, or even shift the gender of the harmony voice, which is pretty wild and super effective in certain mixes.
Pitch Correction (AutoTune)
Pitch correction gets a lot of attention—and for good reason. Whether you’re after a clean, natural tuning to keep your performance tight, or want that robotic, stylized sound you hear in modern pop and hip-hop, a good pitch correction setting can get you there.
Used subtly, it smooths over those small slips in pitch that happen in live settings. But it’s also a creative tool in its own right. That hard-tuned effect you hear in EDM and hip-hop, the one made famous by artists like T-Pain or Kanye, is baked right into most modern processors. Some give you chromatic correction for a transparent sound, others let you lock into a scale for more dramatic results. Either way, pitch correction is one of the most powerful tools for shaping a vocal style today.
Guitar Effects
If you’re a singer who also plays guitar, chances are you’ll appreciate having some guitar effects built in. A lot of vocal processors include an instrument input, and many even let you load in some of the best guitar pedals effects alongside your vocal chain.
Most of these are designed with acoustic players in mind—reverb, delay, chorus, EQ, even basic compression. It’s super handy if you want to keep your setup minimal but still want pro-level tone control for both vocals and guitar.
Best Vocal Effects Pedal Selection Methodology
The first edition was published in 2016. The current edition was published in 2025.
We ended up with a short list of 43 vocal effects processors for this edition. We then collated over 23,300 review and rating sources, which included reviews from retail stores, expert reviews, forum discussions, video reviews, and more.
All these data were then processed using the Gearank Algorithm. This gave us rating scores out of 100, which we used to develop our recommendations that reflect market sentiment. We also used this to report each recommended item’s notable pros and cons. For more information about our methods, see How Gearank Works.
The author’s pick for this edition is the TC Helicon GoXLR, a tried and tested vocal effects/mixer widely used by streamers, podcasters, and other content creators.
About the Author and Contributors
Here are the key people and sources involved in this guide’s production – click on linked names for information about their music industry backgrounds.
Lead Author & Researcher
I personally use a Boss RC-300 Loop Station, which has effects that I apply to vocals. Looping is what I mostly use, but I sometimes apply subtle reverb, chorus, and other effects. I use it with vocals and acoustic-electric guitars such as my Martin OMCPA4, Martin DCX1E, Ibanez AEL20E, and the Takamine GY11ME.
Contributors
Alden Acosta & Jerry Borillo: Product research.
Jason Horton: Editing and Illustrating.
Media / Image Credit
Main/Top Image: Produced by Gearank.com using photographs of the Boss VE-20 and TC Helicon VoiceLive Play Acoustic.
The videos have been embedded in accordance with YouTube’s Terms of Service.
The individual product images were sourced from websites, promotional materials, or supporting documentation provided by their respective manufacturers.
More Best Vocal Effects Pedal / Processor Guide Related Posts
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Best Delay Pedal: Make Your Guitar Sound Huge and Alive
Best Overdrive and Distortion Pedals for Killer Tone
The Ultimate Guide to the Best Noise Gate Pedal
Best Delay Reverb Pedal for Gig-Ready Ambient Magic
Best Guitar Tuners for Easy, Reliable Tuning
Comments:
43 responses
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I see you mention in the “Harmonies” section that “Some units have enough processing power to let you tweak the character of the harmonized voices in various ways including pitch and timing variations and even gender.” Can you say which ones do this? This is something I am looking for. Thanks a lot for the informative article!
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The TC Helicon PlayLive Acoustic offers multiple harmony styles including pitch, and allows for advanced controls like setting the slide time of each note, and a “Humanize” setting that adds a bit of timing and pitch variance to make the harmony sound more “human-like”.
The Boss VE-20 also has smart harmony options along with a gender setting. VE-8’s harmony is similar to VE-20.
Finally, the Zoom V3 has 5 harmony pitch options (Lower, Low, Fixed, High, Higher).
Hope these details can help you pick your vocal processor.
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Awesome, the gender thing is what I was looking for, so I will take a closer look at the Boss VE-20 and VE-8. Thanks for your generous help sir!
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The following effects processors came off the recommended list above when we published the March 2022 Edition:
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Publication of our October 2021 Edition resulted in the following effects units coming off the recommended list above:
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My band works in 432, not 440. So which of the best in sound quality could you recommend? Thanks.
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If you are talking about 432Hz tuning, then basic effects and looping should work fine. In theory, smart harmony should also be able to work with that tuning, but it may be best to contact the manufacturer if you want to be sure.
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Yes, tuning in 432. The question is to find out if any of the brands can lower the tuning to 432 to make harmonies. It will then be asking the brands. Thanks.
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I’ve done some research, but I’m not seeing any mention of 432Hz tuning specifically. Theoretically, “Smart Harmonies” should work fine with 432Hz if the harmonies are based on audio input (vocal or guitar). But “Fixed Harmonies” probably will be a problem if they are set to a specific tuning. You are doing the right thing by contacting the manufacturers to get further information.
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The TC Helicon VoiceTone Harmony-G XT has been discontinued so we’ve removed it from the recommended list above.
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Our November 2020 update resulted in the following vocal pedals coming off the recommended list above, but you can still see our analysis of them:
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Thanx for all the info.
One question .. Can I trigger the abilities of the TC voice live 3 with a bamboo flute ? -
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Hi! Great guide. About TC Helicon Perform VG, it has Phantom power (can’t be phantom powered, but you can power a condenser mic with it). Also the USB port is just for firmware update, not able to direct recording or control.
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Thanks for that, you are entirely correct!
There were some confusing phantom power specifications on the TC-Helicon website so I checked the manual and have updated the Phantom Power and USB specifications above.
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With a lot of the best processors being taken off of the recommended list, what processor is currently the the best and is a available?
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The recommended list above does represent the best that are currently available.
The TC-Helicon VoiceLive 3 came off the list because it has been discontinued and the TC-Helicon Voicetone Mic Mechanic 2 came off the list because the other ones we now recommend have higher ratings which are represented by their Gearank scores out of 100.
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As a result of our September 2018 update the following pedals came off the recommended list above but you can still read our analysis:
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Hey.. Thnx for all this great info! Still playing every day with the Roland 501. ( sultry and melodic type of improv flute ) The pre on this Roland is special. Which one comes close in quality to the Re 501? Just need the basic effects / delay /reverb.
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Trying to look for a compact alternative to the Roland RE-501 is a tall order. So if you’re looking for a vocal effects pedal with RE-501 like quality delay/reverb, you may have to lower your expectations.
And If you do, you’ll find that many of the pedals listed here can provide workable, if not good reverb and delay.
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Thank you for the article! I am less after effects and more after intuitive and easy to use sampler for vocals and speech. Do you know which direction I should look?
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If what you mean by sampler is looping vocals, then you can go for any of the compact ones with built-in looper, like the Boss VE-20. But if you want an easy-to-use pedal to improve your overall sound, then get the Mic Mechanic from TC-Electronic.
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Is there any pedal that you can choose a specific mode and not just major/minor? I perform lots of folk songs and would love a pedal I could set to the pentatonic scale.
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Many harmony pedals allow for either automatic and manual key/scale mode, but I have yet to see one that specifically limits harmonies to the note of the pentatonic scale.
In any case, the pentatonic scale is just a few notes less than the major and minor scale setting, so you can achieve a similar effect with them – albeit with some of the harmonies going outside the pentatonic scale.
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I’m trying to get a late 70’s early 80’s stereo effect. Does anyone know if one of these can achieve that?
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Most likely they were using a rackmount studio chorus effect. This can be achieved via the average chorus effect, which is included in many vocal and looper pedals.
Now if you want to really capture the flavor of the classic chorus, you’ll have to research on the actual gear that was used on the recording that you’re trying to replicate – and utilize something that’s similar sounding, be it actual hardware or digital effects.
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Hi,
I have seen many reviews on the above effects, but the one thing that no one has mentioned so far, is, if you can patch one of these effects into a mixer to be used by more than one vocalist , e.g on several channels of a mixer or does each vocalist has to have their own effects unit?-
These types of foot pedal effects are primarily designed to be used by a single performer on stage rather than be used as outboard effects with a mixing console.
You could conceivably use some of them with the effects loop on a mixing console, however only the ones with 1/4″ ins and outs would be usable, and the person mixing might find it awkward using the switches that are meant to be foot operated.
Typically, with mixing consoles, you would use rack mount effects units instead.
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The pedals don’t specify this feature, but it can probably be done if you route pre-recorded tracks to the guitar input. There are other many apps that can do this though, but you’ll have to figure out how to get them to trigger the harmonies off of your pedal.
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I am looking for a small unit similar to BOSS VE20 that can be connected to a keyboard via midi to get the exact key changes for harmony and pitch correction. HELP!
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There are no small units that we recommend that have that feature – the nearest is the full sized TC-Helicon VoiceLive 3 which allows MIDI control over pitch.
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Thanks for the to the point and easy to take in reviews. This did help me make a purchase decision. Roland Vocal GTX.
Thanks again. -
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Today we removed the TC Helicon Harmony Singer from our list of recommendations above due to a lack of availability.
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I haven’t seen the term ‘vocal vibrato’ used in relation to any of these effects units, but the Boss VE-8 does have Tremolo if that helps.
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Recommend me a best iOS Smule sing interface setup . I’m using a Tascam iXZ right now. A vocal mixer will be good to go.
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With the July 2017 update of this guide we re-focused it more to general vocal effects and less on single effects like looping – here are the meta reviews for the pedals removed from the guide:
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Hey! Thanks a lot for these great lists. I was wondering about the TC-Helicon VoiceLive Play GTX. Do you have an opinion about it?
thanks again
Related Gear
Disclosure
Author's Pick
Here is the vocal effects processor that I recommend.
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