Review: Boss VE-8 Acoustic Singer Pedal
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- Опубліковано 17 тра 2024
- ✅✅✅
I decided to make a review for a pedal that I've been using religiously for the past 3 and a bit years, mainly because this pedal is SO incredible for it's price, I'm constantly surprised that it's not more popular than it is; it's a guitar effects pedal, vocal effects pedal WITH AUTOMATIC HARMONIES and looper all in one!!
This video isn't endorsed or sponsored by BOSS in any way, I'm just such a fan of this particular unit that I thought I would share a review with some tips and preferences for anyone whom is looking to buy one of these.
Last I checked, the price was around the £300 mark, and for what you get in a compact, transportable unit is an absolute bargain.
Gear4Music: www.gear4music.com/PA-DJ-and-...
I hope you find this video useful. At some point I'll make a demonstration video so you can hear what it can do too!
Here's some helpful markers if you just want to know a specific part of the pedal:
0:01 - Intro
0:42 - Nutshell Review
GUITAR SECTION
1:02 - Resonance
1:24 - Reverb
1:57 - Notch
2:36 - Guitar FX
3:49 - Guitar Pedal
VOCAL SECTION
4:24 - Enhance
5:04 - Correct
5:44 - Reverb
5:56 - Harmony
7:36 - Harmony Pedal
STOMP/MEMORY FEATURE
7:59 - Memory
OUTPUT SECTION
9:25 - Output
LOOPER
10:08 - Loop
INPUTS/OUTPUTS
11:14 - connectivity
13:06 - Conclusion
The songs used in the background are mine!
Sunlight:
Spotify - open.spotify.com/album/2Mx3wy...
Apple Music - itunes.apple.com/album/id/1434...
Dance the Hempen Jig:
Spotify - open.spotify.com/album/15hjJB...
Apple Music - itunes.apple.com/album/id/1457...
Drift:
Apple Music - itunes.apple.com/album/id/1524...
✅✅✅
One of the most fluid and efficient tutorials I've seen. All of my questions were answered which is rare. Thanks for taking the time to review it
Very kind of you to say, thank you 👍
Absolutely brilliant review, thank you! I had already decided to get this pedal, and this overview has confirmed what I was thinking. Thanks again.
Wonderful review. Clear and straightforward. Excellent
Thanks, I've had this pedal for 5 years, and you've done a great job showing it's features.
That was brilliant, i have one i just needed a basic guide and this was perfect thank you!
Very well done tour of this pedal. Thanks for posting.
This was a fantastic and thorough review, the best I've seen. Very much appreciated. Have been tossing up recently between this and the play acoustic. Looking forward to checking out your videos using it now after watching the review. Thanks again
My pleasure Mike, glad you found it useful. Thank you for the kind words and the sub 🙏
Great review!!! I was really sceptical about buying 1 of these pedals, but you answered all my questions and I have put it on my buy list! Thanks a mil
Happy to have helped, I’ve found it incredibly versatile and reliable, I hope you enjoy it! 👍
Great review thanks for taking the time to post
Thanks@ such a complete review and detailed how to video!
Great Review, I have the TC Play Acoustic and I like the big display but the controls are hard to get a feel for, I like the knobs here itx more instantaneous. The auto harmonizer on the TCPA is fantastic
Excellent review, thank you.
thanks for your review! this is want i've been looking for! I own one but not really get the most power of it. thanks again!
My pleasure thank you for the kind words, happy to have helped 🙏 happy playing!
Excellent review - clear & concise, good job, thank you. I'm getting mine next week, no kidding! 😀
Thank you for the kind review, and wonderful to hear, I hope you enjoy! 🙏
You made a very clear and understandable presentation and I learned a few easy steps , well done 🎼🎤
Thank you for the review, happy to help! 🙏
***** UPDATE: it’s actually 50 memory banks, not 99, apologies! *****
Great review and waiting on delivery of mine. I will be watching again!! Thanks for doing this review.
Thanks for the kind words 🙏 you’re welcome, and great to hear! You won’t be disappointed, it’s a great versatile unit!
@@timhoadacoustic I have had this for about three weeks and just watched your review again as it is so good! I love this pedal. I am just a hobbyist but one evening when I was using it my husband came upstairs and wanted to know if it was me singing and said I sounded really good 😉. So much fun and amazing the multiple uses.
@@janrandles8683 Great to hear that you're enjoying the pedal as much as I do, thanks for the kind words! Wonderful news, happy playing!
Thanks for this very, very informative review. Your explanations are excellent and helped me alot. Cause of this, my VE-8 now becomes more friendly user. Many thanks.
My absolute pleasure, so glad to help!
I've had one for years. Very satisfied.
Thanks bro we’ll explain I have this one. Thanks again for the tutorial God bless
Great review. Really helpful
Thank you!
Brilliant overview. Thank you
My pleasure, thank you for the kind review 👍
Can you adjust the amount of pitch correction? Other than soft and hard options?
Great video, thanks a lot! I'll definitely get this one!
Thank you! And you’re welcome, you won’t be disappointed :)
Excellent review. Thank you very much!
Thank you!
Thank you, that was an excellent, in depth review.
My pleasure John, thank you for the review and kind words.
@@timhoadacoustic You're welcome. I use the TC Voicelive 3 on stage mostly. I had the Acoustic Pro amp from Boss, but I needed more power so I opted for an Acus One 10 - a brilliant amp for acoustic players, in fact any Acus amp is top of the line for acoustic guitar and voice. Your review and other videos give me a good sense of how it compares to the onboard effects etc on the Acoustic Pro amp. It was very helpful, as I might replace the TC for a smaller footprint. Thanks again, and you don't half write some great songs !
@@johnmorrell very interesting, I’ve not come across those products, I’ll have to keep my eyes peeled! Many thanks for your kind words 🙏🙏🙏
Thanks for a good review! What are the DAW specifications? well I can check that in the net :D
Clear & concise. Subbed!
Thank you!
great review and i like the fact it look's used in the real world!! :) :)
great review, thank you!
Pleasure, thanks for the kind words!
This is good video, thaniks very much. I've just bought the pedal, and your video was very useful in the decision
Glad it was helpful! Happy playing!
Excellent demo my friend
Best review ever...👏 I just cancelled my tc helicon voice live. Thankx for making this video. M getting this one.
This is a fantastic review. I’ve been researching this and the Play Acoustic and this looks like it’s got a lot more features, which I’d expect from Boss as a product.
Thanks for the kind review. I’m amazed how much is in this pedal, to me you definitely get your money’s worth!
If you plan on looping.. skip it.. the play acoustic will be much better. Just being honest.
@@timjohnson5260 I only loop on about 4 songs in my set mate. Acoustic resonance and more natural harmonies are far more important.
Mick Dunne music in my opinion .. a better pickup like an anthem would be a wiser investment.. the body Rez is very good on the tc stuff amd can be dialed in in detail .. the vocal layer .. harmonies.. and effect custimization .. as well as the looper are more comprehensive .. for half the price mate in a play acoustic .. but hey knobs.. just my 2c. I’m using the helix floor now for both vocals and guitar tones .. it’s expensive but the bang for the buck is worth it ..
@@timjohnson5260 How many XLRs/ leads are needed if I want to run it out wet to a mixer and then mixer to house PA ? I’ve been researching videos on TC helicon play acoustic and it seems a lot more straightforward from the off.
Thank you! Can you isolate the guitar and vocals into different outputs in effort to run them to different amplification options; i.e. guitar to amp, vocal to mixer?
what mixer do u use this pedal with ??
Hey man thanks for the review, when you use USB output for streaming, how do you right size the gain? It comes pretty quiet into my iPhone (using an iphone lightening to usb converter). Thanks again!
Hey Timothy...thanks for the tip on the center by-pass button! Love my VE-8.
You’re welcome! Happy to have helped :)
Great review, thanks! I was wondering - can you combine guitar effects in a preset, or can you only use one at a time?
Thanks very much! You can combine certain ones, I.e phaser and octave, it’s pretty flexible but not all can be combined just a heads up!
Hi Tim! Great video! Do you know if this comes with anyb vocal gain/compressor/gate/etc.? does it have any vocal pre-amp option? Thanks, dude!
Hi Hoang, thank you! 🙏 no, no comp, gain or gate I’m afraid but being honest they’re not something I’ve ever felt like I’ve needed in a live set up. There’s plenty of volume control and you can change the mic sensitivity which I’ve always found useful if you want to control that aspect. As I understand the whole unit is a pre-amp, is there something specific you wanted to know about the vox as a pre-amp?
Great review.👍🔥🎸🎼🙏
Thank you! 🙏🙏🙏
Wow, that's unbelievable pedal! Very nice video, thanx. It hels me with my choice if I should to buy it. Thank you. ;)
Pleasure, happy to help!
Hello Timothy! Thanks for comprehensive review. Could you also please advise if VE-8 also includes stereo delay/reverb effects for guitar or they are mono only? The manual doesn't covers this issue enough. Thanks!
Ooh good question, and truthfully I’m not 100% sure myself, but I’d wager however as the output in general can be either stereo or mono that the effects are the same. Hope that helps!
Definitely a great & most professional review. . .
My unanswered question as I sort through all the comments. . .
Is the harmony foot switch capable of momentary contact? So that the harmony effect is only on while being pressed down. Then harmony goes away when I remove my foot.
A good question, the answer is no, it works via a press on/press again to turn on and off. Pressing and holding will turn the reverb off. No momentary press, I’m afraid.
What pedal can be used to harmony shift on the acoustic singer pro?
I only want to use this for harmonies vocals, one other question how do I find the key to the song that I’m singing?
Thanks for your review, Timothy. At this point, I'm simply looking to utilize the pedal for a few basic guitar effects and some harmonizing. I think I've got the harmonizing section figured out, but I seem to have "lost" the Chorus/Effects sections - I had it previously, but now it's gone?? I'm unable to switch to different effects (it's locked onto Ch, which in itself doesn't present any Chorus effects when the Chorus pedal is actuated?). Any thoughts or assistance would be GREATLY appreciated.
I had a similar problem which went away, but I put it down to a connectivity/hardware issue. I don't work for Boss myself, but I'm sure they must have a repairs section on their site. Sorry I can't be more help!
Thanks for your prompt reply, Tim. @@timhoadacoustic
What is the difference between the acoustic harmonie singer acoustic amp or this pedal
Awesome.
Today i tried to connect a otg cable in my phone using a usb from this pedal
But it didn't work
Do you think there's some way? Could i make a live in UA-cam with the phone right from the pedal?
Sorry if I missed this but do the harmonies have the chord recognition ability like the tc helicon pedals? Thx
The unit has both Auto and Key feature; Auto it recognises the chords and harmonises accordingly, Key is a set parameter to perform in in set key. Hope that helps!
can this be used for recording in DAW?
Hi and thanks for your great review. I heard on another review that the memories are actually presets- that someone at Boss programmed in, which of course you can modify or delete. Can you confirm this or are they all blank default settings?
Hi John, thanks for the kind words. It's been a while, and to be completely honest I can't fully remember. I've just had a flick through my presets now (as I know I certainly haven't used all of them!) and certainly towards the higher-numbered presets that I know I haven't overwritten the lights do change some I'm lead to believe that there is some pre-programming there. Apologies it's a bit vague but don't want to misinform you. Still, it's win-win either way; there's either great presets to use, or if not it's super easy to assign them anyway! Hope that helps :)
@@timhoadacoustic Thanks for your quick reply; it would not be a deal breaker at all and I appreciate your info. BTW the Boss manual says 50 memory banks; you may have updated that somewhere here on your post. 50 is still lots!
@@johnschlosar3027 oooo thank you very much you’re absolutely right it’s 50, my apologies and thanks for the heads up! 👍
This unit come with preloaded effects that can be overwritten but I can’t find a list of them. Try them out.
Hello again Timothy :) I was wondering - can you only record two layers of loop, or more on top of them? Thank you again for all your words and help
No problem, and no limit I don’t think! As many layers as you wish 👍
@@timhoadacoustic hurray! thank you!
Can you practice at home just using the headphone socket? Without plugging into an amplifier? Great review, thank you
Absolutely, I do it all the time!
Awesome review. But can I ask if I have zoom meeting and I want to play guitar with vocals into the computer, using this device, Will the USB port work fine?
Yep! Just select “VE-8” as the device input for the audio!
Hi great demo thanks. Not sure whether you’ve come across this but I mainly sing backing vocal and am wondering whether the vocal section can work if you’re singing a harmony without clashing with the lead vocalist?
Hey there, pleasure. Do you mean using the pedal without a guitar running through it? In which case yes you can, you can just select a key for the unit to stay in. If you want the pedal to perform specific notes however that the lead singer is singing that could be a little harder. Are both singers going through the pedal?
@@timhoadacoustic hi I would still be using an acoustic guitar through it but assumed the lead vocal will remain separate. Just thinking of maybe adding another layer of backing harmony
I would want it to specifically not choose the melody the lead vocalist is singing
@@beanogreenmusic oh I see, there’s different ways to set the harmonies in which case. You can try using “auto” “hybrid”, or “key” for harmonies which perform automatic, set or a combination of both respectively which might work around what the singer is doing. Plus, you can set the harmony to be “high” “higher” “low” or “high and low” so I imagine there will plenty of options for you. Hope that helps!
@@timhoadacoustic great thanks. I was actually looking for reverb and chorus for the guitar but the vocal section seems to offer an extra dimension
Hey, great video. I really wanna buy one of these, but i have one question.
I have a audio interface (focusrite), and if i want to use this pedal on my pc (for livestream for example), how do i setup the audio interface with this?
Should i just use the usb directly on the PC or connect the output of the pedal on the audio interface or something like that?
(sorry if its a dumb question)
Hey victor, thanks for the kind words. And not a dumb question at all. I think it really depends on what *software* you’re using to live stream as you can select where the audio source is coming from. Example:
When I live stream I use a live streaming software called OBS Studio that connects to my Facebook/UA-cam/wherever via stream key, BUT on OBS you can select the audio input. I tend to just connect the VE8 directly to my Mac and run headphones from the unit so I got some monitors, but you’d also be able to use your Focusrite and select that, and just plug the pedal into that. Personally, as the VE8 can connect directly, I think it’s easier just to do that, but going through an audio interface would give you more control on the overall sound.
Basically, either connecting direct or going through an audio interface will work (though I think with the latter you’ll get better quality one would argue).
Hope that helps! Happy streaming! 👍
I sent this pedal back . Because it only works on one effect when going to thou my amp. I believe u have to ahem a mixer to get the full effects
Why not apply the effects to your mic input?? I can't hear anything from the pedal...
Any video of you using it?
Thank you Timothy. very very good presentation of VE-8. I'd like to learn your idea about something. I already have this VE-8 pedal. I want to make live records directly on my smart phone through this VE-8. What I'm planning to do is that, first I will of course connect the guitar and mic to VE-8. After that, using the outputs of VE-8, I will connect both guitar and vocal to a mixer called "Roland Go: Mixer Pro". Then I will connect "Go Mixer Pro" to my smart phone. Do you think it will run? I'll be happy if I can learn your idea about that configuration.
Hi Mehmet, thank you for the kind review! Let me see if I can help...
I think you’ve got the right idea. The VE-8 won’t work being plugged directly into your phone so you need an audio interface which it sounds like this Roland mixer will do, so in theory it *should* work. I’m fairly confident it will from what you’re saying, but I haven’t come across this Roland device first hand so it’s speculative. Sounds promising though, hope it goes well and happy music making!
@@timhoadacoustic Hi Timothy. You gave me very fast and at the same time, an hopeful answer. So, before I spend a lot of money, I got the opinion of someone like you who knows the job very well.
Thank you for that and take good care of yourself.
You can make ve-8 audio inteface as well with out mixer . At the back of ve-8 you can connect to the loptop..
Just sure your loptop have a recording Sorfware.. and thats it you can record.. using loptop.. not smart phone.
@@reysuela6775 absolutely right yes you can. It literally does most things! But in terms of connecting to a smart phone you need an audio interface, but that’s a comment more on the smart phones capabilities.
@@timhoadacoustic exactly! I have boss ve-8 i use almost 3years already but still good nothing problem i like this gadget easy to Use. I improved my scale because of loop. This gadget very worth it.
Hi~ Can it be used an USB OTG line (type c) to connect to Android phone for recording ?
Good question, and truthfully I don’t know. I’d suggest as a failsafe to go through an audio interface that you know will definitely work with your phone. Android compatibility I’m lead to believe is very varied so I can’t give you a definite answer, sorry!
Hi Timothy - sorry if this is a repetitive question, but the aux input you said is good for "backing track", it can be used to input a MIDI por example? So you could, say, input drums with the MIDI? Did I process the information right? haha
Not a repetitive question at all and I’m happy to help anyways :) so the aux in is really only for a device (I.e. a phone) that plays music, the incoming signal needs to be something you’d expect if you plugged headphones into said device. For MIDI capabilities it won’t work the same, I hope that sheds some light!
Just one more thing, please! What does the "plugin in point" is used for?
And the last one.. haha about the batteries: when not using batteries, where does the energy for the boss needs to come from? And when busking, the batteries will power the mic and guitar.. did I understand well?
@ so when not using batteries it runs from a power cable supplied in the box. I’m not sure I understand what you mean by “plug in point”, can you be more specific?
ok.. the last one, I swear!
Say I want to busk and also record what I'm singing. Which output would I connect to my computer (to record) and which output would I connect to my amp?
What is the difference between lineout and XLR output? (I know this is a basic question, but I'm confused regarding what outputs I should use for what..).
I already thank you very much for any time you find to answer my questions, if you can! Thanks! :)
Hi, I use an Epiphone 335 Dot, which is semi acoustic. Will my guitar work okay with this pedal?
Perfectly I would’ve thought! I plug my electric in sometimes and that works absolutely fine. Happy playing!
Does anyone have issues with the guitar being picked up by the microphone and messing with the vocal corrections / effects? I’ve taken to mounting the mic vertically and singing across the top of it.
check your sensitivity on the back, perhaps its a little high if its picking up the guitar. I think there's always a little bit of bleed, but when you're looping it should matter too much if you attenuate the levels
@@timhoadacoustic Thx. I've been playing around with that. According to the manual you're "supposed" to set the mic sensitivity so the Peak Indicator Light stays orange but that's clearly too high in real life. I have it set so that it lights green only when I'm just a bit louder than I would normally sing. Even so the guitar bleeds into the mic. Basically, if you set the pedal up the way the manual describes it you can't help but corrupt the vocal signal with the guitar. It seems to me if you have to lower the mic gain to resolve the issue you're likely compromising the harmony and correction functions by reducing the input signal. I guess the best solution is turn down the gain and sing louder.
I don't have an acoustic amp so using this going through a PA for a gig would it sound terrible or ok?
I never use an acoustic amp! It’s a preamp so you can go straight from the pedal to speakers 👍
I use looper only to listen to myselfe on the soundcheck when I am alone. 😊
Great idea! 👍
Nice video.
Thank you!
where is the speakers hooked up to this unit ??
You can connect speakers directly with via the XLR output, or the jack outputs. Hope that helps!
Is it powered from plug-in ? I heard that it runs off of AA batteries which would be a deal-breaker for me.
It’s both! You can plug in OR run off batteries 🔋 🔌
@@timhoadacoustic oh okay cool! Thanks for the quick reply!
Can this work with a keyboard 🎹? Or just guitar 🎸?
A keyboard can definitely go into it via a Jack, and I’d imagine that the harmony pedal would work as it analyses incoming signals to match a harmony to, so yes
I can’t be certain that the harmony feature would work though!!
Can i do live stream in my phone?
Can you use this pedal with an electric guitar?
Yes
Can you use this with an electric guitar?
Yes 👍
Too bad the looping feature can’t the access off the foot pedal
is there a delay effect?
Yes, two types!
Can this pedal be used with keys and voice instead of guitar and voice?
Good question, not something I know from first hand experience. All I know is that it analysis the frequency going into the pedal and gives the most suitable harmony to what your singing, so in theory, yes, but I don’t know where the harmony would sit nor how accurate would be. Apologies, hope that helps but don’t want to give you false info as honestly I don’t know!
You'd have to check the output on the keyboard - does it say it is a "line"-level signal? If so, that is too loud to plug into the pedal. It is made for an instrument-level signal only.
Can use it with electric guitar?
Absolutely!
Well done!
I can't seem to turn off my small red KEY light. I restarted abs factory reset,
Strange. I assume pressing it doesn’t do anything? You might have a light fault, perhaps it’s worth getting in touch with the company
Yes maybe. I can't get the auto light to turn green... only blinking red
@@timhoadacoustic pressing it does nothing
@@missmarybullard do you have anything plugged into the ‘instrument in’? If not you won’t be able to access ‘automatic’ or ‘hybrid’ because the pedal can’t analyse what your playing to give you a harmony to
Okay!! That makes sense. Thank you!. This is my first peddle of any kind so I'm not exactly sure how it all works. I've been watching lots of your videos and this helps so much!!! My band Member did plug my guitar into an separate amp this past few days for different sound... so that's it!!! Yippee! Thank you x1000
Review reaffirms my opinion. For busking and small venue this one unit effectively ellimates 2 cases of gear for me.
Wish you were here acoustic
There is a global EQ I believe
You can EQ the guitar and vocals separately, I’m not sure about global EQ but possibly, it’s a unit that keeps on surprising me!
@@timhoadacoustic
It was on this review about setting EQ
ua-cam.com/video/TK4JDLE87uE/v-deo.htmlfeature=shared
Hey mine! Way to difficult to understand and work it!
Yet not one demonstration of the actual sound.
No.. double tapping the looper to stop is simply a NOGO for stage performances if you plan on looping.. at all.. ever. No undo/redo either. You screw it up? You have to build it all over again. Simply pathetic from the looper aspect tbf.
What is your best choice for looping pedal then?
Al Contreras there are a variety of loopers that support multiple button control for stop start .. undo redo.. multiple loops etc. if you are looking for vocal and or acoustic/electric modeling effects .. then voice live acoustic or play or vl3 or the helix .. also keep on mind the line 6 pod go is a helix as well designed for stage use but lacks the vocal layer. Has looper and best modeling in my opinion. I am using voice live 3 .. once dialed in it’s great but has a learning curve because it is so capable.. excellent looper.. and decent vocal effects processor and harmonies.. decent amp modeling but many of the presets are just average. Acoustic guitar effects as well from body Rez to acoustic amp sims .. hope that helps
Are ALL vocal harmonizer reviews just talking about it?
The looper DOES allows you to overdub. Typical BOSS.. does tons of shit but you need to sift through a ¾" manual..
Não comprem essa merda, simulação fraca demais, TC Helicon tem uma qualidade mil vezes melhor. Fora que, a minha queimou a entrada do violão, um mês após o término da garantia, valor do reparo custa o preço de uma nova!!! Entrei em contato com a Roland que CAGOU pra mim! Não comprem, essa é a dica!!
TC Helicon tem uma acústica pior do violão. E se você refere aos efeitos de voz, é só saber regular.