DigiTech Vocalist Live 2

In a word, simple. Depending on your style, you may need to tweak the various on board effects (if you choose to use them) to get the sound you are looking for. It took me ages to figure it all out - 10 minutes.

The manual is clear and helpful, and provides tips for best results but it can't "see" every type of setup. Even so, if you need more help than the manual offers you will need to employ a dedicated sound engineer!

I use a Yamaha CPX500 and a Shure SM58 with this unit. I played with the settings until I found my preferences - mostly a little reverb (STUDIO), effects (SHINE) and harmony at 11 o clock. Now I admit to cheating a little with my two chosen harmonies being UNISON2 and HIGH for most of the time. Obviously, this sometimes changes depending on the song. I think the LOW and LOWER harmonies would probably sound better for female singers, but I can't seem to get on with them myself.
The harmonies really "fill out" an otherwise normal sound, and works wonders with songs from such artists as The Everley Brothers and Beach Boys.
At low vocal volumes though, the harmony sounds more plastic so I try to avoid using the effects during quiet passages.

I have owned this for about 3 months now and gigged it 2-3 times a week. No problems so far. If it should fail then the other half of the duo can harmonise if necessary, but this has proved to be sometimes distracting.

No dealings with CS, so no comment.

We play mostly old style pop, reggae, country and ballroom. The VL2 helps us provide the sound of a bigger band. I have been playing for 20 ish years but have moved from solo to duo only in the last 4 years. With this unit I may decide to go solo again :)
If this were stolen or lost I would be gutted, and grab another ASAP.
I am not comparing it to any other products - the reviews before purchasing it told me most of what I needed to know - it's the best value for money gadget on the market. The ability to switch between harmonies while playing would be great, but it isn't going to happen with this model.

Overall, I am not sorry I bought it. It does exactly what it says it can do, and it does it very well.

I found it really easy to use. Straight out of the box it is pretty straight forward as to how it is wired up and layout is all pretty self explanatory

Have it playing through our behringer fx desk . I have listened to the onboard effects but generally like to have control through the desk. Foldback is dry . Have listened at low volume during rehearsal and there is no audible hiss. Occasionally at live gigs I get a bit of white hiss but I can't definately blame the pedal for this as there is so many leads going everywhere it could be generate dby anything. We use jbl eons for fron of house and event 400's for foldback. The harmonies generally sound amazing. generally our backing vocalist is the only vocal going in and as she is female. We occasionally have to watch her high notes dont get to chipmunkish but as a rule this is not a problem standard setting is 3rd and 5th above. Thats pretty much how we have it all the time. I have tried other settings though and they sound fine. If you were clever you'de have settings for each song and occasionally you may want to go for lower harmonies or a mix 1 of each.

No probs yet and it's getting a lot of use. Wish I had something compact to carry it in?????

No an issue so cant say

We cover all sorts from country to funk and disco. It is very usefull in all categories. I been playing for 20 years 10 profesionally. If it were lost I'd definately be straight on the phone for another. I have thought about getting one for our Male bass player and somehow linking sb easy enough. It's very easy to make sound good as long as you dont over use it. Keep it in the background. Keep the punters guessing. In our band as we are a 5 piece people dont blink when the harmony kicks in and our backing vocalist gets all the compliments nowadays. (actually that sucks a bit) Idont use the effects or compressor live though they seem useful. Overall awicked product and the best investment I have made next to my guitar.

Very easy to use with one note: Set your mic gain high on the unit and low on the mixer to cut down on noise. As far as turning on and off harmonies, it couldn't be easier!

If gain settings are good (see above) the harmonies are also good. I don't care for the effects (reverb, compressor or enhancer) but it's not why I bought it. I play multiple instruments (gtrs and keys) and use two mics. I often use an aux send or buss send off the board from my instruments and a buss from my vocals to the VL2. I then use a totally wet signal from the VL2 to a separate channel on the mixer so we can control the harmony mix with the fader on the mixer (sounds much better) and it can be muted/mixed at the console rather than having to bend over to adjust the blend... less electronic sounding when mixed this way. BTW, it will track pianos as well!!!

Very reliable. No problems whatsoever.

I called and emailed support after I got it complaining about the noise level before I realized that I had the gain wrong but I never got a reply... Thankfully, it's not that difficult to use and I've had no problems with the unit after a year of hard gigging. I don't leave home without it.

Highly recommended for harmony vocal help. Get the gain structure right and you'll love this thing!

I'm a Solo Acoustic player of Classic hits from the 60's to the 80's
Play a Martin D-14 with a K&K Pure Western pick-up. Use a Shure SM58 Beta mic. It all goes thru a Fishman SoloAmp (230 watts)

I just recieved my DigiTech Vocalist Live 2.
Bought it used on Ebay for a very reasonable $170
No instructions with it so I just plugged it into my Fishman Solo Amp
and started to fiddle with it. I found it user friendly and pretty intuitive to figure out. Once I got the sound I liked I punched up a Lower and High harmony mix and played & sang the BeaTles "If I Fell"
Never could do this song before because I couldn't hit the Paul McArtney lead vocal. So I sang the John Lennon part.
The harmonies were amazing close to dead on. Very impressive!
So then I tried "Nowhere Man" in the key of D. Same result. Then i Capoed up 2 frets and tried "Mrs. Robbinson" Was like Garfunkle had joined me in my garage. I play out 4 times a week and can't wait to unleash this puppy on their ears! The on-board reverb effects sound much better than the ones on my Fishman SioloAmp.
I haven't figured out the other buttons and settings but I imagine it'll only get better with time & practice.

(See above)

Too early to tell but since I bought it used and it's still in great condition I'm confident it'll put up with my heavy schedule. I'm impressed with its Sturdy metal frame.

Been playing solo / acoustic for two years after a 25 year rest from being "a singer in a rock & roll band"
More details here: www.myspace.com/danalewismusic

IF it were stolen I'd hunt them down & kick their @#!
Then I'd go out and buy another one.

I also wish it had an on/off switch.

It will help my performances where great harmonies essential.

I bought this unit to replace my partner who broke down in a drunken stupor. It was very easy to get a sound really quickly, subtle is the best approach. Manual was straight forward enough.

guitars are a 1977 Yamaha SG and Takamine EN10. Guitar amp , laney VC 30, PA amp Mackie 808S (American). I had a problem with my electric guitar in that the signal peaked too much and turning the guitars volume control down to compensate lost me my cool sound I had spent years perfecting. Worked well withe the Takamine. Sounds were fine but not human.

Well here we go , six months in and the unit has developed a couple of faults. My electric guitar cuts out and sounds crap. Traced the fault to the thru output. Harmonies drop out. I have checked and rechecked all settings. To no avail. Back to the shop tomorrow as I have spent long enough on the thing!!

Hopefully I will get a refund, don't trust it now.Covered by guarantee. Shop should handle this. The digitech site was useless

If it had worked for a bit longer I would have been happier. I am a full time musician (20 years) playing covers old and new. I need my gear to be reliable.

The VL2 is very easy to get a good sound out of. The 'lack' of user memories is I think an advantage as you have to turn knobs to get different sounds (like the best stomp boxes), with the two foot pedals turning on user effects/guitar-tuner and harmonies respectively.

Like most US manuals, this one is concise but very helpful with tips on how to get good sounds not just technical aspects.

I have been using the device for over eight months, as a keen amateur who practices at home a lot more than I gig (mostly charity concerts & busking/open-mike, never paid for what I do) - it makes me want to rehearse. Although the VL2 is user-friendly, you definitely get better with practice, especially being able to judge well when to add harmonies and be able to drop them in and out quickly, sometimes just on a short phrase or even one word (as in real-life harmony singing).

I play either 'singer-songwriter' solo style - the VL2 is fantastic for this - or as a guitar duo where it is an incredibly useful addition.

I either plug everything into a Trace Elliot TA100 acoustic amp (basically a mini-PA) or whatever PA good or otherwise is at the venue. Often there is no soundperson to mix, or someone who isn't really up with it. I use a small Zoom A2 acoustic guitar effects pedal. The acoustic guitar goes into the VL2 which works out what key your are in and what chords you're playing, and then out into the Zoom pedal, and then to the amp/PA. The big-daddy Digitech VL4 has inbuilt guitar effects (and is much more expensive) but the Zoom is more versatile.

The sound quality is excellent. This is really a complete vocal processor in a box, take it to any gig and stay in control.

The reverbs are excellent, especially the Hall, and the basic EQ really helps sweeten my voice. I've heard that compression is good for vocals, and now I am convinced, the one-knob compressor on this baby really lifts up your voice smooths it out and gets it heard but without making it overall any louder, particularly when you are singing at either end of your vocal range. The inbuilt noise gate, which you can't control, is useful as it eliminates noise when you are not playing and helps prevent feedback building. And there's even built-in phantom power for your condenser mike (which I use) - really nothing has been left out for the price.

I've found the most consistently useful sound is Unison+Third interval above - Simon & Garfunkel nailed! Third above+below your melody line gives very sweet and full folk/folk-rock/pop feel, just make sure you sing in tune or it will show. Blues & rock often do well with Unison+Fifth above, or above and below, because it is a more 'modal' sound. If your voice is 'weak', then Unison1+Unison2 will thicken it up although it is not quite as good as the sound you get when double-tracking your vocal on a multi-track recording.

The acid test as to whether the VL2 is realistic is when you stop playing your guitar(s), and sing harmonies 'a cappella' with just soft chord stabs at the start of the bar to inform the VL2 - drinkers at the bar asleep in their beer suddenly turn around and take notice!

The VL2 seems a dependable device, body made of aluminium, fairly solid foot-pedals with good connectors in back. However, it's not 'built like a tank', is fairly light-weight and so I try to look after it, getting a padded after-market gig bag would be a good idea. I would use it without a backup, you just go back to the old methods of singing unadorned.

The power requirements of the VL2 are quirky - 1.2A AC, it can't run on batteries.

I bought my VL2 on eBay direct from the US and this brings with it power supply problems. At the time of purchase (mid 2008) Australian buyers could not source a 240V power supply (wall wart) to come with the VL2 from the US, potentially forcing you to buy the product locally which for me recommended-retail was nearly AUD$700 - out of the question. The answer was to source a 50W stepdown transformer from a local electronics supplier (www.jaycar.com.au) and this together with postage to my door all-up was AUD$383. This is not an elegant solution as you have one more connection - transformer-to-wallwart - to deal with, but it has worked well for me and the price was right (although they are more expensive now due to currency fluctuations).

Never dealt with the company.
Having sourced the device overseas, I am not sure whether I will be able to get it serviced under local warranty - crazy to have to send it back to the US for servicing - so I am looking after it! So far there have been no problems, but then I am not a gigging professional putting the pedal under pressure on the road night after night.

It's pretty clear my overall rating must be in the 'incredible' category. The VL2 definitely helps you make, and want to make, music, it doesn't get in the way.

If it were stolen or lost I would definitely get a replacement. I would not be tempted to upgrade to the VL4 version which I have tried - too expensive, too big and too complicated for my simpler needs as a solo/duo performer. Besides, how many back-up harmony voices can you really have coming through the PA when there's only one of you on stage! Also the inbuilt guitar effects would be wasted as I prefer a separate dedicated acoustic guitar processor.

So how could it be improved?

Some simple delay effects eg slap-back echo would be helpful. Brighter LEDs for daytime outdoor use would help, and an on/off switch is needed. Also, make it run on batteries (a tall order given all the processing that is going on) and convert it to sensible power supply, DC 9V would do.

The mind boggles as to what these things will be doing in five years. Happy harmonising!

Very easy effect to use. Unlike many other harmony based effects, you dont need a working knowledge of fifths, thirds - simply hit the combination of harmony's that suit and you are away.

Blew me away to be honest. I expected a system that sounded a bit tinny - no way. This produces an amazingly good sound. I have used this in my band now for the past 12 months (the other members are completely vocally challenged) and have recieved ongoing praise from the audience about how 'tight' our backup vocalists are... he he. We supported an international act who is now looking to use one for their next recording. Very impressive.

Your guitar needs to be in tune (like it doesn't normally??)for the Vocalist to pick up the tone and in turn the harmony.

Bullet proof. Strong construction. I have giged with this for the past 12 months and it still looks and sounds like new.

Had an issue with the powersupply (non DigiTech - sold to me in Australia as we imported the unit from the States before they were available here in Australia). Turned out that the powersupply was WAY wrong and caused noise through the PA. DigiTech support was sensational, responded quickly to email question and sorted the issue quickly. Even gave me some additonal tips to make the Vocalist sound better though the PA. Very impressive indeed.

I have been playing semi-professionally for 20 years. I play Gibson guitars with an Orange AD-30 and Mesa quad. We run pro gear both frontline and backline. We play rock, combination of covers and originals. The Vocalist has slotted in perfectly to our set-up without issue (after the initial power supply problem - not DigiTechs fault). It produces a professional sound, is very robust and amazingly accurate.

I don't use the onboard effects preferring to use our PA set-up. Beware of the XLR mono output that is a bit hot. You will need to either check your gain or better, run a 1/4" line input to the desk.

Seriously though, buy one.

Very easy to use. instruction manual is on the money, and easy to read. my 6 yr old grand daughter was able to use it

Use it woth my 2 channel solid stat amp, and various guitars-can get some great 3 part harmonies-VERY nice for folk type stuff ( Peter Paul Mary type), Eagles, Even will help with weaker voices with the Unison setting.

Havn't tried it at an actual gig yet-want to get used to it alittle first so there are no issues.

Havn't had to use customer support yet(hope I don't have to)

From what I can tell so far(only had this device a week), seems well worth the price, easy to use, sound is awesome, but, in my opinion, it should be used in the correct context and not overdone. Kudos to Digitech!!

It's very easy to use this product. You just plug your mic and your guitar in and you play. There is a switchpedal for the effects and sounds and there is an other pedal for the harmonies.
It's also great that you can easily tune your guitar with Vocalist Live 2.

I have never seen a Vocalist Live 2 in Hungary before. It's not so popular here. It's quite new and musicians don't know it here in Hungary. I have read many user reviews and I have watched many videos before I ordered one.
I was really excited. I was affraid that it has a plastic sound.
But when I pluged it in I was amazed.
It just sounds perfect when I use it live. They say that our music and our songs really missed it. I play in a band called Creep and it's a trio (bass, drums, guitar+vocals).
Many of my musicians friends say that Vocalist Live 2 is one of the best thing ever. They also want to buy one so it's gonna be popular in Hungary soon.
Now we have a new member in Creep,it's called VL2. I think that my little friend is a good singer!

It's prize is ok in the US,but it costs 575 USD in Hungary. It's pretty bad,but I really needed this effect so I payed a lot of money for it.

It's one of the best thing ever!!!
VL 2 helps me a lot.

Don't get me wrong. In terms of hook up and actual use it's a clear 10. My problem with it is that switching parts is really not user friendly. I like to use the usison feature for lead vocals followed by various harmonies for chorus and special parts. The only way I can do this is by removing my shoes and using my toes to access the switches because they are so close together. Increase the size of the unit a little bit, spread the switches apart and it will be a home run for live performances.

I've used many of the programmable units and this one is just as good as the older units costing much, much more.

I've had it since introduction. Still works perfect.

I've never required customer service and that's a great thing!

I play rock music with lots of harmonies and produce professionally in a studio environment. I have been playing since the early sixties and own a significant studio equipment portfolio. If it were stolen or lost, I would purchase the 4 channel version (I think I'll probably do that anyway). In the meantime, I'll probably modify the unit I have to accomadate the flexible changes that I need for live performances.