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.

Even though I did a plug 'n play, I highly recommend reading the manual first. Because I didn't dial in a proper gain on the VL2 for the vocal mic I discovered that the unit has a noisegate built in. It would cut off the initial note of each new phrase I started singing. Whose fault? Mine! And I'll say here that the best feature Digitech installed was the tuner! Thank you!

It's not perfect, but the VL2 works great in a live setting. I used it at a practice right out of the box and the other four guys in the band were amazed. Because all of our original songs have harmonies on the album versions of the tunes, I really wanted them on the live versions as well. This allows me to do it. Having said that, I also tested it with a recording I made of "Crazy Arms," trying to add the third above and fifty below. Let's just say it's not going to allow you to skip recording separate harmonies. It does work nicely if you want to get a roughy draft of complicated harmony parts, but under the scrutiny of multitracking and isolation it becomes more obvious that it's an electronic manipulation of a single vocal part. Plus, stray away from that note at all and the harmonies start searching for other sympathetic notes.

I've also noticed that open A chords on guitar can cause the unit to become a bit confused. That may be my fault, whether it's the guitar, the input volume of the guitar, or my lead vocal warbling on the note. I'm interested to see if anyone else finds this problem.

I sing in a deep baritone. If I throw a lower fifth harmony on, some of the results are just bad. Once again, this may be more the fault of the accuracy of my voice.

It's also nice that Digitech built the VL2 with separate outputs for the guitar, the lead vocal and each of the harmony vocals. When I take this to a gig it allows the sound man to mix all of them independent of me or, if I think the sound man is whack, I can force him to take my mix of all of the vocal outputs together.

Two great things the VL2 forces a musician to do: Keep your input instrument and tune and keep your lead vocal in tune. Otherwise, suffer the consequences of some weird harmonies!

I've had it for about a week and so far so good. It seems to be built pretty solid. No need for a backup.

I play honky tonk music, singing and playing rhythm acoustic in a five-member band. The VL2 gives me the ability to add the harmonies that were missing from live performance. It's important that you use the VL2 sparingly to get the best results from it. I consider this a "bells & whistles" type pedal, albeit a really nice one to add for live performance to thicken up the vocals. And once more, the VL2 comes with a built in tuner! Awesome, considering you have to be in tune for this thing to work correctly. Digitech, my fellow musicians thank you!

Super easy to use. Plug and play. Tune your guitar to standard pitch and away you go.

For the price and what it does the sound is great. There are a couple of ways to hook it up. You can use your guitar cables and run it in stereo. Pan the outputs right and left. Too my ear this seems to make the harmonies a little clearer. You also need to experiment with the compressor, reverb and ehance effects. I use these in small doses. The enhance doesn't really accomplish much and you can only use a small bit of compression or the sound is not as natural. I think that all these settings seem to effect how clear the harmonies voices are - so exmperiment till you find what works for use. The harmony that is a 3rd above your voice sounds the most natural. It is recommended to set the harmony mix around eleven but for some songs I like to set it at 12. Everly brothers for example - where each voice is important. If you use only the 5th above harmony you may find that it is not as loud and that the pitch is not as accurate. I think the volume issue may be to create a better blend when used with the 3rd above. 3rd and 5th together nails eagles and crosby,stills and nash. If you are a jazzer, which I play as well, you will find it a treat to play some standards using the 3rd and 5th harmony. I recently did an acoustic gig at a shopping center where we played Christmas tunes. It was a blast using this unit as it tracks your chords very accurately and some Christmas songs contain great chord progressions. When my wife sings I use this unit to add some oohs in the background. You can also add some nice background vocal lines in a jazz style - kinda like h orn shots. Very cool. Another combination that you may find good is the 3rd above and the harmony below. If you are doing a cover tune you may want to listen to the original to get an idea of what you want. As other reviewers have said overkill with this unit is not good. Use it in a musical way and I am sure that yo will be happy with the results. When I play electric gigs with the band I sometimes use the 5th above if I am singing harmony to another person hadling the vocals. This gives 3 part harmony but it sounds a little more convincing because t he harmonizer is only producing one harmony. One thing to remember is t hat y ou have to sing with a supported vocal sound. If you drop off and don't hold your notes the unit will just harmonize to this. Once you get use to this and sing with confidence you will obtain good results. I am being a little long winded but I find it helpful when people offer real life scenarios of a devices possibilities.

Sewems great

I am a music educator and have been playing professionally for 30 years. I play all styles of music. T here are really only 2 kinds of music. Good and bad. This unit is a great device. I would highly recommend it.

Love the simplicity of this box. No need for a manual, really. I hooked it up right out of the box, and was playing and singing thru it in about 5 minutes. I ended up reading the manual anyway. It doesn't get any easier. I also own a Digitech VR, which I have been using until now. It's also a really good unit, but you have to enter the key as well as a few other parameters. When playing, you have to pause between songs to select the next key. It's not that bad, but the VL2 is so much easier. You don't need to know the key, don't need to program. You just need to know how to play the song and sing. Go figure. For the most part, you set the knobs one time, and most of the time, you're just turning the harmony on or off via the footswitch. For what this unit does, it's the easiest thing possible. It's no harder than a simple Boss pedal. Turn a know, kick it in, play. That's it.

I just received this unit this weekend. This unit has exceptional harmonies. It tracks the chords of the guitar, not just the key of the song. The older VR followed a strict key. The harmonies on some chords on the old VR didn't sound exact. It sounded ok, but there was something missing on some tunes, leaving much to be desired. The VL2 fixes all of this. This is one smart little box. Great for any style of music. Eagles, Van Morrison, Beatles, country tunes all sound great. I was playing some Christmas tunes in a Jazz style, some obscure chord progressions. It harmonized perfectly, and sounded great. The Unison1 and Unison2 added a lot to my mediocre voice. I sound so much better. With Unison2, it does a bit of a pitch correction. Very nice. The effects are decent. You need reverb on any vocals in my opinion. The Enhance feature is also decent, but you can obtain similar results by just EQ'ing PA. Haven't played much with the compression yet. I play solo, and am preparing to start gigging after the holidays. I've got the best partner you could ask for. Just me and my VL2. It doesn't drink, smoke, cry, complain, is never late, etc. Get it? I play a Fender Roadhouse Strat or Ovation Celebrity Deluxe or Ibanez Classical guitar (depending on the song) thru this little gem, thru a few Boss pedals (Tuner, Compressor, Blues Driver, Chorus)into a Fender SFXII. I plug the VL2 into the vocal channel of the SFX, and my iPod with backing tracks into the RCA of the SFX, and I'm off and running. I'm not sure if I'm going to keep this on the floor, or elevate it. I like the ideas of turning off the harmonies, but leaving the Unison settings on. The only way to do this is by pressing the little buttons on the unit. The footswitch will not do this. They would have needed to put 6 more switch pedals on the unit to do this for each harmony/vocal, not very practical. I can't wait to gig with this thing. As I said, I just received the VL2 a few days ago, but I like what I hear so far. I find myself spending most of my spare time wanting to play more. I'm like a kid with a new toy. Digitech did a nice job on this thing. The VL4 is also nice, but much more complicate, involves a little more programming, and an overkill for what I need. It's also more expensive. You can find this unit for $299 new if you look around. It beats anything out there in terms of ease of use, sound quality and price. I'm not the least bit disappointed. My wife doesn't quite understand why I needed another harmonizer, since I commented so much about how much I loved the Digitech VR, but the VL2 is even better.

No opinion. I've only owned one other Digitech product. The Digitech RP6. I had the unit for about 6 years, and gigged regularly with it for about 3+ years of that. Never had any problem with it. It still works great today. I don't abuse any of my stuff, but I still "use" it. This unit seems well built. If it lasts like my RP6, I'm not worried.

Have no opinion. Never dealt with them.

I play all kinds of music. I've been playing about 40 years. I've played in a Classic Rock & Blues cover band for several years. I'm planning on gigging solo in the next few months. I own all sorts of gear. Much of which I don't use anymore. I need to sell some. If something happened to this unit, I would definitely get another. The only thing that would stop me is if I had problems with the unit breaking down. I don't anticipate this though. I can't wait to gig with it. I bought the Digitech VR at about the time this VL2 was coming out. I read about it a little, and thought it was going to be too complicated to use. I was wrong. This is a great little unit. I set-and-forget, and get on with the business of playing and singing. What a concept. The guys at Digitech hit a home run with this thing. Craig Anderton has a lot of info on this unit on the web as well. Do a Google search, and read the string.

This is really Plug & Play, it's that simple to set-up and use.I spent 30 seconds on the set-up diagram and was up and playing in minutes. Couldn't sing without a huge grin on my face for the first few numbers as this harmonizer is fantastic and makes playing / singing even more fun. I'm almost tempted not to tell folk how these great harmonies are made as it raises your game som much.

If you are a guitar player / singer you have got to get yourself one of these, sell the dog if you have too.

My version of Seven Bridges Road by the Eagles is now scarily convincing and I can't wait to see what the reaction will be at our next gig later this month. I'm even playing songs I would not otherwise have attempted without backing vocals but this does it all.

No background noise dicernable and the effects are pretty good although I use the reverb / Delay on my Roland AC60 amp.

I use a Crafter SA Electro Acoustic and an Ovation and both sound tip top with this kit.

I guess making sure you are in tune becomes even more important as the software tracks the guitar to provide the harmony but when the payback is cracking harmony it's a no-brainer

Feels solid and well made although the power unit is not going to take too much punishment but they are cheap to replace.

No comment at this time but I got a three year warranty from the dealer.

I currently play in a 3 piece covering a general mix from Blues / R&B / Country and MOR and have played for over 25 years. I would not be without this kit even after 2 days, I'm probably going to upgrade to Vocalist 4 in a few months but it doesn't look a simple to get going even though if offers even more

I do wish it had an on/off switch but that really is the only thing

This is a piece of cake. Not much editing. Just tweak away. Watch out for the compression when you go into a board - if you're not careful and volume is up to high, you'll get deafening feedback.

Manual is good - like all Digitech products.

Sound quality is fabulous. It's like having backup singers. You'll learn to tweak based on your voice - I tend to use the Shine option with the Studio setting - sounds real good. I"ve also noticed in a live band situation that it makes sense to only use the double harmony (so not the triple effect), especially if you are singing with other band members. Just sounds a bit better; not as intense.

You can use any guitar and it's decent - the guitar thru is exactly what is says, doesn't add any color. I set up mine to go to the mixing board for the vocal and then into my tube amp for the guitar, but I also use a Bose system and it's sounds pristine thru that too.

One thing to watch out for - be careful stepping on the left side effects pedal - if you step on it and it blinks it's in tuner mode and you'll get no sound (a bummer if you are performing and step on it accidently).

Eminently dependable.

Never had to deal w/ them.

Great value. I am constantly amazed with the quality of gear that is coming out for the money. This one is a keeper, especially for singer/songwriters or "one man" bands. Really a great product. Kudos to Digitech on this one. It is the real deal; as advertised. Thumbs up.

Plug and play!!!
Manual is simple and direct to the point.

Excellent harmony reproduction but nothing can beat a real human voice. Having said that this is the next best thing.

The noise gate is noticeable but not significant enough to worry about in a live situation.

Effects are good enough for live situation but I'd probably record dry and use plugin or something.

My settings are compression:8oclock, reverb (room)10oclock, enhance (clarity)8oclock and harmony @ 9oclock. Input is set to 2oclock.

I would definitely use this on a gig without backup. If it fails then I guess I'll just by pass this unit and go straight to PA.

NA

I play in a covers band and do some solos as well.
In the band situation the harmonies is like hot and cold meaning sometimes good and sometimes it's really really bad. With this thing providing I sing and play in tune the harmonies will always be spot on. And the fact that I can set the volume to my liking is a plus. Have you tried telling your backup vocals to sing softer or louder?
when I play solo, this thing gives my performance a bit of an oomph. I don't play with midi, computer sequences, etc just me and my guitar and the vl2 provides me with 2 voices without having to split the earnings 3 way :)I guess it'll take a bit of practice to incorporate this unit in your performance but to be able choose when the harmony comes on in a song is a real plus. Its quite liberating to have this independence.

as a singing BASS player (i play guitar too ..but not for this review) ..i thought i might just see... can this thing track a bass line and still make usable harmony... and based on my use.. yes... (and no ) ... but the yes is pretty good..

i bought the original vocalist from musicians friend long before Al Gore invented the internet.... at that time i played a lot of Midi Guitar, (even today both units are still attached to my strat and my kramer acoustic/electric ).. the old system ( tracking midi ) worked pretty good..

as we move into the 90's, i used the midi less and less... and the old vocalist kinda gathers dust... when i saw the new "live 2" about to be released, i had to be in line ( well on line) to get one..

no comparison on ease of use... this new-bee is true plug and play.. one of the biggest problems with the original vocalist was... you had 750 gazillion things to worry about... those days are gone... yea...

So.. i plug's in the mike to the go's-inna.. i plug the go's-outta to the board ( i actually use an inline "line to mike attenuator" from Shure.. A15AS is the part # .. just for good luck )..

i don't use the on-board effects, (but they are not bad.. not great.. but not bad..).. if i were gigging solo with my Ovation, i would use them ...

i use a wireless on my bass, so i take an "aux" send to feed the Vocalist. ( plug into the guitar in on the live-2 )... boy...that was a tough set up.. must have taken me 30 sec.... Oh yea.. plug in the A/C wall wart....

play.. sing... enjoy...

the harmony parts ( i just use 1... a 3rd up ) are pretty good...
like salt on fries, a little goes a long way.... about 1/4 turn and you are set.... don't go crazy with your little friend on stage with you... first off he can get annoying pretty quick...and most important, he probably sings better that you...

the harmony is not bad... not that "cheezzy " sound of the past.... actually almost sounds real.. and very usable..... most of the time..

i did say "yes and no " about "does it work with the bass " notes on the low B string can fail to track.. and tuning....remember... if'n you's play's a wrong note whilst you is singin'.. you may be singing on key, but little you followed your fingers.... ooopp's..hate when that happens..

only on rare occasion has any Digiech product let me down... i give this a thumbs up..

over the years, i have talked with the customer support folks on some other products, and have never had an issue... sometimes it takes a while... but DigiTech is very good about on-line archives and downloads....

if i could change just 1 thing, i would make the harmony footswitch momentary... not latching....

the above mentioned old style vocalist let you choose... and for years i pushed the button to have harmony, and let up to make it stop...

it is distracting to have to remember to push on/ push off/// push on// push on///no off /// no i mean off and on... $%!^

sometimes i have me and mini-me when i did not want both....

this is a REAL problem if you play outdoor gigs in the sun... forget about ever seeing the LED.....

.. DigiTech...can you hear me calling ?

So easy to use. The most plug and play friendly pedal ever.

I play rhythym guitar in a 60's 70's 80's covers band, and do the backing vocals. Having to figure out the harmonies for new numbers can be a real task, while getting to grips with learning the guitar sections for new covers. Using the Vocaliser 2, I just move the mix right over, so my voice which is singing the fundamental doesn't come through, just the harmonies to back the lead singer. Simply perfect sounding harmonies, so long as I hold the correct pitch. No more having to work out 3rds and 5th harmonies for me............. Also , the VL2 on the high harmonies go higher than most male vocals can reach, which adds that extra dimension to the mix. You need to be careful not to hit any bum chords while doing the harmonies, as it throws the harmoniser off. The compressor turned up, leads to some wild feedback, so be careful when using this feature. If you have a good PA system, you can minimise the use of the enhance effects. The reverb works well though, and makes the vocals a lot warmer. The built in guitar tuner is such a nice additional feature. It mutes your guitar when you switch over to tuner mode, and I found it quite accurate.

It seems reasonably well built, but I haven't had it long enough yet to know if it will stand up to some hard gigging.

Dunno

This pedal is everything I hoped it would be, at an amazingly affordable price. It just lifts the level of the vocals in our band, and makes it so much easier to have professional sounding harmonies, without all the hard work of having to work them out, and constantly practice them ourselves. Or just let the lead vocalist use VL2, and make his own harmonies. It just sounds so good if the harmonies are created with a diferent vocal, than the lead singer. Just seems more real. A must have if you're looking for something that will make a big impact on the overall mix of your sound.

Very easy to operate and tweak.

Great sounding. Definitely not a toy!

Every other Digitech item I have purchased has failed me in the past

Turn around time for warranty repair is ridiculous.

This thing is worthy if you have band members who can't harmonize.

Comparison to the TC Helicon unit this is a 10 vs a 0 in ease of use. The Helicon has a nasty learning curve and requires many hits to the buttons as you are singing. The Vocalist Live on the other hand is really plug and go. The manual is written simply and really explains all you need to know.

There is no patches per se to edit you only have a choice of one or two voices - high or low. I'll say again this is very easy to use

The vocalist does capture the CSN or Eagles sounds (if you like to go high a la Graham Nash). I've found the low end not to be very good at all however. I expected a more bass end but it isn't there.

The on board effects reverb and enhance are not that good - enhance especially a waste of chips inside. The reverb will do if you do not have one of your own or on the board you are using. I do find the gate (not selectable - it's on when you select the effects) is bad when trying to record using the unit. You cannot control it. Live it is not so noticeable as it comes on and off.

Comparing it to the Helicon (where you can control the gate), the sound of your guitar does not leak through as much (using no gate). This can be an issue if you play loud (ie. using an acoustic with no feedback buster). You will get your guitar sound leaking through the mic which in turn gets harmonized and sounds bad.

The sound on the unit is pretty good but you do have to keep in constant tune (the unit reads your guitar chords and harmonizes to them - if the guitar is out of tune, your harmony is out of tune). This is really the yin yang of the unit.

You may start out with great harmony but if you chow down and play hard and your instrument is starting to go out, so go your nice tight harmonies!

The best setting is the high voices. I wish, however, that they made the switches for on and off on these just a little larger and you could foot select them. Size of this unit (there is a four part unit on its way that will have this option) is great for gigging and transport but I do think they could have enabled a foot selection of the effects (with some extra thought they could have added knobs used on most stomp pedals.)

I believe in the "I don't want to bend down and select magic sounds as I play in front of an audience - I want the effects to happen and appear as if by magic by using foot selecting" school of thought.

The unit does sound best through a PA and you wouldn't want to run it through your guitar amp unless you were stuck for some reason. You definitely need a clean sound for it since it is for vocals after all.

Seems dependable enough compared to stomp pedals. The on-board effects buttons may be an issue if I do try to engage with my shoe as opposed to hands. The actual effects on and harmony on pedals seem very solid. My TC Helicon unit has gone down twice on me (still new at only 6 months old). This makes me wary of any other unit going down. I have integrated the harmony effects into my live show and it is a serious issue if it doesn't work. I will probably purchase the 4 part DigiTech vocalist and have the vocalist 2 as a backup. I'm giving the unit a 6 since I expect it will get beat up pretty fast and may not last as long as it could with stronger housing. Like a new model of a car, it remains to be seen how it will hold up. For a bit more money charged, you could get stronger metal housing all around

Haven't had any direct experience with DigiTech as all the places I buy from handle the warranty issues from their place. I can't give a good answer here

I play acoustic rock with a Gibson J-160 acoustic-electric (use this most of the time). I like an electric edge to my sound but will go pure acoustic during a set to keep things varied. Use of the vocalist has to be with the same kind of thought. Overuse is bad but judicious use is very good. The temptation is to over use it because it does sound sweet to sound like CSN (and do it all on your lonesome).

I have found that the unit will make you sound better since the harmony will sound great when you nail the vocal. The tune of the guitar (to say again) is very critical in keeping the harmony perfect. I do like the fact that the unit tracks the guitar chords and harmonizes to that - this in contrast to the TC Helicon unit where you have to preselect everything and engage on the fly while you play and sing. This is where the DigiTech makes life so easy.

The TC Helicon is bringing out an add on unit that will track the guitar and do the harmony but the catch is it is hooked up to the existing Helicon unit so you will have two pieces to bring out along with any other effect pedals you may use. Truthfully, the DigiTech idea is better and I suspect will be the winner in the harmony sweepstakes for guitarists anyway. You just can't beat the ease here and the size of the unit itself is miles ahead of the TC Helicon.

f the features available on the TC Helicon in a very similar array as DigiTech Vocalist 2. This will include pitch correction. So, in the end, if the DigiTech is reliable, it will have been the better buy.

I am considering trading in the TC Helicon actually since it has failed twice now while still under warranty (at 6 months in). In fact, I'm still paying for it monthly while it is being repaired. That is real disappointing to me and why I checked out the DigiTech. It demoed real well in the store so I bought it.

I do wish the unit could track harmony a little better with tune drift. It is inevitable that your guitar will drift as you play and your harmony can sound real bad as it does. It is a funny experience to be up live and hear it go out. You know you are on key but that invisible harmony isn't. You can look around all you want but everyone wonders why "you" (the three of you that is - you and the harmony voices) aren't in key. You would really be better to stop altogether and tune up and start again or just bail on the harmony when it happens).

So ... tune up before every song and learn to chat while you tune so the audience won't drift away on you.

I should add that I wish the unit did have a gain for the guitar (the vocalist 4 does have this). You do need a strong guitar signal to keep the harmony right. My acoustic and electric, for that matter, need a bit of a boost to bring the level up for it to be consistent. I don't think I should have to add the boost really. This would be an immediate thing that DigiTech could change on the unit - give it a gain knob for the guitar as you have with the mic

I can share more details on the TC Helicon vs. the DigiTech if you are considering one or the other. Check out my web page http://whiners.awardspace.com and the gear section to get an idea of how far I go to get tone and so forth. The DigiTech is part of the "Band in a Box" thing I use though I haven't added this to the information on the page yet.

I also apologize for any spelling or typo issues here. It seems any review ends up with some issues around that.

Keith

The instruction manual is a little booklet. Most of the pages deal with the various ways you can hook it up. This is very easy unit to work with. Out of the box, through all the features in 15 minuts. Once it is set up you're probably going to leave it alone with the exception of turning it on and off via the footswitch.

I used the Digitech Vocalist Performer for (I don't know) 10 years? So, I was used to using the backup vocals on high. The problem was there was something lose in the unit so that I had to wrap it with my knuckles to get it working. Recently I was playing a bar and it cut out in the middle taking all the vocals down. I gave it a wrap and I was back up. Also the dog ate the footswitch. When I saw this unit in a magazine and went to the web for a demo I knew it was time to replace the old Vocalist. The sound was truly amazing. I had only been using one higher voice before, now I'm using a high and low because it sounds so good. I'm playing acoustically through an amp alone with the mic. Initially I did think it was noisy but it turned out the input was turned up too high. It's perfect. I'm glad I read the reviews before I went out and played the first time because I know there is going to be a tendency to keep this thing on all the time rather than just use for the backup spots. It will sound like a barbershop quintet is doing blues songs.

Since my last vocalist eventually was having problems I wanted to make sure this came as advertised. Works beautifully. We'll see what happens down the road but it looks tough.

Don't know. I called Digitech one time about the problem with my old unit and they said send it in but I continued to use hammer on it. It wasn't that much of a problem till recently.

I play rock and blues in a solo act. My voice is a big part of the presentation. This is the coolest thing I could imagine. What an asset! Inexpensive, easy to use, and dramatically cool sounding. I immediately learned to play Fun, Fun, Fun just to play a Beach Boys song. The secret will be to not use this too much. It is so sweet. $299? You got to be kidding me.

Vocal harmony generator that tracks guitar chords in real time to create musically related 3rd and 5th parts which can be stacked above, below or around the original lead vocal. Reverb, compression and enhancement effects are provided, plus a guitar tuner. Very easy to use, no presets as such, intervals and effects are selected with illuminated switches. Only thing missing is a remote footswitch jack for the harmony on/off, this would enable the unit to be operated without bending down.

Sound quality is excellent, just remember there is a limit to how much harmony, or how many Eagles tunes an audience can take in one evening. I can't seem to fool the unit with obscure jazz chords and the tracking is unreal, although the sus4 in the chorus of Long Train Running does need to be played very cleanly. My bass/baritone, with occasional forays into the lower foothills of Don Henley territory, sounds better than ever (or should that be less like a wounded buffalo than usual).

Never had a problem with other DigiTech kit I own, it even uses the same PSU as my RP-100 - which is nice.

Downloaded software updates and stuff from t'internet but never dealt direct.

I play guitar and keyboards solo and with a three piece band - rock, blues and jazz covers. The unit sounds great when used in moderation - the first night I tried it, at a small bar I play solo once a month, people were saying "great vocals, but I didn't realise Brian Wilson had arranged so much stuff!"

I had looked at various MIDI harmonisers triggered from my keyboards, plus the TC kit, but had eliminated it all due to cost and complexity - the DigiTech is just so easy to use and doesn't get in the way of the music - just make sure it doesn't dominate it!

It is the most amazing vocal tool for gt players and singers that I ever experienced, take it out of the box and play with it...amazing, no need to glance at the manual.

just perfect, via a Prs custom and to my mesa boogie and the shure sm58 to a roland cube mc30 , perfect.

on my home studio, I got it two days ago, so hard to say.

The most pleasent effect from digitech in years , and I own over 10 from their brand.

I gave it a 9 only because I, like every gear freak out there, try to operate my freshly opened gizmos without even looking at the "Quick-Start" instructions, let alone the manual... Who needs that?... I always discover that I do!... But the Digitech V2 is so easy that a quick glance over minor points will get you going in no time at all!

I've had TC Helicons over the years (two models: the rack and floor) and, as good as they sound, I was simply blown-away by the V2.... I started impovising dreamy 60's, 70's stuff as if we (the V2 and I...hehe) were Seals & Croft, or The Beach Boys (kept singing: Cool Water all over me... Warm Water makes me feel so free... and darn it if I didn't hear an album cut right there...) What ever noise was taken care of with a few twists and turns of gain and compression... Experimenting with the Reverb and Ehancement knobs made the vocals sound either more dreamy or more upfront... Combining the 6 settings was the most fun... Combining from both columns Higher Left, Lower Right... Unison Right with Higher Left... You get the picture... so many possibilities!... The effects are well suitable and I plan to use it for home recordings!...

Have had it for just a day so can't tell... I predict this, like other Digitech toys, will take a licking and keep on... well you know...

We'll see someday?

Run don't walk to get one of these!... It's one of the most useful and best recording/live enhancers I've ever had the pleasure to use!... It's fun and will bring a smile to the other band members (if they're not too egotistical)...lol... It's great!

Just plug in the guitar and microphone, push a couple of buttons, and instant harmonies. It is very simple to use. It takes around 5 minutes to know all there is to know about how to use it....and it sounds fantastic. In a way, it is too simple because the you don't get a lot of options. BUT, it is what it is and does what it does.

The sound quality is good. The harmonies are digital so there is a sterile nature to them, but because you can set the level a little lower than the main voice (yours) then you can get a good mix.
The mic level is boosted so you can get feedback at higher volumes but with a little bit of tweaking you should be able to eliminate any unwanted noises.
I was a bit sceptical at first whether this would be suited to using in a live full band situation but after first use at a full blown rehearsal my doubts were happily answered. The unit works really well in a full volume situation.
I had my LP and strat (not at the same time) running in to the unit and then on to a Boss GT8 multi pedal and then on to my ENGL Thunder 50 tube amp and vintage cab and a mic in to the unit and out to a vocal desk and it performed perfectly.
The options are quite simple and a bit limited but it does what it says it does.

I have not had it long enough yet but it is small and simple and looks well made.

I purchased it from a local retailer in Australia so i dont expect there will be an issue with customer support.

I am planning on using it for a full rock band situation. I am the only singer really so a little bit of colour with some extra voices will really fill out many songs that we play. The set list consists of pub rock standards from the 70's 80's & 90's and a nice loud volume. This unit seems to work really well in this situation.
I found that when I was trying out the unit in the shop before purchase, it made me sound a bit pathetic because you cant really belt out a tune like you would at a gig but after using it at rehearsal I discovered that it really comes in to it's own when you really project yourself.
It is definately worth the money and I think that it would be perfect for a backup singer to use a second one to cover all of the secondary ooh's and la la's etc as well.

This might be the easiest vocal processor ever invented as far as I know. I think a monkey good honestly operate it, but of course that doesn't mean it's completely idiot proof. One to watch is to make sure that your gain setting is high enough on the unit itself, if not the compressor won't work at all. I do however wish you could change the harmony voice by using the foot pedal instead of having to reach down and change them. You just can't change the harmony once a song starts, you can only start and stop the harmony.

Keep in mind this is not a vocal processor from TC Helicon, therefore a rating of 10 for the vocalist live 2 would mean the helicon registers at a 13 or something.

Harmony voices themselves sound as good as you do. That can obviously be a good or bad thing depending on the singer. I feel that adding just one harmony sounds much better than adding two, unless you are singing a hymn or eagles cover. Adding a unison voice and a high harmony can also be a real nice effect in a lot of acoustic music the second time you sing the chorus.

As far as the vocal effects go, it's just not my cup of tea. It would do great in a small setting, but the effects just don't sound that great. And I personally thing the compression on this unit sucks the life out of the performance. Reverb is only okay and the enhance is pretty marginal too.

So far so good, it doesn't feel as solid as a lot of boss pedals, but solid enough to gig with for now.

Never have dealt with them yet

I have been a worship leader for the past 5 years and at big events this processor just doesn't cut it for vocal effects, but the harmonies are very passable. If you play regularly for less that a couple hundred people, than this is a must have unit. If it were lost I would probably purchase it again because the TC Helicon is around 800 dollars new, and that is way to much for me. My favorite feature is the added harmony, and there just aren't that many products out there that can do it so easily. Actually there aren't any products that can produce harmony this easily, so for that reason alone it should be worth the purchase.

My SM58 wireless finally gave out and I picked up the stellar Shure 87A (Beta) but it needs phantom power to run. My previous Vocalist Performer did not have this feature. So, I was in a spot to overnight this unit which comes with phantom power built in! Nice. IT IS as easy as they say. Plug the thing in, play your guitar through it and you're up and running. No more setting chords to songs which is a hassle for a solo (one man band) artist in the middle of show when people want you to go song to song. Not wait for you to set things up for 5 minutes before the next song begins. Manual was excellent but not really needed. It IS that simple.

Sound quality was stellar. Like that there is a switch for effects on or off (in case you want to tweek it on the board). Gives you some options. Harmonies are very high quality, and YES, they are in tune now thanks to the smart musicIQ that puts the harmony in tune on the fly (with your guitar). No more guessing what key your in (especially off tunings, like Goo goo dolls). Does take some tweeking to get the right amount of harmonies you want coming through. This was very easy for me though, especially having used the performer previously (just as nice, but you have to select the key your playing in).
No extra noise. Very quiet and clean when not being used.
Like I said, I'm using this with a Shure 87A with phantom power on, then going direct to my board (Mackie 808S). I plug my guitar in the "in" and "thru" jacks, to my pedal, then to my amp (Behringer). Then go from my amp out to the board. Stellar sounds by all. Very simple, effective setup. I play a variety of country and rock and it handles all "in" key, everytime now. Also comes with a variety of reverb effects and compressor. Phantom power is a very nice feature as well (turns on and off).

Only have used it once so far. Seemed to hold up through the nights set without a problem with me stomping on it.

Not used so far.

This is an excellent match for me from doing country harmony like Alabama to the harmonies of today's rock like Nickelback use consistently. I was seriously impressed and it made me sound a notch above (now that it's guided to the guitar chords)! No more guessing at one key through a chorus that changes multiple keys! And oh, how about them country songs or rock songs that go up 1 or 2 octaves on certain end chorus'! No problem now. Goes up with your guitar key switches! Awesome.
I've been playing solo now for 12 years and have reliably used a Performer throughout. This is the next level! Very cool. Especially for solo artists, although I would use this in a band without a question either!
I would definitely replace this thing if it were stolen! (damn roadies!)
I love everything about this pedal (effect). It just made my life one step simpler.
I was thinking of the TC Electronics effect board which I hear is stellar as well. But this makes it simple for the live guy! I'm not working in a studio when I play out! I want setup times within a half hour and be on time, in key. This product delivers!

This product doesn't get any easier to use. I literally got home, took it out of the box, hooked it up, and started singing. You can play with the harmony levels, or just take a minute and read the short manual, which tells you a standard level is about 11 o'clock. I could not stop playing with this device. I've waited so long for something like this to be released and it is better than I imagined. Also allows you to sing more effortlessly and on key.

I really tried to keep an open ear to hear if this was just producing synth-type notes as a harmony, or actually duplicating my voice, and it definitely duplicates the voice, or gets about as close as you can to it. No one wants an Alvin and the Chipmunks type harmonizer. This is far from it. Best on the market for a long time to come. Props to Digitech on this one.

You won't be disappointed.

I saw this unit reviewed in a recording magazine, went to my local store and said, man you guys need to get one of these...they had one. I bought it and within minutes of getting home and set up was singing old Van Morrison, Eagles & America tunes. What a blast. It really is very easy to use. It's simply a matter of finding the right harmonies for the song type. The one knob compressor, reverb and vocal enhancer work great. I've already used it live several times and I can tell from the audiences reactions they like it. It's like adding 2 more singers to our 3 piece band.

The unit sounds very good. The harmonies sound pretty darn good. The reverb is very good for being a simple 1 knob effect. The compressor is very useful. Just a good sounding very useful box.

Well I've only had it a few weeks, but it's held up to a handful of live gigs no problem.

I've never used the customer support

I've been playing live for 20 years and do a minimum of 125 shows a year.Buying this pedal has actually made me regain an almost childlike interest back into music. It reminds me of buying my first guitar effects pedal. It's fun. You don't have to play the effect any more and be distrcted by complicated menus etc..you can simply pick up your guitar and sing. In a world of complicated gadgets that have way to many features, the ease of this pedal is a welcome change. I've already ordered the live 4 version. I've always played in a band, but wanted to do a little acoustic solo show. Just practicing with this unit and hearing the sound has encouraged me to go ahead and put a show together. It has also given the band a chance to maybe take on some songs we would maybe not normally have done. Thanks Digitech.

I just bought this unit yesterday after trying it in the store first and then going directly to a band rehearsal. To say this thing is easy to use is an understatement as I am a confirmed technophobe. Basically you just connect it and start singing. When I did a solo version of Blue Bayou in our drummer's basement studio and kicked it in on the chorus, he was startled and asked where I was hiding the chick singer doing the high harmony. I was amazed myself and having been a pro for over 30 years, it takes more than it used to. The only thing I would have like to see was a footswitch that would allow you to add a third part midsong without having to stoop down and hit it. The mix takes some fiddling with to get a proper balance but a good tip would be to try and record a few tunes like I did. That being said, I think this machine is idiot proof.

When I tried this on a Gatlin Bros. song, I sounded like all 3 of them together and I was very impressed with the built in compression and reverbs. It eliminates the need for outboard effects on your vocals and for what I figured would be an extra 7 or 8 hundred bucks for them, I paid $360.00 Canadian for a do it all unit for any singer in a band doing covers without the benefit of 3 great singers or just to fatten up a solo voice using the doubling effects. The 9 rating is because you have to tweak the mix control to find the right balance between the lead vocal and the harmonies selected. The built in guitar tuner is a great feature as well and gives you silent tuning without another box on the floor.

I haven't had it long enough to give an opinion but have used their guitar effects for a long time and had no prolems. It also seems to be very quiet as well.

Never called them.

I play country and blues in a 4 piece format and this works fine for that. Been playing over 30 years and always had the hardest time finding the right combination of complementary voices. With this unit it sounds like me cubed and the other guys can smile and concentrate on their instuments. I play a Godin Acousticaster and Fender Tele thru a whole bunch of stuff with Peavey and Marshall amps. The thing I like the most is the ease of use for this unit (see above). Some sort of Microphone stand mount would be very useful. The guy in the store asked me to check out a TC Electronics unit that was 3 times the price in the store to compare and 8 of us could not get the thing up and running as it had to be programmed for each song and key rendering it moot. With the Digitech I can change keys mid song (say up a half step) and it comes with me on the fly without having to consult the design engineer to figure out how to program it. This thing is probably the best bang for the bucks since the Deluxe Reverb came out in the 60's

The Vocalist Live 2 works great!! I play in a band with my twin sons and we have the 3 part harmony thing down.....problem is they're going off to college!!! I played last night at one of our regular venues with the folks that will be taking over when they leave for school. The new guys sing a little, but no where near what we usually have, so I used the vocalist, after having just received it and then testing it for about an hour.

The only thing I had to do was tweak the mic level on the VL2 so that my mic and the other guys mic could be set at about the same level on the mixer. Other than that I switched between using a third above and below for most songs to a third and a fifth above for some others. A killer box, easy setup and sounds great!!

I had comments from several of our regular fans that the new guys were doing a great job on the harmonies!!!! They didn't even realize the other guys weren't really singing much and that it was the Vocalist Live 2 doing the harmonies!!!

So far so good, but I just got it. Looks built well....have had other Digitech products that lasted as long as I owned them....

Have not dealt with them on this product....

If this were stolen I would definitely replace it. I've been spoiled playing with my sons, we never have to work out harmonies we all just sing and it comes together, its a family thing. All the other people I've ever played with we're always having to work out harmonies, and the result is never as good as it is with me and my boys. In the forty years I've been playing this box is the closest thing I've found to singing with them.