TC-Helicon Voicesolo VSM-300

The previous submissions pretty well covered this area. Very well built. My only concern is the multi pin connector that runs from the monitor to the interface box. If this thing goes south you are basically dead in the water.

Again my only concern mechanically is the multi pin connector.

My other major beef was the volume level before feedback. I use a Shure SM58 Beta (blue, not the cheap beta green). This thing just didn't hang in there volume-wise.

This is loaded with features.

I have returned this to the store from whence it came.

Compact personal nearfield monitor, sturdy cast aluminum enclosure, mic stand mountable (mounts on your mic stand & your mic goes on a boom on top of this unit, so one stand for both).

Powered monitor, 6.5' heavy duty speaker in ported enclosure, 150 watt built in power amp, generous EQ capacity, in/out box - you can run your mic into this system and back out to PA with direct level. You can run a monitor mix in from the PA and mix it at whatever level you want with your own mic signal. Very flexible. Phantom power for the mic if needed. Output for active sub if needed. Stereo option.

Sound quality is quite good for a compact, nearfield unit. Much clearer and MUCH better bottom than the Hot Spot. It is directional, which you want for this application. Great flexibility to taylor sound with the tone controls & filters. Loud enough for anything reeasonable. (I do have to engage the +20 dB button on the back). There is very slight noise (hiss) when cranked up, but not a real bother at all.

An easy to handle, easy to mount, small unit. The bass port doubles as a passable handle. It seems VERY durable.

My lead singer/rhythm guitarist needs his vocals & guitar VERY loud in the monitors. I could never hear my lead guitar well enough with the mix he needs. (He is a great performer/wrtier & we get along well & work together great, so this problem is worth solving). We did not have the board/monitor capacity for individual monitor mixes. The Voice Solo Pro solves the problem. I can simply run the board monitor mix AND mix in whatever level of my instrument (or vocal if that is what you need) right at my monitor, right at my fingertips on stage. I can adjust on the fly without bending over or searching for a knob elesewhere- it is all right at my fingertips. My monitor mix is nearfield so it does not affect anyone else on stage. No feedback problems at all so far. I would buy this system again over any other option.

The VSM-300 is a very small powered point-source monitor speaker, intended to be mounted on a mic-stand. I've been using one for about 6 months now as a keyboard / vocal monitor, so here are my honest impressions...

The single speaker is about a 5-6 inch driver, with an "inductively coupled tweeter".

The VSM-300 is very solid, and feels well put together thanks to the cast metal case. The floorbox is also metal and solidly put together. I also like the fact that the port is at the top, so you can use it as a handle (there's no other really practical way of carrying it!) I'm a firm believer in small point-source mic-stand mounted monitors, in order to keep stage volumes reasonable, so I've been using Yamaha MS101's for about 10 years before getting the VSM-300. From experience, the thing that really kills mic-stand mounted monitors is when they get knocked over. I haven't yet knocked over the VSM-300, and I don't intend to try, however it feels like it would take it much more than the Yamaha. One concern I have is that it's really too heavy to safely sit on top of a mic stand, so I scoured the web for a speaker stand that would go low enough to use this for a sitting keyboard player, and finally found the Giraffe G70 that needed a small mod with an M10 bolt to take the VSM-300 mic-stand adapter, but is much more sturdy than a mic-stand.

I won't repeat all the specs from TC Helicon's website here, however suffice to say, it has adequate power for the size of unit, and seems well protected.

It's also worth mentioning that with the metal floorbox it has every connection option you could possibly want.

On first using the VSM-300, initial impressions were that the sound was quite flat and dull. Even as a keyboard player who loves a lot of low end, I found the low end too heavy. Fortunately, the VSM-300 has a 75/150Hz low cut switch, so with this set to 150Hz, and with a small amount of treble boost, I get a very useable, solid and clean monitor mix, that captures all the detail of keyboard sounds and my vocal well. Feedback resistance is also very good - I've never had a problem using it close to an SM58 for vocals. The volume level isn't massive - I would have expected more from 150W, however it's enough to cope with guitars and acoustic drums on stage, so it's adequate. I'm also surprised how easy it is to get the clip light to come on, however there is no noticeable distortion, thanks to the internal limiter. The only other criticism I have on the sound is the "shape" control - which seems to make no practical difference to the mic sound, and generates an audible "scratching" sound when moved. Personally I think this feature is a waste of space, and either a level control for the aux input, or a mid band for the EQ would be a better use of the knob. From TC-Helicon's marketing literature, it looks like they intend to improve some of these concerns on the VSM-300XT model.

Easy to carry around thanks to the tuning port / carrying handle on the front.

Very versatile - 2 different mic-stand mounting options, with adapters supplied, or sit on the floor at different angles.

The best feature for me is all the connection options. I can mix my mic, stereo keyboard and a send from the mixing desk all on the VSM-300, and either send pass through signals back to the desk, or send the mix out from the unit. This is very useful when it's just me and a keyboard, as I can mix myself and I don't need a sound engineer!

Plus points: Solidly built, every connection option you could ever need, solid clear sound (after a bit of tweaking), loud enough, good feedback resistance.
Minus points: Shape control a waste of space. Too heavy to really fit on a mic-stand - get a Giraffe G70 instead.

If it was lost/stolen, I would get a VSM300XT straight away!