Is the Voicelive 3 reliable?

I've had mine for nearly 3 years now and have had numerous issues... although I still choose to use the pedal because it genuinely is amazing overall and so programmable, plus a great looping unit.

The only problem is... yep, it's not particularly reliable, and the voicelive 3 does have various issues - a lot of which seem intermittent, or quite random.

There's the blue or white screen of death that's super common, and many more, including the unit simply turning itself off - totally randomly (has only happened to me once fortunately).

I hope this video helps you decide if it is a good pedal for you, or not. There's many for and against reasons!

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[davidshanhun]

Who got the Summer of 69 reference...? 🤔

[ullerbailey]

Hey David!! Thank you for the videos. It’s 2021 and I’m still having issues with my Voicelive 3. I’ve done everything I found on the internet. It gets to a point where it works for a few days and I can rehearse my set list, then it freezes again 5 min before a show. I love what you can do with it and the fact that you only need to travel with one pedal is amazing but none of that matters if the damn thing don’t work!!! Every time I turn it on I have to hold my shouldn’t have to go through that.

[fabianvasquezjr]

Had mine for five years thank God I've had no problems with it use it all the time, hopefully it will keep going.

[paulvincent]

Was waiting for this vid ! in my amateur opinion they haven't spent enough time on the power supply .. when electronics get random spikes it goes nuts ... but in saying that wtf wouldn't an update work when your on slandered power ! so glad I saw this was really thinking about going down the single pedal option !

[ElectronicCity]

Hi David. Does your clip protection turn itself back on every time the unit is powered up?

I turn this setting off however it doesn't stay off when I power back on the unit.

Love the vids man, thanks

[jimavegrv]

Hey David,
Thanks for speaking up, man.
My problem w/ VL3 is how the display readout splits up into wobbly, deformed characters when booting up, or when using the large editing wheel.
Thank you for your bottom line question. - ‘Is VL3 or VL3( x) reliable?’ As great a unit as it is, it is very quirky/clunky when changing presets that are linked to your different prerecorded/saved loops. Have to be fast on your feet to back out of a loop after a song by erasing loop, DO NOT SAVE however. This will make the next Preset change switch to the properly-linked loop for a different song.
It’s not reliable, which is scary on solo gigs. It’s like you need 2 units: 1 backup and 1 main unit. Way too expensive/inconvenient for this insurance policy!!!
We need a good Harmonizer, multiple looper and good Gtr FX.
VL3 almost got it right.
But to have it just SHUTDOWN on a gig ?!?! Send me a free replacement, Music Tribe!!!
What are good reliable alternatives to the VL3 ? Research the options and build a system of individual units starting with smaller TCH harmony pedal, and more usable looping units.
Thank you for your excellent reviews.

[Acoustribute]

Thanks for making this video. I've had horrible luck with the VL3X. First one froze the day before my warranty was up luckily it was still honored and replaced. Second one did the same thing and now has been sent off to be diagnosed. Got a ditto 4X. It syncs well with my beatbuddy and so far is great. I love the harmonizer and vocal effects that TC Helicon provides and would say they are second to none. It sucks that their flagship products are so unreliable. So far the Harmony Singer pedal I purchased has lasted the longest. After reading reviews the boomerang 3 has the best and is considerably cheaper than the VL3 and has more looper options but no vocal fx...

[pt]

Thanks for the video. Mine stopped working mid way through a gig and had to be sent away for repair. I put together a board with my old Harmony GXT, a Nux loop core and individual stomp boxs. Am now looking for a two channel looper that has a single press stop/erase. I wont use the VL3 live now!

[RJ-yqih]

So I bought the VLX3, it seems to be doing its job but it’s still early days. Ps, glad I found your channel I find it really informative and helpful as a fellow looper lol

[eekamoose]

Great assessment of the product. You can still list its good points even after it has done things that would have a lot of people smashing it into tiny pieces with a sledgehammer. Reliability is priority number one for me, though, so I would not buy a Voicelive 3 in my wildest dreams...

[CowboyShackell]

I'm using a voicelive 3 extreme and my backup is a voicelive2. Never had any problems with either but I bring them both just in case

[MatONeill]

Agreed. I'm on my fourth unit now... I hold my breath every time I switch it on. It's such an utter powerhouse though!

[esparka]

Hey David,
I've been following your page as a result of your VLX extreme vids. (Summer, 2021) I actually acquired a new unit off of your shares (inspiration) I'm N Carolina (CLT). I love the extended range of the loop & the quality of the resulting sound compared to the "Play Acoustic" unit I was using as a minimalist version of my solo setup before it's daddy, the VLX. ( I've had 2 boomerangs, the RC-30, the RC-600, etc. since 1999, fyi) The "processed" sound you noted in one of your vids on the VLX-ex is ok w/ me as I am not the best vocalist, so a use of various ideas to have vox while not pretending to be more than I am is a decent pathway for my show. (You sing stronger than I) My problem is the learning curve. (Busy guy) I get your resulting disappointment as a performer with the "white screen" and I hate, tho, that I lost my tutor on this unit. (You) My ADD perhaps slows my to be diving deep & reading the whole Owners Manual. I'm doing it tho, buddy.
I apprecaite your RC-600 attention right now, because a smaller footprint on an RC, which could offer some of the harmonization may have me selling the VLX3-extreme.
If you lived here, I be hiring you for consulting. If you have any other resources for the VLX to point me tok, I would be appreciative...
Sparks

[Vincenade]

Hi David, your videos are so useful! thanks for that.
I really fear the non-reliability of VL3X when performing on stage... what could you suggest as an alternative to this VL3X ? I mean : vocal processor unit + acoustic guitar processor unit + looper unit (please something esle than RC300 : I have the RC300, but the output sound is really messy and compressed... nothing to do with the dry signal that enters the unit),
many thanks !

[christyjindra]

Hey David I bought a Play Acoustic Used. It died. I am just getting into this and think the Voicelive 3 is the way to go for me since it has it all. As a former band musician, it was easy to compensate for minor technical issues. Not so as a solo act really for me (I am not a great guitarist and rely upon the pedal to boost up my sound and voice) Long story short, is the VoiceLive 3 more reliable now than in 2018? Like I said I have a Play Acoustic it was fine and now the levels wont set. I have a done a firm update but can not get the box to do a factory reset. TC helicon is responsive but great customer service does not make a great product. Hope your answer is yes. And by the way I was timid about moving from a band to solo but with all you supply on the internet, I am using you as my mentor and would gladly throw some money your way for all the valuable information. Not sure how best to send you some coin. Thank you so much for you information and inspiration.

[siddcoutto]

This is so sad to hear. I've played hundreds of gigs with my VL3 over the past 5-6 years and I guess I've been lucky!

[ElectronicCity]

Very strange mate. I see so many people have issue with these. I've got 3 vl3 pedals. So far no issues in a few years of use. Cheers

[dkappe]

You wanted something reliable and bought the self-bricking ditto x4? Try the boomerang iii or the big boss looper.

[draculsanJ]

Thanks to your other video on how to fix this problem. Life saver 😊😊🤘🤘🙏🙏

[mazzu]

Thanks man for the video! I've recently bought a Voicelive 3 Extreme from Thomann and it was faulty on the guitar side with a loud whine sound that makes it unusable, probably an electrical ground loop problem. Anyway, I sent it back and got it replaced and guess what? I got a new one with EXACTLY THE SAME PROBLEM! I was in love with this pedal and the voice effects do sound fantastic but this is not just bad luck so I am now looking at alternatives.