- DL manuals
- TC-Helicon
- Processor
- Play Electric
- User Manual
TC-Helicon Play Electric User Manual
Summary of Play Electric
Page 1
English manual pl ay e le ct ric.
Page 2
Play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) a important safety instructions 1 before you begin 4 about this manual 5 getting support 5 voicesupport 5 please register your play electric 5 introduction 6 diagram legend 7 diagrams 8 basics 9 inputs and outputs 10 gain settings 12 switches and operati...
Page 3
Important safety instructions play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 1 important safety instructions.
Page 4
Important safety instructions play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 2 1. Read these instructions. 2. Keep these instructions. 3. Heed all warnings. 4. Follow all instructions. 5. Do not use this apparatus near water. 6. Clean only with a dry cloth. 7. Do not block any ventilation openings. I...
Page 5
Important safety instructions play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 3 emc / emi electromagnetic compatibility / electromagnetic interference this equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a class b digital de- vice, pursuant to part 15 of the fcc rules. These limits a...
Page 6: Before You Begin
Before you begin play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 4 before you begin.
Page 7
Before you begin play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 5 about this manual this manual will help you understand and oper- ate your play electric. You can download the most current version of this reference manual from tc-helicon.Com/products/play-electric/support/ to get the most from this r...
Page 8: Introduction
Introduction play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 6 introduction.
Page 9
Introduction play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 7 welcome to the play electric manual! First, thank you so much for purchasing play electric. We at tc-helicon are confident that your vocal and acoustic guitar performances will be positively impacted with this great effects processor. As y...
Page 10: Play Electric
Introduction play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 8 diagrams on the following pages, you will see some con- nection diagrams. We have set things up to give you clear and concise representations of what goes where. There are a few things we would like you to keep in mind as you look at the d...
Page 11: Basics
Basics play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 9 basics.
Page 12
Basics play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 10 play electric – rear panel inputs and outputs connectors are described from right to left. For setup examples, see “connection diagrams”. Mic connector this is where the magic happens! Plug your dynamic, condenser, mp-75, or e835 fx microphone ...
Page 13
Basics play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 11 passed via these outputs. If you do not connect a cable to the guitar out jack, guitar signals will also be sent over these outputs. Gnd switch this is a ground lift switch. If you experience hum while using play electric, try pressing the gnd ...
Page 14
Basics play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 12 gain settings how the input led level meter works the led on the top of your play electric is used for both vocal and guitar level metering. When setting the level for your microphone or guitar, make sure that you sing or play separately. If yo...
Page 15
Basics play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 13 on the fly. “np” is only shown when a change in key/scale is detected – so don’t panic if you don’t see it all the time. “loop” indicator the “loop” indicator is shown in the lower right corner of the display when a loop is running, but you are...
Page 16
Basics play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 14 switches and operation the three play electric footswitches down and up footswitches form here on, we will refer… ► to the footswitch with the down-pointing tri- angle as the down footswitch and ► to the footswitch with the up-pointing triangle...
Page 17
Basics play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 15 to exit loop mode, tap the hit footswitch. You may exit loop mode while a loop is still play- ing. That means you can choose a new vocal sound – and then re-enter loop mode to add a new overdub to the loop. Loop undo/redo to undo a loop overdub...
Page 18
Basics play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 16 control knob and arrow buttons back, store, arrow buttons and the control knob use the control knob to scroll through presets and to move through various settings in the edit, system or other menus. The arrow buttons act similarly, allowing you...
Page 19
Basics play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 17 changing preset names to change the name of a preset, press the store button once, then press the left blue soft button and use the control knob to modify the letters/numbers. Press the store button again to complete the process. Storing a pres...
Page 20
Basics play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 18 soft buttons soft buttons there are six “soft” buttons on the play electric – three on each side of the lc display. Each button is context-specific – meaning that when its function is available, you’ll see it lit up with a white or blue led. Wh...
Page 21
Basics play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 19 in the genre menu, use the control knob to navigate through the available options. Select a genre. Press the back button to return to the main win- dow, where you will see only the presets con- tained within the genre that you have selected. Pr...
Page 22: Connection Diagrams
Connection diagrams play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 20 connection diagrams.
Page 23
Connection diagrams play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 21 the following connection diagrams show you some common ways to hook up play electric. For basic information about audio inputs and outputs, see “inputs and outputs”. Mixer setup for connection to your mixer or pa, check out this cr...
Page 24: Play Electric
Connection diagrams play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 22 stereo (or mono) vocals and guitar this diagram shows connections for both stereo and mono pa applications. If your play electric is set to stereo, you’ll need to pan one channel left and the other channel right (or use a single st...
Page 25: Play Electric
Connection diagrams play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 23 mono vocals and guitar amp this configuration works well when you want to pass your guitar signals to an amplifier and your vocal signals to a mixer or powered pa speaker. Play electric out thru in guitar mic in outputs right left ...
Page 26: Fx150
Connection diagrams play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 24 mono vocal and guitar with a tc-helicon fx150 this configuration gives you mic-stand-mount monitoring and control over you vocal and guitar channels, while sending a summed mono signal to a mixer or pa. For additional control, you ...
Page 27: Fx150
Connection diagrams play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 25 mono vocals via fx150 and a guitar amp here, you can send the vocal signals to an fx150 and guitar signals to an amplifier. Fx150 out thru in guitar mic in outputs right left aux setup example: mono vocals via fx150 and a guitar am...
Page 28: Fx150
Connection diagrams play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 26 guitar and vocals via fx150 and stereo out to a pa in this setup, you can use the headphone out from play electric to send guitar, vocal and aux signals to your fx150 and send a stereo mix to the pa via the play electric xlr output...
Page 29: Play Electric
Connection diagrams play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 27 stereo pa and tc-helicon guitar & headphone cable if you own our guitar & headphone cable (sold separately), you can use an external monitor send to the aux in on play electric to create a headphone/iem mix. Play electric out thru ...
Page 30: Setup Button/section
Setup button/section play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 28 setup button/section.
Page 31
Setup button/section play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 29 input page (1/8) input parameter use the input parameter to select the type of mi- crophone you will be using. Dynamic mic setting use the dynamic mic setting for dynamic micro- phones (like an sm-58 or om5). Condenser mic setting...
Page 32
Setup button/section play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 30 preset up setting with the preset up setting, pressing the but- ton on you mic control-enabled microphone will cycle through the device’s presets, moving for- ward. Loop setting with the loop setting, pressing the button on you mi...
Page 33
Setup button/section play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 31 output page (2/8) output parameter use the output parameter to set how signals are sent over the xlr outputs of play electric. Stereo setting if nothing is connected to guitar out, both vo- cal and guitar signals are sent in stere...
Page 34
Setup button/section play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 32 guitar page (3/8) guitar parameter use the guitar parameter to control the input lev- el of your guitar. Set the level so that when you are playing your guitar and not singing, the in led lights green/yellow as much as possible bu...
Page 35
Setup button/section play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 33 system page (4/8) lcd contrast parameter use the lcd contrast parameter to set the con- trast of the lcd screen. Depending on the ambi- ent light in the room, different settings may have more or less effect. Up/dn function use the...
Page 36
Setup button/section play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 34 system page 2 (5/8) global key parameter use the global key parameter to define if key and scale information for harmony generation and/or pitch correction should be global or pre- set-specific. Off setting key can be set per indi...
Page 37
Setup button/section play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 35 in this mode, available loop time is doubled to 30 seconds. Loop feedback parameter use the loop feedback parameter to control the amount of loop record feedback. When recording a loop with multiple passes (or parts), the signal f...
Page 38
Setup button/section play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 36 switch-3 page (7/8) control parameter switch-3 is an optional, high-quality remote con- trol which you can use with your tc-helicon de- vice. Use the control parameter to set the func- tionality of connected switch-3. Loop mode se...
Page 39
Setup button/section play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 37 product info page (8/8) the system info page contains information about… ► the installed firmware version, ► serial number and ► manufacture date for your device. If you need to contact support, please have this information handy....
Page 40: Vocal Fx Button/section
Vocal fx button/section play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 38 vocal fx button/section.
Page 41
Vocal fx button/section play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 39 press the vocal fx button to open the vocal effects menu, which is comprised of seven pag- es. Each page contains the parameters control- ling the respective vocal effect block. There is one parameter common to all effects page...
Page 42
Vocal fx button/section play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 40 harmony page (1/7) use the harmony block to create harmonies that accompany your lead vocal, using up to two ad- ditional voices. Style parameter the style parameter determines the number of harmony voices and the way those voi...
Page 43
Vocal fx button/section play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 41 harmony advanced page to enter the harmony advanced page, press and hold any of the lit blue led soft buttons. To exit the advanced page, press the back button. Scale parameter if the key is set manually (not auto), the ad- van...
Page 44
Vocal fx button/section play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 42 double page (2/7) the double effect block creates the impression that one or more vocalists are singing in unison, with small differences in the timing and timbre of each voice. Some refer to doubling as “thicken- ing” or “doub...
Page 45
Vocal fx button/section play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 43 delay page (3/7) the delay effect block repeats the input signal based on the style and the current tempo. Style parameter select the style menu by pressing the lower left soft button. It will be the only one lit on the left si...
Page 46
Vocal fx button/section play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 44 delay advanced page to enter the delay advanced page, press and hold any of the lit blue led soft buttons. To exit the delay advanced page, press the back but- ton. Dly filter style parameter use the dly filter style parameter ...
Page 47
Vocal fx button/section play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 45 reverb page (4/7) the reverb effect block creates “room” around your voice. Essentially, a reverb puts your dry vo- cal into a simulated space, small or large, to give a sense of depth and distance. Style parameter use the styl...
Page 48
Vocal fx button/section play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 46 hardtune page (5/7) ah – hardtune… some call it the cher effect and others refer to it as auto-tune™. Whatever you name it: if you are looking for that radio-pop tuned sound, this is your effect. The hardtune effect block can a...
Page 49
Vocal fx button/section play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 47 transducer page (6/7) the transducer effect block modifies the sound by adding various filters and overdrive compo- nents. Style parameter use the style parameter to define the transducer effect style. Choose from the following...
Page 50
Vocal fx button/section play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 48 transducer advanced page to enter the advanced transducer page, press and hold any of the lit blue led soft buttons. Routing parameter use the routing parameter to define which signal components should be affected by the transd...
Page 51
Vocal fx button/section play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 49 µmod page (7/7) µmod stands for “micro modulation”. The µmod effect block is used for creating effects that modulate the signal, such as flanger, phaser, panning or chorus. Style parameter use the style parameter to select the ...
Page 52: Guitar Fx Button/section
Guitar fx button/section play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 50 guitar fx button/section.
Page 53
Guitar fx button/section play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 51 press the guitar fx button to open the guitar effects menu, which is comprised of five pages. Each page contains the parameters controlling the respective vocal effect block. Guitar effects are handled in the same way as vocal...
Page 54
Guitar fx button/section play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 52 guitar amp page (1/5) style parameter use the style parameter to select the style of the amplifier simulation effect. Various amplifier simulations are available to cover a wide range of tastes and styles. If you wish to have ...
Page 55
Guitar fx button/section play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 53 advanced amp page to enter the amp advanced editing menu, press and hold any lit “soft button” when on the amp page. Treble parameter the treble parameter controls the level of a high- band eq meant to emulate a “high” or “tre...
Page 56
Guitar fx button/section play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 54 guitar compressor page (2/5) use the compressor effect block to control the dynamic range of your guitar signal, enhancing attack, sustain or both. Style parameter use the style parameter to select the type of compression to u...
Page 57
Guitar fx button/section play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 55 guitar µmod page (3/5) just like the vocal effect of the same name, the µmod effect block in the guitar section applies minute pitch and timing variations to add depth or thickness to the sound. µmod stands for “mi- cro modula...
Page 58
Guitar fx button/section play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 56 guitar delay page (4/5) similar to the delay effect in the vocal fx sec- tion, delay allows you to add echo style effects to your guitar. Tempo for the guitar delay block is shared with the vocal delay block, allowing you to k...
Page 59
Guitar fx button/section play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 57 delay advanced page on the delay advanced page, there are two ad- ditional controls: tempo parameter here, you can manually set your tempo and save that setting with your preset. If you have selected a “slap” or “time” delay s...
Page 60
Guitar fx button/section play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 58 guitar reverb page (5/5) reverb creates “room” around a signal. Es- sentially, it puts your dry guitar into a simulated space, small or large, to give a sense of depth and distance. Style parameter use the style parameter to d...
Page 61: Mix Button/section
Mix button/section play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 59 mix button/section.
Page 62
Mix button/section play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 60 press the mix button to enter the mix menu, where various audio signal levels within your play electric can be adjusted. Mix page (1/2) harmony parameter use the harmony parameter to control the over- all level of all voice-generati...
Page 63
Mix button/section play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 61 mix page (2/2) usb level parameter use the usb level parameter to adjust the level of the incoming usb audio signal (such as back- ing tracks). This control has no effect if input is set to usb and you are post-processing the receiv...
Page 64: The Looper
The looper play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 62 the looper.
Page 65
The looper play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 63 what is looping? At its core, looping is the simple process of tak- ing a small audio recording and playing it over and over seamlessly. When coupled with cre- ativity and musical ability, the results can be as- tonishing. Basic looping con...
Page 66
The looper play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 64 4. At the end of the chord progression, press rec again. Play electric will immediately be- gin to play back the guitar chord progression you just recorded. 5. Begin playing your guitar solo over the record- ed chord progression. 6. When th...
Page 67
The looper play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 65 using a switch-3 for looping connecting a switch-3 (optional) to your play electric will give you permanent access to loop- ing without having to use the down and up footswitches. It frees up those footswitches, so you can assign them to ke...
Page 68: Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 66 troubleshooting.
Page 69
Troubleshooting play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 67 sometimes, things just aren’t working the way you expect them to. Here are a few things to keep an eye on. General troubleshooting “i’m singing, but i can’t hear anything!” ► make sure you have turned up the input gain, so that the inp...
Page 70: Appendix
Appendix play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 68 appendix.
Page 71
Appendix play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 69 tc-helicon scales reference chart harmony notes in the key of c scale sung note c db d eb e f gb g ab a bb b chosen voicing/interval maj 1 3rd (high/lower) e nc f nc g a nc b nc c d d maj 1 5th (higher/low) g nc a nc b c nc d nc e f f maj 2 3...
Page 72: Links
Links play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 70 links.
Page 73
Links play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 71 support resources there is a large faq knowledge base and fo- rum for you to use. Please make sure to search for your particular issue there before submitting a support ticket. It’s likely that someone has al- ready addressed the question and po...
Page 74: Technical Specifications
Technical specifications play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 72 technical specifications.
Page 75
Technical specifications play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 73 features vocal effects harmony, double, delay, reverb, hardtune, transducer, µmod guitar effects amp and speaker simulation, compressor, umod (including tc electronic corona chorus), delay (including tc electronic flashback de...
Page 76
Technical specifications play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 74 d to a conversion 24 bit, 128 x oversampling bitstream, 115 db snr a-weighted connectors, balanced xlr connectors, unbalanced guitar output and guitar thru: ¼“ output impedance balanced/ unbalanced 300/150 ohm xlr output 0 dbf...
Page 77
Technical specifications play electric – reference manual (2014-07-16) 75.