TC-Helicon Play Acoustic Manual
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TC-Helicon Play Acoustic Manual

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Leslie Zagotti
February 27, 2025

I have been getting awful random popping sounds with my TC Helicon play acoustic. Today I thought I would try the factory reset to see if it would fix the problem. Now when I try to change the channel or tap on the HIT button, you can hear the channel changing through thr PA. Very upset, this unit is only a year and half old.

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1 comments:
Mr. Anderson
May 14, 2025

Random popping sounds and channel changing issues with the TC-Helicon Play Acoustic after a factory reset could be caused by defective or weak footswitches, improper wiring, or hardware faults in the unit. These issues may also occur if the unit is malfunctioning despite being reset.

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Alex
July 11, 2025

Hello. Help me download new presets in play acoustic

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Summary of Contents for TC-Helicon Play Acoustic

  • Page 1 English Manual...

  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    Guitar Anti-Feedback page (7/7) to a PA Notch Filter section Stereo PA and TC-Helicon Simple steps for feedback reduction Guitar & Headphone cable Product Play Acoustic Product (firmware) version Document Reference manual Document version / date 2014-07-16 Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 3: Important Safety Instructions

    Important safety instructions Important safety instructions Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)
  • Page 4 When a cart is used, use caution when moving the cart/apparatus combination to avoid injury from tip-over. 13. Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or when unused for long periods of time. Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)
  • Page 5 Connect the equipment into an outlet on a cir- ► cuit different from that to which the receiver is connected. Consult the dealer or an experienced ra- ► dio / TV technician for help. Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 6: Before You Begin

    Before you begin Before you begin Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 7: About This Manual

    Please register your Play Acoustic This manual will help you understand and oper- If you still have questions after reading this ref- To register your Play Acoustic using the Voice- ate your Play Acoustic. erence manual, please read the FAQs, visit the...

  • Page 8: Introduction

    Introduction Introduction Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 9: Diagram Legend

    Read the… full manual. And if you ever find yourself without this manual: Power Input 1/8 inch jack GRND Lift On the bottom of your Play Acoustic , you will USB Type A Power Input 1/8 inch jack GRND Lift...

  • Page 10: Diagrams

    There are a few things we would like you to keep in mind as you look at the diagrams: 1. Inputs to Play Acoustic will be to the left of the back panel image. 2. Outputs from Play Acoustic will be to the right of the back panel image.

  • Page 11: Basics

    Basics Basics Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 12: Inputs And Outputs

    Connectors are described from right to left. For setup examples, see “Connection diagrams”. Use a 1/8” cable to connect any music source you want to use to your Play Acoustic (especially that 8-Track from your 1974 Comet). When an in- MIC connector...
  • Page 13 Connect the included power supply. Your Play Acoustic will power up immediately. Always use a TC-Helicon power supply (12 V, 400  mA). Using any other power supply may damage the unit and will void your warranty. Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 14: Gain Settings

    Presets concept is explained in “What are pre- Level Meter Works you’ve got powerful lungs! sets?”. The LED on the top of your Play Acoustic is used Preset Number for both vocal and guitar level metering. The unique preset number – i.e., the number of When setting the level for your microphone the slot where the preset is stored.
  • Page 15 If you have set the Genre selector to any other value than “All”, the currently selected genre is shown in the upper left corner of the display. In the screen shot above, it is “Harmony“. Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 16: Switches And Operation

    If you have a guitar plugged into the GUITAR IN, following functions: you will enter TALK/Tuner mode, activating the STOP ► guitar tuner built into Play Acoustic. The guitar ERA (HOLD to erase) ► Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)
  • Page 17 TC-Helicon website: your music. If you connect a TC-Helicon Switch-3 (optional) support.tc-helicon.com/entries/ to the PEDAL connector of your Play Acoustic, 21051886-scale-chart-for-TC-helicon-products/ When you are finished, stop tapping, and the you can use it to control all Loop features. screen will “time out” back to the preset screen.

  • Page 18: Control Knob And Arrow Buttons

    Use the control knob to scroll through presets and to move through various settings in the Edit, What are presets? System or other menus. To use Play Acoustic effectively, you need to un- derstand the concept of Presets. Storing presets The arrow buttons act similarly, allowing you...
  • Page 19 Blue soft Button and use the control knob to select the destination number for the preset. Press store again to complete the process. If you change your mind and don’t want to save the changes, simply press BACK. Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 20: Soft Buttons

    To remove the current preset from your Favor- ► Vocal FX button There are six “soft” buttons on the Play Acoustic ites, press the FAVORITE button. – three on each side of the LC display. Press the Vocal FX button to open the Vocal FX To only browse your Favorite presets, press ►...
  • Page 21 Presets can be associated with multiple genres. Setup button Press the SETUP button to open the Setup menu, which controls the general functions of the device. This button is described in its own chapter: “Setup button/section” Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 22: Connection Diagrams

    Connection diagrams Connection diagrams Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 23: Mixer Setup

    Connection diagrams Play Acoustic back panel inputs and outputs The following connection diagrams show you some common ways to hook up Play Acoustic. For basic information about audio inputs and outputs, see “Inputs and outputs”. Mixer setup For connection to your mixer or PA, check out this Craig’s Corner video:...

  • Page 24: Stereo (Or Mono) Vocals And Guitar

    Stereo (or mono) vocals and guitar This diagram shows connections for both Stereo and Mono PA applications. If your Play Acoustic is set to Stereo, you’ll need to pan one channel left and the other channel right (or use a single Stereo channel) on your mixer.

  • Page 25: 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 ACOUSTIC Setup example: Mono vocals and acoustic guitar amp Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 26: Mono Vocal And Guitar With A Tc-Helicon Fx150

    For additional control, you can opt to plug a mu- sic player into the Aux channel on the FX150, instead of Play Acoustic, giving you control of Vocals, Guitar and Aux independently. Signals will still be summed to mono at the output of the FX150.

  • Page 27: Mono Vocals Via Fx150 And A Guitar Amp

    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 Setup example: Mono vocals via FX150 and an acoustic guitar amp Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 28: Guitar And Vocals Via Fx150 And Stereo Out To A Pa

    PA In this setup, you can use the Headphone Out from Play Acoustic to send Guitar, Vocal and Aux signals to your FX150 and send a stereo mix to the PA via the Play Acoustic XLR outputs.

  • Page 29: Stereo Pa And Tc-Helicon Guitar & Headphone Cable

    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 Acoustic to create a headphone/IEM mix. PLAY ACOUSTIC Setup example: Stereo PA and guitar/headphone cable (not included)

  • Page 30: Setup Button/Section

    Setup button/section Setup button/section Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 31: Input Page (1/7)

    USB setting Sense microphones will also “listen” to musical available). Digital audio can be passed to Play Acoustic via information from the surrounding environment the USB port allowing you to send vocals from a (a single chord based instrument or even your HIT setting DAW to the unit for processing.
  • Page 32 The WARMTH NG setting is the same as due to you hearing both the corrected signal OFF setting NORM+WARMTH, but with the Gate function from Play Acoustic and your own voice (via bone No tone style is applied. removed. conduction in your noggin). The two sounds...

  • Page 33: Output Page (2/7)

    Setup button/section Output page (2/7) On setting Ear damage can occur quickly at high volumes, With the On setting, Play Acoustic will attempt to so be cautious when using headphones or in-ear remove lead vocals from a piece of music. monitors!

  • Page 34: System Page (3/7)

    MP3 icon Switch-3 to the PEDAL connector of your crease the latency compensation amount. player. Play Acoustic, the default behavior of the UP/DN function changes from “Loop” to “Set Key.” Monitor setting Tune Reference parameter...

  • Page 35: System Page 2 (4/7)

    Some artists sing more quietly than others, re- quiring the Mic Gain knob to be turned up quite far. To offset this, we have added a Mic Boost Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 36: Loop Page (5/7)

    Most users find the default setting of 98% works well, but you may find a different setting that Off setting works best for you. Disables undo, freeing some memory for addi- tional looping. Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 37: Switch-3 Page (6/7)

    Gtr Boost ► ► Button 2 stops recording/playback and can be Gtr Compressor Tip: If you prefer to have Play Acoustic up on a ► ► used to erase the loop (by holding). Gtr µMod music stand, you can use “Preset DN”, “Preset ►...

  • Page 38: Product Info Page (7/7)

    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. See “Support resources”. Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 39: Vocal Fx Button/Section

    Vocal FX button/section Vocal FX button/section Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)
  • Page 40 HIT button (or the button on a microphone supporting Mic Control) and will become active when the HIT button is lit. See the Setup section for instructions on how to activate Mic Control. Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 41: Harmony Page (1/7)

    GUITAR IN ► Oct Up & Lower and tracks playing via the Aux in, the system will ► +7 Semitones read key/scale information from the guitar. If the ► -5 Semitones ► Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 42: Harmony Advanced Page

    “slide” between notes as you sing. The more Portamento you use, the more the Harmony voices will slide, instead of jump, from note to note. The 0 setting turns Portamento off. ► 100 is the maximum setting. ► Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 43: Double Page (2/7)

    Loose tim- ing can feel “larger” or more effected. Level parameter Use the Level parameter to control the overall level of the doubling effect. Press the right upper Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 44: Delay Page (3/7)

    Multitap 4 ► Multitap 5 ► Multitap 6 ► Classic Slap ► Set Time ► Level parameter Use the Level parameter to control the overall level of the delay effect. Press the right upper Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 45: Delay Advanced Page

    “taps” sound the same. Some delay filter are cumulative – e.g. “analog” where processing is applied throughout the feedback loop, which changes the sound of the delay over time. Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 46: Reverb Page (4/7)

    Snappy Room ► Library ► Dark Room ► Music Club ► Studio Room ► Warehouse ► Bouncy Room ► Cozy Corner ► Bright Chamber ► Wooden Chamber ► St. Joseph Church ► Dome Chapel ► Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 47: Hardtune Page (5/7)

    Shift parameter Use the Shift parameter to shift the note you are singing up or down by one or more semi-tones. You can shift your voice up or down by up to 36 semitones. Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 48: Transducer Page (6/7)

    Use the Filter parameter to apply an EQ filter that will make the Transducer sound “thinner” or more “muddy”, depending on the preset. Thinner filter settings sound more like a radio or walkie- talkie. Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 49: Transducer Advanced Page

    Raising the threshold will cause the effect to “kick in” at a higher input volume, which can help avoid feedback while you are not singing. Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 50: Μmod Page (7/7)

    Flange Feedback ► Flange Negative ► Mono Flange ► Soft Flange ► Tube ► Up Tube ► Down Tube ► Down & Up Tube ► Rise and Fall ► Auto Wah ► Underwater ► Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 51: Guitar Fx Button/Section

    Guitar FX button/section Guitar FX button/section Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)
  • Page 52 Guitar effects are handled in the same way as vocal effects – see “Vocal FX button/section”. Guitar sounds in Play Acoustic are global – meaning you only need to adjust them once. As you change presets, your guitar sound will re- main the same.

  • Page 53: Guitar Reverb Page (1/7)

    Amsterdam Hall ► Broadway Hall ► Pre Delay parameter Snappy Room ► Library Use the Pre Dly (“Pre Delay”) parameter to define ► Dark Room the time until the reverb tail sets in. ► Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 54: Guitar Μmod Page (2/7)

    Use the Mix parameter to controls the overall level of the µMod effect. Speed parameter Use the Speed parameter to adjust the speed at which “oscillation” or modulation occurs within the effect. Slower speeds often result in more noticeable effects. Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 55: Bodyrez Eq Page (3/7)

    Guitar FX button/section BodyRez EQ page (3/7) Low Gain parameter Use the Low Gain parameter to control the Exclusive to Play Acoustic, BodyRez combines “bass” range of frequencies within the BodyRez equalization, compression and ambience to give style. your guitar mounted pickup a more natural “mic’d in a room”...

  • Page 56: Bodyrez Shelf Eq Page (4/7)

    “make up” reduced gain to maintain your output signal level. Makeup gain allows you keep your signal levels consistent from the input of the Compressor to the output. Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)
  • Page 57 The Ambience section of the BodyRez effect block utilizes timing variances to emulate body resonance from your acoustic guitar. Use the Amount parameter to set the amount of Ambi- ence applied to the signal. Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 58: Guitar Anti-Feedback Page (7/7)

    “feeling” which string vibrates unusually under your finger. After you have selected that particular string/ note using the Freq parameter, you can use the Gain parameter to reduce feedback for that note. Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 59: Mix Button/Section

    Mix button/section Mix button/section Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 60: Mix Page (1/2)

    Use the Out Level parameter to control the over- If you prefer to only hear the Aux input over your all output level of your Play Acoustic. headphones, go to the Setup/Output menu and change “Aux to Main Out” to OFF.

  • Page 61: Mix Page (2/2)

    DAW. The track controls within the DAW it- self will determine the output level (and therefore the Play Acoustic USB input level). USB Out Level parameter Use the USB Out Level parameter to control the level of the audio signal sent over USB.

  • Page 62: The Looper

    The Looper The Looper Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 63: What Is Looping

    ► Basic looping concepts to record an overdub (another part) onto the Most loopers – including the one in Play Acoustic initial recording. You can overdub as many – are built around a few basic controls: Record, times as you want to.

  • Page 64: Looping Tips

    4. At the end of the chord progression, press and do it again. You can also use Undo and REC again. Play Acoustic will immediately be- Redo creatively for a part/track that you would When it comes to looping, practice is the key!

  • Page 65: Using A Switch-3 For Looping

    Play Acoustic. When the Switch-3 is unplugged, the DOWN and UP footswitches revert to whatever the UP/DN setting was prior to connecting the Switch-3. For more info on Switch-3, check out: tc-helicon.com/products/switch-3/ Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 66: Troubleshooting

    Troubleshooting Troubleshooting Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 67: General Troubleshooting

    Back up your custom presets and setup data ► If you are using an MP3 player to sing along via VoiceSupport. ► with tracks, set the AUX IN TYPE parameter in the Setup Menu to TRACKS. Some tracks Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 68: Appendix

    Appendix Appendix Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 69: Tc-Helicon Scales Reference Chart

    Min 1 3rd (High/Lower) Min 1 5th (Higher/Low) Min 2 3rd (High/Lower) Min 2 5th (Higher/Low) Min 3 3rd (High/Lower) Min 3 5th (Higher/Low) Highlighted cells show differences between scales. “nc” = no change Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 70: Links

    Links Links Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)
  • Page 71 ► answer. Twitter: ► TC-Helicon Support: twitter.com/tchelicon ► tc-helicon.com/support/ YouTube: ► TC-Helicon user forum: youtube.com/tchelicon ► support.tc-helicon.com/categories/ 20073491-User-Forum/ TC-Helicon Play Series forum: ► support.tc-helicon.com/forums/ 21577876-Play-Series/ TC-Helicon warranty information: ► tc-helicon.com/support/warranty/ Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

  • Page 72: Technical Specifications

    Technical specifications Technical specifications Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)
  • Page 73 Mic Input Level @ 0 dBFS -42 dBu to +13 dBu EIN @ Max Mic Gain Rg = 150 Ohm -127 dBu Mic SNR > 104 dB Phantom Power +48 V (on/off via Setup menu) Aux Input Level @ 0 dBu +2 dBu Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)
  • Page 74 Safety – certified to IEC 65, EN 60065, UL6500 and CSA IEC 65, EN 60065, UL6500 and CSA Operating Requirements Operating Temperature 32° F to 122° F (0° C to 50° C) Storage Temperature -22° F to 167° F (-30° C to 70° C) Humidity Max. 90 % non-condensing Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)
  • Page 75 Technical specifications Play Acoustic – Reference manual (2014-07-16)

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