Well, the mixer alone has been designed to give you quite a degree of control as well as routing and tonal adjustment capabilities over your microphones. For most mics, the sound quality that you get from your mixer should be just fine. However, if you are looking for the best sound quality possible, especially on the most important vocals, you may need to step up to a dedicated vocal effect processor. Good vocal effect processors are made using high quality mic preamps, ensuring great sound quality without the noise issues that you often encounter on mixers. A vocal processor is quite similar to a guitar effect processor, except that it is specially designed for vocals. It can add delay, chorus, or pitch correction effects to a vocal, allowing for great sound-shaping capabilities for the best sound quality.
Below, we are going to take a look at the comparisons between two popular vocal processors from Boss, which are Boss VE-20 and Boss VE-5. These two vocal processors are quite popular on the market and have been praised by many users. So, how do they compare against each other? Is it Boss VE-20 or Boss VE-5 that you should get?
Contents
Boss VE-20 vs. Boss VE-5: Design
If you see the two models side by side, you can see that they have been designed very differently from each other. Boss VE-20 comes with the typical design of such vocal processors. It is rectangular, with a display screen at the top center and some buttons. The display screen is backlit, which is great. You can read the display screen properly without getting negatively affected by the light condition of the surrounding. The display screen can put out 16 characters on 2 lines. The housing is incredibly strong and rigid.
On the other hand, Boss VE-5 is quite different; it comes with a cheap-looking plastic housing and the shape is almost like a portable game console. This is because it has been designed to be mountable onto the mic stand. By mounting it on the mic stand, it will be much more easily accessible by the vocalist. The design is also more intuitive. Apparently, the plastic housing is meant to make it lightweight. It also has an alphanumeric display screen, backlit, along with several buttons for control.
Boss VE-20 vs. Boss VE-5: Effects and Features
No wonder that Boss VE-20 is now one of the most popular vocal processors on the market. It comes with many great sound effects that have been specialized for vocalists, including Harmony, Double Track, Reverb, Delay, and Dynamics. There are also special effects, such as radio, strobe, and distortion, and there are built-in real-time pitch correction tools. Boss VE-20 has such a vast library, and the effects generally have good quality. Many people are particularly pleased by the three-part harmonies and layers. There is also a built-in phrase looper that can record up to 38 seconds in mono. It can supply phantom power to the mic.
On the other hand, Boss VE-5 comes with slightly different advantages. It has been designed mainly for live performances. It offers easy one-touch operation, and there is the Favorite Sound function that allows you to quickly access your preferred sound effects. There is even an internal mic that can be useful as a backup, and there is an aux input that you can use to blend-in external music. However, Boss VE-5 only comes with six types of sound effects, all of which are inherited from Boss VE-20. These sound effects include Reverb, Delay, Dynamics, Pitch Correction, Tone/FSX, and Double/Harmony. These sound effects are also of good quality, but it can only perform two-part harmonies and layers. There is also a built-in mono phrase looper with up to 38 seconds recording time. It can also supply phantom power to the mic.
Boss VE-20 vs. Boss VE-5: Memory
Of course, Boss VE-20 is coming with a larger memory than Boss VE-5. Boss VE-20 comes with 30 built-in presets, and there are 50 banks where you can store your own presets. On the other hand, Boss VE-5 can only store 50 presets, without any pre-loaded presets. The built-in, pre-loaded presets can be very useful when you don’t have enough time to craft the presets by yourself. You can use these presets to adapt to the condition right away. Though it may not be perfect, it is still better than having no solution at all or fumbling in the very nick of time only to create a faulty preset.
Boss VE-20 vs. Boss VE-5: Power Source
Boss VE-20 is quite flexible and versatile for the power. It can run on batteries, though it requires six AA batteries. You should use alkaline batteries. There is also an AC adaptor included in the bundle, which you can use to draw power from a power outlet if you do not want to rely on batteries alone.
On the other hand, Boss VE-5 is primarily used on batteries. It requires four AA batteries. You can use either Ni-MH batteries or alkaline batteries. If it is going to be mounted on the mic stand, choosing the battery operation is perhaps more suitable. But you should not forget to replace the batteries periodically if you don’t want it to run out of power in the middle of a performance. Actually, it can also be used with an AC adaptor, but the AC adaptor is not included in the bundle and must be purchased separately.
| Boss VE-20 | Boss VE-5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Brand | BOSS Audio | BOSS Audio |
| Key features | - The insanely cool VE-20 puts vocal harmonies, double-tracking, and even pitch correction right at your feet. Two pedals let you control the action, while you also get easy-to use panel controls and a big, clear display | - Easy one-touch operationSix types of high-quality vocal effects inherited from the VE-20 - Reverb, Delay, Double/Harmony, Dynamics, Pitch Correct, and Tone/SFXPhrase Looper adds impact to real-time vocal performances, including harmonizing and layered |
| Price | ||
| Customer Ratings* | 4.5 out of 5 stars | 4.5 out of 5 stars |
| Best Deal* | Save Money Please click here | Save Money Please click here |
NOTE : Product prices, availability, ratings and save money information are accurate as of the date/time indicated on post time (as seen right bellow the tittle) and are subject to change. Any price, ratings, availability and save money information displayed on Amazon Site at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
Decision
In general, Boss VE-20 is more recommended. This is because of the better construction quality – the housing is very rigid and durable, the richer sound effect collection, the better Harmony, and the built-in presets. However, if you need a vocal processor that can be mounted on the mic stand for easy access during a live performance and with a simple, intuitive interface, Boss VE-5 may be more suitable. Unfortunately, it is only capable of two-part harmonies, so it is not a good option if you want to use Harmony often.