BOSS VE-500 Vocal Performer 500 Series

If you’re like most guitarists, you spend a lot of time choosing the right amps and pedals to craft your own personalized sound. But if you sing in your band as well, it hasn’t always been so easy to give your vocal sounds that same attention to detail—until now. The advanced VE-500 Vocal Performer provides everything you need to achieve impressive vocal harmonies and effects on stage, and all in streamlined stompbox that integrates seamlessly with the regular guitar effects on your pedalboard.

Packing professional sound quality and serious BOSS DSP muscle, the VE-500 delivers sophisticated harmony and pitch correction functions that automatically track the chords you play on your guitar. It also includes a powerful vocoder and core sound-enhancement tools, plus world-class reverb, delay, and modulation sounds and specialty effects like distortion, filtering, and many others. And with programmable memories, you can instantly recall favorite setups for any song or style. The VE-500 is the perfect addition to the pedalboard of any singing guitarist, providing top-flight vocal processing that fits right alongside your standard guitar effects.

For optimal performance, stay up to date with the current VE-500 system software and editor

Download “VE-500 Editor” for Windows/macOS

• Advanced vocal multi-effects stompbox for singing guitarists
• Automatic vocal harmony/pitch correction powered by newly enhanced BOSS algorithms for natural sound with smooth tracking
• Class-leading sound quality and high-powered BOSS DSP engine for processing vocals with up to nine effects at once
• Extensive selection of effects specially tuned for vocals; Enhance section for shaping core tone, plus reverb, delay, modulation, distortion, EQ, filter, and many other types for further processing
• Versatile and creative vocoder effect for generating electronic voice and talk box sounds based on guitar input
• Flexible effect routing options for processing live and harmonized vocals together or separately
• Dedicated looper
• XLR mic input with adjustable sensitivity and available phantom power
• Guitar input for harmony, pitch, and vocoder processing; Thru output for sending unprocessed signal to guitar pedals
• Stereo XLR outputs for sending vocal sounds to a PA mixer or recorder
• Three assignable footswitches for real-time performance control, plus support for up to two external footswitches or an expression pedal
• 99 user memories for storing patch setups
• Three assignable knobs for quick access to essential parameters while performing
• MIDI input and USB-MIDI for guiding harmony/pitch engine from an external MIDI keyboard or DAW backing tracks
• Editor/librarian software (Mac/Windows) for sound editing and patch management via USB

All the Vocal Tools You Need, Right on Your Pedalboard

Filled with deep sound-shaping capabilities, the VE-500 is a professional vocal toolkit that lets you process your voice any way you like, from subtle sweetening to the dramatic, over-the-top effects heard on so many modern records. And with its newly enhanced harmony and pitch engine, you can easily expand your sound with real-time vocal harmonies and more.
The VE-500’s stompbox configuration makes it simple to integrate with any pedalboard—just plug your guitar into the instrument input to drive the harmony, pitch, and vocoder functions, and then use the Thru output to feed an unprocessed signal to your other pedals. And with the VE-500’s stereo XLR outputs, you’re able to send your processed vocal sounds directly to a PA mixer, stage monitor, or recording device.

Automatic Multi-Part Vocal Harmony Driven via Guitar or MIDI

Are you short of good backing singers in your band? The VE-500 is the perfect solution, making it easy to elevate your songs with rich, ear-catching vocal harmonies. Its automatic harmony engine is powered by advanced BOSS processing that detects the chords and key you play with your guitar, generating smooth and natural two- and three-part harmonies in real time as you sing. And by working with the VE-500’s different harmony modes, you’re able to refine the harmonies as needed for songs that have more complex key structures. The harmony engine can alternately be driven via MIDI (through either the VE-500’s MIDI or USB inputs), enabling you to generate pitch-perfect live harmonies with a MIDI keyboard or DAW-based backing tracks.

Vocal FX That Impress

The VE-500 contains wide-ranging effects with deep editing parameters for crafting nearly any vocal sound imaginable. In addition, highly flexible routing options are available for processing live and harmonized vocals together or separately. Use the Enhance section to polish your voice with essentials like compressor, de-esser, and EQ, then tap into the two dedicated Reverb/Delay sections for everything from subtle coloration to lush, expansive clouds of ambience. Four independent FX engines are available as well, and each contains an enormous selection of effects types. Spice things up with a little chorus, flanger, or tremolo, add some secondary reverb or delay, or take things over the top with distortion, radio voice, ring mod, slicer, filtering, and more—the sky’s the limit!

Get Creative with the Built-in Vocoder

Another killer VE-500 feature is its powerful vocoder function, which is derived from BOSS’s unique and innovative VO-1 Vocoder pedal. By vocalizing into the connected mic as you play, you can transform your guitar’s tone with electronic voices and an array of all-new colors for modern music styles. It’s even possible to replicate traditional talk box sounds, providing instant access to classic “talking lead guitar” tones without having to use a talk box rig and mouth tube.

Stay in Tune or Create Special Effects with Automatic Pitch Correction

The VE-500 also includes a dedicated pitch correction section, which is guided via guitar or MIDI just like the harmony function. You can employ it for transparent pitch stabilization, which is especially useful if you’re not such a great singer but still need to contribute some lead and/or backing vocals to your band’s sound. It’s also possible to switch in alternate modes that provide the heavily effected sounds heard on modern hits, including hard pitch correction, electronic tonalities, and even robot-voice sounds.

Total Performance Control

With the VE-500’s large display and panel knobs/buttons, it’s simple to create and call up sounds. After you’ve dialed in the perfect setup, simply save it to one of 99 user patch locations for instant recall while performing. Editor/librarian software is available as well, allowing to tweak and organize sounds from your Mac or Windows computer. The three panel knobs can be assigned to favorite parameters, enabling on-the-go tweaks in the heat of the moment. Three integrated footswitches offer access to a multitude of functions, including patch selection, individual effects on/off, harmony and looper functions, and more. Expanded control is also possible with external footswitches, an expression pedal, or MIDI.

Specifications

Sampling Frequency

48 kHz

AD Conversion

32 bits + AF method
AF method (Adaptive Focus method) is a proprietary method from Roland & BOSS that vastly improves the signal-to-noise (SN) ratio of the AD and DA converters.

DA Conversion

32 bits

Processing

32-bit floating point

Patches

99 (User) + 50 (Preset)

Nominal Input Level

MIC IN: -40 dBu (Adjustable)
INST IN: -10 dBu

Input Impedance

MIC IN: 4 k ohms
INST IN: 2 M ohms

Nominal Output Level

XLR OUT L, R: -40 dBu, -10 dBu (Selectable)
INST THRU: -10 dBu (Unbuffered)

Output Impedance

XLR OUT L, R: 600 ohms

Display

Graphic LCD (132 x 32 dots, backlit LCD)

Controls

DOWN switch, UP switch, HARMONY switch,
EFFECT EDIT button, KEY button, MENU button, EXIT button, ENTER button,
1 knob, 2 knob, 3 knob,
GND LIFT switch

Connectors

MIC IN connector: XLR type, balanced, phantom power (DC 48 V, 10 mA Max)
INST IN jack: 1/4-inch phone type
XLR OUT L, R connectors: XLR type
INST THRU jack: 1/4-inch phone type
CTL1,2 / EXP jack: 1/4-inch TRS phone type
USB COMPUTER port: USB Micro-B type
DC IN jack

Power Supply

AC adaptor (PSA series)

Current Draw

310 mA (with phantom power)
210 mA (without phantom power)

Accessories

AC adaptor: PSA series
Owner's manual
Leaflet "USING THE UNIT SAFELY"

Options (sold separately)

Footswitch: FS-5U, FS-5L
Dual Footswitch: FS-6, FS-7
Expression Pedal: FV-500H, FV-500L, EV-30, Roland EV-5

Size and Weight

Width

170 mm
6-3/4 inches

Depth

138 mm
5-7/16 inches

Height

62 mm
2-1/2 inches

Weight

860 g
1 lb 15 oz

* 0 dBu = 0.775 Vrms

*The specifications are subject to change without notice.