gpuma's fault. Boss GT100

[JeffB]

Mr gpuma has a few threads going asking questions about ME, HD, GT and other multi's and some how it mustve lodged in my brain.

I started realising that since I had sold my horrid little ME50 that I was always quite fond of, that I did in fact miss the nasty little piece of work.

Ive come to understand, after selling stuff, that some stuff should not be sold. Some stuff is just too useful.

In the useful basket are things like eq pedals, line selector and aby pedals, patch leads, string winders, sunscreen lotion SPF 50+, side cutters. torch and "MULTI FX BOARDS........ and racks".

 

I spent a couple of weeks a/b/c/d'ing various multi's and decided on a Boss GT100. Should be here mid next week.

I do consider all multifx's to be "same crap, different bucket" type item's so it really boiled down to features and who was going to do the best deal. There wasnt much in it price wise so the dollars went to most useful features and nicest phone/email manner.

It was interesting that the guys at Roland were completely stoked about the GT100 and shared tips for using it live and for recording and the other guys were just moving box's, could have been cans of beans or bags of potting mix.

 

I dont mind admitting that despite my contempt for digital multi fx boards and racks(well earned contempt, Ive been using them for a long time) Im quite excited about the purchase and am eager for it to arrive so I can dig into it and learn to really dislike it like I did the horrid little ME50. Really useful little unit the ME50.

[schundog]

Funny stuff, Jeff! Congratulations on the new unit. Keep trying to hate it.... But you know you'll love it. The presets on them all are over the top, unusable junk. But a guy like you, with a discerning ear should have no trouble making some nice usable patches. I end up plugging mine (Line 6 HD300 at the moment) in and just yutz around with all the different sounds it can make, and never get around to downloading/using good patches. That, or I think I'll feel guilty if I only program in 4-5 good tones, and let all that pitch shifting/ring modulator/space alien nonsense go to waste. I've got some issues.

 

I'm sure Gio will be ridden with guilt that he brainwashed you into such a foolish decision. He might feel so bad that he mails you his H-357. Then again, he might not. Keep us posted once you get it in.

[barrymclark]

COSM isn't to be underrated in terms of tone.

[schundog]

COSM isn't to be underrated in terms of tone.

 

Agreed. I've had the GT-3, GT-6, and GT-8. I'd buy the 6 or 8 again in a heartbeat if I could find a cheap enough deal. They are built like tanks, too!

[peterbright]

I'll help you hate it. Looking at the Tech 21 Fly Rig 5 myself.

[JeffB]

COSM isn't to be underrated in terms of tone.

You can stop selling it to me now, Ive bought it.

 

I'll help you hate it. Looking at the Tech 21 Fly Rig 5 myself.

I was looking at that. Seems alright from what I can find out on the web. I couldnt try it and purchases for me are dependent on quiet alone time with the product.

But the simplicity of that and a couple of other similar things from different manufacturers appeal to me.

[peterbright]

FLY RIG 5 SECTIONS AND FEATURES
• SansAmp tube amplifier emulator, is pre-voiced for clean tones. It includes 3-band active EQ, Level,
and Drive to adjust the overall amount of gain and overdrive.

• Reverb, within the SansAmp section, is based upon the Boost RVB pedal. It emulates the rich ambiances of a vintage spring reverb without clattery pings, canyons of doom, or other annoying artifacts.

• Plexi, based upon the Hot-Rod Plexi pedal, brings in the organic distortion of a stock ‘68 Plexi and includes Level, Tone and Drive controls.

• Hot, within the Plexi section, kicks in up to 21dB of pre-amp gain. It can be used independently to
boost the SansAmp and/or DLA functions, as well as on its own to boost the gain of your amp.

• DLA is based upon the Boost DLA pedal. It is voiced to give you the sounds of a vintage tape echo
and features Level, Time, Repeats, and Drift, which adds a random element to the modulation for authentic textures. A dedicated Tap Tempo switch makes it super simple to just tap in the delay tempo you want during your performance.

• All analog signal path; reverb and delay are mixed in parallel.

[gpuma]

I am glad to help, my friend

[gpuma]

I sold my POD HD500.

Bought a delay and a wah. That's it!

[barrymclark]

What kills me is the used market on Cubes. A couple of years ago you couldn't hardly give a Cube 80x away. Now, the only time I see them on Ebay they are listed used at nearly what the new ones go for.

 

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

 

 

[tulk1]

I used the GT-5 for many years. Only thing I couldn't make it do was a decent low gain OD. The FX themselves, without the Cab or Amp Sims were wonderful! Sold mine because I sold the channel switching amp. Kinda would like to have both of them back Right now my crappy multi-fx box is a Zoom G3. Uh .... kinda agree with Jeff ... Same Crap, Different Bucket. I just don't get why the people that program these things think all amps need to overdrive to the point of saturation. Oh well, I do like the delays, comp and a bit of the acoustic sim.

 

Any chance of clips when you get the GT100 sorted? Before you relegate it the bin? .....

[davesultra]

What kills me is the used market on Cubes. A couple of years ago you couldn't hardly give a Cube 80x away. Now, the only time I see them on Ebay they are listed used at nearly what the new ones go for. Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

The CUBE line amps are great (IMO). I have the newest 40w CUBE and love the JC channel the most. I should try to sell the 20w XL model I have, sound like it might be the right time to sell.

[JeffB]

I sold my POD HD500.

Bought a delay and a wah. That's it!

 

Well, ok, thanks for the weird GAS anyway

 

I used the GT-5 for many years. Only thing I couldn't make it do was a decent low gain OD. The FX themselves, without the Cab or Amp Sims were wonderful! Sold mine because I sold the channel switching amp. Kinda would like to have both of them back Right now my crappy multi-fx box is a Zoom G3. Uh .... kinda agree with Jeff ... Same Crap, Different Bucket. I just don't get why the people that program these things think all amps need to overdrive to the point of saturation. Oh well, I do like the delays, comp and a bit of the acoustic sim.

 

Any chance of clips when you get the GT100 sorted? Before you relegate it the bin? .....

Should be here tomorrow.

Ive been there before.

I dont expect it until some random other tomorrow.

 

It will be a race between being over it and getting it sorted as far as clips go.

[gpuma]

Let me know how it compares to your little crappy lovely me50! :-)

[JeffB]

 

 

 

Should be here tomorrow.

Ive been there before.

I dont expect it until some random other tomorrow.

 

It will be a race between being over it and getting it sorted as far as clips go.

w00t! its tomorrow!!!!

My review after one 1/2 hour of use.

 

Its quite ugly.

The ME50 was a more eye catching/pleasing rectangle.

 

Its rather large and quite heavy.

Its bigger and heavier than my pedal board of individual pedals and I will basically aim for the same few sounds out of both.

 

I turned it on and two yellow lsd screens lit up. I was happy they werent cold blue or white.

I figured I would start with it in the worse case scenario so I plugged it straight into a little Yamaha mixing desk which goes through a really cheap home hifi amp and into some older Technics home stereo speakers.

I went and made a cup of tea and talked with the dogs for a while. They seemed up for a bit of a chat.

 

I started at "UO1-1 Hi GAIN STACK". If I turned the unit off and sold it at that point I would never have fond memories of it.

 

I went from there into edit mode and started with a Vox(I think) amp and added comp and reverb and just kept tweaking for a little while.

Its really easy to use and very easy to get the sounds you think you might like to hear. The fx are really good and so are some of the drives.

Its not terrible so far. I think because of the ease of use and ease of dialing in sounds you get a sense of instant gratification and the fundamental and overriding sound of COSM and BOSS in general seems a distant concern. Its there, you expect it to be there its just not as instantly annoying as you think it would be.

The COSM thing seems to have been worked on compared to previous units. Its not so bad. Its still bad in comparison to a real tube amp pushing a real guitar speaker but Im not really comparing the two and its only been 1/2 an hour and a bit.

 

45 minutes in:

I havnt referred to the instruction manual yet and have figured out the basics of editing/writing/saving etc. Same as the ME50 pretty much.

Lower gain sounds are a bit trickier to get sounding natural. That doesnt need to be said. Its going through a quite average set up and theyre digital ods

 

Over all after 50minutes of using it I can see its what I expected and shows signs of potential to be quite a cool and useful device.

To be honest I really like it. Its familiar and it sounds alright even in the less than desirable way I have it set up.

 

Part one of my new situation complete. Next phase under way.

[JeffB]

4 and a bit hours in.

This is a pretty cool device. I have still resisted the urge to use the owners manual and just be happy to find things out by trial and error. You cant actually go very wrong. The lay out and functions are very naturally set out. You cant screw up tbh. Whats the worse that could happen anyway.

I still have it going through the same set up and am now getting some reasonable od going. Im not appalled by it. It is still a bit buzzy/fizzy but I feel like with a bit more time I could fine tune it to be reasonable.

Some of the effects Ive messed around with are as good as any stand alone stomps Ive had. I dont really use all that many fx most of the time other than delay and verb. Also Tremolo. These three seem alright. I like them. The T and Auto wah are good fun.

Ive never known how to use ring modulation effectively and I still dont.

Im keen to run it through a guitar amp and see how it performs. Im sure it will be fine.

[gpuma]

this is very interesting. the reason #1 I sold my HD500 was that I found the user interface really clumsy. The fact that after 4+ hours you still have not used the manual seems a very important feature (and it was the main reason why I was asking opinions on the ME series in the first place)

[JeffB]

this is very interesting. the reason #1 I sold my HD500 was that I found the user interface really clumsy. The fact that after 4+ hours you still have not used the manual seems a very important feature (and it was the main reason why I was asking opinions on the ME series in the first place)

I have to know how to flick through these things whether line6, zoom, vox, fender, digitech, kemper etc without a manual.

Ive always had multi fx units both rack and floor based lying around

But the GT100 is very user friendly. I feel like I have been messing around with it for years.

 

I just had a listen with fresh ears to some of the patches I had edited and saved last night. They needed tweaking.

The movable signal chain is useful. You can place compression where ever you want and this can really have a drastic affect on the overall sound.

I still havnt put the GT100 in front or in the loop or both of a proper guitar amp and am happy working within the worst case situation.

I also havent refreshed my ears by plugging into any of the real amps I have or my favourite od stomps.

So, you know, I maybe just getting acclimatized to the parameters Im working in. I could be in for a rude shock when I do plug into my fender amp.

[JeffB]

Just spent time with it in front of a fender concert II.

 

I used my favourite od stomps and then tried to replicate them using ods in the GT100.

.....I think because my expectations of anything like the GT100 are quite low Ive had quite a happy experience through all this.

Ive gotten harder earned useful sounds out of crappier digital modelling gear, what I have found in the GT100 is quite good sounds easily found.

Through the front of the amp Ive realised what a cool piece of gear this multi fx is. The ods are actually ok. The time based and modulation fx are hard to fault.

I havnt used the manual but I did go online to find out how to and to download the latest version (2.02) I dont know if its any better than 1.06.

I still have to run it through the loop of my mesa but I know it will be fine so the inclination isnt there to put it through its paces.

I can now stop testing things out and go back to just playing.

[gpuma]

OK so you were blaming me for the induced GAS and you are trying to get a revenge?

 

Jokes apart, it's great to hear it is working out so well.

 

Clips?

[JeffB]

OK so you were blaming me for the induced GAS and you are trying to get a revenge?

 

Jokes apart, it's great to hear it is working out so well.

 

Clips?

Ha!

Im not raving about it and still think any comparably priced unit from L6 and the others might do the same job. Im just a Boss user. I feel very at ease with it.

 

I will try to do some clips at some stage. When I feel like I may have got about as much as I can out of it.

 

If I bothered to read the manual it would probably be sooner

[JeffB]

Here's a clip. Its not really a musical idea. Its coffee. Quite a bit. Also sugar. 2 in every cup.

I was in the middle of a tweak fest and was thinking about parameters and sounds.

Its just weird noodling without a destination other than balancing compression and eq to make it sound about right.

I was also trying out the loop function and didnt nail it. It is easy to use. I just didnt use it right.

I used a stereo Y cable out of the BossGT100's line/phones jack into a Lexicon Alpha and into my laptop and used Audacity.

The whole thing could be a pretty terrible interface and program. But it cost not much. Audacity is free.

https://soundcloud.com/jeffbn/boss-gt-100-1st-try-out-1

 

Anyway, Im stuck with it for a year and Im moving my music room to a place where I have to be quieter so maybe I will learn to love like it.

[gpuma]

First of all, I am always amazed by your sense of tempo in your phrasing. I noticed that you have a great ear for fluidly create melodies that are very interesting for thei rhythm content. You are relly good man.

 

That said, the gt100 sounds pretty darn good too. Impressive

[peterbright]

Sounds great!

[schundog]

Really dug the clip, Jeff. Like many times before, however, I had to put the brakes on hitting a "Buy Now" on something I heard a clip on, after realizing that I don't have anywhere near the chops of the person doing the demo on the product, and therefore won't sound anything like the demo. I hope you feel like it was a good purchase for you. Rock ON, brother!