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Woz wrote "...tonewise it seems to be quite awful..." (Full
text of his message below) I'll describe my experience with the GT-3, GT-6 and
GT-8. Your experience may vary. I use the GT-3 almost exclusively for it's
tone-altering possibilities - filters, synthy tones, volume swells/chops, short
delays, etc. - and NOT for its ability to recreate "vintage and boutique
tone." However, I recognize that a huge market exists for just this
application. I've found the GT-3 to be good - not great - at simulating
different amp models. If I were choosing a multi-fx pedal for tube amp
simulation only, I'd probably grab a Pod, Vox, or Digitech over the GT-3.
I reviewed the GT-6 when it first came out, and I found the
amp sims to be improved from the GT-3, and the addition of knobs for instant
tweaking was a plus.When I tested the GT-8 (all too quickly, I'm afraid, due to
my magazine's deadline) I was immediately impressed with how much better still
the amp simulations sounded. They were expressive, textured, and varied. I
didn't have the time to directly compare the GT-8 amps to the GT-6 (owned by a
friend), but I was confident that I was hearing some really good, complex tone.
The problem with the GT-8 factory presets is that they lard on too many effects.
The unit will sound good, even impressive, in a music store with a high
background noise level, but when you get it home, the amount of excess reverb
and delay can be daunting. But again, I must say that the GT-8, even with its
cotton-candy spiderwebs of reverb and delay, sounded like the preamp modeling
was amazingly better than my GT-3.
The GT-8 has something like 40-plus effects, configurable in
ANY order. This feature alone is a recipe for sonic heaven or hell. You can get
some real crap from a poorly-thought-out chain of effects that has too many
high-gain stages, too much noise gating, a couple of EQs fighting each other,
and a poor choice of output. But you can also get some wildly improbable
bits of sonic heaven. Again, I must rave about the ring modulator (which has
just one preset from Boss, a pretty grim out-of-tune setting). The ring mod will
easily stand up to a unit like the Moogerfooger AND its intelligent mode (which
allows the ring mod oscillator to track parallel to the pitch of the input) will
blow the Moogerfooger away.
I believe it's possible to plug into the GT-8 for a few
minutes, scroll through some presets, and dismiss the unit, particularly if
you're a dyed-in-the-wool tube amp user. The GT-8 is light, small, and full of
features that aren't apparent just by looking at the front panel, way down at
your feet. Trad tube amp users will (consciously or not) be turned off by the
lack of heat generated by the unit, the tiny LCD window near their toes, the
need for an outboard amp and speaker, and a large and dryly-written owners'
manual.
BTW, and to add some topic relevancy, the GT-8 has some wicked
cool delay and reverb settings. Not a lot of memory (up to 1.8 seconds of delay)
but the dual delays can be configured in series or parallel, it's got the
reverse delay (with NO real-time signal if you wish), and it's got a phrase
sampler (up to 2.8 seconds, if I recall). The reverbs can generate up to ten
seconds of "tail" with remarkable quality. Toss a hint of phaser or flanger
after that ten-second cloud and you've got instant Steve Roach,
baby!
So I am curious, Woz, as to what it is that you want an FX
processor to do, and what you are currently using - if anything?
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, March 04, 2005 3:04
AM
Subject: RE: Boss GT-8 and GT-Pro (was
Re: Digitech GNX4)
Hi there. The GT-6
seemed really promising and when you see what it can do on paper it’s mind
blowing but tone wise it seems to me to be quite awful. Quite often I hear of
FX processors which sound like they could do what I want but when it really
comes down to it they don’t really deliver. Is the GT-8 an exception? Are the
distortions/overdrives/pre’s really that much better. It does sound fantastic
in print.
Cheers
Woz
From:
Mizuho@aol.com [mailto:Mizuho@aol.com]
Sent: Friday, March 04, 2005 6:28
AM
To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
Subject: Re: Boss GT-8 and GT-Pro (was
Re: Digitech GNX4)
I could not agree
with you more!
The GT-8 is mind blowing.
Just blow off the presets and
build form the ground up and anything is
possible.
Bill
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