TL/DR so here is pictorial summary of the text below.
Since there's no other threads on it, and from the perspective of someone who wasn't buying a modeller so much as a high capability compact Multi-FX unit.
I was extremely suprised by its modelling.
Context:
I have 2 awesome amps, one considered to be an all time great, and one I consider to be one of the best, if not the best, of its type (modded Marshall).
I didn't care about the modelling and in my increasing years, am less about minutiae of specific gear and more about "if it sounds good, it is good".
So, with that in mind, I wanted something I could do fully wet, parallel stereo FX with, and had stereo/dual inputs at a given price point.
Add to that the power of the unit and it was a no brainer.
The modelling played no part in my decision and when I came to play with the models, I was presently suprised.
I love Boss' attitude to modelling, especially the X Amp and other AIRD amp models. Even some of the legacy amps are very good.
And that attitude is, for example, "here is a subjectively idealised Modded Marshall flavour amp that sounds very good"
Coming from the perspective that I had no dog in the fight of warts and all model accuracy, and having 2 great amps as a benchmark, I would tend to agree that, in fact, the modelling sounds very good and involves a minimum of fuss in sounding very good. Boss just did it how they wanted to do it and didn't get in the modelling accuracy fight.
Here's how I look at it taking the X-modded as an example. If Friedman took a Marshall and modded it, then yay. But because Boss do the same thing, but virtually/digitally, then that's somehow not legit and non yay. If any Modder did a mod that sounded like that, they'd not Keep up with demand.
From the FX point of view, well I mean.. its Boss.. whilst the name may be unexciting because familiarity breeds contempt, the attitude often ignores just how many Albums and Tours (hit or otherwise) Boss products have been used on.
My point being that if Boss aren't capable of putting a good sounding effect in a box, then noone is.
It does have its weak points, such as the onboard IRs (stock cabs). I used my CAB-M in its insert loop a lot. Leon Todd's vid on the full GT1000 objectively showed the thing coming to life when using his own IRs.
That being said, the most recent update dramatically improved things in that regard.
Another weak point is the amount of simple delay blocks (5) and one primary delay block which is where all the fun sims are like the SDE. I'd be more than happy to loose all 5, and replace it with 2nd primary block, and a second reverb block.
In fact, make the blocks user assignable. The unit has the same power as the full GT1000. I'm pretty sure running out of DSP would be unlikely except in the cases of deliberate attempts to max it out, like putting 7 x-amps in a row followed by 8 delay or reverb blocks.
I'd personally like a couple more dividers.
I'm not even going to talk about the screen because that's the stupidest argument I've heard against them. Seriously, the interface is easy to use and clearly laid out, it's just not flashy.
IMO, YMMV.
Since there's no other threads on it, and from the perspective of someone who wasn't buying a modeller so much as a high capability compact Multi-FX unit.
I was extremely suprised by its modelling.
Context:
I have 2 awesome amps, one considered to be an all time great, and one I consider to be one of the best, if not the best, of its type (modded Marshall).
I didn't care about the modelling and in my increasing years, am less about minutiae of specific gear and more about "if it sounds good, it is good".
So, with that in mind, I wanted something I could do fully wet, parallel stereo FX with, and had stereo/dual inputs at a given price point.
Add to that the power of the unit and it was a no brainer.
The modelling played no part in my decision and when I came to play with the models, I was presently suprised.
I love Boss' attitude to modelling, especially the X Amp and other AIRD amp models. Even some of the legacy amps are very good.
And that attitude is, for example, "here is a subjectively idealised Modded Marshall flavour amp that sounds very good"
Coming from the perspective that I had no dog in the fight of warts and all model accuracy, and having 2 great amps as a benchmark, I would tend to agree that, in fact, the modelling sounds very good and involves a minimum of fuss in sounding very good. Boss just did it how they wanted to do it and didn't get in the modelling accuracy fight.
Here's how I look at it taking the X-modded as an example. If Friedman took a Marshall and modded it, then yay. But because Boss do the same thing, but virtually/digitally, then that's somehow not legit and non yay. If any Modder did a mod that sounded like that, they'd not Keep up with demand.
From the FX point of view, well I mean.. its Boss.. whilst the name may be unexciting because familiarity breeds contempt, the attitude often ignores just how many Albums and Tours (hit or otherwise) Boss products have been used on.
My point being that if Boss aren't capable of putting a good sounding effect in a box, then noone is.
It does have its weak points, such as the onboard IRs (stock cabs). I used my CAB-M in its insert loop a lot. Leon Todd's vid on the full GT1000 objectively showed the thing coming to life when using his own IRs.
That being said, the most recent update dramatically improved things in that regard.
Another weak point is the amount of simple delay blocks (5) and one primary delay block which is where all the fun sims are like the SDE. I'd be more than happy to loose all 5, and replace it with 2nd primary block, and a second reverb block.
In fact, make the blocks user assignable. The unit has the same power as the full GT1000. I'm pretty sure running out of DSP would be unlikely except in the cases of deliberate attempts to max it out, like putting 7 x-amps in a row followed by 8 delay or reverb blocks.
I'd personally like a couple more dividers.
I'm not even going to talk about the screen because that's the stupidest argument I've heard against them. Seriously, the interface is easy to use and clearly laid out, it's just not flashy.
IMO, YMMV.
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). It's also horribly noisy. Not a fan.
