Should I try BOSS GT-1000 for 4cm?

[la szum]

The last thing you wrote/typed.

I am surprised the MS-3 is not more popular----given the nature of what it does, the
size it is, and how you can integrate some included digital Boss FX with external pedals
and effects.

Seems like a lot of kit for less than $500.

 

[la szum]

Nothing in 4CM. Ever.

Just make up your mind already. Pre or post??

This ain't no studio, it is a stage. Can't have both without er.... issues.... and lost of long cable runs.... I mean.... antennas.

 

[la szum]

I know you'll get it all sorted, @TubeStack ..... and in spite of the crowd!

 

[TubeStack]

Nothing in 4CM. Ever.

Just make up your mind already. Pre or post??

This ain't no studio, it is a stage. Can't have both without er.... issues.... and lost of long cable runs.... I mean.... antennas.

4CM IS MY LIFE, BRO, WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU!?!

 

[TubeStack]

I know you'll get it all sorted, @TubeStack ..... and in spite of the crowd!

All this attention at once, after such quiet….

 

[TubeStack]

"I had similar products that are widely regarded as superior, which didn't work for me.....
so how about I try an inferior product now?"

This killed me.

 

[la szum]

4CM IS MY LIFE, BRO, WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU!?!

Now that's just being a masochist. We can't help you with that, TS.

 

[Sascha Franck]

- GT-1000 is king of low latency, so that's one of the issues with 4CM you defenitely won't be running into.
- Apparently they're using pretty decent converters and op amps by now (which hasn't always been the case, yeah, looking at you, GT-10...), so tone suck should be minimal.
- Pretty much no patch switching lag and at least sort of delay/verb spillover.
- Global blocks functionality (most people don't seem to be interested, for me that's one of *the* kickass features).
- Great FX quality. At least up to L6 quality. Note: This might not be true for the overdrives.
- Mobile editor. Just excellent (even if the thing could be vastly improved, especially the tablet version, it's also a bit laggy here and there).
- As opposed to the Helix, you can see what's going on when playing bright stages or during daylight.
- As opposed to the Helix, Boss hardware quality is rugged and made to last.

Can't see much of a reason not to at least try it out.
Note: I don't own a GT-1000, but I've played with one quite sometimes and it's still something I'll buy somewhen (using a hybrid pedalboard these days, very happy with it, too, but as it's rather heavy and bulky, I'd like to have a GT as an additional, backpack/suitcase friendly all-in-one solution). Haven't really tried in 4CM, though, just played briefly through a mate's setup (he's using it with a Marshall JVM410C).

 

[Orvillain]

Honestly, the effects offerings on the GT1000 are simply not strong enough to warrant the price bracket, and it was quite a disappointing unit to use in the end. I sold it quite quickly. Like, within a month!

 

[Sascha Franck]

Honestly, the effects offerings on the GT1000 are simply not strong enough

Not strong enough in what way? And regarding the price, compared to all the others, it's even cheap.

 

[Orvillain]

Not strong enough in what way? And regarding the price, compared to all the others, it's even cheap.

This week I compared - AxeIII/Boss GT1000/Kemper/Helix Floor

At present I own all four of these modellers. I did have a Quad Cortex previously, but I sold that to fund the Axe III. I still have solid memories of that device though, so I will opine somewhat on that. I'll start with the Boss because that is the easiest - I don't really know why the amp...

forum.fractalaudio.com

 

[Sascha Franck]

This week I compared - AxeIII/Boss GT1000/Kemper/Helix Floor

At present I own all four of these modellers. I did have a Quad Cortex previously, but I sold that to fund the Axe III. I still have solid memories of that device though, so I will opine somewhat on that. I'll start with the Boss because that is the easiest - I don't really know why the amp...

forum.fractalaudio.com

Hm, sorry to say so, but that's not too informative.
I think it really depends on your needs - and for my FX needs, the GT would be more than sufficient. And I'd prefer some FX over the HX family ones, too.

 

[Orvillain]

I think it really depends on your needs

I think that goes without saying.

I'm a big fan of Boss effects, but to me, the GT1000 was bland and too limiting. I don't see the point in offering 4 different delay blocks when they are all just a bog standard digital delay with no detailed parameters or algorithm choices. Likewise with the reverbs.

They promise 500 series effects on paper, but the reality is, you get 500-lite effects.

The amp modelling was cack too, but there you go. That is what I think after owning one for just under a month.

 

[northern_fox]

I think you need to have the right amp for 4CM with digital to work well - it's absolutely awful on my recto, JCM800, and ampeg heads because either the fx loops have suck in themselves, or because the signal bleeds around the loop, or because of noise. I've had better luck using preamps with digital in between instead though

 

[Sascha Franck]

I'm a big fan of Boss effects, but to me, the GT1000 was bland and too limiting.

Sort of knowing where you're coming from (or rather what you're shooting for), I can understand that. Yet, for most people (and for most typical sounds) the FX should be fine.

Fwiw, I totally agree on the delays, that's just downright stupid. Instead of 4 additional delays, they should've rather added 2 with more types and other options. Sure, you can do some stacked delays, but still, 2 additional delays would still be sufficient. Also, I sometimes rather like to have a second reverb. They could've done the master delay/verb as is (which is the Boss way to offer FX spillover, so that's quite something) and add 2 "spatial" blocks with an option to chose from various delay and reverb types. Or heck, maybe even just one block. As is, it looks as if they had some CPU juice left and didn't know what else to do instead of adding some super-low-CPU-overhead delays. Fwiw, personally, I'd rather even sacrifice one FX block to make processing room for more spatial stuff.
Yet, even if you never use any of the additional delays, I think for most "standard" situations, the FX portfolio is nice - and even if there's less of them, I usually prefer the stuff available through the FX blocks over the HX offerings.

The amp modelling was cack too, but there you go

Personally, I really like the Boss' way of amp modeling, both for the idea and for the sound (at least for the most parts). Yeah, there's some amp types lacking and you certainly won't get a room full of iconic amps at all - but then, that's absolutely up my alley, I never lusted for any kind of truly authentic sounds, just give me something that works well. And the Boss amps IMO absolutely do, fantastic dynamics (has always been like that, even back with the GT-5 and the otherwise quite questionable GT-10).
I do however perfectly understand how people don't like the Boss way of amp modeling. Well, no, I don't exactly understand it, but I kind of accept it - after reading tons and tons of whatever feature requests, you just know that you need to offer 1078467 amps and 92761 drive pedals to please the bedroom dwellers in order to stay in the business.

Where I think the HX series clearly wins is in terms of drive pedals. No way around it, the Line 6 offerings are just great (maybe the fuzzes aren't, never liked them much, even with all kinda different input impedance settings), but then, there's nothing decent from Boss, either. Not too relevant for me, though, as I will stick to analog drives on the big board.

 

[JT]

Boss delays, choruses and Dual pitch are SPECTACULAR. I don't like the drives as they are very same sounding and about the most "digital sounding" (a phrase I find dumb as f*ck otherwise) ever. X series amps are great; the rest are sh!t. Sascha and Orvillain are both right.

 

[TubeStack]

Wow, thanks for all the input, everyone. Much appreciated and a lot of good points and views!

Update: going to hold off on the GT for now and try my Mesa Stowaway buffer +/- JHS Prestige boost before my Stomp in 4cm, and see if it helps with the sound/feel that's bugging me. This would also clear off 3 pedals and greatly simplify the board.

(The Stowaway + Prestige combo is KILLING it with the low output pickups in my new PRS 594, there’s magic in them hills. )

So this would be: Stowaway > Prestige > EVH wah > Keely Fuzz Head > Stomp in 4cm

 

[JT]

Analog up front; digital in the loop!

 

[Sascha Franck]

I don't like the drives as they are very same sounding and about the most "digital sounding"

Agreed for the most part, but the Natural OD IMO has been absolutely great in each and every incarnation from way back in my GT-5 days until today. Absolutely fine on its own and just as fine as a booster for whatever kind of dirt amps. Versatile, very dynamic, etc. If the form factor wasn't that horrible, I'd possibly add an OD-3 (apparently the hardware closest to the Natural OD) to my board.

 

[Jarick]

I've been meaning to try the GT-1000 in 4cm with my Blackstar amp.

It's a really neat pedal for sure, lots of power in a smaller footprint than Helix. Running in mono takes away some of the limitations of the GT effects.

I'll probably end up selling mine to start paying down some credit cards, so let me know if you're interested. It's basically mint with the matching bag, no box.