So Boss amp modeling…

Huh, whereas Line 6 turned their mixer into a modeler, Boss turned their modeler into a mixer. Looks nice for the intended use.
It is! Lacks outputs one would need for live use (monitors) and/or split a signal into cabsimmed/non cabsimmed (which i use live)…else…I’d probably for it. It was not designed for those usecases…so on me :)
 
I won't be satisfied that this thread is complete until JT posts "That's Our Boss™" at least once.
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Filed under, "When you are not good enough to have your own thread, but still have your own thread."
 
I have to admit I’m still liking it…

It’s really easy to get horrible sounds out of it. About 80% of it is terrible, but if you dig a bit and don’t think of them as related to any sort of real amps there are some cool sounds to be found!

I especially like it for clean and low gain stuff. The Boutique model has some great sounds in it
 
I’ve got a few weeks in now with the GT-1000.

I have similar impressions as before. The amps have kind of a generic sound but are very easy to shape in terms of EQ. The tone knobs work more like Kemper where it’s post EQ instead of tone stack, so small knob changes make a big difference. And the gain knob more seems to blend in gain rather than change the character of the amp itself.

There’s not any incredible feel to it, it’s more direct than other amp sims. Having a little more scooped EQ seems to help like using an IR.

But I do find the amps have a nice smooth sound to them with a midrange EQ that cuts through. In comparison Fractal has overtones all over the place that often require more drastic high cuts, and adjusting the tone stack has little impact. With the Boss it falls into place easier. And the Fractal tends to sound a little mid scooped all the time in comparison.

The other nice thing with the Boss is way less option paralysis. There’s so few amp models you have to pick one in the ballpark and dial it in close. With Fractal there’s a lot of options and they all have a little different EQ in different places. That pushes me to try a bunch of different amps to find the right ballpark EQ and gain before adjusting. Boss is more plug and play by necessity.

Im still hit or miss on the cabs. I spent a few weeks playing with those and they sound decent but still dry and direct. Loading in an IR isn’t night and day but does overall improve the EQ and even the feel a bit. It’s a little less boxy and has more mid scoop but in a good way.

Effects sound good overall but are limited in a lot of ways. As a collection of pedals it’s good but compared to Helix or Fractal it’s a step backwards. Also they can be a pain to dial in as levels are often too high or low and having separate effect vs dry is less appealing than mix and level.

I do really like the form factor and the pedalboard mode though. It’s nice to scroll through the effects and be able to dial them in quickly and easily. Also having gapless amp switching in a patch and very fast patch switching is impressive.

Overall I’m on the fence. I really dig how it simplifies amp modeling even if it’s more like old school sound and feel. But there’s a lot of compromises on the effects and UX side.
 
I’ve got a few weeks in now with the GT-1000.

I have similar impressions as before. The amps have kind of a generic sound but are very easy to shape in terms of EQ. The tone knobs work more like Kemper where it’s post EQ instead of tone stack, so small knob changes make a big difference. And the gain knob more seems to blend in gain rather than change the character of the amp itself.

There’s not any incredible feel to it, it’s more direct than other amp sims. Having a little more scooped EQ seems to help like using an IR.

But I do find the amps have a nice smooth sound to them with a midrange EQ that cuts through. In comparison Fractal has overtones all over the place that often require more drastic high cuts, and adjusting the tone stack has little impact. With the Boss it falls into place easier. And the Fractal tends to sound a little mid scooped all the time in comparison.

The other nice thing with the Boss is way less option paralysis. There’s so few amp models you have to pick one in the ballpark and dial it in close. With Fractal there’s a lot of options and they all have a little different EQ in different places. That pushes me to try a bunch of different amps to find the right ballpark EQ and gain before adjusting. Boss is more plug and play by necessity.

Im still hit or miss on the cabs. I spent a few weeks playing with those and they sound decent but still dry and direct. Loading in an IR isn’t night and day but does overall improve the EQ and even the feel a bit. It’s a little less boxy and has more mid scoop but in a good way.

Effects sound good overall but are limited in a lot of ways. As a collection of pedals it’s good but compared to Helix or Fractal it’s a step backwards. Also they can be a pain to dial in as levels are often too high or low and having separate effect vs dry is less appealing than mix and level.

I do really like the form factor and the pedalboard mode though. It’s nice to scroll through the effects and be able to dial them in quickly and easily. Also having gapless amp switching in a patch and very fast patch switching is impressive.

Overall I’m on the fence. I really dig how it simplifies amp modeling even if it’s more like old school sound and feel. But there’s a lot of compromises on the effects and UX side.
thanks for the detailed post. what kind of music and tones do you make?

I have always been a Boss customer for 30+ years. I still have my old GT-5 and still works. But I might delve into a new one if the right deal comes along.
 
thanks for the detailed post. what kind of music and tones do you make?

I have always been a Boss customer for 30+ years. I still have my old GT-5 and still works. But I might delve into a new one if the right deal comes along.

Mostly alternative rock although I also like some tones that are more 80s inspired or a little more ambient sounding. I’m guessing the GT 1000 would be a good choice for someone who is a long time Boss user, not as much for people coming from other platforms.
 
Mostly alternative rock although I also like some tones that are more 80s inspired or a little more ambient sounding. I’m guessing the GT 1000 would be a good choice for someone who is a long time Boss user, not as much for people coming from other platforms.
thanks. yeah. I will check it out in stores and test.
 
I just tested out the ME-90 amp modeling with my AS-10 earbuds. I'll have to load an IR of something that I know as a reference point but so far it's pretty meh sounding.
 
Not surprised. I was interested for about 5 minutes but that died pretty quickly.
I think I can get the "natural" amp to be workable as a backup solution in the event my tube amp fails. A decent IR will probably help that process a lot.
 
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I think I can get the "natural" amp to be workable as a backup solution in the event my tube amp fails. A decent IR will probably help that process a lot.
Yeah that seems to be the go to suggestion for a lot of people. At which point I would rather just go buy an amp I like versus using a modeling product that requires me to use some fake no real world equivalent amp because they miss the point completely about why people tend to get into amp modeling in the first place ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
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