Valeton GP-5

[vard]

GP-5 Acoustic Presets

Hi everyone! I realize most of you in this forum are well aware of how to add an acoustic impulse response to GP-5, but I had a few of my friends asking me this question, and I ended up writing a very short tutorial to help them out. The tutorial made their life a bit easier, and I thought I might as well share it here, just in case anyone else is looking for some guidelines on acoustic IRs with GP-5.

Here are the presets I used for testing the IRs.
I attached the tutorial in pdf format.

I cannot share the acoustic IRs I used, they are not mine to share, but I provided links in the pdf tutorial.

All the best!

 

[AlbertA]

Some gut shots

 

[vard]

Thank you for doing this, you saved me some time!
I was about to take it apart to see how hard would be to insert it into a guitar, I can see now it's very easy! The hardest part will be to remove the 2 jacks (I would solder wires to the PCB), but that's totally feasible.

 

[Shask]

Very cool to see. I wonder what those 2 big chips are. I assume those are the processors that are running everything.

 

[AlbertA]

Very cool to see. I wonder what those 2 big chips are. I assume those are the processors that are running everything.

Yes

 

[Sascha Franck]

Uh, must have missed this - so are we talking about a guitar with a built in GP-5?!? Now *that* might be something!

 

[vard]

Uh, must have missed this - so are we talking about a guitar with a built in GP-5?!? Now *that* might be something!

Well, I've been using a GP-5 for a few months, and I think I got a good understanding of its capabilities and limitations by now.
I didn't need a GP-5, I already have a pedal board I'm happy with, but I was intrigued by its specs and reviews and I bought one anyway just to see what was all that fuss about, and I'll have to admit I am quite impressed.

So I don't use it in my pedalboard, I don't really need one, but there are a couple of guitars I could fit it in and use it only when I play those guitars for some add-on effects and added functionality, or simply to have a good practice guitar, or a guitar that I can take with me when I want to have some fun with friends and I don't want to take the pedalboard with me.

For instance, I have recently purchased a Hush-C nylon guitar, and I was not very happy with it's sound.
The electronics inside the model C may be OK for some, but I stripped it off, I replaced the under-saddle pickup with a soft piezo pickup and I put inside one of my own JEFT preamp.
It sounds better now, but it really comes alive when I feed it into a GP-5 and load the CAB with some decent acoustic IRs and add a bit of reverb. So that made me think I could dedicate a GP-5 to my nylon Hush-C. Yes, I would only be using perhaps 10% of its capabilities on this guitar, but at this price point, I don't mind having a dedicated preamp based on the GP-5 electronics for my Hush-C.

The other guitar I was thinking to put it on is a copy of a thinline Tele, and with a little bit of effort, I could fit it in and bring the display (with an extension cable, thank you @AlbertA for showing the detailed snapshots) up on the side of the guitar, so that I can see the display when I play. And if I place a GP-5 in the guitar, I will also most likely add a MIDI controller on the same guitar with a direct link to the GP-5. A few buttons and perhaps a pot is all that's needed.

Anyway, I think these would be some cool projects to work on during this winter!

 

[Dave Lewis]

The

VALETON GP-5 MULTI-FX, AMP & IR LOADER MINI PEDAL​

are £64.99 from Andertons inc Free UK Mainland Delivery.

 

[vard]

I paid $110CAD for a GP-5 from Pedalzoo. Well worth the money.

I also spent $400CAD on a Donner Hush-C, and I'm not impressed with the electronics and few other things on this guitar.

I guess adding the GP-5 in a Hush-C makes sense, it's only 25% of the price of the guitar, and most importantly, it would make me like the Hush-C and use it a bit more.

But adding a GP-5 into an electric guitar with some MIDI controls on it is also very tempting. I have to decide which project I should be working on first.

The Hush-C is easy to do. The existing cavity for electronics is almost perfect for this: a bit of extra routing needed, a new plastic case that I can 3D print, add a LiIon power bank and do some re-wiring, etc. Easy stuff.

Inserting the GP-5 in a guitar is a bit more challenging, and I have to think of how to implement the MIDI controller too, but it would be a fun project to do!

I was wondering if anyone else is thinking of inserting a GP-5 in a guitar. I would love to hear of any ideas and suggestions you guys may have!

 

[Dave Lewis]

I paid $110CAD for a GP-5 from Pedalzoo. Well worth the money.

I also spent $400CAD on a Donner Hush-C, and I'm not impressed with the electronics and few other things on this guitar.

I guess adding the GP-5 in a Hush-C makes sense, it's only 25% of the price of the guitar, and most importantly, it would make me like the Hush-C and use it a bit more.

But adding a GP-5 into an electric guitar with some MIDI controls on it is also very tempting. I have to decide which project I should be working on first.

The Hush-C is easy to do. The existing cavity for electronics is almost perfect for this: a bit of extra routing needed, a new plastic case that I can 3D print, add a LiIon power bank and do some re-wiring, etc. Easy stuff.

Inserting the GP-5 in a guitar is a bit more challenging, and I have to think of how to implement the MIDI controller too, but it would be a fun project to do!

I was wondering if anyone else is thinking of inserting a GP-5 in a guitar. I would love to hear of any ideas and suggestions you guys may have!

I will get one and see how viable it is ?
I quite like the idea of it in a guitar body but on the top edge so one can look down on the screen

 

[Sascha Franck]

For instance, I have recently purchased a Hush-C nylon guitar, and I was not very happy with it's sound.
The electronics inside the model C may be OK for some, but I stripped it off, I replaced the under-saddle pickup with a soft piezo pickup and I put inside one of my own JEFT preamp.
It sounds better now, but it really comes alive when I feed it into a GP-5 and load the CAB with some decent acoustic IRs and add a bit of reverb. So that made me think I could dedicate a GP-5 to my nylon Hush-C. Yes, I would only be using perhaps 10% of its capabilities on this guitar, but at this price point, I don't mind having a dedicated preamp based on the GP-5 electronics for my Hush-C.

Oh cool - I would be *absolutely* interested in how this turns out!

 

[vard]

I will get one and see how viable it is ?
I quite like the idea of it in a guitar body but on the top edge so one can look down on the screen

Many acoustic guitars with a wide enough body that have some pickups and electronics embedded are built with the controls and the tuner on the side, so it's not a new idea, but this won't work very well on guitar with rounded edges (like a Strat for instance).

I'm not sure at this point how long the extension cable between the main board and the display can be, I would have to look into that (communication bus type - either I2C or SPI, bus speed, extra noise introduced by a longer cable, etc.), but separating the display from the top board is most likely doable.

 

[vard]

Oh cool - I would be *absolutely* interested in how this turns out!

I will keep you guys posted. I just need to make up my mind about which guitar to modify first, either the Tele or the Hush-C

If I go for the Tele, I may as well hack a Chocolate Plus and throw it inside the guitar together with a GP-5, that would be much faster than making my own MIDI controller.

 

[Cactusprick]

I have looked through the entire amp models in depth and found quite serviceable tones here and there. Very impressed.

Make no mistake it is no Fractal nor Helix but its limitation in menus makes the process so efficient for jamming, demo work, practice etc.

This little beast is kept connected to mac via USB C and I find it extremely useful.

Loving it more and more.

 

[Cactusprick]

Well, I've been using a GP-5 for a few months, and I think I got a good understanding of its capabilities and limitations by now.
I didn't need a GP-5, I already have a pedal board I'm happy with, but I was intrigued by its specs and reviews and I bought one anyway just to see what was all that fuss about, and I'll have to admit I am quite impressed.

So I don't use it in my pedalboard, I don't really need one, but there are a couple of guitars I could fit it in and use it only when I play those guitars for some add-on effects and added functionality, or simply to have a good practice guitar, or a guitar that I can take with me when I want to have some fun with friends and I don't want to take the pedalboard with me.

For instance, I have recently purchased a Hush-C nylon guitar, and I was not very happy with it's sound.
The electronics inside the model C may be OK for some, but I stripped it off, I replaced the under-saddle pickup with a soft piezo pickup and I put inside one of my own JEFT preamp.
It sounds better now, but it really comes alive when I feed it into a GP-5 and load the CAB with some decent acoustic IRs and add a bit of reverb. So that made me think I could dedicate a GP-5 to my nylon Hush-C. Yes, I would only be using perhaps 10% of its capabilities on this guitar, but at this price point, I don't mind having a dedicated preamp based on the GP-5 electronics for my Hush-C.

The other guitar I was thinking to put it on is a copy of a thinline Tele, and with a little bit of effort, I could fit it in and bring the display (with an extension cable, thank you @AlbertA for showing the detailed snapshots) up on the side of the guitar, so that I can see the display when I play. And if I place a GP-5 in the guitar, I will also most likely add a MIDI controller on the same guitar with a direct link to the GP-5. A few buttons and perhaps a pot is all that's needed.

Anyway, I think these would be some cool projects to work on during this winter!

wow what a brilliant idea. please keep us updated on your project.

 

[Dave Lewis]

I’ve got one of these arriving tomorrow.

 

[vard]

I’ve got one of these arriving tomorrow.

Nice! Enjoy! Small pedal, big fun!

 

[vard]

I considered the possibility of installing a Chocolate Plus MIDI controller together with a GP-5 inside a guitar, so I took a Chocolate Plus apart:

The core circuit of this MIDI controller is a small 20 pin microcontroller with Bluetooth capabilities in a QFN package made by ZhuHai Jieli Technology, part number looks to be 6F32 (probably from their AC63 series of BT capable micros).

Inserting the entire board in a guitar doesn't make too much sense to me, I would have to rout a large slot inside the guitar to make room for this board. Even if I unsolder the push buttons (tactile switches on the PCB) and relocate them somewhere else on the guitar into rearranged into a more convenient way, and then cut off the PCB to make it shorter, I would still have to run a lot of wires.

Honestly, I would prefer to unsolder the pre-programmed microcontroller from the Chocolate Plus board and use it on a custom made board, but I can't find the datasheet for this micro at the manufacturer's site. The markings on the micro are: JL C099148 6F32.
I'm assuming the "C" is for the AC series, and 6F32 is the part number, but I couldn't find anything else about this chip. If anyone knows where I can get the datasheet for this micro, I would appreciate a link to the datasheet.

The other challenge I have using a Chocolate Plus inside a guitar without any making any additional modifications to the original board, is the USB port connection: I need to be able to connect the GP-5 to either a PC or to the Chocolate Plus, and the internal USB switch (on the PCB right underneath the LiPo battery, marking number I1G 424) doesn't allow for that kind of USB Host connection switching.

The other alternative is to make my own MIDI USB controller, and that's not too difficult, but I really wanted to leverage the MIDI controller programming app that M-VAVE already has (CubeSuite). I don't mind paying for the hardware (even if all I need is a pre-programmed chip from that board) as long as I can use the programming app that comes with it.

Do you guys know of an app similar to CubeSuite that can be used with an open source midi controller? I found a few that are web based, not smart phone apps, and they are OK at best, but no apps that can work with an open source MIDI controller (i.e. Arduino or similar).

 

[Dave Lewis]

This arrived earlier and I was actually surprised at how small it is in the flesh.
This should be a easy guitar fit.

 

[Chocol8]

You got three of them to try out?