GT-1 First Impression

Started by hippietim, October 11, 2016, 05:26:46 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

hippietim

My GT-1 showed up yesterday morning on my way out the door and I didn't get a chance to play with the GT-1 until late last night (my son and I were each working on Warmoth Tele builds).

Unboxing this thing was surprising for two reasons:

1) This thing is very small. Definitely smaller than I had expected. If you're already using one of the big boy digital rigs then this is a complete no brainer as a backup rig - it's not much bigger than a Boss twin pedal.

2) No power supply included. I think this is the first Boss multi-effects unit I've bought that didn't come with one. It came with batteries though and since i was using headphones in the bedroom the batteries worked out better anyhow.

There's a good bit of plastic on this thing. As was posted earlier, the blue base is plastic. The expression pedal is plastic as well. I've got a Boss EV-5 which is plastic as well and it's holding up fine. Boss stuff is highly reliable in my experience so I'm not too worried

I was monitoring with my AKG K240s. I never even changed patches. I just dove in and started trying amps and effects with the initial high gain preset. The amp sims are very good, definitely not quite in the same territory as the big boys but the tone of this thing should not be preventing you from making music. The weak part in the amp simulation area is the speaker sims for sure. The amps cleanup when you vary your touch or roll back the volume. I had no trouble getting satisfying clean, crunch, and dirty amp tones. Whatever model is VO Clean and Crunch were not too appealing. I did not experiment with the overdrive models at all yet. The delay sounds were predictably very good and the Tera Echo is so much fun. I'm not a big reverb guy but it seemed fine to me - as good as any other stomp box for my purposes. The stereo chorus is great - it has enough range to be set so subtle that it was just a widening effect without imparting a heavily processed tone. The Univibe is passable but if you're a vibe fan like me it's a little weak.

At this point in the review I fell asleep :)

More to come soon when I try it out with my CLR and Matrix FR12.

hippietim

I got to spend some more time with it last night. I ran it into my QSC TouchMix and a pair of FBT 8ma powered speakers.

I went through a bunch of presets. There are some presets that are definitely useful starting points. But then there's the rest. I think almost literally every other preset sucked hard - way too much distortion, extreme effects settings, etc.

You have to set the output mode correctly. Let me repeat that. You have to set the output mode correctly. Mine came defaulted to JC120.

I spent more time with the Univibe. It sounds like a lost phase shifter. It doesn't have any of that thick chewy goodness. This was surprising to me because the Univibe setting on the their rotary twin pedal is pretty usable. Which brings me to the rotary. It totally thins out the tone in a most un-Leslie like way. Again this is surprising because the twin rotary pedal is pretty darn good. As always, effect placement is very important - the Univibe in particular needs to be in front of all dirt generation to be usable. The rotary effect does better later.

Again I had great luck dialing in a chorus tone that didn't sound like it was processed to death. And the vibrato is very good - it was extremely usable with a variety of amp tones. They must have had the Waza dudes dial these in. The chorus worked well in front of the amp or after the amp. The vibrato worked better in front (no surprise there).

There was an acoustic simulation patch that was surprisingly good. I prefer a real acoustic or the piezo in my PRS but for a cover band on a couple tunes this was pretty passable (need to hear it in a mix of course).

I still haven't explored the OD models or many of the other effects.

I didn't go for any metal tones tonight. Blues, classic rock, and tasty cleans are all in there. I had no trouble finding tones that inspired me to play. It really does sound very good. At $199, it is remarkable.

Elantric

#2
I classify the  Univibe as "weak" on all my Roland/Boss gear



But my Korg designed DSP gear (Vox, Yamaha,Blackstar)have superior Univibe and  Leslie emulators

Here are the GT-1 Chorus Controls


It's intersting to compare FX between GT-1 and Katana Amps , they share many characteristics but some with same name (Chorus) have very different type and number of controls , so they do have multiple tiers ( good, better, best ) for thier COSM FX , with the "best" requiring more memory and processing time , they must allocate the version that can "fit" best for each product.


But what is curious is the Katana Amp Chorus FX Parameter controls separate controls for Horn vs low Frequencies ( it's different than GT-1 Chorus controls - see Katana Chorus below



When I have endless time , it would be interesting to make large spreadsheet comparing the COSM FX controls between VG-8,VG-88, GT-5,VG-99, GR-55, GT-100, GP-10,GT-1, Katana

Spider


Spider

Quote from: hippietim on October 12, 2016, 05:25:39 AM
You have to set the output mode correctly. Let me repeat that. You have to set the output mode correctly. Mine came defaulted to JC120.

I wrote the same in other thread...

whippinpost91850

Man it's even smaller then I thought


Elantric

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?posts/22884427/
RSM wrote>
My biggest issue currently is patch navigation and organization. I'll probably need 30+ patches to organize them for sets or songs; many will be copies/duplicates of the same patch just so they are 1-2 up / down clicks away. very shortsighted IMO. My Zoom B1on lets me navigate to my next patch before engaging it, that's all the GT-1 needs for me! Really a big oversight IMO, and pretty lame...if you are going to force us to use patches (i.e., no manual mode, only CTL1, and external CTL2 and 3) at least make it easier to navigate, like Zoom! This one capability is make or break for me, on how usable the GT-1 will be. The Zoom G1Xon may be a better option, and it costs much less...but does not sound as good as the Boss IMO.

Elantric




http://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/new-boss-gt-1-mxf-pedal.1744000/page-29

Jmtayler22 wrote>
QuoteSo I just bought a GT-1 as a back up for my Helix. Man I gotta say this thing sounds great! I am actually going to use some of the effects with my Helix I think. Some of the drives sound really good with it.

I have avoided Boss products for years based on trying some of their earlier modelers, but I was mistaken. Even the amp modeling compares much better than I thought it would against the Helix. I also owned an AX8, Amplifire and a Kemper previously.

All in all incredible value for the money. The modeled amps sound *slightly* worse to me compared to Kemper, AX8, Helix, Amplifire but man they are in the same ballpark. I could definitely use the amps no problem and get very good sounds if I didn't have anything else.

Autana

Quote from: Jmtayler22 wrote
(GT-1) All in all incredible value for the money. The modeled amps sound *slightly* worse to me compared to Kemper, AX8, Helix, Amplifire but man they are in the same ballpark. I could definitely use the amps no problem and get very good sounds if I didn't have anything else.

Wow! more nice bells and whistles about GT-1. I wonder how would be the comparison between the GT-1 and GP-10? I mean strictly to audio quality, amps, cabinets and effects, the faithfulness factor.  FWIK both have basically the same tone/modeling engine (except instrument of course),  but is there improved amp/efx/cabs models in GT-1 with respect to GP-10?
GR-55, GP-10, GI-20, Godin xtSA, GodinNylon MultiAc, Giannini classical, 3 GK-3'd gtrs, Cube 80XL, Primova GKFX-21 (x2)

Fear just pulls you out of being true to music, which is coming from a place of love. Love is the opposite of fear. I stay away from anything fear-related.
- Tal Wilkenfeld -

pasha811

Quote from: Autana on October 30, 2016, 12:58:05 PM
Wow! more nice bells and whistles about GT-1. I wonder how would be the comparison between the GT-1 and GP-10? I mean strictly to audio quality, amps, cabinets and effects, the faithfulness factor.  FWIK both have basically the same tone/modeling engine (except instrument of course),  but is there improved amp/efx/cabs models in GT-1 with respect to GP-10?

That is my curiosity as well. So, +1
Listen to my music at :  http://alonetone.com/pasha/

Elantric

#11
Quote
Wow! more nice bells and whistles about GT-1. I wonder how would be the comparison between the GT-1 and GP-10? I mean strictly to audio quality, amps, cabinets and effects, the faithfulness factor.  FWIK both have basically the same tone/modeling engine (except instrument of course),  but is there improved amp/efx/cabs models in GT-1 with respect to GP-10?

This has been answered by Spider who has been using GP-10 and GT-1
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=profile;area=showposts;u=3003

"How does the Boss GT-1 compare to GP-10?

Spider wrote>
Quote
Generally (GT-1)  is like GP-10 but with more FX. (The GT-1's new A-DIST, and OVERTONE Multi-Dimensional Processing) MDP effects would be great additon for GP-10.
For what is the same ( COSM Modeling) it sound the same. Nice small form factor and battery powered. It will replace ME-25 in Boss portofolio as I know.

These FX appear to be exclusive to Boss GT-1


A-DIST:
This effect uses MDP (Multi-Dimensional Processing) technology to provide ideal distortion in all pitch ranges of the guitar, from low to high.

OVERTONE:
This effect uses MDP (Multi-Dimensional Processing) technology to add new harmonics to the sound, producing resonance and richness that was not present in the original sound.

more details here:

GT-1 Parameter Guide
https://static.roland.com/assets/media/pdf/GT-1_parameter_e01.pdf


I'll have a GT-1 myself this Thursday and I'll offer my review next week

Elantric


Today we are putting up the GT-100 vs the GT-1 on a TONE MATCH BATTLE! Will the smaller unit match up? Let's see!

roachone

Cant wait to see what you think!

Elantric

#14
It's bigger than I expected ;)

Had some time to play with the GT-1

I think it sounds fantastic as a new creative tool.

I find this Univibe sounds very good, and the dynamic range is near GT-100 class ( which I consider very good, only eclipsed by Axe-FX, Kemper) 

If you let notes decay into nothingness, there are always graceful ending, no random squirrels.

I stumbled upon an Organ patch with Leslie speed change with the CTL Pedal was really a nice grinding Hammond B3 voice -tracks chords just fine

And the Terra Echo is great,  and high gain tones always clean up when you roll the guitar volume down to "3" - remarkable at this size and price.
The tuner is very accurate too

Its not too flimsy either - feels very solid. The on board Expression pedal has no backlash  - very precise control for its size.

I know folks who have spent $199 for patches alone, but ended up with far less. 

carlb

#15
"I stumbled upon an Organ patch with Leslie speed change with the CTL Pedal was really a nice grinding Hammond B3 voice -tracks chords just fine "

?!?

Must hear this! Perhaps a GT-1 will get looped into my GP10 instead of the Key 9 ... Hmmm.

Via the MIDX-20, would be great to have the FS-7 and EV-5 and Midi-Mouse controlling both GP10 and GT-1 in tandem (have them share MIDI channel and CC#s), with GT-1 looped into the GP-10's effects-loop.

Group buy for the GT-1?
ES Les Paul, internal Roland GK
Boss SY-1000, Valeton Coral Amp pedal
Morningstar MC8 & MC6
QSC CP8 powered speaker

Elantric

#16
QuoteGroup buy for the GT-1?

At $199 MSRP - The profit margins are so low on GT-1,

For lowest price, pick up the telephone when ordering

It helps if you do frequent business with your dealer of choice and negotiate   "Whats is my best price?"

I got mine for $185

Quote"I stumbled upon an Organ patch with Leslie speed change with the CTL Pedal was really a nice grinding Hammond B3 voice -tracks chords just fine "

?!?

Must hear this!

Go to 6:09 min - here -



U17 - DIVID ORGAN TONE

If he had hit the CTL pedal you would hear the Leslie rotary speaker change speed
my complaint with most online "all patches demo"  is they never touch the CTL pedal

Each factory GT-1 patch has expanded capabilities AFTER the CTL pedal is engaged  -

Smash

Midx 20? Does the GT-1 respond to midi over usb then? I couldn't find anything about midi implementation

Elantric

QuoteMidx 20? Does the GT-1 respond to midi over usb then? I couldn't find anything about midi implementation


hope to test this weekend - but expect my answer to be "no"
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=17561.msg139438#msg139438

carlb

I was assuming it has a very similar USB MIDI implementation to the GP-10, but I don't see anything about MIDI implementation in the manual or the parameter guide either.

If so, that would limit how the GT-1 could be worked into a system ...

Hoping they did implement MIDI, and just didn't document it. (Not a likely chance of that, though.)

ES Les Paul, internal Roland GK
Boss SY-1000, Valeton Coral Amp pedal
Morningstar MC8 & MC6
QSC CP8 powered speaker

slooky

I finally got mine on wednesday. First impression going through the presets was "I might have to take it back, most of these are awful.
I edited some parameters, and wow, this  box is really quite impressive! So smooth and clear sounding. The Terra Echo and Slow Gear sound fantastic, also the Overtone effect is really quite pleasing. I am really happy with this unit! ;D ;D ;D

shawnb

Too bad about the lack of midi.  I was hoping to find something with that smaller footprint.   
Address the process rather than the outcome.  Then, the outcome becomes more likely.   - Fripp

gumtown

I would say the GT-1 has a midi implementation, it does communicate patch and parameter data with the Tone Studio app, so it must be talking midi, and it is a "Boss GT" so a full midi implementation is bound to be published soon.

For the MIDX-20, I would take a guess the GT-1 USB communication end points have a unique identification number, so CodeSmart would need to buy/borrow/steal a GT-1 to crack it's USB secrets and firmware update the MIDX-20.
Free "GR-55 FloorBoard" editor software from https://sourceforge.net/projects/grfloorboard/

admin

Quote
I would say the GT-1 has a midi implementation, it does communicate patch and parameter data with the Tone Studio app, so it must be talking midi, and it is a "Boss GT" so a full midi implementation is bound to be published soon.

I'm not confident Roland  / Boss will ever release a MIDI Implementation doc for the GT-1

The three year old Boss ME-80 also uses Boss Tone Studio , but no MIDI Implementation doc exists.


CodeSmart

I just attended a 10-15 local guitarists get-together-and-try-all-the-gear-owned meeting today.
I showed GR-55, GP-10 and FTP /w iPad/SampleTank. (Most of them had never seen stuff like that). I tried to explain in simple ways. A few guys really understood. One guy got very hot for a GR-55 or FTP. I also showed my Godin xtSA, also something very exotic around here.

There were a couple of 65 and 68 Fender amps there so I ran out getting my Mustang III for side by side comparison. Did the Mustang fail. Yes. There was no way do dial in the dynamics and brilliant sound of the much expensiver tube cousins.

So,..I tried many great tube amps and nice guitars (even custom shops) today as well as Helix and actually also a GT-1. It was a very pleasant day.

I must say I was impressed by the little GT-1, despite the size it felt sturdy. Mostly made of metal and buttons solid and ok, not flimsy as expected. Regarding the sound, it's great. Some guys thought the little thing sounded more "real" than the Helix.

Fiction, but I would now like to see a GP-1, a great tracking polyphonic 3 x PCM synth with 1/4" guitar input and in the size of the GT-1. That would be a great small little rig.
But I got more gear than I need...and I like it!