Thoughts from a GT-8 Owner

Started by Magic Russ, August 08, 2022, 07:34:27 PM

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Magic Russ

I've had my GX-100 for a few weeks, after upgrading from a GT-8.  Here are some thoughts on the unit from that perspective.

First let's start with the amps.  The new amps sound so much better than the old ones.  I do have a few things I find frustrating.

First is the way some new amp models were added and others left behind.  It seems odd to me that they dropped the 5150 and Soldano models.  I appreciate the addition of the Orange amp, but  the Bogner Uberschall model isn't one that I would have seen a particular call for.

Also, while many of the Boss custom amps are brilliant, the names and descriptions of many sound kind of generic for me. Names like Hi-Gain, Modded, and Maximum tell me I'll get a lot of gain but they don't really explain the character of the amps.  The descriptions aren't much better, sounding like they were generated from a music tech jargon generator bot.  Juggernaut on the other hand lets you know exactly what you are getting.

I'll also add that I like the additional options for Sag and Resonance.

Next is the effects.  A few didn't make it from earlier versions.  The ones I miss most are the slicer, feedbacker, and humanizer.  Hopefully they were left out to make a deadline and not as a design choice.

I do appreciate the additional drives, Klon, A-Dist, X-Dist and such.  I find things like the way you can use the Poly Octave to add a bassline for what you play on the lower strings cool.  The new GEQ is nice, as well as the additions to the compressors.  Overtone has some potential.  The Flanger on the GT-8 is greatly improved.  Even the color option on the new Prime Vibrato is a nice addition.

I think the area of effects where there have been the most improvement, though, are the delays.  All the delays have a carryover option.  Nearly all of them have parameters for modulation and ducking.  The addition of Space Echo, Tera Echo, and Shimmer Delays are also nice additions.

I should also add that the addition of bass features to the GX-100 feels almost like a BOGO to me.  I haven't taken as much time to check out the bass features as I have those for 6 string guitars, but so far it is pretty solid.  If nothing else I can now get a decent bass envelope filter sound out of my floorboard.

I think though, that one of the things I appreciate most right now is the expanded flexibility.  I really like that I can set any of the number pedals in manual mode to control anything, or that I can create chains that are more complex than just switching between Preamp A and Preamp B.  I also like that the effects are not limited to blocks.  If I want three overdrives in a row I can have that.  If I wanted a patch with a flanger, phaser, tremolo, vibrato, pitch shifter, and rotary, I can do that as well.  In short, I can program a single patch in this unit to handle more than just one or two sounds that I might need in a more complex song.

A lot of people have made a big deal about the new touch screen display.  I don't care so much about that, because overall the BTS software is fairly convenient.  However, the much larger display is welcome, and the virtual scribbles which tell me which pedals do what in manual mode make manual mode much more useful.


gumtown

Thank You for your comparison review  :)
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