• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Boss GT-10B Patch Strategy

P

Phoenix1

Aug 9, 2011
68
28
#1
I just got a GT-10B. I've struggled with the manual for several hours, quite possibly the worst manual I've seen since the old Korg manuals . . . I think I have the gist of it and I like a lot of the pre-programmed patches, but it is very unclear how musicians would actually use the thing in real life, on the fly.

I have a gig coming soon and will need probably 4 patches that I'll use periodically. I'll need to get to them quickly. For simplicity, lets call them chorus, octave, fretless and noise. The rest of the time I will bypass.

Is there a simpler way than the following:

1. Set control pedal 1 to switch between bypass and GT-10B (I've done that; so far so good);

2. Find or create patches for each of the effects I want.

3. Install them in the User bank as U01, U02, U03 and U04 in User bank 1.

4. To get at them from bypass, I set the one I want with pedals 1, 2, 3 or 4 and activate it by pressing control pedal 1 to take it off bypass.

5 When I'm done, I hit control pedal 1 to go back to playing direct.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for other effects when needed.

Is there a better way? I will have neither the time nor the light to fidget with knobs and buttons.

Thanks.
 
#2
These directions ASSUME that the effects you want are actually "chorus, octave, fretless and noise".
It also helps to think of each "patch" as its own pedal board, rather than its own effect.

1. In one patch (U01 for example) go to each effect individually and set it up as you like:
-Chorus can be found under the "Chorus" button
-Octave can be found in FX1 or 2
-Ditto for fretless
-Not sure what you're using for noise, this might require another patch in U02

2. Once everything is set up how you want it, set the GT-10B to "Manual" mode. This makes all of the footswitches correspond to a specific effect (chorus, octave, fretless and noise), and you can tweak which switches turn on which effects.

3. With all of the effects off, you are effectively bypassing everything. When you need one of your effects, just press the corresponding switch when you're in manual mode.

Hopefully this is clear enough, but I can clarify further if you need.
 
#4
Manual mode might work. It didn't make any sense to me when I read it, but now it does. I'll experiment and see if the effects alone are good enough or whether the patches are better. The single effects alone will probably be cleaner and less noisy, but some of the patches sound pretty good although a bit more complex.

Thanks for the suggestion.
 
#5
The cool thing about Manual mode is that you can change up the effects via the pedals 1-4 while in bypass, IIRC. This is as opposed to switching patches or banks, which cannot (unfortunately) be done while in bypass/tune mode.
 
#6
Phoenix1 said:
Manual mode might work. It didn't make any sense to me when I read it, but now it does. I'll experiment and see if the effects alone are good enough or whether the patches are better. The single effects alone will probably be cleaner and less noisy, but some of the patches sound pretty good although a bit more complex.

Thanks for the suggestion.
Click to expand...

I think you're still fundamentally misunderstanding how the gt-10b works. A "patch" is simply a preset arrangement of effects (the small buttons that line the front). Some of the built in patches are running preamp simulations, while other are not, which might contribute to the "noise". For example, go to any patch you want (U28 for example) and turn off all of the red buttons. This is bypassing every effect, as if you turned off every effect on a real pedalboard. From here, you can selectively turn effects on and off however you please, just by pressing the little red buttons. The effects will always sound the same, regardless of what patch you're in, provided that all the knobs are in the same place.
 
#7
I think I got that. What is important to me is being able to pre-set whatever I want and get to it with my feet, not my hands.

I am playing bass in a community theater production of Rent, the Broadway musical. With rare exception, I am playing all the time. Although the band is on stage, light levels will be low. I will not have the light or opportunity to do much fussing with the buttons and dials.

The score calls for, say, chorus in for a few measures then chorus out. One number has octave in, then a fairly seamless transition to a number without it. The end of the first act calls for cacophanous noise for three measures, followed by an unprocessed F sharp.

I'm looking for the best way to be prepared to make these changes on the fly.

I'm back to the work week with less time to play with my toys, but I hope to try out ways of using the manual mode in the next few days or so.

Thanks for your help so far. I really appreciate it. The manual is OK in explaining how to do things, but terrible in explaining why you would do things. I guess that's what happens when you have engineers instead of musicians writing them.
 
#8
Yep, you should be able to do all of that within one patch, except for the noise. For that, you'll have to use another patch, since you'll likely need a complex arrangement of effects to get that.
 
#10
Don't forget you've got two channels, A and B, on each patch that you could switch between. You could set up channel B, say, with a ring mod and heavy distortion and leave them on - accessing that sound with a simple bank change. Then put your chorus and octave into channel A, turning them on or off as needed.

That Jet Noise patch is pretty raunchy though. ;)
 
#12
For the noise, I've settled on P29-2, Guitar & Filter. It has a lot of noise, plus the expression pedal varies the pitch. Seems perfect for what I want to do.

BTW, I have now auditioned the patches, found the several I want and have swapped them into the first and second user banks for easy access. I've edited a couple to suit my preferences and renamed them to make them identifiable. I think that I have the fast-switch method that will work best for me.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back