Boss GT-1B ... Arrogant? Stupid? Definitely unusable live.

[The Deep End]

Pre-ordered this pedal from Sweetwater, and waited impatiently for delivery. In a nutshell, love the delivered sounds and potential for creating new ones, but am shocked at how unusable it is in a live setting. As far as I can tell, you have to scroll thru 100-200 patches one-at-a-time via dial or up/down pedals. Even worse, there is no stomp button for using / bypassing the pedal. You must ALWAYS have a patch selected. This wreaks of arrogance and/or stupidity on Boss's part. It's going back to Sweetwater.

It seems to me that guitar/bass pedal technology is 10 years behind that for keyboards. Using any modern DAW (I use Logic / MainStage), a keyboardist can queue up presets for 100's of instrument/effect settings and switch from one patch to the next via touch pad, foot pedal, etc. Why do guitarists/bassists have to perform a combination Riverdance-juggling routine to make the same thing happen?

Whoever comes up with a midi-controlled standard that controls our dozens of effects and amp settings will be in for a huge pay day. Is it already out there and I've just missed it?

 

[feliperigby]

Boss has stopped in time... The times that their Gt6-b was THE GEAR...
Their pedals also the same "digital sound"....

 

[tfer]

To play without effects, have the tuner set in bypass mode by pressing the left and middle foot switches simultaneously.

 

[The Deep End]

To play without effects, have the tuner set in bypass mode by pressing the left and middle foot switches simultaneously.

Thanks for the reply, but that's EXACTLY what I'm talking about. It was impossible for me to press those switches with 1 foot simultaneously (I was 0 for 5). I had to lean over and press with 2 hands - and even that took more than 1 try. Impossible!

 

[tfer]

Thanks for the reply, but that's EXACTLY what I'm talking about. It was impossible for me to press those switches with 1 foot simultaneously (I was 0 for 5). I had to lean over and press with 2 hands - and even that took more than 1 try. Impossible!

Hmmm.

It's the same as my ME20B, and I've never had a problem with hitting both.

 

[The Deep End]

Hmmm.
It's the same as my ME20B, and I've never had a problem with hitting both.

Wonder if the distance between footswitch's is wider on GT-1B? Regardless, it seems to have a very narrow definition of "simultaneous pressing" . This is the failing that really ticks me off, but the inability to quickly call up specific patches is a deal killer on it's own. Until I find a multi-pedal that allows you to setup a "playlist" (i.e. sequence of patches) and allows a single button (on phone or pedal) selection of next/previous patch, I'll stick with multiple pedals.

 

[jbybj]

Until I find a multi-pedal that allows you to setup a "playlist" (i.e. sequence of patches) and allows a single button (on phone or pedal) selection of next/previous patch, I'll stick with multiple pedals.

This is exactly how I use my Zoom MS60-B. For gigging I have between 2 and 8 presets on my "playlist". I can cycle through them in less than 2 seconds.

 

[The Deep End]

Hmmm.

It's the same as my ME20B, and I've never had a problem with hitting both.

Wonder if the distance

This is exactly how I use my Zoom MS60-B. For gigging I have between 2 and 8 presets on my "playlist". I can cycle through them in less than 2 seconds.

Thanks for that info. I've read a lot of good things about the Zoom pedals here. Definitely on my "to checkout list".

 

[tfer]

Wonder if the distance between footswitch's is wider on GT-1B? Regardless, it seems to have a very narrow definition of "simultaneous pressing" . This is the failing that really ticks me off, but the inability to quickly call up specific patches is a deal killer on it's own. Until I find a multi-pedal that allows you to setup a "playlist" (i.e. sequence of patches) and allows a single button (on phone or pedal) selection of next/previous patch, I'll stick with multiple pedals.

I took a look at the manual, and I can't find anything about patches and banks.

On the ME20B, you go to memory mode, and each foot pedal becomes a preset, giving you 3 patches per bank.

Using a Boss FS-7, you can easily change banks (there are 10 banks) allowing quick access to 30 patches.

If that flexibility isn't in this pedal, it's a huge step backwards.

 

[jimfist]

Some pedals have a "pre-select" mode, that allows you to scroll through your patch banks to get you where you want to be, but not ENGAGE the patch until you press the corresponding switch for the patch. It's not ideal, but it's there. I think this is how the Zoom stuff works.

Unfortunately, there seems to be almost nothing that in the $300-$800 price point (mid-range) for bassists that has a well-developed, up-to-date set of features and switching system, but isn't designed to be "the big Kahuna" that the Line 6 Helix or Fractal AX8/FX8 try to be. You have to jump up to the $1000 category to get to those products. However, most people that take the leap seem to be pretty satisfied.

I personally went the other way, dropping down from my AxeFxII + Behringer FCB1010 pedal and downsizing to smaller format pedals. Much more limited, no doubt, but my needs are such where all of the whiz bang, pedal/rack space and extra features are now lost on me.

 

[The Deep End]

Some pedals have a "pre-select" mode, that allows you to scroll through your patch banks to get you where you want to be, but not ENGAGE the patch until you press the corresponding switch for the patch. It's not ideal, but it's there. I think this is how the Zoom stuff works.

Unfortunately, there seems to be almost nothing that in the $300-$800 price point (mid-range) for bassists that has a well-developed, up-to-date set of features and switching system, but isn't designed to be "the big Kahuna" that the Line 6 Helix or Fractal AX8/FX8 try to be. You have to jump up to the $1000 category to get to those products. However, most people that take the leap seem to be pretty satisfied.

I personally went the other way, dropping down from my AxeFxII + Behringer FCB1010 pedal and downsizing to smaller format pedals. Much more limited, no doubt, but my needs are such where all of the whiz bang, pedal/rack space and extra features are now lost on me.

Makes sense. I'm talking features that generally aren't available at this price point. Will take a look at going up to the next level. Effects for me have always been a nice-to-have. Probably will continue slumming it and hope for the best. Thanks.

 

[jimfist]

Makes sense. I'm talking features that generally aren't available at this price point. Will take a look at going up to the next level. Effects for me have always been a nice-to-have. Probably will continue slumming it and hope for the best. Thanks.

Cool. FWIW, I went with the Zoom G5n guitar Multi-effect. Though it's a guitar pedal, it's got a lot of switches and is really easy to use and get around on live (dedicated tuner switch with 3 modes). Sounds good on bass to my ear, and can be had for $250-299. For sheer special effects, you have up to 9 slots you can fill, with 4 switches + exp pedal "always available" to switch individual stomps on/off. Or in MEMORY mode, 4 preset patches + exp pedal.

 

[The Deep End]

Cool. FWIW, I went with the Zoom G5n guitar Multi-effect. Though it's a guitar pedal, it's got a lot of switches and is really easy to use and get around on live (dedicated tuner switch with 3 modes). Sounds good on bass to my ear, and can be had for $250-299. For sheer special effects, you have up to 9 slots you can fill, with 4 switches + exp pedal "always available" to switch individual stomps on/off. Or in MEMORY mode, 4 preset patches + exp pedal.

Will check it out

 

[The Deep End]

Cool. FWIW, I went with the Zoom G5n guitar Multi-effect. Though it's a guitar pedal, it's got a lot of switches and is really easy to use and get around on live (dedicated tuner switch with 3 modes). Sounds good on bass to my ear, and can be had for $250-299. For sheer special effects, you have up to 9 slots you can fill, with 4 switches + exp pedal "always available" to switch individual stomps on/off. Or in MEMORY mode, 4 preset patches + exp pedal.

@jimfist - Tell me, can the G5N be easily bypassed as well?

 

[jimfist]

@jimfist - Tell me, can the G5N be easily bypassed as well?

Yes. The dedicated Tuner button has a "bypass" mode where the uneffected signal passes through the pedal. You can also choose a bypass mute mode (silent tuning), or a mode that engages the tuner without bypassing any of the effects (non-bypass tuning). You could also just create a bypass patch for every bank of 4 patches, too.

Just remember that these being digital devices, it's not a hardware "true bypass". This means the pedal's overall volume control rules all, including the "bypass" feature of the tuner. There will still be AD-DA conversion going on. If you pay attention to maintaining unity gain levels vs. bypass level, it's all good. This is true for pretty much all digital multi-fx pedals.

If you want to true hardware bypass the pedal, then you'll need an external loop pedal to do that.

 

[FugaziBomb]

In the past I have used these to set up loops of certain effects I use together frequently. Could help if you really like a multiFX pedal but hate bypassing it. I got mine for about $40 (JHS I think, but I'm not 100%), but the Keeley pictured is almost twice that (Why?!)

 

[The Deep End]

Yes. The dedicated Tuner button has a "bypass" mode where the uneffected signal passes through the pedal. You can also choose a bypass mute mode (silent tuning), or a mode that engages the tuner without bypassing any of the effects (non-bypass tuning). You could also just create a bypass patch for every bank of 4 patches, too.

Just remember that these being digital devices, it's not a hardware "true bypass". This means the pedal's overall volume control rules all, including the "bypass" feature of the tuner. There will still be AD-DA conversion going on. If you pay attention to maintaining unity gain levels vs. bypass level, it's all good. This is true for pretty much all digital multi-fx pedals.

If you want to true hardware bypass the pedal, then you'll need an external loop pedal to do that.

Got it. Does it include a usable compressor? I use and really like a Keeley Bassist and figure I'll run into that 1st.

 

[nonohmic]

Until I find a multi-pedal that allows you to setup a "playlist" (i.e. sequence of patches) and allows a single button (on phone or pedal) selection of next/previous patch, I'll stick with multiple pedals.

This is interesting to hear. I was all set to buy one assuming this would be the case...as it makes complete sense that players would want this feature. Without it, it just seems like a toy to play around on in your bedroom.

 

[The Deep End]

This is interesting to hear. I was all set to buy one assuming this would be the case...as it makes complete sense that players would want this feature. Without it, it just seems like a toy to play around on in your bedroom.

My further thought on this is ... it shouldn't cost very more to provide that functionality. I mean we're talking software and more complex circuits, but how much does that cost nowadays? The unit already allows 5 footswitch's and 2 expression pedals (adding externals). Would think they could provide everything. Maybe just protecting their higher end offerings? Who knows ...

 

[nonohmic]

What about the MS-3?

"and the ability to switch between your custom patches on the fly"