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Boss GT-1B ... Arrogant? Stupid? Definitely unusable live.
- Thread starter The Deep End
- Start date
I posted a few things in here, but just wanted to report back. I started hearing a white noise while muting all strings. It would show up in the main out, but with headphones, it wasn't there. It was driving me crazy, but I liked the sound I had dialed in and would use it most of the time. I exchanged it with my pro warranty at GC, but the second unit had the same noise, so I exchanged it back before they did the final paperwork on the transaction.
Finally I got some time to dig more into the unit and found with different combinations it introduced even more noise, to where with some combinations it had a horrible screeching sound all the time. I noticed there was a software update, but that didn't help. I was very frustrated but spent enough time obsessing over it, so I left it alone. A few weeks ago I went back to it and noticed the left-most pedal/switch would get stuck so that it would just scroll rapidly through all the presets until I banged on it a few times and it released.
When I first got it, I wondered about the feel of those switches. Reminded me of a very cheap keyboard. Well, it did fail me with very little use. The thing looked brand new with a bit of dust. I then decided to bail on it and called the pro coverage. I got my money back on a store card, and then purchased a used Boss ME-50B. Not as flexible as GT-1B, but at least it is quiet and the small noise that can occur is taken care of with the built-in noise filter. I wonder why they didn't put that in the GT-1B.
Finally I got some time to dig more into the unit and found with different combinations it introduced even more noise, to where with some combinations it had a horrible screeching sound all the time. I noticed there was a software update, but that didn't help. I was very frustrated but spent enough time obsessing over it, so I left it alone. A few weeks ago I went back to it and noticed the left-most pedal/switch would get stuck so that it would just scroll rapidly through all the presets until I banged on it a few times and it released.
When I first got it, I wondered about the feel of those switches. Reminded me of a very cheap keyboard. Well, it did fail me with very little use. The thing looked brand new with a bit of dust. I then decided to bail on it and called the pro coverage. I got my money back on a store card, and then purchased a used Boss ME-50B. Not as flexible as GT-1B, but at least it is quiet and the small noise that can occur is taken care of with the built-in noise filter. I wonder why they didn't put that in the GT-1B.
It does have a noise filter (labelled N.S.) Noise Suppressor.
It is not obviously available from the effect buttons, but bringing up the chain view, select it and press and button (Enter).
It is not obviously available from the effect buttons, but bringing up the chain view, select it and press and button (Enter).
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Really? it's unusable live? I would of thought it was useful live. although I would believe that the amp models would be useful for direct recordings. I was debating on either the boss gt-1b or the zoom b3n at one point. but now that you've said that, I guess I'll go with the zoom b3n.
From my point of view, it is totally usable live. For 15$ of parts, I made myself a dual footswitch to change the patches. So I have now 3 lighted burtons to switch individual effects on and off. I bulilt a few patches with effects I like to combine together and I'm totally good.
Yeah, I've used it live no problem. The B3n has its own issues. For example, you have to scroll through the chain until the effect is in view in order to turn something on or off. I really hate that. With the gt you can assign the switches to whatever you want.
Pros and cons to both. I have ended up using the B3n more overall, but I like the gt.
Pros and cons to both. I have ended up using the B3n more overall, but I like the gt.
hi folks - i haven't plugged my GT-1B into the computer for a few months, and now the device is not being recognized and I therefore can't use the Boss software anymore to program. I'm on Mac OS 10.13.4 and using the latest Mac driver. I know my USB connection works because i was actually able to update the firmware on the device today - it showed an icon on the desktop. The Mac for some reason now just doesn't recognize the device in order to use the software programming, and does not appear as an sound input or output option in the system preferences. Is this a driver issue? I've reinstalled the driver a few times to no avail. Thanks in advance for any help you can give.
Check in your Mac Security settings, driver installs get blocked and require permission granted to work.
I would like to know if there is away to copy and paste the same effects to different numbers. Like patch U1 copy to patch U3 and so on.
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I don't have the unit any more, but as I remember, you start on the patch you want to copy, then hit a save button, then you scroll to the position you want and hit another button. The manual had very clear instructions. I have posts in here where I did multiple copies of the same patch so I could easily scroll up for each set of effects for a song.
Yep. And if you want to use it live, you a) sequence the patches you want in the order you'll be using them during your set, and b) run it in a mini-mixer so you can turn down the effect when you want straight bass.
Thank you. I was able to figure it out and and make my odd numbers my clean and my even numbers my patch effects. So far I'm really liking this pedal.
Also make sure you have a good warranty. I didn't like the quality of the foot switches and mine did fail after some time with very little use. I switched to something with more substantial switches with a metal post covered with a rubber boot. Although I do miss all the flexibility that one had.
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I never saw this addressed again.. this is exactly how the unit works. Use the Tone Studio to create a "Liveset"... it works exactly as you described... arrange the presets in the order that you want them, and they'll be available to you every time just like that. I don't have 100 presets I need, so I have a basic tone, and then about a dozen presets (some are for literally one song of course) that I can punch thru quickly. I've never had a problem accessing the tuner with shoes on.. but with sock feet or bare feet in the studio the tuner was kind of tough.. I added a spare footswitch I had around to the ctrl2 jack and set it up to activate the tuner. The cool part of that is if you have a momentary switch, you can add it so you can "mute on the fly" and tune ONLY when the pedal is held down.. nice for quick tweaks during a song if you need it.
I got one to use for playing with headphones, as it has an aux in
For a phone/mp3 that I take on the
Road. Very handy!
At home, connected to the puter with
USB, it becomes an audio interface. You can record bass into your DAW, & monitor with it.
The looper is dynamic and low
Noise.
Tuner is poor, but it works.
Next I'll talk about performance...
For a phone/mp3 that I take on the
Road. Very handy!
At home, connected to the puter with
USB, it becomes an audio interface. You can record bass into your DAW, & monitor with it.
The looper is dynamic and low
Noise.
Tuner is poor, but it works.
Next I'll talk about performance...
Performance is simple really.
I put together a basic sound first.
I went for light compression, plus, for
Some grit, I found in the compressor section, there's a boost pedal with a drive knob. Store that in, U21 for example.
Then I added an auto-wah, and tweaked it a bit. Then assign ctl1 button to toggle the auto wah on/off. Save to U22. Change auto wah to phaser and tweak as needed. Assign ctl1 to toggle on/off, then store in U23.
Now, with just 22 and 23, you have your basic tone with an effect you can toggle on off like a stomp box using the ctl1 button. Move on to U24 to do your
Echo or reverb etc...
Hope that's making sense lol
I put together a basic sound first.
I went for light compression, plus, for
Some grit, I found in the compressor section, there's a boost pedal with a drive knob. Store that in, U21 for example.
Then I added an auto-wah, and tweaked it a bit. Then assign ctl1 button to toggle the auto wah on/off. Save to U22. Change auto wah to phaser and tweak as needed. Assign ctl1 to toggle on/off, then store in U23.
Now, with just 22 and 23, you have your basic tone with an effect you can toggle on off like a stomp box using the ctl1 button. Move on to U24 to do your
Echo or reverb etc...
Hope that's making sense lol
While this works, often the levels output by a patch far exceed the 'bypass' mode sound.
That said, on patches where the levels are set in balance it's a great solution. I attached a cheap momentary footswitch as CTRL2, and am assigning it the Tuner function in all the patches I'm using.
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In my current band, the Gt-1B is my rig, no amp on stage. I'm loving it. Of course your situation may have different requirements, but for me, this is nailing it. Transport, set-up, tear-down, all are now a breeze.
