You'd hope so, if nothing less it has more processing power so the delays and reverbs should have improved.
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Boss GT-1B finally here
- Thread starter Havard Ramses
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You'd hope so, if nothing less it has more processing power so the delays and reverbs should have improved.
Well the bass version of the MS-3 has a bunch of the effects that have been modified to have bass versions, so I guess the GT-1B just has the dedicated bass versions of these rather then both
I guess I'm hoping they've put far better engine, especially the DSP, and of course also the software, inside the GT-1B than the good old GT-10B. Not turn out to be using the same chips/DSP/what ever inside and only reshapes the case/exterior and the software/interface instead.
The GT-1B should be miles ahead of the 8 year old GT-10B.
Relative to the guitar world, we have seen the DSP evolution from GT-10 > ME-80 > GT-100 > GP-10 > GT-1,
where much praise has been said in the improvement of the amp/cabinet modelling.
The Boss effects have always been great, and only the amp/cab modelling which has (IMO) been the let down in the past.
I think the GT-1B will be a winner, better sound improvement over the GT-10B, in a smaller foot print and under half the price of the GT-10B.
that's it...
that DSP evolution in the guitar world gets much praises is enough reason for me to replace the good old GT-10B with this GT-1B when it's available.
My guess is that, in terms of building a chain/patch, it will be better than the Zoom, in that DSP limitations are reduced, you can fit more into a chain as it has a defined FX1, 2, gate, wah, volume pedal, amp/cab, delay and reverb slot, so you won't have to sacrifice certain aspects of a patch to fit others in, etc, and while Zoom has a pedal board style set up, Boss allows assignable buttons (suggest getting an FS07 to take advantage of this) to work almost like a per-patch programable pedal loop switcher thing, and you don't have to sweep past the amp and cab block etc, so both have their advantages and disadvantages there.
OTOH, Zoom allows you to modify the chain however you like, so you can have multiple instances of the same effect type, which the Boss can't do to the same degree.
I think in most cases, the Boss has more parameters that the user can define and control too.
The Zoom has the advantage of regular updates, though I'm guessing that the Boss has tonnes more to begin with.
Unless I am very wrong about something, and assuming that the amp and dirt modelling in the Boss is up to par with the Zoom, the most powerful digital set up* for bass at present would be as follows:
bass > gt-1b a fs07 > g3n > amp/speakers/line in/headphones
The gt1 using the noise gate, before amp effects/comp, dirt, amp/cab, any effects you want to assign to a button post -amp, and the Zoom then could be used for any always on effects such as EQ, compression, limiter etc, and then have the three footswitches available to control a boost/modulation effect, delay and reverb.
You could then have any Zoom sounds you wanted by setting an empty patch on the Boss (or at least an ampless patch) and setting the amp and cab etc up on the Zoom patch.
You could even have the amp on the Boss and the cab on the Zoom.
I think the possibilities are endless really.
* Disclaimer: I have no idea about using more powerful guitar-specific gear with bass, and I'm obviously speaking in regards to affordable floor units, I have no idea about racks or studio gear that may make for a more powerful rig. I am only really expressing my own opinion based on my knowledge of current available gear.
OTOH, Zoom allows you to modify the chain however you like, so you can have multiple instances of the same effect type, which the Boss can't do to the same degree.
I think in most cases, the Boss has more parameters that the user can define and control too.
The Zoom has the advantage of regular updates, though I'm guessing that the Boss has tonnes more to begin with.
Unless I am very wrong about something, and assuming that the amp and dirt modelling in the Boss is up to par with the Zoom, the most powerful digital set up* for bass at present would be as follows:
bass > gt-1b a fs07 > g3n > amp/speakers/line in/headphones
The gt1 using the noise gate, before amp effects/comp, dirt, amp/cab, any effects you want to assign to a button post -amp, and the Zoom then could be used for any always on effects such as EQ, compression, limiter etc, and then have the three footswitches available to control a boost/modulation effect, delay and reverb.
You could then have any Zoom sounds you wanted by setting an empty patch on the Boss (or at least an ampless patch) and setting the amp and cab etc up on the Zoom patch.
You could even have the amp on the Boss and the cab on the Zoom.
I think the possibilities are endless really.
* Disclaimer: I have no idea about using more powerful guitar-specific gear with bass, and I'm obviously speaking in regards to affordable floor units, I have no idea about racks or studio gear that may make for a more powerful rig. I am only really expressing my own opinion based on my knowledge of current available gear.
I got the MS-3 the other day, compared to my old ME-50B all the effects i've tried are much better (maybe except the octave) the wah is good, it doesn't suck tone the way many do and the "Bottom" and "Blend (D-Level)" mean that you can get good usable tones out of most of the guitar drives although i'm not sure if there on the GT-1B.
If you can find $1000, over a year or two i'd recommend a analog (valve) preamp and a better cab sim, MS-3 -> Two Notes Le Bass -> Neunaber Iconoclast -> Headphones / mixing desk. Best clean sound I've had (Using the graphic eq and comp from the MS-3), great overdrive sounds I don't think you'd get better without a all valve amp, even then it wouldn't be as tight and clean as this setup. Granted it is considerably more then a GT-1B though and doesn't do a SVT sound, you'd need to add something from sansamp for that.
If you can find $1000, over a year or two i'd recommend a analog (valve) preamp and a better cab sim, MS-3 -> Two Notes Le Bass -> Neunaber Iconoclast -> Headphones / mixing desk. Best clean sound I've had (Using the graphic eq and comp from the MS-3), great overdrive sounds I don't think you'd get better without a all valve amp, even then it wouldn't be as tight and clean as this setup. Granted it is considerably more then a GT-1B though and doesn't do a SVT sound, you'd need to add something from sansamp for that.
I'm a simple guy, too many complicated menus and I'm out. I just ordered the Gt 1b today after doing s little research. I have a much older Gt-8 for my guitar and that sucker was a beast and takes up some flor space. You also needed a PHd to learn all of it's functions. I only learned the basics in that model snd was never able to really master it and I'm hoping this is much simpler to use. I will be playing with my 5 string fretless Ibanez and a small fender rumble 100. I'm searching for that Mark Egan fretless sound, hopefully this GT 1 B will help me get there or at least sort of close.
Quick review anyone? I have a Zoom B3n that I'm happy with, but would love to know if the Boss is a better option?
Any quick reviews? I have a Zoom B3n that I'm happy with, but wondered if it's worth looking at the Boss?
I'm going to guess that no-one here has one yet?
They are cheap enough to just go out and buy one,
so maybe there are supply issues?
or bass players are not taking it seriously due to its small size?
They are cheap enough to just go out and buy one,
so maybe there are supply issues?
or bass players are not taking it seriously due to its small size?
Well yeah I went for the MS-3 which has the same sounds but is much easier to intergrate into a pedal board added to that it has all the guitar drives from the GT-1 and as they all have a bottom and blend control some work really well on bass, I haven't spent much time with the drives that would be in the GT-1B they simply don't match my Two Notes Valve preamp so there's little point. I like a couple of the guitar ones though (not on the GT-1B I don't' think) the vintage fuzz is fun and the tube screamer works well on my modern bass. I am someone who almost always plays with atleast a light overdrive so i'm probably more picky there.
Having been not positive on the drives everything else effects wise in the MS-3 is fantastic and there the same as the GT-1B but for normal playing i'm often just using it as a programmable EQ / light compressor. The effects are for the most part the same as the ones in the popular katana amp as well.
The two things the MS-3 doesn't have are the preamps / cabinet emulation and the synths so I can't comment on how well they'd run direct to a desk.
I suspect the reason why there isn't many / any people with them in here at the moment is they are certainly targeting the beginner end of the market which is not most people here. Sure $200 isn't a huge amount to spend in the scheme of things but sweetwater has the MS-3 for double the price and even though you'd need a preamp pedal with that to go direct to a desk for most people here I suspect its the better option.
Having been not positive on the drives everything else effects wise in the MS-3 is fantastic and there the same as the GT-1B but for normal playing i'm often just using it as a programmable EQ / light compressor. The effects are for the most part the same as the ones in the popular katana amp as well.
The two things the MS-3 doesn't have are the preamps / cabinet emulation and the synths so I can't comment on how well they'd run direct to a desk.
I suspect the reason why there isn't many / any people with them in here at the moment is they are certainly targeting the beginner end of the market which is not most people here. Sure $200 isn't a huge amount to spend in the scheme of things but sweetwater has the MS-3 for double the price and even though you'd need a preamp pedal with that to go direct to a desk for most people here I suspect its the better option.
I will have to try the MS-3,
I actually have one lent to me to review it and look for hidden extra features (like I found with the Katana amp).
I have been through its features and parameters, nice that they thought of us bass players.
Got a gig tomorrow night, so I might load up a few drives and effects to test it out on my bass rig.
Would be good to know what the GT-1B amps are like, used to have the GT-10B, and the 6B before that,
I have never really enjoyed those preamps, they have sounded like different variations of the same thing.
The GT-10B multiband compressor was quite nifty.
Would be nice if some Boss bass amp sims sounded like and were as responsive as the controls on the Tech21 VT-Bass.
I actually have one lent to me to review it and look for hidden extra features (like I found with the Katana amp).
I have been through its features and parameters, nice that they thought of us bass players.
Got a gig tomorrow night, so I might load up a few drives and effects to test it out on my bass rig.
Would be good to know what the GT-1B amps are like, used to have the GT-10B, and the 6B before that,
I have never really enjoyed those preamps, they have sounded like different variations of the same thing.
The GT-10B multiband compressor was quite nifty.
Would be nice if some Boss bass amp sims sounded like and were as responsive as the controls on the Tech21 VT-Bass.
If you found the bass synth section from the GT-1B in the MS-3 or a way to use the effects in the FX1/2 section in one of the MOD sections that would be awesome
Good luck hunting.I run a Two Notes Le Bass as my main preamp but i'm looking for one of the original VT Basses to use as well for the days when I feel like having a SVT sound.
I've had mine for about 3 weeks now but I really havent had time to get into it too deeply, time constraints. I have a simple Rumble 100 and two Ibanez basses, a 4 string, and a 5 string fretless and no experience with "real bass amps". I used to play guitar and own a rather sizable pedal board setup and since I'm never happy with my tone, I sold all of my pedals and purchased a Boss GT-8. It turned out it was way over my head in complexity, I just wanted to play.
Coming back to the Bass, I didn't want to go to the pedal board route again and since I just wanted simplicity and I only play for myself at this time, this GT-1B seemed like the correct route for me after doing some research,I checked out sweet water's videos and they are very convincing so I called my sales guy and ordered one. So far, I really like it's simplicity. I can easily modify a user patch with the knobs like I would with a stomp box, turn on and off effects and save it. The backlit screen is really small but thats ok, Im not playing in a live situation. I like the visual chain display to see what I have in the chain although I haven't tried moving effects around in the chain yet which you can do. I just used the tuner for the first time last night and although I haven't checked it against my boss tuner it sounded spot on. The unit is really small and light with a plastic pedal and plastic backing unlike the tank of the GT-8 I own, but for a small unit, it does have a lot of really nice sound capabilities. Some preset sounds are really odd and I can't see where they would be useful but a few are really cool. I have no way to compare the amp models, no experience remember? I bought the Roland power adapter so I wouldn't have to keep swapping batteries. I hate having dead batteries.
Im playing with the looper right now and really digging it as I was going to buy a looper by itself before this came out. At this price level, it's really made for someone like me that wants a compact unit that I can sit in my room and explore sound for days without having to take a class in learning how to use it. It does slip into my gig bag so if I ever found myself joining a few friends in a small jam session, it's definately going with me. I'm really happy with it and probably have no need to add an extra pedal to it at this point.
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I have a GT-1B. I like it. I have a B3n on the way too, because curiosity killed the bank account.
I'm reasonably happy with the sounds. I like the size. There are things I like and things I dislike. Looking at the B3n, my gut says it will be the same. I have a feeling I will be just as happy with the B3n's sounds. If you're happy with the B3n, there's probably no real reason to get a GT-1B. Just my opinion.
A lot of it will come down to personal preference. For example, with the GT-1B I really like that you can change the order of effects and have switches assigned to effects on opposite ends of the chain. With the B3n, I believe your switches are always assigned to contiguous effects(?). So you can't turn the drive at the front of your chain off and then immediately turn the delay at the end on. You could assign switched on the GT to do that. However, with the B3n you can move through the chain and switch any individual pedal on or off; with the GT you assign the switches, and that's the assignment you're stuck with. So, trade-offs, pros and cons, personal preference.
I really like the little row of effects buttons on the GT. You can't use them as footswitches, but they're great for tweaking and setting up the patches, and they're also a good visual indicator of what's on and off.
The LCD screen is kinda crappy. Small, pretty low definition, kinda hard to read I'd say. There's no on/off switch. It's turned on when you plug a cable in. I've been noticing a big delay in the octave I was using...I may have screwed up the settings on that though, because I could have sworn it was behaving better previously, so take that with a grain of salt. I'd like to see a few more amp models. The drives seem pretty good, better than my old B3. I'm really curious to compare them to the B3n.
Don't look at that list of complaints and think the unit sucks. It's a lot of nit-picking, and I'm sure I could make a similar list for the B3n. For example, the GT can be used as a USB audio interface; iirc, they didn't include that functionality with the B3n(?). Again, trade-offs.
I don't have my B3n yet, so if I said something wrong somebody please correct me.
Overall, it is, in my opinion, a very nice unit for under $200.
I'm reasonably happy with the sounds. I like the size. There are things I like and things I dislike. Looking at the B3n, my gut says it will be the same. I have a feeling I will be just as happy with the B3n's sounds. If you're happy with the B3n, there's probably no real reason to get a GT-1B. Just my opinion.
A lot of it will come down to personal preference. For example, with the GT-1B I really like that you can change the order of effects and have switches assigned to effects on opposite ends of the chain. With the B3n, I believe your switches are always assigned to contiguous effects(?). So you can't turn the drive at the front of your chain off and then immediately turn the delay at the end on. You could assign switched on the GT to do that. However, with the B3n you can move through the chain and switch any individual pedal on or off; with the GT you assign the switches, and that's the assignment you're stuck with. So, trade-offs, pros and cons, personal preference.
I really like the little row of effects buttons on the GT. You can't use them as footswitches, but they're great for tweaking and setting up the patches, and they're also a good visual indicator of what's on and off.
The LCD screen is kinda crappy. Small, pretty low definition, kinda hard to read I'd say. There's no on/off switch. It's turned on when you plug a cable in. I've been noticing a big delay in the octave I was using...I may have screwed up the settings on that though, because I could have sworn it was behaving better previously, so take that with a grain of salt. I'd like to see a few more amp models. The drives seem pretty good, better than my old B3. I'm really curious to compare them to the B3n.
Don't look at that list of complaints and think the unit sucks. It's a lot of nit-picking, and I'm sure I could make a similar list for the B3n. For example, the GT can be used as a USB audio interface; iirc, they didn't include that functionality with the B3n(?). Again, trade-offs.
I don't have my B3n yet, so if I said something wrong somebody please correct me.
Overall, it is, in my opinion, a very nice unit for under $200.
