"Pretty cool, for the $$$"
Feature:
The Pre-amp section is nice, a good tone can be achieved if you play around a little. Octave, Pedal bend and Harmonist are awsome, many ways to tweak and eq. Compressor and limiter are decent depending on which patch you use them with. Wah is lacking a bit, sounds like when you run a wah pedal straight into an amp. Uni-Vibe is balls on accurate. The Guitar Simulator function is interesting...you can combine your tone with solid body/semi hollow, hollow, chambered etc, the coolest thing about this feature: If you are playing a strat, or any other solid body, and select the Hollow body guitar sim function, you will get feedback and sustain at low levels, as if you were playing an ES-335 through an old Marshall at high volume. One annoying thing I have found about this unit is this; While in a patch, if you select an effect and tweak the parameters, you can not select another effect without exiting out of the patch and negating the changes you made to the FX parameters. Perhaps I need to read the manual a bit more...but other than this, the GT-8 is pretty user intuitive. Ah, yes!!! and the reverbs...they sound great over headphones and direct into a board. Selections include; plate, hall, spring, fender tweed, etc. Dealys are nice as well, single voice, dual voice, panning, ping pong, tap, etc. Distortions can be a bit "fuzzy", sort of like an Arbiter Fuzz Face, or a Big Muff, but over all for the price, one should not complain, with a little knob twisting the distortions sound close to authentic. The "Feedbacker" and "Defretter" functions are fun to play around with, particularly when combined with the "wave synth". Speaking of "Wave Synth"... Tracking is great, sounds better than the old Roland GR series, if you are into Pat Methany (eg. Tony Williams: Wilderness), you will probably enjoy this patch. Wave Sythn can also be tweaked, choose from Saw, Sine, Square or one or two other wave forms which elude my memory at this time. All patchs/effects can be tweaked, and EQ'd in their own right, so take your time, grab yourself a cold beer and set aside a few hours.
Quality:
Solid built, made of metal. Knobs are tight. You could probably drop this thing down 3 flights of stairs and it would still work perfectly.
Value:
For the sound and features, it is a must have for the $$$
Desirability:
Sounds great and is made of black gun metal. What more do you need???
Sound:
Sound quality is great. However....Depending on what type of amp you are playing through, you may be a bit dissapointed. I am currently using a Roland Cube 30. For those of you not familiar with this amp, it is a small pratice model, but sounds similar to a jc-120. The GT-8 has an "Output selection" function, designed to maximize the true sound of this pedal. I can't vouch for all of the output selections (JC-120, MS combo, etc)but the "Small amp" output leaves somthing to be desired. That aside, the effects sound awsome. Amp modeling is very good (through headphones, and probably through a larger amp than my own)The Uni-Vibe sounds very nice, as does the "Another Brick" patch in bank 24.....if you dig Gilmour's solo in the song from the same name (part 2?). "Slow Gear" in bank 79 is great...It reminds me of an Alan Holdsworth type effect, very cool...The distorions are decent, many selections to choose from. Everything from Arbiter fuzz to Rfier to MS 1970. Obviously, these sounds are not dead on, but for all intents and purposes, they sound great. If you are looking for an "expressive product" this is it man...I've had this unit for 4 weeks and I still haven't fully utilized all of its functions. I play a wide range of stlyes, and so far, I have found a factory patch that suites my needs. As far as other products in this class go, you may want to check out the Zoom G92TT, the sounds are comparable and the G92TT has USB conectivity, is tube driven (1 12AX7) and comes bundled with Cubase LE. Currently I am using an Electro-Harmonix HOG and a Synth pedal with this unit. The GT-8 has both of these features, but not in the capacity that I would like.
Ease of Use:
With a little tweaking you can get any sound you want. Getting a really good sound however, can be a bit frustrating at times. This should be expected though, considering that you are editing on a screen no larger than a Camel Wide. I have had no problems with compatibilty. There is a slight learing curve, but if you have used Multi-effects boards in the past, it might take you about 10 minutes to figure this thing out. Haven't read the manual yet. Bottom line, if you are looking for a mass amount of quality effects to play around with, and don't want spend THOUSANDS on individual pedals the GT-8 is the way to go.
Support:
Judging by the quality of this unit, I would assume that support is impeccable. I haven't had to call them though.
Overall:
Great unit, not a 10 as I am sure it will obsolete within a few years.
Submitted: 11/12/2007
Style of Music: Everything
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