DO I DON'T I? Boss GT1000

JonHosker

Considering selling off my board and amp to head all digital. This is 'Take 3' as i have had a dabble at Helix and Helix Lt but guffed at the menu diving.
Problem:
I spend loads on a great pedal board that after 9 pedals still has three i want to complete. This means it's too big and costly!
I need to go silent stage where i play and board needs sorting for this too...cab sim??
Solution:
Boss Gt1000 or Helix Lt. and an FRFR amp for home tweaking (cant just have headphones)
Save shed loads and as dog hospital bills mounting up...this will help.
but....
Sound needs to be excellent esp. drives and ease of tweaking too.
Anyone share these issues....love my guitars but am an OCD numpty for this solution!
Thanks .... therapy needed 
Jon

gearaddict

I think if the LT didn't work for you due to menu diving then no other multi-fx will be better. The Helix has the easiest interface of the lot. Possible the Headrush Pedalboard might be slightly easier due to the touch screen?

vasselmeyer

I'm in a similar quandary and about to try out a Helix LT. I like BOSS as I admire their thoroughness and engineering mindset. In the analogue world there's nothing better than a BOSS ES-8. I've watched a couple of videos of the GT-1000, there's one by Rabbea which is very decent sounding indeed and another by Brett Kingman.

However, the device UI on the GT-1000 is in the stone age compared to the Helix. I've never used a Helix but I can guarantee I could recreate my board in less than 5 mins. I think I'd struggle with the BOSS. There's really no excuse for putting a display that was old fashioned in 2005 on a modern piece of electronics. The built in editor and the Bluetooth stuff on the BOSS do seem to be very comprehensive but in the heat of a gig, you're not going to  fire up your PC or grab your tablet are you?

I'm sure the GT-1000 has sounds which are the equal of the Helix but I don't think the usability has been thought through in the way Line 6 did.

meltedbuzzbox

I still prefer my amp and pedals over my helix lt.
I think if you are big into your stomp boxes the helix can't compete. It's a good all rounder but it doesn't quite do the magical things some stomp boxes can do.

What pedas do you use at the moment?

Teetonetal

If menu diving as opposed to sound was the reason why you didn't get on, then don't bother with anything else. Helix interface is best in class IMO and about the easiest control method of a complex unit you are going to find.

There is nothing wrong with liking amps and pedals, you like them, stick to them.

JonHosker

What a difference after a night of sleep.
Appreciate the comments and think i will stick with my pedals. Might do a swap or two...but love the simplicity.
Cheers all!

p90fool

I'm on this amp-less journey again, see my NPD thread. 

Where I've ended up now, I can still use my favourite pedals. 

vasselmeyer

I really think the GT-1000 sounds great. It has all the 500 series pedals in it (and if you were to buy them all, it would be about the same price as a single GT-1000), it emulates pretty much every BOSS individual pedal and the amp sims sound great (at least when Rabea and Burgs play through it!). For me it's got two major faults: an external power supply and a poor device UI. If they fix those in an upgrade then it would be the equal of the Helix. However, the support that Line 6 have shown with upgrades and fixes is something that BOSS would be very unlikely to match.

TTBZ

Not that I've tried one but I can't see why anyone would go for a GT1000 over a Helix LT at the current pricing. Interface wise it doesn't get any better than the Helix (there arent even any menus in the chain view!) and the support and community for it seems to be huge compared to anything else. Tone wise the Helix sounds like it wins over the Boss as well.

Like you I want simplicity as well and was almost set of an Amplifire Box for my ampless dream, however reading @p90fool thread has completely put me off after others chimed in with similar problems. Unfortunately can't see myself in a situation where I'll make use of a proper amp any time soon so a Helix LT might be in my future despite my reservations!

The other option if you want to use your drive pedals is something like the AMT F1 preamp and either use its built in cab sim or a Mooer Radar to use the power amp sim and IRs for going direct.

english_bob

vasselmeyer said:

I really think the GT-1000 sounds great. It has all the 500 series pedals in it (and if you were to buy them all, it would be about the same price as a single GT-1000), it emulates pretty much every BOSS individual pedal and the amp sims sound great (at least when Rabea and Burgs play through it!). For me it's got two major faults: an external power supply and a poor device UI. If they fix those in an upgrade then it would be the equal of the Helix. However, the support that Line 6 have shown with upgrades and fixes is something that BOSS would be very unlikely to match.

There were significant upgrades to the DD-500 and the ES-series loopers about a year after the initial release, although these were in terms of functionality, not overall UI- the DD-500 is still pretty menu-heavy. And moving from an external to an internal PSU would require pretty much a total redesign, so you'll get that in about five years on the GT-10,000

Octafish

english_bob said:

vasselmeyer said:

I really think the GT-1000 sounds great. It has all the 500 series pedals in it (and if you were to buy them all, it would be about the same price as a single GT-1000), it emulates pretty much every BOSS individual pedal and the amp sims sound great (at least when Rabea and Burgs play through it!). For me it's got two major faults: an external power supply and a poor device UI. If they fix those in an upgrade then it would be the equal of the Helix. However, the support that Line 6 have shown with upgrades and fixes is something that BOSS would be very unlikely to match.

There were significant upgrades to the DD-500 and the ES-series loopers about a year after the initial release, although these were in terms of functionality, not overall UI- the DD-500 is still pretty menu-heavy. And moving from an external to an internal PSU would require pretty much a total redesign, so you'll get that in about five years on the GT-10,000

I generally don't like external PSUs in terms of convenience. However, one major benefit is that if they fail (which they can do) it's just a case of buying a new one, whereas if it's external it's a major issue.

Musicman20

Just to note, not all of the 500 series effects are in the GT1000. They have picked a certain list for it. No doubt so people still buy the 500 series.

If you didn't like the Helix menus, I think the Boss GT1000 menu will drive you mad.

I tried Helix, enjoyed it, but in the end I realised I love physical amps and pedals. I may however try it again, or the next generation of gear, or even the HX effects.

NelsonP

TTBZ said:

Like you I want simplicity as well and was almost set of an Amplifire Box for my ampless dream, however reading @p90fool thread has completely put me off after others chimed in with similar problems. Unfortunately can't see myself in a situation where I'll make use of a proper amp any time soon so a Helix LT might be in my future despite my reservations!

I wonder what proportion of amplifire boxes have had reliability problems.

I bet it's relatively low, and their support is very good.

bingefeller

I'm thinking of picking up a GT-1000 myself, so I say go for it! 

BTW, what FRFR amp were you thinking of using at home?

JonHosker

Heading for a Helix Lt and Line 6 new power amp 1x12 speaker thing £550 Andertons 
Jon

andyoz

Boss GT1000 is currently available for £750 ish...isn't that a fair bit less than the Line 6 Helix...?

Jesus the Helix is a big thing though.  Shame the Boss interface isn't better as I prefer the form factor of the Boss (even considering the external power supply)....and it's BOSS after all.  I', the type who will probably just settle on a few GO TOO sounds and not fiddle that much so maybe it's not a biggie.

A guy on an Ireland guitar forum did a good rundown and one comment he made was outta the box it wasn't setup to go straight into an amp...it was setup for FRFR cabinet and once that was fiddled with things got ALOT better sound wise.

digitalscream

andyoz said:

Boss GT1000 is currently available for £750 ish...isn't that a fair bit less than the Line 6 Helix...?

The Helix Floor, yes. The Helix LT is the same price as the GT-1000, though.

Musicman20

andyoz said:

Boss GT1000 is currently available for £750 ish...isn't that a fair bit less than the Line 6 Helix...?

Jesus the Helix is a big thing though.  Shame the Boss interface isn't better as I prefer the form factor of the Boss (even considering the external power supply)....and it's BOSS after all.  I', the type who will probably just settle on a few GO TOO sounds and not fiddle that much so maybe it's not a biggie.

A guy on an Ireland guitar forum did a good rundown and one comment he made was outta the box it wasn't setup to go straight into an amp...it was setup for FRFR cabinet and once that was fiddled with things got ALOT better sound wise.

I agree. The Helix is FAR too big and heavy....if a company released a high end modeller/multi fx that was smaller and lighter, and cheaper (although maybe more than the Mooer) I'd try it. The Boss is a contender. 

andyoz

digitalscream said:

andyoz said:

Boss GT1000 is currently available for £750 ish...isn't that a fair bit less than the Line 6 Helix...?

The Helix Floor, yes. The Helix LT is the same price as the GT-1000, though.

Yes, I didn't clock the OP commentrs really related to the LT.

I'm trying to figure out why you would buy the full Helix over the LT to be honest.

vasselmeyer

I'm also quite attracted to the GT-1000. As far as the sounds go, for what I need it for, the GT-1000 and the Helix LT are both overkill but pretty much future-proof. I really can't see me ever needing anything more than what's in either of them.

Couple of thoughts: the GT-1000 has an external power supply whereas the Helix has it built in. That's a personal choice, but I would tend to lean towards something built in to avoid more lumpy cables or tangles on stage. The UI on the Helix is way better and the post-sales support is stellar. BOSS don't interact with the user base anywhere near as well as Line 6 and the f/w updates come regularly. BOSS has been decidedly iffy and uncommunicative with post-sales updates for my ES-8 switcher with one f/w update and one release of a patch editor.

The Helix is missing one effect which I use on my current pedalboard which is a feedbacker (like the FB-2 or Freeqout). BOSS has modelled their pedal-based feedbacker in the GT-1000. I'm sure the Helix could do it but Line 6 haven't modelled anything of this kind of effect as far as I know and the whole point of having one of these units is so you shouldn't really need any external pedals to the unit. Especially for a pub covers/small functions band which is my worldview.

TBH either would do what I need it to do and there's no compelling reason to upgrade my current pedalboard apart from GAS.

bloodandtears

@JonHosker ; I'm not far from you.. I have an Alto TS110a for sale that would get you going with FRFR for little cost??