Boss ES8 as alternative to tap dancing

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rsvmarkrsvmark Frets: 1374
New set requires lots of tap dancing which I am making a right hash of. Thinking about an ES8 as it’s averagely spendy compared to a G3/2 or Mastermind but is feature rich and allows me to keep my wet dry.

Any first hand experience on here?
An official Foo liked guitarist since 2024
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Comments

  • hotpickupshotpickups Frets: 1813
    I have the Boss ES5 and it’s an amazing but of kit. Definitely worth the money which is considerably less than a G2/3. 

    For a smaller board I’m thinking of getting a Disaster Area DPC5 gen 3 which is also a very good switcher and even smaller. One can’t change routing of loops on one of those though. 
    Link to my trading feedback:  http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/59452/
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  • I had an ES-8 and it is an absolutely amazing bit of kit. My band went silent stage so I eventually moved it on, but replaced it with the GT-1000 because there is a similarity in the programming methodology.

    The ability to put any pedal in the chain anywhere you want, the fabulous midi capabilities and the really powerful ASSIGN and CURNUM features mean you actually have so many ways of doing what you need to do. I ran mine in 4CM, switching amp channels as well.

    I never found anything that it couldn't do that I needed.
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  • robertyroberty Frets: 10893
    edited October 2021
    I absolutely love mine. Can do complex patch changes while singing. There aren't many limitations to what you can do with it. It takes up a lot of space though so you'll probably need a massive board overall

    You get a volume pedal loop with the ES-8 so essentially 9 loops. My noise gate is keyed off the tuner output and sits in the volume loop. The EQ pedal is always on last in chain. The DD-200 and Whammy are on Midi control

    Loops 7 and 8 are stereo if you're looking for wet/dry. Mine is not set up for stereo but would be easy to do


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  • ES-5 owner here. Would definitely recommend as a solution to that sort of problem.
    Like @vasselmeyer says, the ES switchers are very flexible and allow you to set things up in a variety of ways depending on what's best for you- so you can set up things like being able to toggle an individual pedal on and off within a preset rather than having to build two different presets just so you can have four bars of phaser or something.
    Unfortunately this means a bit of RTFM or trawling YouTube for experienced users...
    (Can thoroughly recommend a YouTube channel called "theguacamolexplosion" for ES-5 tips, most of which will translate to the ES-8).

    Don't talk politics and don't throw stones. Your royal highnesses.

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  • TeetonetalTeetonetal Frets: 7801
    Es5 owner as well. Used it for exactly those reasons. Pretty easy to learn to use despite a typically boss UI.

    Great that it can do trails spill over even for pedals that didn't have it and changing pedal order per patch is a great feature.
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  • ricky50ricky50 Frets: 159
    ES-5 here too. Can't believe how much this thing can do once you understand how Boss speaks. I reckon it could run my life if I tried.
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  • sjo89sjo89 Frets: 182
    Honestly I don't understand why more people don't have loop switchers full stop. Granted, a very much based on what you play, but I think most of us when we hit a chorus or solo want to simultaneously boost the gain and verb/delay, and maybe even some modulation - so why not have something that can do that with one easy tap? 
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  • sjo89 said:
    Honestly I don't understand why more people don't have loop switchers full stop. Granted, a very much based on what you play, but I think most of us when we hit a chorus or solo want to simultaneously boost the gain and verb/delay, and maybe even some modulation - so why not have something that can do that with one easy tap? 

    I definitely see the advantages, but I can also understand why people don't want them. 
    For starters, more stuff on your board means more stuff to go wrong. More stuff also means a bigger, heavier pedalboard.
     
    The last band I was in wound up before I got my ES-5 (ironically, since it was a couple of that band's songs that made me want a switcher), so I haven't really had the chance to use my current pedalboard in anger, but I suspect that it's going to be far more useful for gigging with a fixed(ish) setlist than it is for more free-form rehearsal type stuff where you're jamming, working out parts and writing/arranging songs. My worry is that for that part of the process a switcher-based board potentially goes from being a useful tool to becoming a barrier to creativity.

    There are definitely ways to build flexibility in to the way you work with the ES switchers that you don't get with *all* switchers- you can set up patches so you can toggle an effect on or off, or change amp channels etc, but as and when I'm next in a band I think I'll be holding the idea of a switcher-based pedalboard fairly loosely.

    Don't talk politics and don't throw stones. Your royal highnesses.

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  • sjo89sjo89 Frets: 182
    sjo89 said:
    Honestly I don't understand why more people don't have loop switchers full stop. Granted, a very much based on what you play, but I think most of us when we hit a chorus or solo want to simultaneously boost the gain and verb/delay, and maybe even some modulation - so why not have something that can do that with one easy tap? 

    My worry is that for that part of the process a switcher-based board potentially goes from being a useful tool to becoming a barrier to creativity.

    Why? Just put it into stompbox mode and it means you can turn on your effects as normal, just from the switcher instead of the pedal itself.
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  • sjo89 said:
    sjo89 said:
    Honestly I don't understand why more people don't have loop switchers full stop. Granted, a very much based on what you play, but I think most of us when we hit a chorus or solo want to simultaneously boost the gain and verb/delay, and maybe even some modulation - so why not have something that can do that with one easy tap? 

    My worry is that for that part of the process a switcher-based board potentially goes from being a useful tool to becoming a barrier to creativity.

    Why? Just put it into stompbox mode and it means you can turn on your effects as normal, just from the switcher instead of the pedal itself.

    That's fair. I think my problem is compounded by the fact that I have a lot of multi-function MIDI pedals hooked up to my ES-5, and a sort of "satellite" remote switcher (I made it myself, but it's equivalent to the GigRig Remote Loopy 2 in function if not in build quality) running from one of the TRS outs, so the whole board really only achieves its full potential when everything is pre-set and programmed, and it becomes a bit of a faff to use in stompbox mode.

    Don't talk politics and don't throw stones. Your royal highnesses.

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  • TeleMasterTeleMaster Frets: 10103
    It’s a great piece of kit. If you can let go of your pedals the HXFX is also a great choice. 
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