Is the Boss GT 100 useable live?

funkyfraz

My mate has had one for years but only in the past few months really dug into it.  once you get past the presets I thinkbit sounds immense!  i would also say the dirts and amp sims sound absolutely fine directly into the pa asking as you switch the cab sim on. 

Running it stereo with 2 different amps  sounds huge!

Drew_TNBD

You should be aware that whilst enabled, none of the delays on the GT-100 respond very well to tap-tempo. I informed them about two and a half years ago, and it still has not been fixed.

Alnico

Drew_TNBD said:

You should be aware that whilst enabled, none of the delays on the GT-100 respond very well to tap-tempo. I informed them about two and a half years ago, and it still has not been fixed.

How do the delays compare with 'Proper' delay pedals?
Does the Multi-functionality mean a less capable effect or are there lots of different types?

To be honest i'm not massive on using tap tempo and i'm not the most prolific delay user but that's good to know, cheers.

Grumpyrocker

Johnny Marr uses (or at least used) the GT100 live. There are videos on YouTube of him demonstrating it.

thomasw88

Drew_TNBD said:

You should be aware that whilst enabled, none of the delays on the GT-100 respond very well to tap-tempo. I informed them about two and a half years ago, and it still has not been fixed.

tap tempo does seem to work from what I tried?  can you expand a bit on the issues you had?

Alnico

Can i ask a potentially daft question here please?

The Helix is four times the price.
Is it four times (or more) better than this GT100 or is this a well kept secret?

Is the Helix just above this or way above it?

monquixote

thomasw88 said:

Drew_TNBD said:

You should be aware that whilst enabled, none of the delays on the GT-100 respond very well to tap-tempo. I informed them about two and a half years ago, and it still has not been fixed.

tap tempo does seem to work from what I tried?  can you expand a bit on the issues you had?

The tap tempo makes the delays glitch if you change the tempo while you are playing.

monquixote

Alnico said:

Can i ask a potentially daft question here please?

The Helix is four times the price.
Is it four times (or more) better than this GT100 or is this a well kept secret?

Is the Helix just above this or way above it?

No it isn't, but it is substantially better in two ways:

The amp modelling on the Helix is much better to the point where if that's what you need it for the GT-100 is not an option.
The Helix is an absolute joy to work with an program and is more powerful and configurable.

I'd say the Helix easily justifies the price premium if you need what it has to offer.
If I just wanted mods, delays, reverbs and a nice pedalboard I wouldn't pay the premium for the Helix.

Alnico

Ok that makes a lot of sense.

So would you say the Helix can be used as  a single unit and not need any other external pedals to make up for not-so-great models or drives etc?

Is it possible to just have that one unit on the floor in a smart compact case and nothing else?
If it is, surely that justifies part of the price?

I can see the attraction of this GT100 but just having to use a better drive pedal next to it kind of defeats the object in a way to me. It's still much better value for money than pedals would be and the range of effects is stunning for what you pay.
Like you said, for mods, delays and similar yes i can see it working but it's a big unit if you are going to include compact pedals on the board too.

I watched Pete Thorn Demo the Helix last night.
I fear that might have been a mistake !

Drew_TNBD

The Helix is farrrrrr superior to the GT-100. Even if you just want effects, if you can afford it, I'd suggest getting it above the GT-100.

Drew_TNBD

thomasw88 said:

Drew_TNBD said:

You should be aware that whilst enabled, none of the delays on the GT-100 respond very well to tap-tempo. I informed them about two and a half years ago, and it still has not been fixed.

tap tempo does seem to work from what I tried?  can you expand a bit on the issues you had?

If you're tapping in the middle of a song, the delays act in poorly designed ways - squirrel pitches or IDM glitches. Take you're pick! They're not transparent in this respect at all.

monquixote

Drew_TNBD said:

The Helix is farrrrrr superior to the GT-100. Even if you just want effects, if you can afford it, I'd suggest getting it above the GT-100.

Do you really think so?

I've not spent that much time with the Helix, but I didn't think the basic quality of the FX was really any better than the GT-100.
The workflow and routing is streets ahead, but for replacing basic stompboxes I wouldn't think there was that much between them.

Alnico

monquixote said:

Drew_TNBD said:

The Helix is farrrrrr superior to the GT-100. Even if you just want effects, if you can afford it, I'd suggest getting it above the GT-100.

Do you really think so?

I've not spent that much time with the Helix, but I didn't think the basic quality of the FX was really any better than the GT-100.
The workflow and routing is streets ahead, but for replacing basic stompboxes I wouldn't think there was that much between them.

That's even more interesting.
Everything surrounding helix seems to be the 'All-You-Need' kind of thing and it gives the impression of being way ahead.

I think i need to spend some time with a GT100 first to see what i can get out of it.

Drew_TNBD

monquixote said:

Drew_TNBD said:

The Helix is farrrrrr superior to the GT-100. Even if you just want effects, if you can afford it, I'd suggest getting it above the GT-100.

Do you really think so?

I've not spent that much time with the Helix, but I didn't think the basic quality of the FX was really any better than the GT-100.
The workflow and routing is streets ahead, but for replacing basic stompboxes I wouldn't think there was that much between them.

Oh dude the effects in the Helix are leagues better than the GT-100. The Helix effects are of Strymon, Eventide, and Fractal level. The Boss ones are serviceable but are not terribly inspiring.

Alnico

Drew_TNBD said:

monquixote said:

Drew_TNBD said:

The Helix is farrrrrr superior to the GT-100. Even if you just want effects, if you can afford it, I'd suggest getting it above the GT-100.

Do you really think so?

I've not spent that much time with the Helix, but I didn't think the basic quality of the FX was really any better than the GT-100.
The workflow and routing is streets ahead, but for replacing basic stompboxes I wouldn't think there was that much between them.

Oh dude the effects in the Helix are leagues better than the GT-100. The Helix effects are of Strymon, Eventide, and Fractal level. The Boss ones are serviceable but are not terribly inspiring.

Drew

It's going to eventually go through a JCM800 MV set to around 2/3 - 1/2 Gain so it's not quite clean and a 4 x 12 (V30's).
Is the Helix a complete solution for professional sound, for playing purely live and live session recording ?

monquixote

Drew_TNBD said:

monquixote said:

Drew_TNBD said:

The Helix is farrrrrr superior to the GT-100. Even if you just want effects, if you can afford it, I'd suggest getting it above the GT-100.

Do you really think so?

I've not spent that much time with the Helix, but I didn't think the basic quality of the FX was really any better than the GT-100.
The workflow and routing is streets ahead, but for replacing basic stompboxes I wouldn't think there was that much between them.

Oh dude the effects in the Helix are leagues better than the GT-100. The Helix effects are of Strymon, Eventide, and Fractal level. The Boss ones are serviceable but are not terribly inspiring.

Cool that's good to know. 

I thought a lot of them were just recycled M series algos. 

That enhances my interest in getting one somewhat.

Drew_TNBD

monquixote said:

Drew_TNBD said:

monquixote said:

Drew_TNBD said:

The Helix is farrrrrr superior to the GT-100. Even if you just want effects, if you can afford it, I'd suggest getting it above the GT-100.

Do you really think so?

I've not spent that much time with the Helix, but I didn't think the basic quality of the FX was really any better than the GT-100.
The workflow and routing is streets ahead, but for replacing basic stompboxes I wouldn't think there was that much between them.

Oh dude the effects in the Helix are leagues better than the GT-100. The Helix effects are of Strymon, Eventide, and Fractal level. The Boss ones are serviceable but are not terribly inspiring.

Cool that's good to know. 

I thought a lot of them were just recycled M series algos. 

That enhances my interest in getting one somewhat.

The reverbs and wahs are, but they've been enhanced. I did a whole bunch of videos comparing my Strymon pedals and the Helix effects. They compared very favourably. Some guys even commented that it made them change their mind about buying some Strymon pedals to go with their Helix!

Drew_TNBD

Alnico said:

Drew_TNBD said:

monquixote said:

Drew_TNBD said:

The Helix is farrrrrr superior to the GT-100. Even if you just want effects, if you can afford it, I'd suggest getting it above the GT-100.

Do you really think so?

I've not spent that much time with the Helix, but I didn't think the basic quality of the FX was really any better than the GT-100.
The workflow and routing is streets ahead, but for replacing basic stompboxes I wouldn't think there was that much between them.

Oh dude the effects in the Helix are leagues better than the GT-100. The Helix effects are of Strymon, Eventide, and Fractal level. The Boss ones are serviceable but are not terribly inspiring.

Drew

It's going to eventually go through a JCM800 MV set to around 2/3 - 1/2 Gain so it's not quite clean and a 4 x 12 (V30's).
Is the Helix a complete solution for professional sound, for playing purely live and live session recording ?

If you're looking for purely effects to go with an amp... you want either a Helix or Fractal FX8.

Alnico

Drew_TNBD said:

Alnico said:

Drew_TNBD said:

monquixote said:

Drew_TNBD said:

The Helix is farrrrrr superior to the GT-100. Even if you just want effects, if you can afford it, I'd suggest getting it above the GT-100.

Do you really think so?

I've not spent that much time with the Helix, but I didn't think the basic quality of the FX was really any better than the GT-100.
The workflow and routing is streets ahead, but for replacing basic stompboxes I wouldn't think there was that much between them.

Oh dude the effects in the Helix are leagues better than the GT-100. The Helix effects are of Strymon, Eventide, and Fractal level. The Boss ones are serviceable but are not terribly inspiring.

Drew

It's going to eventually go through a JCM800 MV set to around 2/3 - 1/2 Gain so it's not quite clean and a 4 x 12 (V30's).
Is the Helix a complete solution for professional sound, for playing purely live and live session recording ?

If you're looking for purely effects to go with an amp... you want either a Helix or Fractal FX8.

Cool thanks.
I've asked a couple of questions on teh helix thread so i'll stop talking about it here and leave this thread for the Boss GT100 chat.