GT-8, 4 cable method, and my Rectoverb

[MusicManJP6]

Yeah, the GT-10 also costs more! And if I don't like the integration of the GT-8 in my rig then the GT-10 would be MORE money wasted. If I dig the GT-8 then I MIGHT look into the GT-10, but i'll stick with the GT-8 for now. I've been to bossgtcental.com and they have tons of info! I've already downloaded some stuff from there to help ease my pain at first. haha.

Mr. Brady - it sounds like you are using your GT-8 the way I want to use mine! It should be in today and i'm excited and terrified all at the same time to get it setup correctly. I'll be relying on several different resources when i get stuck!

One thing I want to ask is - is it easy to screw the whole setup accidentally and sound like complete *** for any reason? I mean the input/output levels are SO crucial and I'd hate to spend so much time setting everything up just to have it botched up somehow. It's the knob on the back that worries me the most really! I guess I can put tape on it to keep it from moving after it's set...

 

[twostring]

I wouldn't say that is the biggest worry. It's on the back of the unit and you pretty much need to use it all the time to adjust your overall level. The levels inside the unit are the set it and forget it part. Once you've got unity gain over all effects blocks in the unit, don't touch them.

 

[ltd2recto]

Hey MusicMan, update us when you get it all hooked up. Ive got a similar rig but am using 2cm cause I heard it the GT-8 doesnt work right w/ parallel loop. Im about ready to convert to serial myself.

Is anybody here using a GT-8 with the stock loop? If so how does it sound?

 

[twostring]

I haven't tried the GT-8 with any boogies with parallel loops, but on other parallel loops I know it makes the GT-8 freak out. The processing glitches a bit and the signal bleed from the parallel loop throws the timing off, so it sounds like you've got a slapback delay on at all times. Very odd indeed and not very nice to listen to.

 

[ltd2recto]

Thanks for the reply. Thats what I figured.

Anybody with a modded serial loop get good results with the GT-8 & 4cm?

 

[MusicManJP6]

I am getting great results with the GT-8 and 4 cable method! I finally got it set up last night and i'm pretty impressed! I had no loop issues like when I had the parallel loop which was very sensitive to levels. I am getting a mean hum when i use amp's distortion but I'm pretty sure that's from the standard cables i'm using for the loop as well as the amp control cable causing a ground loop. I've emailed my guitar tech at the local music store so he can help me get the cables I need. Once I get the noise straightened out and figure out how to actually change the amp's channels i'll be VERY happy with the setup. I was really surprised how good some of the distortion and overdrives sounded through the amp! I haven't even messed with the GT preamps yet...

I looked into the GT-10 but it's a good $200 more. There was one that sold for $350 on eBay two days ago though! If I find one for that price i'll buy it in a heartbeat...

One last thing! I was very surprised at how easy it was to setup the 4 cable method. I used a tutorial on the bossgtcentral forums and it was cake! God bless the internet and all it's forums... :lol:

 

[vertigo_]

I am getting great results with the GT-8 and 4 cable method! I finally got it set up last night and i'm pretty impressed! I had no loop issues like when I had the parallel loop which was very sensitive to levels. I am getting a mean hum when i use amp's distortion but I'm pretty sure that's from the standard cables i'm using for the loop as well as the amp control cable causing a ground loop. I've emailed my guitar tech at the local music store so he can help me get the cables I need. Once I get the noise straightened out and figure out how to actually change the amp's channels i'll be VERY happy with the setup. I was really surprised how good some of the distortion and overdrives sounded through the amp! I haven't even messed with the GT preamps yet...

I looked into the GT-10 but it's a good $200 more. There was one that sold for $350 on eBay two days ago though! If I find one for that price i'll buy it in a heartbeat...

One last thing! I was very surprised at how easy it was to setup the 4 cable method. I used a tutorial on the bossgtcentral forums and it was cake! God bless the internet and all it's forums... :lol:

That sounds cool...I will get the line 6 m13 when it comes out. And seems like you can do 4 cable method with that also. Should take care of all my effects need and also can run the distortion infront. Adam, what tutorial did u use?

 

[twostring]

I am getting a mean hum when i use amp's distortion but I'm pretty sure that's from the standard cables i'm using for the loop as well as the amp control cable causing a ground loop.

I was never able to dial out the hum when using the amp control jack. There seems to be a rather mean ground loop when this jack is used. Sad to say, but you might have to cut the ground at one end of the signal if you want to use the amp control feature (do not cut the ground on the amp control cable, only the signal cables).

 

[MusicManJP6]

Vertigo - I used this tutorial:

http://bossgtcentral.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11121

It was very easy following along and doing as he suggested. I am communicating with my tech about the noise and we are going to try to get it straightened out this weekend most likely. They've got a Rectoverb combo down there like mine so i'll just need to bring my cables and the GT-8.

 

[Laskyman]

It was very easy following along and doing as he suggested. I am communicating with my tech about the noise and we are going to try to get it straightened out this weekend most likely

There shouldn't be any noise- other than what any high gain amp will produce when being overdriven...I hope you can work it out.
When I ran with the GT8 4CM, I really stopped using the preamps on the 8, because of the quality of the Roadster, but where the GT8 crushes the competition is the versatility of the assigns within a patch.
I typically run a slight delay on a dirty rhythm channel (400ms 10% repeat and 7% level)- within that patch, one simple toggle of the control turned off the slight delay, activated my "solo" delay in FX2, and kicked in both a slight OD, EQ, and compression. And with the chain, you can put any effect in any order.
With my current set-up, while greatly superior in overall tonality, requires a l'il dance to accomplish the same result.
I hope you enjoy the 4cm set-up.

Laskyman

 

[MusicManJP6]

I found out that the amp control cable was the culprit for the heinous ground loop. The rig is silent as it should be with the cable unplugged. I'm working on altering a cable's ground to get rid of the problem.

I'm having some problems assigning things how I want them to work using the manual mode. I'll have to keep messing with it or possibly use patches instead. It's fun though! My pedals are on their way out the door soon I believe... The GT-8 is an all-in-one package that's hard to beat...

 

[kb7010]

Here's the link to my thread on my Roadster/GT-8 setup method.

http://bossgtcentral.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15277

To answer your questions, yes the preamps can still be used in 4cm.

I don't know if it's possible, but you might be able to assign a modifier to the solo button, or at least have the solo button trigger an effects change event in the unit. The assigns go pretty deep...I would have to think it's possible to have the solo button do exactly what you want.

I didn't read it all.. but as far as hooking it up.. it is ALL wrong.. trust me.. a bud of mine bought a DVD from EBAY for 20 bucks.. how to on a Boss GT-8 ( Lick Library / gear guides ) <-- something like that.. anyway.. I only seen a few minutes of it.. but the guy knew what he was talking about.. just called my bud.. the guy on the DVD is Michael Casswell... a studio pro and also touring musician for a lot of well known people... anyway.. again I only seen a little of it.. first off.. this guy is getting 3 tones/sounds from each bank.. ie: bank # 30-1..

he is also hooking it up not in the 4CM.. something like

guitar into amp ( that part I know is 100% fact )
then out of FX send or return of your amp into GT-6,8,10.. they are all they same as a FYI.... ( sorry .. where I wasn't paying attention on hook up )

then out of GT-6,8,10 FX send or return.. ( again sorry wasn't paying attention.. )

one thing I did learn from the guy..

a gt-6 is just like a GT-8 except it is missing a few extra effects that you will NEVER use..!!!! so BUY the GT-6 and save yourself money..

same with the GT-10.. a bunch of more effects you WILL NEVER use..

JMO ONLY.. if you should buy a GT-6 or a 8 or a 10..

but if you buy that DVD.. the guy will flat out tell you.. ( he is talking about a GT-8 )
" this effect is about useless .. so don't use it much as it is just a waste of time.. something like that..!!!

best of luck to you all with these units.. I am back to a plan delay.. chorus for clean.. and reverb in the effects loop only because my 3 channel Dual Rectro didn't come with a spring verb.. just need a touch .. lol


Rex

 

[twostring]

Here's the link to my thread on my Roadster/GT-8 setup method.

http://bossgtcentral.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15277

To answer your questions, yes the preamps can still be used in 4cm.

I don't know if it's possible, but you might be able to assign a modifier to the solo button, or at least have the solo button trigger an effects change event in the unit. The assigns go pretty deep...I would have to think it's possible to have the solo button do exactly what you want.

I didn't read it all.. but as far as hooking it up.. it is ALL wrong.. trust me.. a bud of mine bought a DVD from EBAY for 20 bucks.. how to on a Boss GT-8 ( Lick Library / gear guides ) <-- something like that.. anyway.. I only seen a few minutes of it.. but the guy knew what he was talking about.. just called my bud.. the guy on the DVD is Michael Casswell... a studio pro and also touring musician for a lot of well known people... anyway.. again I only seen a little of it.. first off.. this guy is getting 3 tones/sounds from each bank.. ie: bank # 30-1..

he is also hooking it up not in the 4CM.. something like

guitar into amp ( that part I know is 100% fact )
then out of FX send or return of your amp into GT-6,8,10.. they are all they same as a FYI.... ( sorry .. where I wasn't paying attention on hook up )

then out of GT-6,8,10 FX send or return.. ( again sorry wasn't paying attention.. )

one thing I did learn from the guy..

a gt-6 is just like a GT-8 except it is missing a few extra effects that you will NEVER use..!!!! so BUY the GT-6 and save yourself money..

same with the GT-10.. a bunch of more effects you WILL NEVER use..

JMO ONLY.. if you should buy a GT-6 or a 8 or a 10..

but if you buy that DVD.. the guy will flat out tell you.. ( he is talking about a GT-8 )
" this effect is about useless .. so don't use it much as it is just a waste of time.. something like that..!!!

best of luck to you all with these units.. I am back to a plan delay.. chorus for clean.. and reverb in the effects loop only because my 3 channel Dual Rectro didn't come with a spring verb.. just need a touch .. lol


Rex

Uhm...how can it be completely wrong when it works? I wrote that walkthrough from my own experience, and I can tell you that it worked 100%. It would probably help to read the entire thing before you write it off as wrong.

So you saw a DVD...fantastic. What makes his opinion and "method" better than anyone else's? Oh yeah, he's a studio pro...and then? His "method" may work, but really, there are so many ways to skin a cat...they're all different, but they end up yielding the same results.

So in this guys "expert" opinion, the majority of the effects and features in the GT-8 are useless? Okay, they're useless to him, but he doesn't speak for the guitar playing community. Last time I checked, you're free to use whatever the hell you want to achieve any **** sound you want. I went experimental while I had the GT-8 and I used everything in that unit. As that phase passed, I used less and less. The key idea is the fact that those extras are there when you want to play...why limit yourself from the get-go because some douche with a video camera said you didn't need it? When it comes time to paint a picture, why not have 200 shades of blue?

I don't mean to bash you...to each his own...but don't express an opinion as cold hard fact because it came from a "studio professional." Same goes for tutorials you didn't completely read and DVDs you didn't watch all the way through.

Hey MusicMan...try to disconnect the grounds on the amp side of the cables one at a time. The ground shield will still shield the cable from the GT-8 out because the amp control cable has a constant ground (it has to to be able to short the connection). You might be able to get away with just cutting one (this worked for me in a pinch), but just in case, you might want to look into a star ground setup for the GT-8/Mesa rig. These are not difficult to wire up...essentially cutting the grounds is the starting point. Also, keep those other pedals around for a bit. My GT-8 rig eventually included a tube screamer and a delay pedal external to the GT-8 to add more options (first of all, I can't get enough delay, and second, I liked the combination of GT-8 tube screamer and the Ibanez TS-9 in the GT-8 effects loop...the classic screamer into screamer setup).

 

[MusicManJP6]

Thanks for the tip twostring! I've read that you can disconnect a ground in the amp control cable to get rid of the ground loop. Let's hope that is all I need to do to kill the ground loop! I bought a Behringer HD400 Hum Destroyer off eBay for $20. If all else fails i'll see if it can help me out...

 

[twostring]

Thanks for the tip twostring! I've read that you can disconnect a ground in the amp control cable to get rid of the ground loop. Let's hope that is all I need to do to kill the ground loop! I bought a Behringer HD400 Hum Destroyer off eBay for $20. If all else fails i'll see if it can help me out...

It all depends on what's going on inside of the switching mechanism inside the GT-8. Since the jack is grounded to the GT-8 chassis, you sould be able to clip the ground in the cable and have the switching function continue working without incident. Another tip...label the cut end of the cable somehow.

 

[Laskyman]

a gt-6 is just like a GT-8 except it is missing a few extra effects that you will NEVER use..!!!! so BUY the GT-6 and save yourself money..

Actually, these 2 units are quite different. I spent 3 years with a GT6 and several more with a GT8. The GT8 is vastly superior in every aspect save the Metal Zone sim. The GT6 is a great piece though- I am not bashing it, just making an observation as someone who worked extensively with both units.

I didn't read it all.. but as far as hooking it up.. it is ALL wrong.. trust me..

I am afraid this statement is completely false. The 4CM tutorial as authored by Twostring is bulletproof. I ran my Roadster with this method for a long while before diving into the analog realm- this tutorial hands down provided the best GT8 4CM results I ever experienced.


Laskyman

 

[ltd2recto]

I've read that you can disconnect a ground in the amp control cable to get rid of the ground loop. Let's hope that is all I need to do to kill the ground loop!

That worked for me. Remember to only cut 1 side & to insulate it to make sure it doesnt touch.

I modded to loop to serial last night & hooked up with the 4cm. It sounds way better now. I can actually use delays & reverbs on my distortion channel. Now I just need to get rid of the noise caused by the 4cm.

 

[MusicManJP6]

I'm noise-free now! I ended up cutting the ground and labeling the cable for the amp control and it's just as quiet now as without the GT-8! No modifications needed for the standard cables in the loop for whatever reason. I guess I lucked out!

I agree that the serial loop is the only way to go with the GT-8. I'm going to try to make some cool patches this weekend! BTW, all my pedals are for sale because the GT-8 is the sh!t! See the classifieds for the pedals I have for sale... :wink: