GT-8, 4 cable method, and my Rectoverb

[MusicManJP6]

I just traded some pedals for a GT-8 and i'm going to give the 4 cable method a go. I've already read up on it and i'm converting my effects loop to serial this weekend. Any tips/tricks I should know about in preparation?

I'm hoping my Horizon cables will suffice...

 

[jdurso]

I just traded some pedals for a GT-8 and i'm going to give the 4 cable method a go. I've already read up on it and i'm converting my effects loop to serial this weekend. Any tips/tricks I should know about in preparation?

I'm hoping my Horizon cables will suffice...

getting your levels right is key... there is a great post somewhere on the boss forum about how to get the best results using the 4CM ill see if i can dig it up. also using quality cables is huge in reducing digital noise, a lot of people use balanced cables between the amp and gt8

 

[MusicManJP6]

Is there any easy way to tell if a cable is balanced? Why would a cable NOT be balanced?

One of the big questions I have is: Can the preamp on the GT be used still when using the 4 cable method? I'd like to be able to use some of the distortions on the GT in the clean channel of my amp (the ones that sound OK) and use some an OD as a boost in the distortion channel of my amp.

I'm also wondering if the solo switch on the GT allows effects to be saved to it. That would be cool to hit the solo switch and get some delay added in at the same time...

Man, It's obvious that i've got a TON of reading to do in the manual when I get this thing. Hopefully it's not a nightmare to get it setup like I want.

 

[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.

 

[MusicManJP6]

thanks twostring! i'll check out that link in detail when I receive the GT-8 next week and get ready to start setting it up. Lots of good info in there!

 

[jdurso]

Is there any easy way to tell if a cable is balanced? Why would a cable NOT be balanced?

One of the big questions I have is: Can the preamp on the GT be used still when using the 4 cable method? I'd like to be able to use some of the distortions on the GT in the clean channel of my amp (the ones that sound OK) and use some an OD as a boost in the distortion channel of my amp.

I'm also wondering if the solo switch on the GT allows effects to be saved to it. That would be cool to hit the solo switch and get some delay added in at the same time...

Man, It's obvious that i've got a TON of reading to do in the manual when I get this thing. Hopefully it's not a nightmare to get it setup like I want.

well guitar/instrument cables for instance are not balanced. most pro audio and studio applications will used balanced because they have a very good sound to noise ratio and in a studio you're usually connected units with balanced i/o's. Your amp is definitely not balanced but i'm pretty sure the gt8, in which case the benfit to using the balanced is less digital noise

 

[MusicManJP6]

I see. It sounds like balanced cables might be pricey. I'll have to try my luck with my instrument cables and see how they sound. But, I have two speaker cables I used to use with a head/cab config, are they balanced? Sorry to be a noob...

 

[nomad100hd]

Part of the benefit of balanced cables is the low impedance of the devices they connect to. Lower impedance means less loss of highs. Also the ground scheme of a balanced cable is different. A balanced cable is a 2 conductor with a shield, so your signal not using the shield as a ground. You can wire a guitar so your signal goes down the 2 conductor and your bridge and shielding inside the guitar goes down the shield of the balanced cable. Then at the amp wire the 2 conductor like you would a normal cable and send the shield to a star ground point to reduce noise. I think Pro Co makes some cables with a separate shield that only grounded at the amp side. They also do that for high dollar Home Audio cables. Which does help the signal to noise ratio.

Since using a balanced cable on the boss unit would put the boss in an outs at low z the lack of digitalness is probably loss of highs. When used with the High Z loop.

Of course I pulled that all out of my butt from the theory i know but i'm 99% sure i'm right.

 

[decosimo]

You can use the CTL button to turn several effects on or off at once. The solo button only gives a midrange boost when the GT8 preamp is activated. If the preamp is off the solo button doesn't do anything.

I used the GT8 with my F50 in a band for a year or more before i switched to pedals. At first I used the preamps but eventually just used it for effects and EQ only. Most of the time I would just have the GT8 in the loop and then when it was time for a solo I would engage some delay, verb and the EQ for a mid boost via the CTL switch.

And as noted above make sure your levels aren't too high. That includes: the black knob on the back, the pre amps, the master patch volume and the send + return levels.

 

[jdurso]

I see. It sounds like balanced cables might be pricey. I'll have to try my luck with my instrument cables and see how they sound. But, I have two speaker cables I used to use with a head/cab config, are they balanced? Sorry to be a noob...

balanced cables aren't any more expensive than a regular unbalanced cable. just make sure whatever route you go down don't skimp on the cables especially for the long runs between the gt8 and the amp.

BTW, never use a speaker cable other than connecting your head to your cab.

 

[twostring]

You can use the CTL button to turn several effects on or off at once. The solo button only gives a midrange boost when the GT8 preamp is activated. If the preamp is off the solo button doesn't do anything.

I used the GT8 with my F50 in a band for a year or more before i switched to pedals. At first I used the preamps but eventually just used it for effects and EQ only. Most of the time I would just have the GT8 in the loop and then when it was time for a solo I would engage some delay, verb and the EQ for a mid boost via the CTL switch.

And as noted above make sure your levels aren't too high. That includes: the black knob on the back, the pre amps, the master patch volume and the send + return levels.

With the assigns on the GT-8, you can make any button do anything you want. If you wanted, you could assign the solo boost to the control footswitch, and then assign your distortion, chorus, delay and even parameter changes to trigger whenever the solo function is turned on. You can even have parameter/effects changes trigger from other effects chnages (for example, you can have your delay repeats increase as you move the wah into the toe up position). The assigns can get very deep.

The key with the GT-8 is low levels inside the unit. Avoid digital clipping at all cost. I don't feel balanced cables are the answer here. Being sensible about the levels in the unit is the most important thing here. Volume concerns can be made up for with the unit volume knob on the back of the unit. This volume knob is in line at the very end of the unit after the digital to analog signal conversion, so no need to worry about clipping there. The only clipping you'll get with that volume is at the amp, so still, be reasonable with the volume setting there. If you read my Roadster setup guide, you're shooting for equal levels when switching between amp only and amp with GT-8 (with all of the effects off on the GT-8). Once you've got that, the rest is total cake, but getting the levels right before you can start making effects patches is a bit of a pain. Just keep telling yourself it's worth it, because you're probably going to want to give up about a half hour into the process. Your tone will be your reward later.

 

[jdurso]

You can use the CTL button to turn several effects on or off at once. The solo button only gives a midrange boost when the GT8 preamp is activated. If the preamp is off the solo button doesn't do anything.

I used the GT8 with my F50 in a band for a year or more before i switched to pedals. At first I used the preamps but eventually just used it for effects and EQ only. Most of the time I would just have the GT8 in the loop and then when it was time for a solo I would engage some delay, verb and the EQ for a mid boost via the CTL switch.

And as noted above make sure your levels aren't too high. That includes: the black knob on the back, the pre amps, the master patch volume and the send + return levels.

With the assigns on the GT-8, you can make any button do anything you want. If you wanted, you could assign the solo boost to the control footswitch, and then assign your distortion, chorus, delay and even parameter changes to trigger whenever the solo function is turned on. You can even have parameter/effects changes trigger from other effects chnages (for example, you can have your delay repeats increase as you move the wah into the toe up position). The assigns can get very deep.

The key with the GT-8 is low levels inside the unit. Avoid digital clipping at all cost. I don't feel balanced cables are the answer here. Being sensible about the levels in the unit is the most important thing here. Volume concerns can be made up for with the unit volume knob on the back of the unit. This volume knob is in line at the very end of the unit after the digital to analog signal conversion, so no need to worry about clipping there. The only clipping you'll get with that volume is at the amp, so still, be reasonable with the volume setting there. If you read my Roadster setup guide, you're shooting for equal levels when switching between amp only and amp with GT-8 (with all of the effects off on the GT-8). Once you've got that, the rest is total cake, but getting the levels right before you can start making effects patches is a bit of a pain. Just keep telling yourself it's worth it, because you're probably going to want to give up about a half hour into the process. Your tone will be your reward later.

they are the answer (or having quality unbalanced cables) to eliminate noise that can be picked up within the cable going between the gt8 and the head. when i had the zoom 9.2 going from unbalanced to balanced made a hug difference in terms of reducing noise.

 

[twostring]

they are the answer (or having quality unbalanced cables) to eliminate noise that can be picked up within the cable going between the gt8 and the head. when i had the zoom 9.2 going from unbalanced to balanced made a hug difference in terms of reducing noise.

Not saying you're wrong on that, I just wanted to point out that it's not key to getting the best sound out of the unit. I just didn't want the poster to have false expectations. The key to getting good tones out of the GT-8 starts with the setup. Eliminating noise from problematic gear is really something that should have been taken care of already. I agree with you, it's just that the poster should understand that the setup is very important here.

 

[MusicManJP6]

Thanks guys for all the posts. It is all very helpful! I don't use the speaker cables for anything but head/cab connections for sure. I did once and it was noisy so I figured that wasn't what they should be used for.

It is very obvious that the levels are key first and foremost. I don't have much problem with noise (except for my coil splits on my EB JP), so if there is noise after setting everything up then I'll know to get some balanced cables. Boy, I've got my work cut out for me next week! Keep the tips coming as i'll need all the help I can get...

Now, this weekend comes the conversion of the effects loop to series... The GT-8 should be here Monday so I should be ready to go when it comes in!

 

[SneakyPete]

One thing I found necessary - when doing your sound leveling between using the Preamp and not, you'll have to fiddle with the Output and Master knobs first. So if I want to toggle my Loop on or off (so I can have a clean sound), I worked with the Output and Master knobs to get the levels set. Once that was set, I had a set place where I could then make sure that my patch levels are matched to the preamp sound.

I agree on the fx mod - had it done and it did make a difference. Once thing I would also suggest that worked for me. Get a pedal snake (http://www.pedalsnake.com/) - this cleaned up my rig so much and there was no degradation to my sound.

Good luck!![/url]

 

[Laskyman]

The key to getting good tones out of the GT-8 starts with the setup

I will echo this statement as THE most important step in using a GT8 4CM rig. The GT8 is very powerful and ultra versatile- but can sound like @ss if you rush through the leveling process.
If you get it right, you will enjoy this set-up....
Laskyman

 

[jdurso]

they are the answer (or having quality unbalanced cables) to eliminate noise that can be picked up within the cable going between the gt8 and the head. when i had the zoom 9.2 going from unbalanced to balanced made a hug difference in terms of reducing noise.

Not saying you're wrong on that, I just wanted to point out that it's not key to getting the best sound out of the unit. I just didn't want the poster to have false expectations. The key to getting good tones out of the GT-8 starts with the setup. Eliminating noise from problematic gear is really something that should have been taken care of already. I agree with you, it's just that the poster should understand that the setup is very important here.

agreed

 

[MusicManJP6]

modified the effects loop to series today. That's the first step toward setting up the GT-8 easier...

 

[Mr. Brady]

I have my tremoverb set up to use the GT-8 with the 4 cable method. It's great. No more tap dancing, i've got it set up to switch channels on the tremoverb as well as add effects. I also use some of thee gt-8 preamps for mid gain and low gain and some different lead tones.

I have the tremoverb's channels set up for a nice clean and a nice high gain rhythm tone. I then and add chorus, compression, or delay to the Tremoverb's channels as necessary. I use the tremoverb's dirty channel with a boost from the GT-8 for solos.

I have several patches set up for mid gain rhythm tones using the GT-8 as the amp. It sound pretty good going into the power amp of the Tremoverb. The tremoverb's power amp makes the gt-8's preamp warmer and more responsive.

I use the Soldano model and the Triamp model on the GT-8 for more of a marshally voiced rhythm and lead tone.

It's the most flexible, best sounding rig I've had for live use. One button on the gt-8 can do it all rather than having to tap dance to switch channels on the amp, the tap dance on various pedals to add effects. I don't notice a change of the basic tone of the amp with it in the loop either.

 

[Newysurfer]

For anyone who owns a GT-8 "GT Brilliance" is essential reading. Download it for free from here.

http://www.bossgtcentral.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15464

Also essential is being a member of the www.BossGTCentral.com forum.
You'll never understand the GT-8 well until you are.

Do you guys know there's been a GT-10 out for a few months. From all reports it's a major upgrade from the Gt-8.