TC Electronic G-Force vs G-Major

[screamingdaisy]

Any opinions on these two units? I'm particularily interested in what you think of their delay, reverb, chorus, and pitch-shift/harmonize effects.

Also, in your opinion is the G-Force worth nearly triple the price?

 

[Erik]

They G-Major and G-Force use the same components in their circuits, but they're "arranged" a little differently. What I mean is that the actual effect on your amps natural tone will be the same, but the output in the effects can be different. With the G-Force you can run each effect in either serial or parallel mode. The G-Major doesn't give you the ability to run each effect in those modes, but it gives you a global option of running them in either serial, parallel, or semi-parallel mode.

 

[cvansickle]

I use a G-Major. I've got the latest software release, and I'm really exploiting the harmony settings. I have presets for third, fourth, fifth, seventh, octave and ninth harmonies, as well as bass guitar and blue box settings. Harmonies sound good for Thin Lizzy leads. Sub octaves are good for some Gov't Mule songs.

I like the reverb and chorus sounds just fine. I'm still experimenting with delays, as I don't really need anything fancy for those sounds.

 

[visualrocker69]

Resurrecting this thread.

Besides the Triaxis vs Mark IV thing, I need to choose between these effects units. Any opinions from people who've tried both? Does the price REALLY justify the difference in *quality* of the effects that both of them have, for example?

Thanks

 

[lockbody]

I owned a G-Force for a while and from my experiences, and those of people that I trust their "ear" who have owned the G-Major, I'd say that unless you really need intelligent pitch-shifting, tonewise, the differences between the two are fairly minor. No "tone suckage" with either unit in an effects loop, or in series in a rack.

That said, I have read a couple of reviews from people who have claimed to have owned both, and they're written that the two do not compare in the quality of the effects. all I can say is that they are very nice. As transparent and lush as any rack unit I have ever used (I go back to the Digitech GSP-5 days).

I did like the interface of the G-Force. Very intuitive. As simple, or as deep as you wanted to go. More Parameters to tweak in the G-Force.

Construction of the G-Major is not in the same league as the G-Force from what I've read.

There's a reason, years after they've been discontinued, the G-Force still fetches big bucks on ebay and the such. Like I said above, unless you really need intelligent three-part harmony pitch shifting, or are interested in creating new, exciting, "soundscapes", as opposed to having great "bread and butter" effects, the G-Major may be the ticket.

 

[visualrocker69]

There's a reason, years after they've been discontinued, the G-Force still fetches big bucks on ebay and the such. Like I said above, unless you really need intelligent three-part harmony pitch shifting, or are interested in creating new, exciting, "soundscapes", as opposed to having great "bread and butter" effects, the G-Major may be the ticket.

The G-Force is discontinued?

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/TC-Electronic-GForce-Effects-Processor?sku=183020

Anyway, I do think I'll get the G Major for now and upgrade later.

G Force = 1500 new, 1000ish used (although lately it's been a bit lower)
G Major = 400 new, 250ish used.

If they're both transparent and sonically similar, than I see no reason (for now) to get the G Force. I'm not in need of its extra capabilities yet.

 

[KoolAIDMan]

G Force = 1500 new, 1000ish used (although lately it's been a bit lower)
G Major = 400 new, 250ish used.

If they're both transparent and sonically similar, than I see no reason (for now) to get the G Force. I'm not in need of its extra capabilities yet.

I ordered a G-Force Blem from Musicians Friend. When I got it, it appeared to be a brand new unopened item!! I couldn't be more pleased!

Now they are even cheaper than what I paid - now only $1,146.73

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/TC-Electronic-GForce-Effects-Processor?sku=183020X&src=3SOSWXXA[/b]

These go quick. If you're in the market for one, grab it fast.

 

[lockbody]

There's a reason, years after they've been discontinued, the G-Force still fetches big bucks on ebay and the such. Like I said above, unless you really need intelligent three-part harmony pitch shifting, or are interested in creating new, exciting, "soundscapes", as opposed to having great "bread and butter" effects, the G-Major may be the ticket.

The G-Force is discontinued?

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/TC-Electronic-GForce-Effects-Processor?sku=183020

Anyway, I do think I'll get the G Major for now and upgrade later.

G Force = 1500 new, 1000ish used (although lately it's been a bit lower)
G Major = 400 new, 250ish used.

If they're both transparent and sonically similar, than I see no reason (for now) to get the G Force. I'm not in need of its extra capabilities yet.

Well huh. I don't know why I thought they'd been discontinued. I could swear I read that somewhere. Oh well.

 

[scottkahn]

I wrote an in-depth comparative review of the G-Force vs. the G-Major that we published a few months ago. Here's the link:

http://www.musicplayers.com/reviews/guitars/2007/0307_TCElectronic_G.php

Enjoy!

Scott

 

[visualrocker69]

Yeah, it was a great review. I just wanted another perspective, perhaps somewhat VALIDATING the G Force's price and attributing it to higher quality of sound. BUt no such luck - G Major it is :lol:

 

[scottkahn]

I have owned two G-Majors over the years (still have unit #2). I was really excited about obtaining a G-Force for review so that I could really compare the units. I had it for a few months so there was plenty of time to really put it to use.

When I was done, I was really underwhelmed by the G-Force. Other than the great harmonizer, my tone was no different using it for my chorus, delay, reverb, compression than it was with the G-Major, and the G-Major was easier to use.

The G-Force is more costly simply because it was manufactured in Denmark using more expensive components from different suppliers. The newer G-Major takes advantage of lower-cost manufacturing while still having high quality sound.

Now I'm using the G-System, though, and think it sounds fantastic. Better than the other units, actually, since it can route some FX (like wah and filters) in front of the amp rather than in the FX loop.

Scott

 

[visualrocker69]

I heard that the G System had some SERIOUS issues... what's the deal with that?

 

[scottkahn]

I don't think it has any serious issues.

There were supposedly some reliability bugs in the first revision but those were resolved with the first firmware update. I haven't seen any reliability issues.

People have a tough time sometimes setting their levels properly, particularly when using a four-cable wiring scheme that lets you run some effects into the front of your amp and other effects into the effects loop. This is the most complex thing to figure out.

Because of the way modern Boogie amp switching jacks are wired, you can't use the G-System to directly control some of the amps like the Roadster/Road King and other 3/4 channel models in the line. I won't go into the details here, but with just a G-System and one of these amps, the best you can do is switch between two channels, so you really have to add a switching unit from Axxess Electronics or a few other companies to do the channel switching via MIDI.

Those quirks asside, there are no issues. It sounds fantastic, has incredible flexibility, has loops for external pedals (and it powers them, too), and is easy to program once you get the hang of the new interface.

I've lost count of all the pros now using G-Systems.

 

[Blueser]

Can you run the G-System in the effects loop of an amp, like say my Lonestar Classic?

 

[scottkahn]

Yes. With the "typical" two-cable method, you run it in the effects loop of your Lonestar. It will sound similar quality-wise to the G-Major and G-Force, and other good FX processors.

But you have the added advantage of using a four-cable method where your guitar cable goes into the G-System and three cables run between the G-System, your amp's input jack, AND your amp's effects loop. In this wiring scenario, the G-System routes filter and wah-based effects to the front of your amp and things like delay/chorus/reverb to the effects loop.

There have only been 2-3 other guitar products on the market with this kind of advanced capability -- the Lexicon MPX-G2 comes to mind in particular. Obviously, getting the wah and filters in front of the amp sounds significantly "better" (from an effects purist perspective) than running those in the loop of your amp.

Scott

 

[Storm]

The Boss GT6 and GT8 did the same thing with three wires to the amp.

Ciao ...

 

[nomad100hd]

the 4th wire was for channel switching

 

[metal190]

Yeah you can't stress that enough - the importance of having certain FX in front and certain FX in the loop.

 

[SonicShredder]

I use a G-Major. I've got the latest software release, and I'm really exploiting the harmony settings. I have presets for third, fourth, fifth, seventh, octave and ninth harmonies, as well as bass guitar and blue box settings. Harmonies sound good for Thin Lizzy leads. Sub octaves are good for some Gov't Mule songs.

I like the reverb and chorus sounds just fine. I'm still experimenting with delays, as I don't really need anything fancy for those sounds.

With the latest software release it allows intelligent pitch shifting???

 

[Lopp]

But you have the added advantage of using a four-cable method where your guitar cable goes into the G-System and three cables run between the G-System, your amp's input jack, AND your amp's effects loop. In this wiring scenario, the G-System routes filter and wah-based effects to the front of your amp and things like delay/chorus/reverb to the effects loop.

Like mentioned above, the Boss GT-8 can also use the 4-cable method (4CM). Your guitar goes into the GT-8 input, the GT-8 effects send goes to your amp input, your preamp output or your effects send goes back to the GT-8 and the GT-8 output goes to the power amp or to your amp's effects return.

One challenge I have with the 4CM is with high-output pickups like the EMG-81 or the HFS on my PRS. Aside from other tonal aspects, a hot pickup gives extra drive to the first gain stage of a tube amp. Kind of like a TubeScreamer or Rat pedal. Running a hot pickup into an effects unit may defeat this purpose. In fact, in my case, it seems too hot for the GT-8 in that the tone quality seems worse than with lower output pickups. I wonder if the G-System is better at handing the heat.

-Lopp