Boss GT-1000 released

  • Good luck, DML.


    We'll see you when you eventually return, mate. ;)

    Thanks, MM!!


    Never say never but I don't think I will return to a KPA. Why invest € 2100,- when I can get my sound out of a € 999,- piece of gear?


    Probably the next step will be returning to a full tube amp again.

  • Yeah, that's pretty much what I was thinking, DML (the tube-amp step).


    Here's a breakdown, step-by-step, of how I arrived at the "return" prediction:


    1) Sell Kemper and embrace the Roland.
    2) Roland sounds great, but after a while you begin to miss the ol' true-tube-amp response (and sound) whilst playing.
    3) Return to tube amps (keeping or selling the GT).
    4) One tube amp just isn't enough to produce all the tones you hear in your head!
    5) Enter stage left: Kemper.


    That's the template at any rate. The only reason I haven't succumbed to it is 'cause I put 25 years into jumping from one modeller to the next - Digitech GSP2101, Digitech Genesis 3, Nobels Sound Studio (that one goes way back to the late '80s and was inspired by the Rockman), Sansamp PSA-1 (great unit, and not digital), POD & Bass POD v1, v2, xt (bean and Pro versions of each), X3 (Live and Pro versions) and HD 500... and I can't remember what else ~ there've been so many. The point is that I grew to know the limitations of "conventional" modelling intimately from a sound and playing / feel perspective, and I honestly didn't know what I was missing out on 'til I borrowed a little Vox combo (cream-coloured with, IIRC, only a volume and tone knob, and only a few watts). Suddenly all became clear. Kemper delivered that same experience - organic-sounding tone/s and immediacy of feel and response to playing, and after those decades in the wilderness there can be no going back.


    Maybe you just need some time in that wilderness to enhance / reinvigorate your appreciation of the tube / Kemper thing (yes, I'm placing them in the same category!)?


    That was my thinking anyway. Sometimes we need to "lose" what we have for a while in order to fully appreciate its value, something I'm sure you're aware of. For now 'though, the utility of the GT (convenience factor) is overriding the "authentic" tube experience for you, and I totally get that; it's providing gratifying sounds, after all. What I'm essentially saying is that the convenience factor and sound alone can only take you so far before things come full-circle.


    I could be way, way off in your case, but this "template", based upon experience, observation and human nature, is surprisingly-universal IMHO.


    Once more, and with feeling, good luck man! ;)<3

  • Wow, M_M, that's a big story!!


    Here's the deal:
    The past 25 years I've played for almost 13 years on Koch amps exclusively, after that I've had a Mesa Triple Rectifier for more than 10 years. So one amp is enough for me to produce all the tones I have in my head. I think if you know your guitar and amp like the back of your hand and you are aware of your and your gear's abilities, you can get any sound you want. At the same time I had all kinds of digital guitarstuff, sometimes to complement the tube amp, sometimes stand alone. Roland, Boss, Rocktron, Line6, Yamaha, you name, I';ve had them all, just like you. But the digital stuff came and went, just like you described. The KPA for me is still a digital thing and doesn't compare with i.e. a Mesa Triple Recto with Recto 4x12.
    I've said it all before at those comparisons (KPA vs. "the real deal"....... bla bla bla), if you want 100% tube sound, buy a tube amp. If you want someting that comes very close, buy a KPA. If you want a 100% 4x12-sound, buy a 4x12. And so on.


    Why are you talking about "convenience"? Till yesterday I've had a KPA rack in the band-truck, including crew that always sets things up, and a KPA toaster at home/ rehearsal. How much more convenient can it get? :D Again, as far as the KPA can go, it can sound pretty tube-like, but if you want 100% tube sound, buy a tube amp.


    In the end we are all guitarists, so we change our gear from time to time. The KPA isn't the last thing in life, it just isn't.
    So I predict that most of you will play something different within 5 years 8o

  • Ha!


    I have to agree with everything you said, mate. I mentioned convenience 'cause of the GT's ease of use. Someone else must've mentioned that it's more-convenient and I associated that with you for some reason. Sorry bud!


    I know I won't need to play anything other than a Kemper in the next 5 years or even much, much longer than that, 'cause I don't play live and don't have the facilities or funds to do real rigs studio-justice (mic'ing in great rooms with top-notch gear); it's a home-recording tool for me, and is certainly close-enough to that real-tube-amp sound for my purposes.


    Thank you for fleshing your situation out for me, man; I appreciate that very much. All I can do now is wish you good luck once again, DML. 8o;)

  • You think that my soundguy's remark is the only thing I made my decission upon? Serious?I guess I hope you see you're doing the same thing: checked out the DD500, didn't like it so the rest must be "meh" as well.
    Don't care if you put the Boss stuff at the range of something like the 1101 (you know every guitarist, all over the world, pro or amateur has got at least one Boss pedal on their boards......), in the end, I'm happy with it and that's all that counts, doesn't it?
    And yes, sooner or later I will be back on a full tube amp, a Kemper did not change that idea anyway :D


    Go play your KPA and have lots of fun with it. I know I did!!

    Old Boss is not the new Boss. Sorry man, seen your story since the late 80's. Just another rerun. Good luck and see you soon. ;)

  • I think most of the Kemper profiles sound duff. You know why? It all comes down to your own taste, as said before I use mainly three or four profiles.So 95% of all profiles in the Rig Manager are useless to me and/ or sound really like crap. Maybe it's even more, like 99%.
    I don't think it's different with any other modeler. Can I get "my sound" out of a KPA? Yes. Can I get it out of a GT-1000? Yes. And I think I can get them out of a Helix or Axe as well.


    Very true.


    Really happy you've found a unit to make happy.


    Party on dude!


  • I think a lot of us have been on this journey ;)


    Convenience is a massive factor for me. I just want something that sounds good and is easy to set up live.


    So far KPA ticks all those boxes, there is very little missing from the package so its stopped my GAS for 3 years ( including pedals). No other amp has ever done that so I'm thinking its a keeper on that basis..


    But there is always something that can tempt you...I think guitarists are always looking for more and so we will all regularly change stuff. The grass is sometimes greener but not always.

  • I am actively interested in this thread as I've just ordered a GT-1000; ultimately, I may end up utilizing it paired with the KPA.


    I like the GT-1000 for its tone & dynamics (I am a sucker for BOSS stuff), seamless patch switching, and how compact it is - it's almost ridiculously small. I will treat it as a plug & play platform for fx experimentation, and quiet guitar practice.


    I wonder how the KPA & the GT-1000 get along in the same signal chain - I am expecting a lot of goose bumps, lol.

    --
    Cheers!


    When it comes to the tone, go for the jugular!

  • I am actively interested in this thread as I've just ordered a GT-1000; ultimately, I may end up utilizing it paired with the KPA.


    I like the GT-1000 for its tone & dynamics (I am a sucker for BOSS stuff), seamless patch switching, and how compact it is - it's almost ridiculously small. I will treat it as a plug & play platform for fx experimentation, and quiet guitar practice.


    I wonder how the KPA & the GT-1000 get along in the same signal chain - I am expecting a lot of goose bumps, lol.

    I'll be trying that as soon as I get some spare time to goof around. Been working a stupid amount of hours lately and life has been put on the back burner.

  • (you know every guitarist, all over the world, pro or amateur has got at least one Boss pedal on their boards......),

    Wrong! I don't have any Boss pedal. ^^

    Think for yourself, or others will think for you wihout thinking of you

    Henry David Thoreau

  • I’ve got a GT1000 coming tomorrow too. Really excited, and cannot wait for it to land. To be honest, I’m not expecting KPA quality tones out of it, but the latest YouTube demos have got me all moist. If I can get close enough tones I’ll be happy. And the only way I’ll return to the Kemper fold is if/when they decide to produce a floor unit. That’s half of the appeal of the Boss GT as far as I’m concerned.

  • And the only way I’ll return to the Kemper fold is if/when they decide to produce a floor unit

    I was very tempted to take this path, but a direct head to head comparison at my home changed my mind. (Even if my spine now curses me and momentarily takes bitter revenge on me again ;( )
    If a device comes and sounds closer to the Kemper, I will probably have to change.
    Now, I always have to ask my bandmates to wear my stuff.

  • Okay, so the GT1000 turned up this morning. Mortified when I opened the box, as it was abundantly obvious that it had been repackaged, and had clearly been a shop-floor model. Covered in greasy fingerprints, the remnants of a price sticker partially removed, and the presets all over the place. All the more annoying as I enquired over the phone whether they had unfettered stock or not. I would not have ordered from them had I known that a demo model was going to be sent . Anyhow, after a good moan on the phone, the complaints guy was very apologetic, and pledged me a couple of sets of strings.


    So spent the morning cleaning it up, and trying to work out how to perform a factory reset. Eventually got it sorted, and was finally ready to plug the guitar in. I hooked the GT up to the Return socket of my Katana 100 and went through the presets. Well, it ain’t no Kemper, that’s for sure. Although it’s not a bad unit, I was quite disappointed with the, much lauded, A.I.R.D technology. All of this talk of how reactive it is, and it feels like a real amp etc.... Well, not to me it doesn’t. Irrespective of gain level, all my variations of pick attack, and guitars volume pot didn’t really get much response from the unit other than making it louder or quieter. I eventually spent ages trawling through the menus trying to see if something was set that shouldn’t be. A global compressor or something. But couldn’t find anything that stood out. The Katana amp, as a stand-alone unit is very responsive to pick attack etc.


    I’ll have a few days trying to see if I can’t get it to do what it’s supposed to do. Unless it is doing what it’s supposed to do, and my expectations are too high. But I would at least expect it to equal the Katana, which doesn’t boast the all singing, all dancing A.I.R.D.


    Also, the coloured bars seem to be a bit random. The stock presets seem to use any colour at any time for fx, so you’re never quite sure what the CTRL switches are doing. On other units, a protocol is usually followed - drive/distortion red, reverb green etc, or whatever the chosen colour scheme is. I know I can change these myself per preset, but it does seem a bit mad. Not sure if it’s just my unit with some rogue settings that the reset didn’t clear, or if it’s par for the course. It would also have been nice if some attempt could have been made to set the volume levels for each preset within a similar range. I switch to a preset, can hardly hear it, crank it up and all is well. Choose another preset, hit a chord and blow the windows out of the house.


    Positives? It is very sturdy, has a nice footprint, and the expression pedal works very well. There are some very nice fx, the Flanger is great for instance . There are loads of routing options, although an aux/mp3-in would have been nice for practise.


    I haven’t updated the firmware as yet, so that might bring about some welcome improvements. Time shall tell