This is the best GT-100 programming tutorial ever! Using the U87, setting the High Cut to 4k, and increasing the Hi Gain, will make all of the amp sims sound so much more better! And putting the RAT in front of a clean amp is also a great idea. For a long time I've been trying to get the best sounds using the SM57. Now I realize I should have started with the U87 instead.
Nice video deep dive into the GT-100, really helpful. You're so right about creating a pleasant sound, sometimes there is to much to tweak and the harshness is hard to lose. I like a lot of the presets but need something more 80's ish. I used to use a digitech RP12 straight into a PA for gigging, no lugging of an amp, just the PA, it was great then everyone became a purist tube audiophile and I had to change. Now I'm back into playing and went through a few amps and pedals and finally went back to a floor processor. I can say I am glad i got the GT-100, the interface is great and it is very user friendly once you read the manuals and watch the related videos.
Great job Simon. I use my GT100 straight into the PA in a duo and with 4cm with my marshall. Am loathe to upgrade when I still don't feel I've got the most out of this piece of kit. With the marshall I get great tone, but straight into the PA less so. This video really helped and was delvered in an informative but not condescending manner. Great job!!!!!
I think you are totally right. For every new pedal or multieffect, or pedal of any type that appears, I ask myself first if I can do it with my GT-100. Most of the time it works for me. I've saved a lot of money. Fun and very informative video! Thanks.
Fine video, Simon, I'm sure it will be of help to GT-users out there. Here are a few things to do and think about, which comes from my long-time experience with the GT-100 and other GT-units: One thing to consider is the "Input Calibration", which will take care of the Input, ensuring no clipping/digital distortion. Performing the Input Calibration on the unit itself will allow you to save that adjustment, but if you have a second guitar, you will have to calibrate the input again, and make sure to write down the setting, in order to quickly change the values, when switching guitars. Preamp models like the JC-120 and Clean Twin are good starting points, especially for adding OD/DS to push things. Another important aspect is the speaker-type choice, that will offer more versatility. A topic like "level matching" is also a HUGE part of getting a unit like this to really shine. Keeping your levels fairly even, will result in better sound and tone. If done incorrectly, or not at all, you will end up with uncontrolled gain stages, and that will tear things apart fast...
Thanks mate - yeah totally agree. I dont think my GT-001 has the input calibration so it looks as though it does differ slightly to the GT100. I used the JC-120 for years before I discovered the Boss Natural Clean preamp. I think the Tweed within the GTs still has a bit too much character but it's a lot better than a Marshall for example. It is a real shame Boss dropped the meter from the earlier models but if you have a DAW you can still set it up to avoid gain issues. Shame I screwed up the screen recording here but hopefully the point got across.
Nice video - it certainly helps that you know what you're going for. That's half the battle really. There are a total of 3 EQs available if you use Fx1 and Fx2, and you can even make them graphic EQs, not to mention placing one before the overdrive. I have a hard time justifying buying something expensive to replace my GT-100 - with new gear, I manage to make it sound like the gear it replaced 😂. Anyway it was nice to see another well thought out approach.
Thanks Simon, great inspiration to dig deeper into my own settings! I thought your presentation and the way you delivered the session was really easy to listen to, it felt like when you get in the music shop and find some friends are in there and sharing passion about the craft. I have just started using my GT100 again and will happily sit with my headphones looking to reproduce the "perfect" sound. Like yourself I found starting out with a Vanilla setting and adding my own flavours was an effective way to sculpture the sound. keep on keeping' on!
Great video! Thanks for making. Always worth looking at one's current gear as often the latest and more expensive options often offer incremental improvements.
I completely agree. I'm still using my GT10 from 2006. I have to say, I did NOT know everything about my GT10 at all - even though, I thought I was an expert. Lol). In 2015, I started hating everything I've already recorded from 1999 - 2015, in both, GT8 and GT10. During my time (2006 - 2021), I could never getting a real amp sound. It's always sounding like a analog pedal in the 80s. I even tried selling my GT10 in Craigslist a couple times too. I'm glad no one else bought it. Then in the beginning of 2022, I finally bought my HELIX [$1,600 (0uch! Lol) ], like everyone else. Within 2 weeks playing, I returned it; I hated. In the same time, I almost sold my GT10 in Ebay & Reverbs as well, but then, somehow, something tells me that I needed to re-"learn" my pedal for one more time. Within 3 hours, man...I just realized, there were a few more tricks to sound like real amp. I've never known that. Now, my GT10 is my main for everything: gigging, rehearsing, and recording. So your title is correct. My Boss GT10 / GT100 are good enough to rival of Helix and Kemper (and GT1000).
That's a great story! I think for control in a live situation the GT10 is streets ahead of everything else. I love my Quad Cortex but I have to use a big Behringer MIDI pedal board to get the most from it for shows. I'm glad you fell back in love with the GT10 - it is a fantastic and massively underrated machine.
Yep, so few people spend enough time to get the true potential out of all of these units. My little Digitech RP360XP can sound very good by building your own patches, and esp so if using an IR pedal like the Boss IR200. Don't need to spend a ton of money to have great sound.
Thanks buddy, I learnt a lot from that even though I don't use Boss now (TH-U), it was very informative. Now I've seen those monitors, I'm glad I didn't buy them off you the other week, way too big for my setup without getting my hammer and chisel out ;)
Fantastic! It took me so long to get through this whole video because I kept pausing and tweaking these base settings you are providing and then jamming and tweaking. So fun. Great video. One of the best I've seen.
I saw a lot of videos about the GT-100 programming. I was about to give up because of the poor sound I got from it. No really tried yed, but I will definetly do it when I go home. I'm sure it will works fine, addins an IR's could be even more realistic! Thx you!
Your approach seems similar as to use the fx return of the guitar amp (in my case, Trace Elliot Speed Twin 100H) as only input for the gt-100. I don't use any amp model from the gt-100, instead i use the metal zone from the gt-100 and that sounds absolutely killer! So use a distortion from the gt-100 and feed it directly to the powerstage of your amp, which is also a natural clean amp.
Strange that I never really had a problem with a harsh "digital" top end with my unit, maybe I cannot hear that high anymore?? LOL I am extremely satisfied with my GT-100, no real need to "upgrade" for me except having a separate smaller unit for live would be handy... Nice video!
Interesting approach Simon. Most people wouldn't think to go with a clean amp... You didn't mention cabs other than staying on the original. It seems cabs and IR's can make a big difference to an amp sim. I know you like the GTs and they are great.. be interesting what you thought of software amps like BIas and Amplitube. Good video....
Thanks for watching, Laurence. I've only used the settings described in this video. The GTs are tricky to get realistic amp sounds from so you can use other settings but they may not sound as good. I've never used plug ins but I am about to test drive the Nolly and Plini from Neural DSP. The demos show these are clearly in a different league to everything that's gone before so I'm judg hoping my CPU can handle it!!!
@@SimonCLees as Glenn Fricker on Spectre sounds pointed out Helix and Kemper will be outdated when the newest modeler comes out that claims is bigger and better, they work on the Apple method they uses bringing out the newest I phone every couple of years keeping people on the teat which is the latest and greatest which in fact doesn’t do any more than an I phone 6 what I have.
@@Matthew_Scan the reason I made this video is the inherent harshness you tend to get in the GT sounds. It's a really strange phenomenon that can't completely be solved with EQ. Because of this harshness the sounds tend not to sit well within a mix without a lot of work. Kempers, Axe FX and Helixes tend not to suffer with this. The settings I've shown in this vid are as close as I could get to a smooth natural distortion sound using the GT avoiding the usual GT harshness. It doesn't really matter if the Kempers and Helix get superceeded - they already sound fine! I do like the look of the Quad Cortex though!
Thanks Simon for your time here and your explanations....I have a GT100 and a Blackstar HT5...I run Logic Pro, sadly the Boss Central interface does not work for me, I have OSX Catalina...bit frustrated about that...but hey ho..I use my small screens on the GT100...thanks again...now to test it out...cheers
Thanks, Karl - sorry to hear about Boss Tone Central. The GT100 does have a great user interface though so it shouldn't be too much aggravation for you.
@@SimonCLees jamming just now...fantastic sound thanks to you....playing along with some Sabbath and then Slade.....great afternoon and all down to you ...thanks a lot..from Jersey
AMAZING VIDEO!!! I was about to about to pull the plug on my GT 100 because I couldn’t get a decent sound I liked, using the effects return of my Mesa DC5. Tried these settings and got amazingly close to the tone I was after. Very pleased. Thank You so much for putting this out there. It was a Godsend. Is there a better setting if you’re using the way I am on the effects return of a stack head vs. going into the headphones setting. 🙏
22:10 just an content creator advise (not my case) you should have done that shred in the first minute of the video and the audience would be 100k by now, believe me. wonderful tips my friend, funny that we share the same age? im 50 , and "some-same" guitar skills, great video and cheers from portugal. ps--i went mad and i bought the gt-1000, is actually amazing(the core system)
Great Video thanks for that!🙏🏻 What should i change in Settings if i Run it through my Tubeamp (in my case its a Bugera v22 with 4-cable method) Haven‘t watched it complete because my pause from work is not that long😅
Thanks for your kind comment, Chris. I haven't tried running it into a guitar amp so I can't really advise you there I'm afraid. My starting point would be to turn off the PreAmp section. After that you'd have to use your own judgement.
Thanks for this, Simon. I'm working on your advice but a few additional questions: what are your Global settings (some users don't use it, others swear by tweaking) and what Compression Sim are you using? Thanks
Hi David - thanks for your comment. I have switched to Neural DSP now so I no longer have the GT-001. I wouldn't worry too much about the Global settings. If you notice a massive difference in EQ between plugging your guitar straight in compared with plugging into the GT-001 then maybe you can tweak that to correct it. I remember liking the Orange Comp although the Comp settings I used hardly changed the sound.
Great video, How can I bypass my amps settings and effectively use it as a loud speaker? Rather than plugging a GT100 into a clean channel etc? Haven’t used it for years; I remember plugging into the back (used 2 cables) then a guy in a guitar shop said, even tho you’re plugging into the back you’re still not bypassing the amps settings? 🤷♂️. Like I said, not used it for years, but would like to.
You can plug into the Return socket instead of your amplifier input. That should bypass most of the amplifier circuitry. Personally I prefer to go into the input so I have a bit more control over the final sound. Guitar amps and speakers are not hi-fi anyway so I don't think bypassing parts of the circuitry makes a worthwhile difference. If you do plug into the input just remember to keep the level as low as what comes out of your guitar directly. I have destroyed speakers by having a loud signal coming from my FX into the amp's input.
What a fine video ! Great knowledge share - one quick question - any idea why when using g tone studio that the additional pages are ‘greyed out’ for things like cabinets and mics ? I’m trying to edit the HI gain stack patch.
@@SimonCLees no worries, I’ll keep plugging away . Learnt so much from your video , more than any official documentation. Thanks for taking the trouble to reply. Much appreciated.
@@markroke9368 I had that problem too following the video but then I saw he had his set to line/phones, once i set mine to line/phones on the output the additional pages appeared so basically i believe he uses the output for his as set to line straight into a PA or other devce then into the amp for this demo
Hi Juan - I think I left the Global EQ at the default setting. I no longer use the GT-001 so it's difficult to check. I have used Global EQ in the past but I'm pretty sure I didn't want to over complicate things here!
No - I've never used the 4 cable method. Since the early 90s guitarists have been chasing warmer, less clinical sounds and I think one way to achieve this is to avoid using effects loops. You just have to check your levels going into your amp's input don't exceed that coming from your pickups - or at least be careful not to go too crazy!
Hi, what would you advice someone today, choosing between the GT-1 (budget option, COSM) and the new GX-100 (not so budget, AIRD). Help! :) Oh, and excellent tutorial.
Hi Simon, On my Boss Tone Studio , tabs 4 and 5 (the ones that has the mic settings) its somehow disable, im not able to click on it... do you know why? Thanks in advance.
I'm really sorry to hear that mate. I no longer have Boss Tone Studio so I can't really help. Normally when things are greyed out it's because the settings are not available on the amp type you've chosen or there may be a global setting you need to adjust. I'd look in the System menu and see if something there might be the cause.
Good day. I have a Boss Gt-100 conected throught the 4 cable method to a Marshal Amp. If I still want to use the amp simulation in the GT-100, where must I put the loop S/R (send/return); before or after the amp simulations. Please reply. Thank you.
Hi Fernando - if you're using amp sims into your amp you need them to go into the Return of the amp and not the input. I'm not that familiar with the 4CM but I understand the modulation delay and reverb FX go into the amp Return. The amp sim should go the same way.
I use a helix and a boss gt1000 live, at very loud volume( direct to PA).Yours settings are good in a small room, with latte studio monitor, but at loud volume are not good.Is impossibile to have a patch that sound good in bedroom and in a live gig( fletcher munson effects).It's a terribile idea to boost the 4khz at loud volume.( i always cut this freqs live)for example.
Can anyone suggest a good tutorial series on how to use the GT-100? I have owned one for a long time but I am so new to playing guitar, I am somewhat overwhelmed. I think I need help with tone in general and all of the lingo/basics. Pedals and all are rather new to me, as a beginner. I just had to have this thing, but it is collecting dust and I want to get more into using it. Any help would be much appreciated.
I'm just not a fan of the Boss GT100. I could never get the sound I wanted out of it. I tweeked till I was blue in the face. Just wasn't getting what I was looking for. Then I got the Quilter Tone Block 202 and actual REAL pedals and I'm now blown away with my sound. I'm a HUGE fan of Quilter amplification. I've not found anything better.
Dear Simon, if this does not bother you would you be so kind to tell me if in this video the Gt 001 was directly connected to the pc via USB or via an audio interface? English is not my mother tongue and although I watched your video many times I can't figure out this piece of information. Thanks in advance
Hi Obenda - no problem at all. I was actually using the GT-001 as the computer interface. It works fine and has a single mic input which has the option of phantom power if you need it. It was connected to the PC via USB.
@@SimonCLees I actually own a Boss GT001 but I was not able to get such a nice tone as you did. Your video gave me very useful insights, I'll try them since I can't afford a new device. I hope you may want to answer to these other two questions: 1) is it possible to hook a bass guitar to the GT001 and record a decent bass sound? I thought using the natural preamp..what do you think? 2) I've a guitar wht the Lukather EMG active pickups...There are special tweaking for the input guitar level or I just to have to care about not clipping the signal that goes into the DAW? Greetings and thanks a lot
@@obendaperkins5574 yeah you can get a good bass sound from the GT. I recently made a new bass sound so at some point I might share my settings but yeah it can be done. Always avoid clipping. I find the Boss stuff is pretty quiet so you can have a low signal without any noise problems. Happy Christmas!
I use the GT100 in to a HRD4 with a strat. Its a little bright so I've assigned FX1 to the graphic and cut some of the higher bands. Sounds great! It does use up FX1 though so using the mic position or global settings is an interesting idea. I don't use a preamp on the unit so any suggestions on something neutral gain and tonewise?
Thanks man! I've got a strat and this helps me have an idea of some things I could or should do when my GT-1000 comes in. Do you have any other tips or suggestions in the time you've used it? Any help would be appreciated
Glad you like the ideas. It's the GT100 I have but I guess there are many similarities. On my unit I set a patch with a basic sound then bring in effects by assigning. For one band I have three basic patches - Clean, Drive and More drive. On each pressing the patch button a 2nd time increases the volume for Lead - look for "Hidden Assign" on Google. I don't use the Looping functionality so use that and the Ctrl footswitch for additional effects. You can assign multiple effects to a footswitch, eg I have Chorus and Echo assigned to the Phrase loop pedal on my Clean patch. You can also assign any parameter, eg on the my More drive patch if I press the Ctrl pedal it increases the Gain and decreases the level to compensate - wicked Parisienne walkways sound :) ... ENJOY
So this is great If I want to use this in a Iive setting I should load up my computer along with my other gear and bring all that crap with me I bet open mic hosts love seeing this when guitar players show up with all that shit LMAO 🤣🤣🤣
Thanks for the video. I bought my GT100 about 7 years ago, never used it directly into the PA but with my Fender Hod Rod Deluxe or AC30. It took a while and also your tutorial to make it sounds great. Thanks for the hints! My band recorded our current album a month ago, all guitar tracks were powered by my GT-100, and I think it sounds nice. What do you think, let me know. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Nb-xfJje85Q.html
@@SimonCLees I respect your efforts. What would help is organization of the information. 98% of similar videos follow this format: 1) intro: identify the # of unique tones and play through each of the kick-ass tones to show us what the end product is 2) walkthrough dialing in the tones 3) provide time markers for each dial-in and playthrough. Of course it is your right to do it how you want. Just trying to help you get aligned with some of the norms for these kinds of vids.
@@dallasbiggz7007 do you not fucking get it? He doesn’t have to do this for you or anyone and is giving decent information. Ye guys that come on here and expect everything exactly the way ye want it with no appreciation are ridiculous, like a spoiled child
This in nooooo way rivals the helix or kemper. A Gen1 Axefx and even a pod X3 blows this out of the water. Also, WAAY too much talking. I had to go through to twelve minutes before you stated playing anything with gain. Cleans are easy to model, gain is harder. This sounds bad man, no balls and weak all the way through.