GT-Pro - Less than stellar?

[Radley]

So far, the lack of substantial comments regarding the actual sounds & major improvements of the GT-Pro would seem to imply somewhat underwhelming first impressions. I realize this is a more complex piece of gear than the GT-8 & such, but it seems if there were major sonic improvements, people would be raving by now, no? At this point, I would lean towards the GT-8.

-Rad-

[aerial7]

um, how can you draw such a conclusion? I specifically addressed this in my feedback on the Pro when I said that I have to assume the 8 and the Pro are identical in terms of sound quality. So, if my assumption holds, then the Pro can only be "less than stellar" if the same is true for the 8.....

HOWEVER, it would take somebody who has a) access to both b) some sorta audio engineering background to compare the two to see if the Pro has any better sound quality. I don't meet either of those criteria. (A friend of mine has the 8, so in theory I might be able to produce A/B recordings of both, but I'd rather write music than analyze frequencies.)

I haven't put up any samples because while it's now dirt-easy for me to record any ideas that come along, I'm _NOT_ a guitarist (more of a songwriter, than anything).

I do think the Pro may be better suited to "studio" work since, all other things being equal, digital audio over USB "should" be cleaner (and better than S/PDIF because of some USB-specific routing capabilities). Its XLR outputs should also provide a cleaner signal to the house/PA/poweramp.

I have said the "value proposition" of the Pro is dubious for most people -- you can look up my thoughts on that. However, I already had an FC-200, and I'm _very_ pleased with the Pro so far. Certainly not "underwhelmed".

I also don't think the Pro is all that more complex than the 8--really, the difference is just a more robust output section. And a simpler interface on the front of the device, complemented by the rather decent Editor software.

[ElGringo]

I'm with aerial7 on this! I love my GT-Pro! I think it sounds awesome, but I don't have a GT-8 to compare it to, either. I have been busy getting the setup that I am most happy with.

Plus, I am not sure exactly how many people have actually received their GT-Pro. I know of only three on here that have received theirs. I think a lot of other people have yet to receive them.

I seriously doubt the GT-Pro is any different sound wise than the GT-8. Do the other features warrant the greater price? Well, you can see our feelings on that very issue elsewhere.

[Radley]

I am rather sad to see that there has not been more input on the new, top-of-the-line GT-PRO.

-Rad-

[aerial7]

Yo, Rad, I've said it elsewhere to others: What do you want to know about the Pro? Want us to disassemble it a) to prove we possess it and b) to undo the mystique and c) so we can determine whether it's made of unobtainium or somethng?

Here's the recipe for a GT-Pro. Take a GT-8, discard the housing. Put it into a square box. On the back, add a sub-out section consisting of XLR l/r, and 1/4" l/r, a USB port, and voila -- you've got a GT-Pro.

To finish this line of thinking, what I don't get is why someone doesn't disassemble their 8 -- maybe somewhere in there are the connections for the USB port and other Pro-specific features. If it's there, somebody could make some real money building a Pro-style break-out box for the 8.
:lol:

Also, keep in mind that the Pro winds up with a different demographic than the 8: I'd been with my Boss GX-700 rackmount for almost 10 years, waiting for the next rackmount. So I totally missed out the experience, all the wisdom that had been accumulated by those who owned the various GT-x models over that time.

So, seriously, ask your questions -- you've got a few Pro owners who I'm sure would be happy to answer 'em. Either that, or maybe prove that the pics of my Pro are just photoshop'ed.... :roll:

[Radley]

Aerial7,

My post was meant to be rather tongue-in-cheek... to goad you guys into giving us a little more info! ;o)

Since it was apparently not funny to you (and others?), I have edited the post. I keep forgetting that sarcasm & such doesn't always come across in type like it does in person - know what I mean?

Cheers,
-Rad-

[aerial7]

Radley,

Got it -- no prob. I was also having a bit of fun with it.

If it's info you seek, ask away....

[BurningMidget]

Radley, I'm with you. Would like to hear some more about the Pro, but even still, I'm probably going to grab it as soon as the next paycheck comes in! I'll be using it as well as my XT Pro. Have some crazy ideas.....

tk

[aerial7]

BurningMidget,

What do you want to know about the Pro?

[ned78]

I suppose it's not specifics we all want to know, we'd like an indepth review. There isn't a single site on the net that has done a review of the GT-Pro, nor any magazines, and it will be some time before we see one.

So, in essence, what we're asking, as end-users still waiting for our kit, is for anyone on this board, to whet our appetites, take pictures, post audio clips, give us your thoughts on what is great, and what could be improved.

You are the lucky chosen few, you lucky lucky bastards :D

Owen
Loadsa Gear.

[aerial7]

take pictures, post audio clips, give us your thoughts on what is great, and what could be improved.

I've already taken pictures; look for them in my "I've gone Pro" thread.

As for audio clips, I'd say ElGringo/rcknrllrmn are best-qualified for that; you see, I can't really play guitar -- I just try to write songs on 'em. Anything worth sharing I'd probly keep to myself to try to develop a song out of, and anything else isn't worth sharing.

As for good/bad, it's the same as the 8, only different. The sub-out section really does make a difference: I have mine wired into my tech21 PowerEngine 60, and it's very convenient having the separate Output level knobs (one for Main, one for Sub). And the USB port is AWESOME, although nobody seems to have been able to get their recording software to provide useable monitoring of the signal (recordings are fine). (Also, my software seems to think it can only get 16-bit data outta the pro -- haven't had time to see whether that really is a Pro limitation.) The software is good, but I think it's a wash compared to Mr. Sleepy's GT-8 Editor, and in fact I think his will eventually be waaay better -- look how quickly it evolves!

FC-200 integration is just about perfect, as far as I can tell; I was pleasantly surprised by the tact Boss took (in terms of low-level implementation) but it works really well.

After that, it's an 8, really. Insane amounts of power, flexibility, but insane amounts of time required to learn how to get the most out of it. The software does help immensely in minimizing the tweak time.

My personal favorite feature of the Pro/8 is the Slicer fx. For some reason, song ideas just fall out of my playing around with that. I haven't spent much time with the preamps, although I seem to gravitate towards the T-amp Lead. I've also had a fair number of ideas fall out of the "Big Hall Clean" preset patch, mostly with my acoustics (incl. 12-string).

One improvement I'd like to see in the whole GT family is I think Boss needs to reinvent the series. Ditch the gimmicks. Standardize the preamp modeling such that us poor users know what the gain/tone values correspond to in the real world. Provide support to make leveling either automatic or brain-dead easy. Oh, and crank up the sample rate.