BOSS GT-6?? Or other units?

I know I should post this on the effects group however my provider doesn't

Anyway, I am looking at getting a Boss GT-6 and am wondering if there is anything else on the market that is worth taking a look at.

Just am not sure if I should spend $399 for the unit as I haven't been playing alot lately. I use to think that if I bought a cool piece of gear that it would make me play more but that is never the case as my life is very busy.

So are there any other units I should look at? Maybe an older model that I might be able to pick up a good bit cheaper.

Nothing to say about the GT-6, but I've been using a GT-5 for about 6 years.
I have not been displeased with the sound. I understand the GT-6 is a bit more tonally limited. OTOH, the GT-3 (which was introduced between the time of the GT-5 and the GT-6) has chassis-mounted jacks while the GT-5's are circuit board mounted. I would assume the GT-6 has chassis mounted jacks as well. I've had to mod the input jack on my GT-5 due to failure. I just drilled tha chassis for a proper jack. The extra knobs on the GT-6 look handy, too.

AAR, lots of good sounds to be had in the GT-5 - both direct and into an amp.
Liberty In My Lifetime!

Hey there Greg! I'm glad you posted your link. I think you play well.

Sorry for the long reply, but the more I feel like blasting out on all the
OT folks, the more I realize I should just keep on topic, or as closely connected to amps as effects can be

Say, what's your application? Live? Practice only? Studio? all? This makes a big difference - It sounds like you're talking about solo-bedroom-jamming , but correct me if I'm wrong...

I've tried the GT-5, the predecessor, and can vouch that that one is a great unit, if a digi multi floor-based box is what you going for. My buddy who owns it is a little overwhelmed by it, and I keep recommending he trade it in for the GT-6, which looks a lot easier to use. I've been intriqued by the GT6 unit myself - anything with a SPDIF output and speaker sims gets me reved as I like running the amp's DIs into them for recording.
Boss has a new unit (GS-10?) This looks really intriguing if you're doing any basement studio stuff and built in little speakers - great for working out stuff on the back porch with an acoustic player! It'even more expensive though, and it has no pedal board - it's basically a GT-6 with a mic pre, and USB for recording to PC.
If you're having trouble motivating yourself, recording some of your songs and overdubbing on top of them can be a real rut-buster I find - so this box might be worth the extra bux for you, so long as you've got a PC....

I've got a Yamaha DG-stomp, which I liked a lot until it conked out - I've got to open it up and see if any of the chips are lose or if I can find a cracked trace... but it seemed really tough for a year or two, and it's incredibly easy to use. It's probably the best for doubling as a desktop processor and a floor based processor. You can prolly find them even *new* at GC for $150, as they're discontinued. There is no stomp box modeling, and no loop, but there is the SPDIF out... Anyway, it's the most dynamic and realistic sounding amp-in-box machine I've heard.

I also recently picked up a J-station for $60 when the DG conked out...
it's a nice box - all metal... Totally not suitable for stage unless you buy an outboard midi board... it does 1 modulation at a time, plus delay and reverb. Again, there is no stomp box modeling, and no loop, but it also has a digital out. It's a surprisingly good sounding unit, after my bad experiences with some other Digitech gear (2120, rp-12).

I'd recommend going to the biggest store you can, and try everything out, even if it's a really long drive for you. Try to forget about how pretty or ugly a box is! Even better if you can find a place with lots of used gear, as it's priced more reasonably than all the new junk... After all this, I'd just hit ebay, or at least check it...

Just remember that the $400 you spend now will only get you $150 two years from now...

btw; Zoom GFX-8

I designed 40 of my own patches. One set is EQ'd for studio recording / headphones, the other for live / amp performance. In the event you go that way,
I can eMail attach these to you for MIDI download to your unit.

And if the original poster doesn't mind crappy playing, I have a number of snippets that try to exercise the GNX3 at

http://members.cox.net/oasysco/gregsong.htm

Having had the GNX3 for more than 6 months, I am just now getting into tweaking it for live play.

$399???

You could probably do better than that. Do a little looking on the net, and you may find it cheaper. Plus....there's always eBay.

Ha! I didn't even think of this thread as being OT, but it is... Still
- to me, effects and amps are one. Fender, Roland, Yamaha, and others took it a step further and physcially made them one. I just prefer my effects to be outboard so that when I tire of them or want to try the newest thing, I don't have to toss my amp out as well. Still, for my application of rock/blues covers in bars, effects are as important as the amp I play through - and I really can't have one without the other.

Other choices that are similar would be:

- DigiTech GNX-2 or GNX-3 (has built-in 8-track digital recorder)
- Behringer X-VAmp (floor model of the V-Amp2)
- Johnson J-Station (available used or refurb, not a floor model, but inexpensive)
- Korg AX-1500

I could list Pod, but if you're price sensitive you may not want to go there (they have the highest price/feature ratio... but they're popular).

If you want to hear songs made with the DigiTech GNX units, you can hear them at http://www.codekinesis.com.

If you're committed to doing your own ear-based audio design work (i.e.
assembling effects to design your own patches) and clearly understand how superior THAT path is to meekly accepting the stock patches provided by the factory, I strongly recommend the Zoom GFX-8.

To learn more, focus in on the info. provided as well as the threads at the following site; http://www.fineclaymatrix.co.uk/phorum/list.php?f=1