Boss GT-6 and GT-8

Rick Nicklas · Post by **Rick Nicklas** » 29 Dec 2006 8:46 pm

If you own and use either one of these, please let me know how you like it and how it compares to any other brands you have used..... Just a short note will convince me...... Thanks

Larry Bell · Post by **Larry Bell** » 30 Dec 2006 8:41 am

Rick,
I have one of each. I like them both, but actually prefer the GT-6. First time I saw one, Buddy Cage was playing through one when my band opened for the Brooklyn Cowboys in Michigan. That was 5 or 6 years ago and I've been using one ever since. Sounds great with a Sarno Black Box. I have used both the GT-6 and -8 in live shows and in the studio. Performed well for both. Anything you hear me post on the Forum was recorded with guitar-->(sometimes Black Box)-->vol ped-->GT-6-->board.

For more information, I'd suggest you check out Boss GT Central. This site has a wealth of info on all the Boss GT units.

EMail me if you want to discuss further.

Bob Martin · Post by **Bob Martin** » 30 Dec 2006 12:03 pm

I have a gt-8 and it is top notch. It's as good as anything on the market. I also have a Pod XT Pro and they are both winners. Each one has it's strong points but you can't go wrong with a gt-8.

Bob

James Quackenbush · Post by **James Quackenbush** » 31 Dec 2006 3:24 am

Bob,
You mention that both the XTPro and the GT-8 having their strong points....Can you please elaborate ?...Thanks, Jim

Bob Martin · Post by **Bob Martin** » 31 Dec 2006 4:05 am

Hi Jim, the biggest difference that I see is the effects. The GT-8 has many more effects to choose from than the Pod XT Pro. The Pod Pro has more of the meat and potato effects.

Another big difference is with the Pod XT Pro you are pretty limited to the order in which you line up the effects although you can change the order or delay and chorus and volume pedal so that you can run the chorus/flange and delay in stereo at the end of the effects chain.

Now with the GT-8 you can have any effect in any position even if it doesn't make sense or even sound good you can still decide where to put it.

I would also like to mention that in my opinion the reverb is of a higher quality in the Pod XT Pro. But I like a very smooth dense reverb thats not saying the reverb in the gt-8 isn't good it just means I like the Pod XT Pro's better.

Bob

James Quackenbush · Post by **James Quackenbush** » 31 Dec 2006 5:08 am

Bob,
I like the option of where to put my effects ...Are the effects in the GT-8 as good a quality as the Pod ?....I know you said that you like the reverb better in the Pod, but what about the other effects ...Are there any standouts, good or bad in either unit ??...Are there better or more in depth editing parameters in one that is better than the other ? ....Sorry for so many questions....I'm looking for a nice rack mount for my gigging setup ...Thanks, Jim

Bob Martin · Post by **Bob Martin** » 31 Dec 2006 1:51 pm

James, let's continue this thru email I'm not sure the original poster wants or needs all this info on his thread. Email me and I'll go into depth and explain all the differences. I will briefly say this I think the effects in the gt-8 have a few more parameters to dial in but I don't think they sound a bit better other than the reverb and I just really like the reverb in the pod xt pro.

Bob

Rick Nicklas · Post by **Rick Nicklas** » 31 Dec 2006 3:33 pm

Jim and Bob, I am having a ball reading your posts. Don't take a detour because of me. I find them very informative. And Larry, I really respect your opinion. I just got the BlackBox a few weeks ago and can't believe I can play leads past the 12th fret without a thin metalic sound. Now I just need the perfect reverb/delay unit with a few extras. I listened to a few samples on your latest CD and it blew me away. I also play a universal and I will be ordering that CD real soon. Thanks a million guys !!! Now I'm off to the Senior Center to see who will last to 12 oclock tonight without crapping out..... ha ha

Bob Martin · Post by **Bob Martin** » 31 Dec 2006 5:12 pm

Ok James, with what Rick just said I'll elaborate here I just didn't want to hijack Rick's thread.

Ok The GT-8 has at least 2 maybe 3 times the effects more than the Pod XT Pro has. The GT-8 has things like intelligent pitch transposing which if used in the right way is very cool. It also has a couple of more choices in the delay section as well as a lot of obscure things like synth emulation sounds.

Of course you know that the GT-8 is a floor model but if you want a rack mount they make the same thing only a little more powerful as well as many more ins and outs it's called the GT-Pro and it's almost exactly the same price as the Pod XT Pro.

I find the reverb on the GT-8 a little less pleasing to my ear. It's fine and I guess most folks wouldn't even notice it but I hear a little graininess to it. The reverb on the Pod XT Pro seems more silky and smooth and more shimmery as well as more dense.

I like the choruses on the GT-8 more than on the Pod XT Pro I think they are a little more sophisticated and have more parameters to adjust as well as the real original chorus sound (one side only modulated and delayed and the other just the dry signal) to me it is the best chorus sound ever.

The delays are a tie in my opinion they both are great. One plus for the Pod XT Pro is you can add extra effect packs as well as extra amp models. They are 49 bucks a pop or all 3 for 99.00.

Now to the amp modeling. I think the Pod XT Pro may have a slight edge in this category IF and it's a big IF, if you are going for the straight older amp sounds like fender twins and deluxe and so on.

Now the GT-8 has many more models than the Pod XT Pro and you can also use 2 at a time and pan one left and the other right which opens up a whole new sound. For instance you could have a twin on the left and a Marshall stack on the right and by changing your picking sensitivity switch from the twin to the Marshall stack just by picking a little harder or softer.

That's one of the things they use as a selling point and on paper it looks great but in use it's pretty hard to get use to it but after several nights of playing live I got pretty good at using it. I used 2 fender amps and when I was doing fills I pulled down the volume on my guitar and it made the twin active but when I took a lead I turned the volume all the way up and it kicked in a tweed fender with a little edge and it worked out great. Everyone in the band noticed it right away and loved it.

I would have to say that by all of my dealings with both of them you would be happy with either one of them but beings that there are very few of us GT-8 owners on this board you would get much more help and ideas for tone patches with the Pod XT Pro. As far as I know Larry and I are the only ones using the GT-8.

If you go with the Pod XT Pro you can swap patches with everyone that has the Pod and the Pod XT and you're more likely to get more help from this board with the Pod XT Pro and of course if you didn't want to spend 600.00 you could always go with a plain Pod XT it has the same type of chip in it as the Pod XT Pro the only difference being the chip in the Pro is twice as fast allowing for more effects and things like that but the sounds and patches are the same in both.

One last thing before you buy one especially if you decide to go the cheaper route with the Pod XT be sure and check out the reverb in the Pod XT because I had a Pod XT before I got the Pod XT Pro and the reverb in the Pod XT didn't excite me as much as in the Pod XT Pro. Now it could be that the Pod XT I had did not have the newer upgrade and the Pod XT did and that could have been the difference between the 2 but some how I suspect the faster chip in the Pod XT Pro has something to do with lush reverb in it.

Everyone keep in mind these are just my thoughts and opinions and may not even come close to yours. Remember everyone's ears are different. 600.00 bucks is a lot to spend on effects so why not buy it from a store with a 30 to 45 day return policy that way you can try it before you commit to buying it. Good luck and keep us posted o0n your decision.

Bob

James Quackenbush · Post by **James Quackenbush** » 31 Dec 2006 6:17 pm

Bob,
Thanks for the great comparison .... I really like the fact that you can morph from one amp simulation to another ....That's very cool !!....I can get good reverbs from any of the outboard unit's I have ...Lexicon, Holier Grail , etc ...The reverb will not make or break the deal here ... More variety , and about the same quality, but being able to morph amp sim's , has me leaning toward the GT-8 .... I've always liked the Boss stuff...They have a sophistication about them that that other effects unit's lack ... While the GP100 does not have a great pre section, the effects are really nice ....I'll check them all out , and will get back to you ... I'm really not one that buys something because so many other people do ... I'm probably more for the underdog , and the guy just starting out in business, than the guy who buys what everybody else does ...Quality is Quality .... I buy what I like, not what's popular .... Thanks again ..I enjoyed your review ...Sincerely, Jim

Bob Martin · Post by **Bob Martin** » 31 Dec 2006 6:40 pm

Well Jim, your absolutely correct about Boss/Roland always being about quality. I don't think you will find any arguments about that.

If reverb is not an issue I'd go with GT-8 or GT-Pro if you can live with a floor unit the GT-8 is much more affordable than the GT-Pro. The GT-Pro is more for studio use it has 3 stereo effect loops as wells as USB and spdif in and out compared to the GT-8's 1 mono effects loop and only spdif out which is what I use to record with when I use my GT-8. Good luck!!

Bob

Bob Martin · Post by **Bob Martin** » 31 Dec 2006 6:47 pm

Jim, one more thing you do not have to have 2 amps to do the morphing thing. I just use 2 amps but it will work just fine with one amp and still operate like I explained earlier. Although if you do use 2 amps it really adds to the effect the signal going from one amp to the other amp it's very cool.

Bob

James Quackenbush · Post by **James Quackenbush** » 1 Jan 2007 7:08 am

Bob,
Depending on the rig, it's good to know it will work on a mono amp, or a stereo rig..... I have morphing programs on my keyboards that are really sweet ...I can for example morph from a violin solo, and use my mod wheel and morph from a violin to an oboe ....It's really a wonderful effect ... I can set up my orchestra with depth of field , and pan left and right , and have all the players sitting right where I want them in the playing field ...

In the case of playing pedal steel , with the morphing feature for my live rig, I play in stereo ...I have a stereo setup ...It would be nice to be able to set it up to go from a clean Fender tone on the left channel , and morph it to a lead on the right channel, or even to be able to morph from clean to distorted on both left and right channel at the same time !!...Nice feature ...I'll have to read up on it ....Thanks again , and Happy New Year !!....Sincerely, Jim

James Mayer · Post by **James Mayer** » 2 Jan 2007 12:05 pm

I have a question about this GT-8 amp panning feature. Do you have to use the morphing, or can you assign the expression pedal to pan between the two outputs/amps?

Also, can you pan other effects left and right? Can you have a chorused fender going to one amp and simultaneously have a delayed marshall going to another?

How are the clean sounds compared to the Pod. I love my Pod's fender models.

Bob Martin · Post by **Bob Martin** » 2 Jan 2007 4:29 pm

Hi James, if you use the right chorus you can pan a chorused amp left and if you use the correct delay you can have a delayed marshall in the right side with reverb on both of them if wanted. The chorus I am speaking of is the original stereo chorus with only one side delayed with modulation applied and the other side completely clean. So the answer to your 1st question is yes definitely.

The clean sounds are every bit as good as the Pod XT actually I think they are a little smoother and warmer. The EQ on the amps is definitely stronger and easier to use.

I've always noticed on my Pod XT Pro that the EQ seemed a little weak and hard to dial in the exact tone I wanted of course a lot of that is the actual amp model you use. For the longest time I tried to use the fender deluxe with 1-12 and I had a hard time eq'ing it but when I switched over to the fender twin I noticed it was a lot easier to eq. I like the sound of an older twin with 2 12's I don't know why I didn't go to it in the 1st place. I guess there were so many amps that I just stopped at the 1st one that sounded half way close hehe.

Anyway the GT-8 is at least 10 times more flexible than the Pod XT. There's no way you could ever do that with a Pod XT. One of the reasons for the flexibility is that the chip that runs the GT-8 is over 2 times as fast which it has to be to do all the moving around of effects and be able to do setups like you are wanting to do.

Now you know the Pod XT Pro is one heck of a unit and I use it more than I do my GT-8 but it's mainly because it's new to me and I'm still learning how to use it. When it gets as old to me as my GT-8 is I'm sure I will be using them both in equal amounts.

I have heard lots of compressors but the GT-8 wins hands down against the Pod XT Pro in my opinion. They both have 3 or 4 different compressor models but I like the way the compressors sound in the Boss better. Although I don't use compression very much or very heavy settings I still like it in certain sounds. There's nothing more sweet than a nice bright tele with a little compression for that popping sound. Good luck!

Bob

James Mayer · Post by **James Mayer** » 2 Jan 2007 5:13 pm

This kills me. There always seems to be something I want in another fx unit. The flexibility of the Boss is attractive. I hear the spring reverb is pretty bad though and the norm is spending more time tweaking than actually playing. I need to get my hands on one and try it out.

Bob Martin · Post by **Bob Martin** » 2 Jan 2007 7:10 pm

Ain't that the truth James????

Bob

Bob Martin · Post by **Bob Martin** » 5 Jan 2007 4:23 pm

Hey James, how realistic of a spring reverb do you want. Until you mentioned about the spring verb not being very good on the GT-8 I had never used it. For me if I wanted a good spring reverb I would use a good spring reverb instead of trying to make a digital reverb mimic one. I understand there are a few rack mount spring reverbs that sound great.

Well anyway that's not my point my point is that I cranked up the spring reverb on the GT-8 and I hit a setting that actually make a thunderous sound as if someone jarred your amp. I got a kick out of that and as far as it sounding close to a spring reverb I thought it came pretty close. Now keep in mind I'm not crazy about the quality of most spring reverbs. I have heard spring reverbs that sound pretty good to me but most of them sound grainy and do not have enough parameters to adjust them to my taste.

One of the reverbs that I've heard in an amp that sounds a notch above most spring verbs in amps is the one in the Peavey 1-12 steel amp. I had a client record with 2 of them over here and I was quite impressed with them. As a matter of fact he had a Boss pedal reverb one of the 1st ones I think and I actually thought it sounded every bit as good as it if not a little better it seemed a little darker but for steel it was right on.

But of course this is all in the ears of the beholders so don't rush out and buy a GT-8 on my review of the spring reverb

I was very surprised when it made that crashing sound actually I jumped it scared the well you know what out of me

I don't know if thats a setting that you can make it do once in a while or I just over drove something but it did do it.

Good luck and let us know what you decide on if you have time.

Bob

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 7 Jan 2007 1:27 pm

I just tried out the effects section of my Boss DR-880 drum machine. It is basically the same as the GT-6 except all the settings are in menus. The effects are very good except for the reverb which, on its own, I consider to be unusable for pedal steel. Does anyone have any knowledge of how the GT-8 reverb compares with the Boss RV-5? I would like to eliminate the RV-5 and Keeley compressor on my standard guitar and replace them with a GT-8.

Greg

James Quackenbush · Post by **James Quackenbush** » 7 Jan 2007 8:05 pm

I think that since reverb is so highly regarded in pedal steel playing, that it might just behoove some folks to buy a dedicated reverb unit ...Most dedicated reverbs also come with a few delay programs , which also work wonders for pedal steel ....There are a lot of models made by quite a few manufacturers that sound incredible !!...You can even buy some older unit's that REALLY sound great for not much money ....Then buy another effect unit for the rest of the effects you want ....Look for a high quality unit that is a couple of years old...Most effects are like computers ...They are mowed over by the newer , faster , prettier , models that seem to come out to replace the old model in a couple of months time !!... Jim

Larry Bell · Post by **Larry Bell** » 8 Jan 2007 7:12 am

I have used the GT-6 or -8 as my only fx unit, both in the studio and live with pedal steel for years. I've never had a single complaint.

People rave over the RV-3 and other Boss reverb units. The reverb in the GT-6/8 is the same as in the stompboxes.

I use it mostly for EQ, Reverb, and Delay but sometimes dive down into the PLETHORA of fx that are there to choose from.

This is without a doubt the most fully featured fx unit I have ever used. It has more knobs and switches on the front panel than I have seen on any other unit as well -- You can actually change usable settings (reverb depth / delay time / delay level / etc) without going into some kind of EDIT or PROGRAM mode.

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 9 Jan 2007 12:44 pm

Thanks for all the replies and information. I am on the verge of getting one of these after months of research (FUN research). Does anyone have an inkling if Boss is on the verge of releasing a newer model or a new line of these? Don't want to buy one and find out it's been replaced in a few months. Looking at the resale value of the GT-6 and Gt-8 on ebay suggest there is minimal risk as far as resale value.

Greg

Larry Bell · Post by **Larry Bell** » 9 Jan 2007 12:57 pm

Greg,
Take a look at this link (click here)

It's mostly rock guitar players but I've picked up a boatload of tips. Getting the gain structures correct in a multi-fx device is critical, especially when you want a CLEAN tone for steel guitar.

Samples on the 'tunes page' on my website (click here) were all recorded direct -- S/PDIF directly out of my GT-6. As I may have mentioned before, I do slightly prefer the GT-6 to the GT-8.

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 9 Jan 2007 3:55 pm

Larry,

A while back I spent many hours over a few days on your site. You have some awesome riffs on there!

I have poured over every inch of BossGTCentral before they took it down for maintenance. Reading there convinced me there is no advantage for me soundwise to go with the GT Pro since Boss states explicitly that the sound processing hardware and software is identical between the units. Having all the adjustments handy ala the GT-6/8 is gonna be great.

Greg

Bob Martin · Post by **Bob Martin** » 9 Jan 2007 7:45 pm

Hi Greg, I don't own any stock in Boss so this is just a guess but I don't think Boss will be releasing any new line of effect boxes that would top the GT-8 and Pro any time soon. I do look for them to release new stomp boxes as well as maybe a newer model of the GT-8 but I don't think it will be very soon maybe a couple of years. I just can't imagine what they would add in it. The darn thing already has every effect under the sun.

One thing to keep in mind is that the GT-Pro originally listed for over 800.00 and for some reason which I suspect is slow sales it is now around 500.00 depending where you buy it at. You can get one here in Nashville for 549.00 out the door. So they are now in the same price range as the Pod Pro. Folks tell me the reverb in the GT-Pro is much more lush and sweeter than the GT-8. I don't know that for a fact but I will in a couple of days because I have a GT-Pro coming from a fellow forumite down in Texas. I don't know if he wants me to mention his name. As soon as I get it I'll let you know if you want.

Bob