Boss GT-3

It's not hard to figure out the basics of how to use it and program it. It's tedious though. It takes a little work to figure out how to edit things, but once you get it down it's pretty quick. Figuring out what all the settings do...well that's another story. I'm still 'discovering' things that I haven't ued yet.

IMO it depends on your need. The GT-3 has a lot to it. I think this is too complicated for live use - but I like simplicity. For home use it's the most outstanding practice/headphone "amp" I've used (although expensive for just that).

As with most multieffects units it's all over the map - some real nice, some not so nice, and some utterly useless. The effects side of things does a good job at all the basics - probably similar to the standard Boss pedals (although I've never owned any). Delay, Reverb, Chorus, Flange etc. are functional and work well. Some nice stereo effects too.

I've read some say the wah is weak. I find that there are so many settings that I can almost always find the sound that I need. Is it the "one" wah, well...no. But close enough for my purposes.

The synth type settings are pretty feeble IMO. tracking is ok at best, and the sounds aren't that strong. The slicer and auto apeggiator are next to useless from what I can tell.

I am not at all a fan of the overdrive/distortion and dirty preamp sounds. I've been through them all and tweaked and tweaked and tweaked and it just doesn't do much for me. Mostly pretty buzzy and raspy sounding without the real gut punch that you want from a high gain amp. Some of the clean preamp sounds are pretty nice. The Twin and the JC-120 preamps work well, although I still find that they need some 'help' from effects, which is not true of the real amps.

I like the GT-3 sounds best through headphones, but I do use the unit live with my cover band through either a Mesa Blue Angle or a Peavey Triumph PAG 60 (both 1x12s). I have tried the unit through the effects loops, having the amps preamp in the GT-3 ext loop, and directly in front of the amp and for me it works best going guitar->Gt-3->amp. Less monkeying around, and less cables. I just keep the overdrives and preamps off completely and use it for straight effects. It lets me mimick the sounds of just about anything I could want. With a little work I was even able to get a credible talk box sound by setting the Human Wah up properly.

One draw back is that it is very sensitive to different guitars, so the output volume can vary quite a bit. That's normally not a problem, but if I swap guitars at a gig some of the more complex effects setting simply won't work properly with one guitar or the other. Strange, but I've consistently found that to be a problem. Especially with the slow gear or swell type effects.

Seems solid, never had a problem.

never had a need for it.

Overall this unit is a lot of fun and has some very usable sounds in it. Buy a used one and I think you really get a lot for the money - even new it's worth it I think. For me it was a choice between a handful of boss-type effects and the GT-3. The GT-3 quickly becomes worth the price of admission.

If you're looking for that one or two killer effects I'd say look elsewhere. But if you're looking to get in the neighborhood of a bunch of effect (as those of us in cover bands so often need) than this may be your ticket.

Also look at the Digitech RP-2000 and korg (I forget the exact model). Zoom has a similar one too now. The RP-2000 is very similar with some effects better and some worse. I think they're out of production now so they may be cheaper.

JUST TO LET YOU GUYS KNOW THERE IS A PATCH ROM VERSION 1.03 OUT TO FIX A SLOW GEAR PROBLEM IN VERSION 1.02.
Ease of use is almost excellent. I wish they had a Win2k/Linux midi interface program for patches, but that's it.

Great sound quality. Some people knock the preamp but I wouldn't rule out their own equipment causing problems. I notice no buzzing worse then other effects nboards/processors. Come on guys for the money you could do a lot worse!

I haven't had problems with it in any manner....then again I don't have idiots slam dancing on it. Talking to the Roland techs, they said it's weak spot is the volume knob on the back. If it gets kicked in the knob it could be a gone'r. Other then that it has a fabulous warranty.

Just to say again, THERE IS A PATCH ROM VERSION 1.03 OUT TO FIX A SLOW GEAR PROBLEM IN VERSION 1.02. It's a screw up on Roland's part so they'll eat any cost. It took two weeks to get it back from the local Roland Tech...I was lonely and alone without this unit, I felt like I lost a friend. So when I got it back I celebrated by buying the Jem7VWH! GOOD GOD can I say what a freaking beautiful combo! I may never sleep again!

My style is 80's metal and anything Vai. I've been playing for 10+ years and this is the best board I've seen for the money. It can't be beat (literally this thing is tough). I've pulled every sound I can think of from Vaughn to Vai from this lovely creature and it was a hell of a lot cheaper then buying the individual effects or rack systems.

The thing's so easy to use I almost never had to refer to the manual. It's easy enough to browse through the presets, but it's when you get to edit your own sounds that you get the best surprise. Just a few clicks and a few turns of the knob and there you are, with killer, dreamlike, perfect sounds. The only reason I give it a 9 is because I had to check the manual a few times to be able to set the ctl and expression pedals properly, but, other than that, it's a child's game.

I use a crappy Peavy Rage 158 amp (15 watts, very very ugly sound), but I still get a very good sound out of this unit. If I plug in the phones, I instantly fall in a dream of sounds and melodies. All the effects sound good (albeit with a bit of tweaking), and even the distorsions / overdrives. Like someone said earlier, you just have to set the 'Your Setting' option to 'Line(Headphones)', even if you're plugged directly to an amp. If you don't do that, I admit the distorsions do sound crappy.

Anyhow, most of the presets suck and I probably never will use them in a gig or even just on rehersal, but you can make any sound you want out of it. I messed around with the od/ds and reverb, coupled with the expression and control pedals, and I can get killer sounds in a few simple clicks. Now, be sure you use those two pedals, else get a few cheaper stompboxes. The ctl pedal allows you to go from a clean to distorted sound (and back), without loosing the reverb or delay loop. If you just jump from an effect to another, the delay stops. But using this method, you can keep it ringing for hours and hours, which is what I like.

Also, the wah range might be a bit poor, but there's so many other things you can do with the expression pedal that you might as well forget about the wah. You can set it to trigger on/off effects, to raise the volume of any effect, from distorsions to chorus and delays, and it can work as the ctl pedal also. With a very high and tweaked-up reverb, you can get a kind of wind-blowing effect and you can make it come in just when you want it with the expression pedal. Pretty nice.

I've only had it for a couple of weeks, but had no problem with it so far. The thing seems built to last, unless maybe the expression pedal, which seems a litlle less tough than the rest.

Didn't have to deal with them yet, but such a big company as Roland should have steady custommer support.

I can get any sound I want from it and wouldn't want to change it for anything else, unless maybe the new GT-6 (not out yet, it was announced on July 21st), which has knobs for easier and quicker setting up.

It's quite easy to use and you can narrow the tone down to a pinpoint. Manual is great. All the info you need. Hard to get good sound out of the pre-amp. PRE-AMP SUCKS!

I use an Ibanez Jem 77FP w/ a Roland BC-60/310 Blues amp and it has hardly ever steered me wrong w/ clean sounds. Pre-amp is horrible. Too much buzz and tone makes me put down my guitar for weeks at a time. I now use the distortion on my amp and add in Overdrive. Much better. So much for ANTI-FEEDBACKER w/ this pre-amp. NOISIEST PREAMP EVER. The pre-amps distortion waves are being sliced at the top ends and it gives it a horrible skratchy sound.

I used to love my GT-3. It had incrediable tone all the way round but then one day pre-sets that I used to love were now my worst enimies. It totally 1-80'd on me and jacked itself to hell. Tone was lost and still is. I think some GT-3's are sold in medium condition and a few of us "buyer critics" get a good one but eventually (in my case 2 years) they shut down to crap medium. If it's in top of the line either you have no idea about tone or sound or you need to cherish it while it lasts. If yours is in medium crap condition then I'm sorry you didn't get to experience great tone at a low price.

Very nice and helpful. Still am not sure if their is a problem or not.

I like jazz, classic rock, blues, crazy Steve Vai/EVH rock and this unit doesn't quite provide enough. I've been playing for about 4 years now. I would sell it but I need something simple to play at everyday gigs and also Neal Schon uses one so we'll see. It has gotten in my way of making music. I'm going to go DigiTech 2120 or 2101 and switch signals between a power amp and an amp head. Can't wait. Good for beginners and it really depends if your're above beginner. Eventually I'll probably sell.

easier than any other multi-fx i have owned.
(zoom 505, korg, zoom 9130 valve dsp, korg px-II, rp-100{yuk})
and a zoom ps02 on its way. the manual is as good as you
will get. the users web sites have a lot of pre-sets that
help you get started. just tweak those a little. its great!!!
in manual mode you use it just like single stomp box's.

using many diff amps, a crate gx-120 stereo 120 watt solid state
with 2 12" spkrs, going in to the power amp line in works the
best. also a vt-120 peavey tube amp (deuce) straight in. and
a laney 15 watt 1X10 class a tube amp, straight in, and a crate
vintage club 30 watt class a tube amp straight in (haven't tried the
effects loop yet, need a special "y" adaptor for that) I get a great
sound from "all" of the above, although each amp has it's own characteristics. you do have to modify the patches slightly for
the "best" sound from each. but with "140" user patches, that's not
a problem. I get a diff sound when I change the global setting of the output, and you can tweak the output e.q. as well. that is versatilety. i do back off the amp models now, in favor of a little
distortion and compressor, and i like the hybrid sound better. by
mixing a little gain from all your sources (including your amp), it gets even more usable sounds. there is so much we have not explored in this little box yet, its amazing. by learning the best way to use it in "your" present setup, you can get great sound with it. but get creative, dont just hammer the amp model overdrive and give up. keep on listening, reading and get on line with user groups. this thing
will do much more than even its creators thought it would. with a little yankee ingenuity you can make this thing give out. and i expect
that it will be several more years before we really know all of the real possibilities it has. the noise is relative, you can reduce it by noise reduction internally, or just tweek the thing a little less on some of the settings untill you get that perfect balance. by changing the level of your amp and the output of the boss gt-3 you can do a lot also. i like the modulation effects a lot, with the right tweek they can sound analog or didital, either way you wish. i dont actually like the external loop, i cant get anything to sound good through it though. maybe something will, i dont know yet.

no problems yet. have had it a couple years.

dont know. read other opinions

i play all kinds of music ( no rap, that is not music ) sorry. but i
can get lots of great sounds from the gt-3. i have been playing for 40 years. on and off. and i use an epi-sII w/carvin pups, a jackson w/evolution pups, a peavey predator plus, and ovation ac-elect. i do need to adjust for the guitar i'm using. but i can get the clean sounds i love out of it. you can get diff clean by using a diff amp model, one not thought of as clean, and turn doen the gain. this makes
for dozens of diff clean stuff. i also have started using an ibanez tube screamer (ts5) in "front" of the gt-3. this gives me another choice. i use the manual mode a lot, turning on the mod, dist, echo, chorus, tremolo, and tuner, whenever i want, as well as use the ts-5 for a diff dist sound without changing patches. i think i will get a "true" bypass pedal, and hook up a mt-2, ts-5 and my big-muff (original 70's) fuzz so i can enjoy all at any time i want. it is so
usefull as a vol pedal with the manual mode, i use this configuration most of the time now. i would have to buy another if it was stolen. i do wish it had amp models that did not have that "yuk" noise when you crank them. and that the exp-pedal worked all the way down, as well as a digital input/output. but they will come down the road when the new model comes out. ( i dont know when ) otherwise, it is the best i have ever used. (the rp-100 i had for 3 weeks "sucked" bigtime) i would like to try the roland vg-88 with the upgraded amp models, but it is still too much money and it is not as easy to use i think. i do own a roland gr-1 synth though, so i already have the gk-2a pup. this helps me keep it simple, one ac connection, two cables and i'm going.

it isn't to hard to get a good sound out of it depending on what kind of guitar u're using and what kind of pickups. It is really easy to edit patches. theres not to much to it. THe manual for the gt-3 is awesome and it explains everything feature about the gt-3.

With the gt-3 i'm using a yamaha etera with a marshal valvastate amp. The good thing about this is that if you don't have that powerful of an amp you can make your amp louder then usual with the volume nob on the gt-3. Some effects are great and useful while some of them are very useless but still its good to have them just incase. Yes its vedryh easy to get the sound of my favourite artists such as rage against the machine and metallica. Other then the fact that it dosn't have a whammy effect and a very good wah every other effect is really good.

You can depend on it. Its made out of steel! its not like its going 2 break on you any time soon. I havn't had any troubl;e with it since i've got it about 8 months ago. I would definitly use this without a backup because for the money i piad for it, it better not let me down at a gig!

I like to play alot of metallica, rage, and anything else that is rock or metal. It is a very good match for this type of music. it has the perfect distortion. it has the boss metal zone built into it so its not like u have to buy another pedal. If this was every stolen i would buy another one unless i found another one with a better wah.

WHen i went to buy this i compared it with the digetech boards. THe reason i picked this was because it is better quality's, its easier to use and it has more features.

I wish it had a whammy and a better wah cause its really hard to get the wah sound i want with the wah i';m using now. its really dull.

ITS DEFINETLY WORTH THE MONEY!!

Wow, that's the first thing I have to say about this processor. This thing gets the sound I want anytime, and everytime. Editing patches is a breeze. I don't know why everyone cries about this processor being difficult to use, it's simple. It's time for all of you that complained to make the jump to digital, I don't see what the problem is. The manual has been very helpful for everything I'd needed it for, though I haven't needed it for much, as I've figured out most of the pedal myself.

I play a B.C. Rich Warlock and an Epiphone Les Paul through this unit, into a Fender M-80 head with a quantam 4x10 cab and a Marshall 4x12 cab. Using the compression feature can cause a lot of noise, even when you're only tapping your fingers against the strings. Some of the higher gain settings cause a load of feedback, but there is a feedback limiting option built into the pedal. I haven't tried, but I'm almost sure I can nail any sound with my setup. The GT-3 is insanely versatile and the M-80 pumps out great tone. I can easilly obtain Godsmack's distortion, and MetallicA's clean sounds. I have found all of the effects on this pedal to be high quality, and unmatched by other brands.

The thing is built like a tank. There is no other unit that I would use as a backup, save maybe an identical unit. And I don't really think you'll need any kind of backup at all. This unit is amazing.

Never heard of any.

I play heavy metal, and this unit gives me what I want. It has 11 distortions and overdrives that make it very easy to use. Not to mention a preamp that is loaded with great distortions and overdrives. I've been playing for 3 years, and I've been in two bands. If this unit were ever stolen, I would buy another in an instant. I would also cry. I love this unit's versatility. It is unmatched by any other unit I've ever used or even heard of. I am in love with the slicer feature, not to mention the fantastic distortions. I compared this to the digitech RP-12, and other various multi-fx units, this blows them all away. I wouldn't even consider buying it's bigger brother, the GT-5, because you get everything you need in a great unit for a lesser price. I wish it had a sitair feature. Then I could cover MetallicA more accurately and write some wicked, evil riffs. When I stumble onto new effects on this unit I start playing riffs that I've never played before, and I like them. This unit definitely inspires me and helps me write. BUY THIS BOARD!! IT IS THE BEST I'VE EVER SEEN!!

The unit is one of the easiest I've used, adjustments can be made in an instant,it's very easy to get a good sound out of

I use mine with a Jackson Kelly USA and a Mesa tube stack, the effects sound great, better than any I've ever used, the LA Distortion is particularly good as is the metal distortion. I also love the solo acoustic guitar setting and the clean JC-120 setting. The delay is very good and so are the reverb and delay

I would definitely take it without a backup, it's very sturdy, so it is therefore very reliable.

I've played for three years, and I play glam metal. The pedal works very well with that style. There are too many mindblowing features to pick a favorite, it really helps me make music. I like this unit a lot because it's very ideal and effective for live application. I own a Mark II Mesa Boogie from 1980 that's still in mint condition. It's a hundred watt all tube head and it cranks.

How easy is it to get a good sound out of it?

I found some of the presets to be ok, if used for the musical aplications they were designed for. Creating your own patches is easy to acomplish, but hard to master. There are endless possibilities.

How about Editing patches?

Editing can get tedious, I like to use the GT-3 edit software that I downloaded, I already had teh midi cable so I lucked out. The paramaters are simple to understand if you understand effects theory.

How is the manual for it (if there is one)?

The manual is great, I don't know what people expect. It tells you how to do anything you want.

Do you know the firmware revision number? Has your unit been upgraded?
1.02 I think so I don't use the harmoniser that often.

What setup (i.e. what guitars and amps) are you using this with?

I play a Stienberger Spirit GT-Pro to the GT-3 and then to a Power 60 by Tech 21
Is it noisy?

Not really, you need to use the global setting line/headphones to cut off any intermodulation distortion. I like the noise gate, it doesn't interfere with the decay of the note like some of the digitech stuff.

On what settings?
Some amp models make more noise than others, nothing that can't be fixed if you use the line/headphones setting and the noise gate.

Are the effects weak or do they always sound great?

The delay, chorus, reverb, preamps, tremelo, vibrato, compressor/limiter, and the modulations are all cool, very nice. The distortions are ok, they only sound good through the preamps at drive levels below 60. The harmonistand synth don't track especialy well and sound computerized, again good for some applications. The Ring mod, Acoustic sim and Picup sim are ok and Feed backer can be cool in a studio setting. THe wah is not great, but if you know anything about effect theory, you can design custom wah because the thing has two friggin parametric EQ's. Only an idiot couldn't assign the exp pedal to shift the High mid freqency between 400 and 2k to get a wah sound, you can even use both at slightly different frequencies to get a more vowel like sound and then you have the ariginal wah which can be fixed and used after th variable wah to getr an even more human like sound. or you can set it up so if one wah goes up another goes down, SRV did this with separate pedals stuck together.

What amp are you using it with?

I run it into a clean power amp.

Are certain effects (distortion, chorus, ...) very good? Very bad?

already covered

It is strong and durable, but it is like a computer so....

I play a very unique blend of mellow rock and blues with a 70's reflective singer songwriter tint to it, but the chorus might come roaring in with a heavy sound and a catchy riff before I go back to comping to the verse.

THe GT-3 gives me the versatility needed to pursue my creative vision, it has any sound I need.

The only time it would get in the way of creativity is if I wake up with an idea and I wanted to get it down quickly and I didn't want to deal with setting up the patch, I would worry about that later.


The GT-3 appears to be infinitely expandable with MIDI implementation and an effects loop, two would breed some interesting combinations of mod and SFX. The MIDI also allows you to store patches on the computer and retrieve them later, I don't know if I could even use more than 140 patches at a time before I needed to go to my computer and swap them.

I give it a 9 because there is always room for improvement and I don't want BOSS to get too safe in their skin and think they can slack off, I want SHARC chips in future models, those will allow the floats which enable more acurate models and infinite possibilities.

It is very easy to get a good sound out of this thing. In a matter of a day I had my own custom clean, dirty and heavy patches programmed as well as some imitations of sounds from my favorite songs. The manual isnt the greatest thing in the world but because the the pedal is easy to use it wont be hard to figure out. The only ting I suggest is that you get the GT-3 Owners Supplement Manual off of the internet. It will help because it is written by real people who have used the GT-3.

This thing sounds great with the setup i have. My setup is a cheap Washburn into the GT-3 and then into the effects return of a Marshall vs65r. This has prooved to be the best setup ever, it gives me great tone. At first i thought this unit had a very lite hiss in the backround when I would stop playing on my own very heavy channel, but with a little messing around with the noise reduction the problem was instantly solved. The effects in this unit are awsome, tehy sound great and i can achieve any sound i imagine. All the effects sound great. And this unit has so many sounds that you can have any clean or distorted sound from any amp ever made. Every style of music can be covered with this great pedal.
The best thing i like about this pedal is that i have been able to replicate the exacts sound of some very good songs. Some songs that i have been able to imitate are Pardon Me by INCUBUS, Rock the Party by POD, and Broken Home by papa roach.

I think this pedal is very dependable and can give very good sound all the time, I would definetly gig with it without a backup.

Never dealt with them but they feel kind of far.

this thing is great and suits my style of music perfectly. i dont understand how anyone could complain about anything on this pedal. ive been playing for about three years and ive never heard anything like this pedal. If it were stolen i would definetly have to track down the person who stole it. I was confused when looking for a good pedal but then i saw this one and i knew it was the best of the rest. i compared this pedal to the Zoom GFX8, Zoom GFX4, Korg AX1000, Digitech Rp2000, and Digitech RP300. But this thing is definetly the best value because it has so much more verasility. Sucha s being able to place effects in any order i wish. This thing is great and i love it and its from a very dependable brand, BOSS....................