Boss GT-3

It's actually easier to figure the unit out by rote than it is to consult the manual, although I read it through before firing the unit up for the first time.

I generally like to tweak a few specific parameters in an effects patch, so I really don't use the EZ Edit function. The manual function is very ergonomic, though.

I did take a few points off, however, because I had to spend some time figuring out how to get the compressor to drive the signal strongly enough that the synth will track well.

You simply can't argue with a unit that is basically every Boss pedal ever made, fully programmable. With or without the preamp, the unit is worth the money. At times, I do wish there were a few models of other manufacturers' effects (a Q-Tron, Univibe, TS-808, Mu-Tron III, Rat, etc.) but I can come awfully close to those sounds with some finesse. Besides, Boss pedals are my favorite in general, so I'm pretty happy.

PREAMP: First, make ABSOLUTE SURE that the global settings match your amp setup. Otherwise, the amp simulations might sound metallic. However, with everything set correctly, you should be fine. The gain settings on the amps are only "low," "middle", or "high" which is less flexible than I would like, but the amp sims respond well to volume knob changes, so that isn't a big issue for me. Try playing with the compression and "distortion boxes" (particularly the overdrives and fuzz) to goose some nice rich tones out of this unit.

EFFECTS: They sound much like the pedals. One reviewer complained that there isn't an effects mix setting for some of the effects, but I found that it isn't necessary because this can be adjusted between the depth and resonance parameters.

The unit feels solid. Mine is new, so I haven't run into trouble with bad grounds, etc. but if it works like any Boss pedals that I have used, which I ran from a power supply instead of batteries, I should have no trouble (knock on wood).

I play a very eclectic sort of indie rock, and I like to have a large sound selection. As I said before, the GT-3 is almost every Boss pedal ever made in one box, which nobody can sneeze at. It's versatile enough to hang with any punk, jazz, or blues gigs that I might do as well.

As for a rig, my main guitar is a Telecaster and my main amp is an ancient ca. '70 Sunn Model-T, the version with no hot channel (just normal and bright) along with the Sunn 4x12 with Celestion 75s.

I have used Zoom and ART multi-effects units before this, and definitely recommend this. It sounds like a bunch of Boss stompboxes!

This unit has a lot of functionality and manages it well. Each effect has its own button which can select and then vary its settings. I found that even in the store with no manual, figuring out how to change effect settings and setup presets was easy.

The EQ is a little confusing.

Good quality - chorus, delay, acoustic simulator
OK quality - pickup simulator, wah, compression
Bad quality - distortion/overdrive and preamp simulation

Looks very sturdy, much nicer than the Digitech crap, but didn't own it long enough to really know.

Found the number on one of the spec sheets I got from the store and talked to a tech right away.

The 2 big problems I have with the GT-3 are:

1) some of the effects (flange, tremolo, etc.) don't have an "effect level", but a "level" setting that's just an overall volume setting! What the hell's the point of that? I found this to be totally limited (BTW, the GT-5 didn't even have any level on the flange).

2) I also didn't like any of the distortion or preamp sounds. They were all too weak or too strong no matter how I tweeked the settings. And on the preamp sounds, the "gain" control is just "low, medium, high"! Again, not enough control over the sound for me.

If BOSS could just fix those 2 problems, it would be perfect. I think the coolest thing about the unit are the "control" and "expression" pedal b/c you can program it to do almost anything. It's only $400 which is a good price for an all-around effects processor.

1) Sounds are excellent. 2) IMHO Guitar/amp tones are better defined in terms of timbre and overall character with single coil guitars versus HB. Editing patches is a breeze. I initially read the manual rapidly to ensure that I was getting the best sound setup with my current rig before starting. 3) While at the music store here in Honolulu, Hawaii, I tested the unit through the back stereo input of a JC60. This could have been done through a JC120, which are both excellent sources for testing any floor pedals. Roland's JC series are pretty near to flat EQ when coming in the rear, so you actually get to hear the character of the unit being tested pretty accurately. (Incidentally, I once owned a JC120 and have played live gigs this way runing a Digitech GSP 2101 in the back end and it even fooled the vintage hearted out there!) 4) The maual suggests numeorous configurations, such as front end into head or combo, straight into power amp etc. You set the global paramter (stack versus combo, Bal vs Unbal output, etc.) appropriately. 5) The manual suggests that if running front end into a guitar amp, to turn Treble and Bass to zero, and Midrange to 10 and to run in the LOW chanel on clean NOT Distorted/OD mode. I am currently using dual 5150 heads into dual mesa 4x12 G12-30V Cabs. The manual does not discuss what to do with the Reasonance or Presence, so I experimented and set the Reasonance to zero (it was too woofy otherwise), and the Presence to 6.5->7 and Bright Switch off. The manual also suggests the "Eazy Edit" for the faint hearted, but I opted for the regular edit mode throughout. Patches are a breeze to modify and transfer to the banks of your choice. So once I got the set up where I liked the throughput, I went through all the patches first to become familiar with TONES before I did any patch modifications or assignments. No firmware upgrades -- this is 1st Generation and it is killer!!! very easy to use. I empahise again and recommend you lisetn carefully to ALL the pathces to become familiar with everything this unit has to offer. Find patches you like and modify these first and as you go along you will become proficient rapidly. The Boss programmers set amp EQs pretty well, but I changed most of these except for the Twin patches. The good news is that if you totally screw up a patch, go to the rear of the manual and grab the Factory Patch again and start over. You CANNOT overrwrite these -- Banks 36 on up if I remember correctly -- sorry I am at my office now and not studio -- so I'm working from memory.

To be perfectly honest, this unit is a wet dream come true. I almost sold my entire rig for an Egnater IE4/VHT2150 combination, but you know what? -- I just saved myself $5 grand. This puppy is marvelous and built like a tank. It is so cool that I can take it in a briefcase with a fave guitar or two and plug stereo direct into the PA system. Anyway, I'm pretty much a tube snob and I'm sticking with this setup front ended into my 5150s or Ampeg EL84 combos. The 6L6s have awesome overhead, and now I have the best of all worlds. I programmed this thing in three sweeps. 1) Sweep one (with a Nashville Tele/Maple neck) set patches as follows:

Bank 1 (Blackface Fenders with and w/o analog delay and analog stereo choruses for Tele and Strat EQs); Bank 2 (JC120s), Bank 3 (Vox), Bank 4 (Matchless), Bank 5 (British 1959 SLP), Bank 6 (British BG), Bank 7 (British (1959SLP CH I+II), Bank 7 (Pop Metal), Bank 8 (Soldano), Bank 9 (5150) (Be advised that this tone replicates my 5150 EVH tone exactly -- but is now managing the two monsters without shaking the building foundations wherever I'm playing, Bank 10 (JC120 w pedals front end grunge/fuzz/metal), Bank 11 (Twin with Pedals front end grunge/fuzz/metal), Banks 11-12 (Acoustic Guitars with DeArmond Pickups NOT Electric Guitars), Banks 13-31 (Mixes of the above for Strat EQ with Crunch, Natural OD, Vintage, Turbo OD, and Blues Settings), Banks 32-35 (SFX).

What does this mean? It means that I have the best of both worlds -- live tube natural compression and tone, with amp modeling that blows both Line6 and Digitech out of the water. I'm keeping my GSP 2101 in the SND/RTN loop, so all I have to do is step on the 5150 loop button and voila, I have the high gain channel of the 5150s with my HB equipped LPs/SGs etc., then switch back to Ingle coil giotar(s) by stepping the 5150 loop off, and the GT3 runs direct into the 5150 low gain channels. Pretty clever, huh, fellow arsholes?

BE ADVISED that the Boss programmers who programmed the effects are probably not musicians. The stock EFX in the GT3 are extremely wet an not musical until you turn the rates and depths down on almost every patch, then these are to die for once set to your liking. I read a preview weeks back that the acoustic patches suck. Yes they do -- unless you run an acoustic guitar in the front end. Try that gang. I'm one happy sumbich right now as you can tell, so Kudos Boss/Roland for a job well done otherwise. Every effect is awesome once tweaked properly, but you have to spend the time to tweak to your liking. It took me all weekend. I recommend you get up and take an hour break or two between each sweep so that your ears will come back in fresh. In my case I just left the house, came back and started clean with another guitar. I now have 35 usable Banks of 4 pathces each that I can use live or in the studio wordlwide.

Be advised that I did four sweeps to refine the job with different guitars. Once I placed the pathces where I wanted them in the banks that I had previously I planned out on paper. I repeat -- you lose tone charatcer by using HB guitars up front into the GT3 -- use single coils, and vary these as well to get a good cross section. I used my Tele Nashville for sweep 1, then a Tele with Alnico IIs for sweep 2, then a Tele with Alnico Vs for sweep 3, then Strat with TX Specials (too hot -- lost the "Texas HOT" charatcer), then Strat with Van Zandt Blues (these are better IMHO than Lindy Fralins -- real good!!!) for sweep 4.

I'm keeping my HB equippped guitars for straight into the amp high gain channel with my GSP 2101 Artist Send/RTN in the 5150 EFX loops. Rating 7 because I worked my ars off, but you know what? -- it was the best weekend I've invested into my tone and rig in the past 10 years.

Absolument!, but I'm buying a backup anyway. What the heck, two can fit into a lawyer's briefcase, and they barely weigh nothing. I've never had a Boss pedal fail in 15 years so I think with some degree of certainty that this will be ok too. Disclaimer, I read in the manual that this is computer chip/battery--clock dependent like a regular computer. That means 1) Back up your work via data dump into a seqencer or something, and 2) Find out what type of battery it uses and keep one on standby. THIS IS WHY I'm buying the backup primarily -- for touring.

Never had too. The previous pedals I used were dependable.

This things cranks out all styles -- Great match for my concert rigs and combos -- been playing for > 25 years -- own 12 guitars -- yes I would replace in a NY minute -- it is moron proof, has REAL character, endless possibiliites for quality tone creation, and looks pretty sexy in front of you for your next gig on MTV or Rock Cafe Live -- yes compared it to a myraid of rig/effects combinations -- wish it had dual input for external cc controller like dual FV 50 ( hey, Version II maybe?), and don't like that if running Delay and Chorus simultaneously, cannot turn both on/off simultaneously with the internal togle switch. I actually prefer the external AC "in line" wall wart because such reduces line noise. I think this is what plagued ElectroHarmonix' Analog Delay (internal power supply) -- This is an EXTRAORDINARY piece of musical technology for the proce paid. the best news is that I get to keep my 5150s, and now can produce all the other tones that Eddie left out, and still have the monster to unleash when I'm in Metal mode. Good luck to all.

Easy to use, unless you're dumn or illiterate. Works pretty much like all the other processors. Editing patches is a snap, saving user settings let's you apply the same effects to multiple patches. Very helpful for applying a uniform volume setting for the expression pedal, for instance. I must say that having an additional expression pedal (Boss FV-300L for instance) is almost necessary for on-stage use, unless you like one sound and no wah to go with your volume boost. Manual is easy, but leaves a good deal out about complex edits and specifically how to edit the effects chain. No good support on the web yet. If I'm an expert, something's wrong.

Synopsis from a guitarist with 20 years of studio and stage work: Live it's a nice little unit that's easy to setup, and has only minor limitations. In a studio, through it in the trash, spend another $200 and get a Digitech RP-20 or 21.
Sound quality, at first seems very good, but going to a high-gain distortion reveals a terrible amount of post note-noise. Terrible specs by studio standards. The clean sounds are quiet, but what processor can't say that? The noise reduction works...although a better solution would have been a cleaner pre-amp. (duh!). Compare the specs to the old Digitech RP-1 and you'll cry your way back to the store...receipt in hand. The presets suck of course, and are way over the top. Editing the sounds to dial in subtle sounds can be daunting for a newbie, but if you're patient this thing can get you really close to a good tube amp. The amp simulations (supposedly COSM based), are good, but certainly not a great rendition of the specified amp. I have a Matchless head with an ADA 212, and the lead on the GT-3 through a reference amp and the same speakers is NOWHERE close. Much too brittle and un-responsive, but that doesn't mean it isn't useful sound...just not exactly a reproduction of a Matchless. The acoustic simulator is pretty good, good enough for a live gig. The pickup simulator is so-so, doesn't blow you away. As for chaining effects, you can get somewhat limited here...but for 99% of the guitarists, this won't slow you down too much. The real hindrance on this thing is that certain effects can't be assigned to either the onboard or outboard expression pedals to be of any use. For instance, if you want to turn the wah on by stepping on the pedal and subsequently use it as a wah...no dice. Want to make the pedal go from totally no Overdrive or distortion to full blown as you push the expression pedal? Nope. You must first turn it on with the control pedal, then use the expression pedal to increase the "drive". If you use the expression pedal to control the "level" of the distortion, it will take the overall volume of the patch along with it. If there's a way to get around this, God only knows what it might be.
As for construction, it's put together well enough. Easy to read, you can stomp on it. Pretty too, but who cares.
I'm using mine with a Carver PM.05 Amp, and a ADA 212 cabinets loaded with Eminence drivers. I play it using Strats, Tele's, V's and an Explorer...and guess what? They all sound pretty much the same.
As for getting sounds of my favorite artists...that would be me, and I don't want to sound like anyone. To this end, it's fine...cause it won't get you in the ballpark of David Gillmour, but that's fine. You need your own sound, and you may find it in the GT-3. Remember, for $349, you're not going to get a great processor, so don't believe the hype. Buy it, use the hell out of it, and if it breaks, at least it didn't cost as much as a T.C., so don't sweat it. Overall I've used much worse and been happy with it.

Haven't used it enough to challenge it, but it's built well, with solid connectors and switches. It doesn't get hot, and can be opened up relatively easily. I'd trust it on a stage for my only gear (like that'll ever happen!)

Boss's web site better not be an indicator of their support...cause if so you're buying a 1988 Yugo with this thing. They've already shown a staggering stupidity of their own product in the manual, presets and literature, so let's hope when you send it back, it doesn't return to you missing some parts.

I play alternative, rock, instrumental, etc. For this, it's a fine match for my playing. I've played for 20 years. Other gear is too much to mention. If it goes to 11, it's in my basement somewhere. What do I love about it? It matches my shoes. Hate? It's noisy. Compared to Zoom, it's god's hand at work. Compared to Digitech or Art's products, it's a turd. I chose it cause it was cheap. Period. I wish they had incorporated more control for the parameters. Much too much has to applied to each setting and lived with...with no "morphing" between patches using an expression pedal, which would be the obvious and best use of any floor-based processor.

Requires some time to get into. After you become familiar with the process it becomes quite intuitive.

Use with American Strat and front end with a stereo power amp to twin Celestian boxes. Sound is nothing short of tremendous. With some tinkering the sounds can be quite realistic (Don't really want to go there!!! What is the right sound?)

Only had for a short period of time. It is built like a tank!!

Haven't req'd any support

Have tried just about everything. I have a background in audio speaker design and just wasn't getting the sound that I LIKED until I decided to go with the seperates approach. Don't think I will look back from here.

I found it very easy to use, though i must admit at first it was intimidating, but once you start porgraming it really isn't all that hard. The manual kinda sucks, i mean it explains everything but to obviously, like it'll say metal1 distortion is a powerful metal distiortion and metal2 is a metal distortion that is harmonically differernt (or something just as useless)That doesn't really help me.

Honestly it's best run in stero. Mono sounds pretty good but stero is 1000 better, even for mono patches. I'm not all that particular i think an effect is an effect, and any effect can be used somewhere. But i think basically everything sounded great to me except for the harmonizer and the preamp sim. The harmonizer's tracking can really drag behind and the pre amps sound great as long as you stick to the low gain models. The soldano and 5150 and such really don't sound that hot at all. One last thing, it has a virtual effects chain which is maybe the best thing i've ever seen in a unit, gives you so many more options. Also it's laid out very well, though it's complicating you have sooooooo much control over the sound it's amazing

yI would gig with out a back up. It's solid as long as you take care of it

never tried

I've been using the Boss GT-3 for about 3 months now and I'd have to
say that it is very easy to use. And I haven't even used the 'EZ edit'
feature. However, I've been playing for quite some time I've had a bit
of experience with using numerous rack mount effects and stomp boxes.
If you're a beginner, you might be a little overwhelmed with the
multitude of choices and parameters at first. But the whole thing is
well engineered and laid out very logically. One particularly nice
feature is the 'manual' mode, where you can turn on/off up to 6
effects in an individual patch, just like you were using a series of
stomp boxes. You can get a lot of mileage out of just one patch! The
instruction manual is helpful so you should read it to make sure
you're set up correctly and to get a good idea of what's available to
you, but it could have been a bit more thorough in some areas.

I'm using Carvin DC-200 and DC-135 guitars into the GT-3 which runs
directly to a Rocktron Velocity 250 power amp and a Marshall 4x12
cabinet. I've seen a few complaints on this site about noise, bad
distortions, lousy pre-sets, etc. Personally, I do not agree. The
preamps and distortions/overdrives all sound accurate for what they
are emulating, and each have lots of variables and EQ to dial in just
what you want. You've got nice overdrives, fat metal distortions,
psychedelic retro fuzz, and everything in between. The factory presets
give you just a taste of what this thing can do. For me, I found a lot
of great sounds right off the bat, but I had to do a bit of tweaking
to get ones that sounded like 'me'. I've been using the Turbo
Overdrive into the 'Clean Twin' preamp to get the general crunchy tone
I was looking for. The flanger, chorus, delay, harmonizer, and phaser
surpass all others I've ever used. The wah is okay, but not as good as
my Cry-Baby. The acoustic simulator does a decent job emulating an
acoustic with a piezo pickup. In the context of a full live band, it
does the job if you don't want to haul a real acoustic around for just
a couple of songs, or if you need to jump to an acoustic right in the
middle of a mainly electric song. The synth sounds are kinda nice to
have available, but be sure to play cleanly and accurately for it to
track correctly. I haven't really delved into some of the other stuff
like the humanizer, slicer, and ring modulator too much yet, but
they're interesting effects that could yield great new sounds in the
hands of the right creative mind. The thing you've got to understand
that this is an extremely versatile unit here, folks. It's designed to
satisfy everyone from an ultra clean country bluegrass picker, to a
screaming death metal maniac, to a general classic rocker or jazzer.
You're not necessarily going to love everything in there. What sounds
like crap to one player may sound perfect to another. It depends on
what you want to hear and what you're used to playing. The key is to
take a little time and patience to get to know the GT-3 and you WILL
find just what you're looking for, plus some other stuff that can spark new ideas.

I've used Boss' products for years without problems, and I'm not
expecting any trouble with this one. It seems built to last. I'd use
it without a back-up.

I haven't had the need for it yet.

I play original progressive rock (in the vein of Marillion, Rush,
Genesis, Yes, Pink Floyd, etc.. Go to www.progrock.net/Bands/Iluvatar
for info) and I found everything I was looking for (and more) in this
unit: excellent sounds (fat smooth overdrives/distortions, brilliant
sparkling clean tones), ultra-flexible programming, simplicity,
reliability, all in one compact unit. It can be used with your amp or
direct into a PA or studio mixer. I even found a Boss GT-3 users site
(http://members.tripod.com/bossgt3/) where you can get more info,
download patches from other users, and get free PC software for the
GT-3 to back up all of your patches. The only thing I struggled with
at first was how to conveniently arrange all my patches for live use.
There's a number of different ways you can set things up for yourself,
you just have to decide what is going to work best for you. My one
concern is wether or not I'll be able to read the display during
occasional outdoor performances. Overall, as an artist, I feel I have
a huge palette of great sounds at my disposal with the Boss GT-3, and
I haven't even begun to tap into it's full potential. You get serious
bang for your buck here. If it was lost or stolen, I'd definitely buy
another.

I personally think it is very easy to get good sounds out of this unit. One important factor, though. I think it is important to have versatile gear.
Editing patches is easy: There are 2 functions.
EZ edit and "normal" edit
EZ edit allows you to have an overall idea of the sound you are looking for.
If you are picky about your sound, you better know what all the parameters do, because there are a lot.
I was disappointed in the manual though. In a way, you don't really need it, but some sections are omitted for some reason. I'm the type of guy that reads the whole manual to see ALL the features. How can you master your gear if you don't have all the info?
I don't think this has been updated. It is an update from the GT-5 in a sense that it has more effects AND better price. The A/D conversion is even better than the GT-5!

I'm using a Fender Strat made in Mexico, with a Fender Princeton 112 Plus combo. I plug the GT-3 in the power amp in and then control the volume with the knob behind the GT-3.
Well it is noisy for 2 reasons:
1)pickups on Strat hum (but sound better)
2)Excess gain on distortion/OD.
But every guitar player encounters hum when gain goes up, so nothing different so far.
The effects are amazing! The clean sounds are just beautiful! The distortions are not bad either, but the preamps are better. Some presets w/distortion are really, really good! But this unit is probably more efficient in the studio than live. I imagine that if you plug in a Les Paul, you might only want to use the clean sounds, because Les Pauls have so much attitude as is that adding digital distortion to it will be just stupid.
My amp is a Fender Princeton 112 Plus 65W RMS.
You can get pretty much any sound you want. My favorite artists are Dean Deleo, John Petrucci, Joe Pass, ... You can get all those sounds, but don't abuse them! The abuse of effects is what gives bad reviews to these floor processors.
I personally favor all of the COSM vintage/analog sounds on this. They are very realistic! It just feels weird to hear huge sounds on a small cheap amp.

It's made of metal and I think you can depend on it.
I would use it on a gig without a backup for sure, but I haven't tried it out yet. Only in the studio so far.
I give it an 8, because it's a Boss and haven't used it enough yet.

Never had to deal with the company.

I play all kinds of music. I even plan to use this with my bass gear.
It is what I should've bought a long time ago! This is a perfect match considering that I am asked to play in sessions from country to metal, so...
I have been playing guitar for 9 years now. I own: Marshall Stack JCM-900, Les Paul, V-Twin, Rat, DR-202, DD-3, VS-880, Warwick Thumb bolt on, SWR amp,...
I would buy it again because it's a great deal and extremely convenient.
I love the fact that this simple piece of metal takes most of my time, and as soon as I turn it off, I want to plug back in again. I hate the fact that it slightly buzzes or hums and if you touch the unit, it goes away. My favorite feature is probably the preamp section! The fact that you can go from a clean chorus/delay/reverb sound to a fat STP radio OD in a split second.
I compared it to all the floor processors. I tried Digitech but did not like it at all. Even had the money for the GT-5, but opted for the GT-3 because I believe it sounds better. Sound is my priority, and this unit is the one with the highest A/D conversion, the most effects, the best reputation and COSM. If you own a VS, you know how cool and useful this feature is!
I wish it had tubes maybe? But it's hard to tell!
Yes, it definitly helps my music. It brings diversity in songs that pretty much used to have 2 or 3 different sounds.
Make your own opinion on this. Go out and try it for yourself. See if this is what you need. Apply it to what you would use it for. I have read everything I could find on the web and magazines about this unit and even checked these reviews that helped a lot!
GO OUT AND TRY IT FOR YOURSELF!!!

It was delivered at 4:30 PM. I went on stage with it at 8:00 PM. I'd always used stomp boxes - never even seen a processor up close before. Bought it on a whim. Got zillions of presets, so I spent a couple of hours listening to presets, wrote down the ones I pretty much liked, and loaded them up front to be easy to get to. Most of the clean presets were pretty good. Most of the dirty ones were apparently chosen by computer nerds who wouldn't know a good guitar tone if it busted their eardrums. Had a *horrible* time getting the volume levels even enough to use live. Some presets way too quiet, others much too loud, even at the lowest exp pedal setting. It was no sound at all or way too loud, no in between.

The next week I spent a lot of time editing patches. It was easy, but I still read the manual. I don't use the "EZ Edit" feature. The manual isn't that great - maybe because it seems to me that I should be able to do some things that the manual doesn't tell me how to do. Maybe the unit doesn't do what I want it to, I don't know.

PRS or a Strat or a Tele into GT3 into Fender Tube Amp at first. Headphones at home, sometimes. Live shows anymore, I just plug it into the board so I don't have to bring an amp. I still bring my own wah pedal, though. I can't stand the wah on the GT3. Unit is only noisy on high-gain patches. Most preset patches are too over-processed. Too much chorus and delay and stuff. Too much distortion, not enough balls. They *can* be fixed, mostly. Start by ignoring the pedal OD's and use the amp models for drive. They're all good if you treat them like the amp they imitate.

The chorus, delay, tremolo, vibrato effects are super. The flanger and the wah are truly weak. The auto-wah is OK, if you turn off the pedal-pusher and use it as a filter only. The acoustic simulation is a joke, as is the pickup simulation. The harmonizer isn't as good as my HR-2, even though I thought it should be identical (they're both BOSS, right?). The auto-riff, slicer, and most of the other "modulation" effects are wasted chip memory. I wish I could use 2 mod effects or 2 special effects at once, but I don't think I can. I use the synth presets sometimes when I'm feeling silly. Haven't worked up the nerve to try to edit those patches yet, though.

It's heavy, metal, and appears sturdy. But the manual tells you to carry it around in the box it came in, which is like real thick cardboard. Is it that fragile? If so, why don't they make like an anvil case for it? I'm confused!

There's not even a phone # in the manual to call if you need help. The manual appears to be translated from the Japanese (what is an "assumed" expression pedal? Or an "internal control pedal"?). How do you get in touch with these people if you don't have your own computer to access their website? Apparently, they're unlisted...

This pedal works great for the style I play - clean, or clean-on-the-edge country, blues, classic rock. I bought it so I wouldn't have to schlep around two or three suitcases full of stompboxes. It does *not* sound as good as my stompbox chain! It's just more convenient, and that's why I bought it. After 35 years of playing out, I now judge the quality of a show by two parameters: 1- How much does it pay? ;and 2- How easy is it going to be to load in and out? I'll still use my pedals in the studio, where sound quality is the goal. But the GT3 ain't bad. Now I don't even pack an amp - just my guitar, my wah, the GT3, and cables.

I still think it should allow me to create a patch and use the ctl pedal to change more than one parameter of the patch, then toggle back. Some songs need more than four different guitar sounds, and I'd rather use the ctl pedal than change banks up and down. I wish it had a good wah. I wish I had like an anvil case for it - I carry it wrapped in one of my daughter's old blankies. Does it help me make music? Yeah, I guess some of the zany sounds help get me out of a rut sometimes. Does it get in the way ? Yeah, when I want to make it do something it won't do, and I start pining for my stomp boxes again. But overall, it's a plus and it saves my tired old back. Especially when there's lots of stairs!

This unit was purchased to replace a Digitech RP-5. I did alot of serious research into what would be he best unit for my needs, within a specific price range. During my research, I never once considered ease of use to be a factor. I'm rather technically inclined and I usually figure these things out. Having said that, my initial impression was that the RP-5 was an easier unit to figure out, out of the box. I was very wrong. Within a day or two, I was changing patches and exploring all of the different effects and patches that I could create. The Alphanumeric screen helps a great deal. Digitech went cheapo on their stuff by making most of their screens numeric. The GT-3 hit the other spectrum. You really know what your doing and where you are in this thing. No doubt about it. Easy to get a good sound??? Absolutely!

I use the GT-3 in two specific situations. In rehearsal, I plug into the MAIN IN of a Roland JCM-120. I set the Utility section to "Guitar Combo (Power Amp)" and I'm humming. In performance, the only thing that changes, is that I am using a Peavey Bandit instead of the Roland amp. In both cases, I am using either a HAMER strat or a custom guitar built by myself. They both have DiMarzio pickups (Steve's Special in the bridge and Air Norton in the neck). The Sound Quality is mind boggling. The variety of tones that one can get here is amazing. Not only does BOSS include COSM amp modelings of Marshalls, VOX, Fenders, Soldanos, and the peavey 5150, but you also have the choice of using BOSS distortion pedals. i.e. if you want to use BOSS's Overdrive pedal, there is a digital model of it.

Once you get the tone you want, you have an unbelievably beautiful chorus, a heart wrenching flange, a deep phaser, a very good harmonizer, shitloads of verb and delay.....the list goes on. And they're all quieter than a dead mute.

I play in a Journey tribute band...one of the important parts of my job, is to duplicate Neal Schon's tone as closely as possible. Within 3 days of owning this thing, I was able to NAIL down his tone for the ESCAPE album and get good ones for the others. (However, I plan to sit down and get each tone perfect for each song)

Well, I haven't had it long enough to claim that it's indestructable. One of the things that sold me on this unit, was reading an interview with Victor Johnson (Sammy Hagar's guitarist), who plays the GT-5. He said that his unit has had beer spilled on it, dropped from high heights....etc...etc...That's important to me, I tend to be tough on equipment. I need something that'll survive.

As for what I think of the unit, It's completely encased in metal. Very sturdy construction. Not like the digitech, DOD and ZOOM shit...where it's either all plastic or a combination of plastic and metal.

I've never had to deal with Roland on this unit (Fingers crossed) soI dont have much of an opinion.

As for Rolands web site, it's NOT very informative. It needs to have more information about the unit and a PDF of the instruction manual.

I play rock. However, this thing is good for any style of music. ANY!
If it were stolen, I would track down the son-of-a-bich that stole it, cut off the balls and feed them to him. Once he was done feasting, I'd shot him dead. Then I'd go out and buy another GT-3.

If you're gonna get effects, dont buy DIGITECH, ZOOM or DOD....they're ALL shit compared to the GT-3!!!!!