Boss GT-3

well i have to admit, at first i was overwhelmed with the process of programing the GT-3. I just read the programing section of the manual just to learn how to edit and save, and the rest just pretty much fool with it til Ifound a good sound. it really is pretty easy to use once you learn the basics. i like how there is a CRL (control) foot switch to turn on and off certain effects, and also the expression pedal that can control volume, the wah, the amount of effect, the rate of effects, or all at the same time. the CRL button can turn on and off the tuner also. the CRL can pretty much turn on and off everything on the GT3, even the expression pedal.

my setup is pretty simple: ltd eclipse, ibanez artist-> shure wireless or planet wave cords -> Boss GT3 -> korg rack tuner -> rocktron husch super C -> rocktron velocity 120 stereo power amp -> marshall 1960a lead slanted cab set to stereo.
my set up may sound like its complicated but its just guitar to rack gear - to speakers. i have only this one amp but because of the GT-3 i can mimmic or create endless sounds. from hardcore crunch or death metal chug to acoustic clean. the possiblities are enormous.
most people here bag on the sound quality of the distorion, but they just dont know shit about digital equipments. the trick to getting good distorion is all in the EQing. first set the utility based on the correct power source you are using (ie..combo, stack, power amp, etc..)then choose the amp you want in the preamp section and set all the EQ evenly flat to all 50. then select the equalization set it to the sound you want. go back to the preamp EQ and tweak it even more to your desired tone. a little compression helps a lot also. i really think that a tube power amp should improve my set up because i've played my Gt3 with a mesa boogie dual rectifier just using the power slave and it sounded more alive than ever. so for the distorion sound, i mainly use the preamp. i only use the overdrive/ dist button for noisy effects...or, just pick a pretty good sounding preset, tweak it then hit the write button, then viola.
the utility button also has the master Eq. so rather than painstakingly EQing each setting to match each concert venues or room, you can simply eq just one for the entire processor to your desired tone.
Remember that all guitars only sounds good out of a good amp or vice versa. same thing goes for a good processor like the GT3.

i've been gigging to many bars, clubs, coffee houses, skate parks, college events, and house parties for five years with the GT3 and the rest of my set up, and it hasnt failed me yet. it pretty much gets used approximately 10 hours a week for at least 2 hours continuously each session.

never had to deal with them

i play in three bands. Floating Holiday (very structured rock), the wrong Fiasco (heavy alternative), and Sfumato (jam rock). those bands demand different sounds from my playing, but my set up handles them all. the GT3 is trully flexible.
ive been playing guitar since i started playing in bands and that was 8 years ago. i use to play with a bunch of boss pedals but they were a hasle because i like using more than at least three pedals at a time plus the amp footswitch. so i bought a processor.
the one thing that i think can improve this particular instrument is for it have a bigger, brighter, colored LCD screen. i've gigged with the GT3 on outdoor occasions probably 5 times and remembering that i bobbled stepping on the right button mainly because i couldnt read which bank i was on. also the power cord is way too short and the adapter box of the cord shouldnt be in the middle but right on the plug but with the space saver design so it doesnt hog the outlet space on my power conditioner.
i think a great tube power amp and maybe a new guitar should improve my sound tremendously. wishful thinking. i wish i were filthy rich so i can buy prostitutes, and guitars.
if somebody steals my GT3 i would definite kill that person andbuy another one , or better yet get the GT5 which is almost identical but has more programable banks and one extra footswitch. however i believe that boss may have discontinued producing these models due to the release of the GT-6. so if one day my Gt3 breaks down on me (godforbid) i will send it to BOSS and have their technicians repair it back to new. the programs may get lost but i can always reprogram it.

Once you get the hang of it, it's relatively easy to program. The built-in tuner is hard to see.

I tried the GP3 with a EMG-equipped Strat through a Carvin 212 tube amp. Normally, I go for a very compressed clean sound, a chorus-y sound, a good OD (like Pete Townshend's in most of the mid-70s Who recordings), and a lead channel with a little more OD and some delay to fatten it up.

The compressor is typical BOSS -- fairly quiet, and "ring-y." I would imagine it records fairly well direct. The distortion stinks, period. The chorus/flanging is OK, but nothing spectacular. The delays are limited and hard to program. The reverb is thin and unnatural sounding. Some of the other gimmcky effects are fun for about 10 minutes.

It seems solid enough.

I bought this for live use only. I was sorely disappointed. I found that if I supplemented it with my old Morley chorus/flanger, a RAT overdrive and a tuner, I could tolerate it for at least a gig. The only remotely useful thing about it is the built-in expression pedal, which despite its sticky, cheap feeling response acts pretty well as a "volume knob" for your feet.

I am amazed at the number of responses here.

This unit works very well in a studio. I use it as a direct injection unit straight into my mixer (ie no amp) and it gives me everything I need and sounds great. (I haven't managed to get a good funk type sound but I haven't put the time into getting one yet).

My one critcism is the tune function is a small button, that really should be a large pedal so as not to require bending down.

If you want a unit to use with an amp and in a live venue do what Boss themselves say, use the ME-50.

I tried this unit for the first time at a gig and on the first break went scambling to set up my old pedals. I have to agree, the distortion sucks and nothing matches the clean tube sound of my amp. I tried to manually program the sound I liked, but as we all know, what it sounds like in your living room and what it sounds like at the gig are two different things. I kind of liked the accoustic guitar sound and some of the delays were nice, but not any better than my regular pedals. I play a Stratocaster with noisless pickups. My needs are just a good clean tube sound, A good distortion, and Delay and reverbs. For me 2 pedals with my amp do this fine, I saw this unit used for $150 and said, what the hell, I will give it a try, But it does not work gor me on stage. Guess Iif something isn't broke, why fix it? but I may keep the unit just to annoy my wife when she is watching TV. :)

I got the opportunity to try out a GT-3 with my amp. I was planing to get one, I needed a few effects, mosty Delay, Reverb, Chourus. But I first wanted to try it out. Luckally I did!
It's always important for me how effects change the original amp-sound. Well, the GT-3 really damped and muffled my amps tone! I have a Engl Tube Amp, the Thunder 50. Maybe not the best amp, but still tube.
I also tried to mix the original amp sound with the GT-3's sound (The Thunder has a blend-over knob, from only dry to only wet), it didn't work either. (the original amp signal is digitalized as well, so there is a small time diffrence between the original signal and the one from the GT-3)
I'm going to get a simple Multi-Effect Unit, WITHOUT preamp section, maybe a G-Major. That's probally the right thing for me!!!
Good advice: Try out the GT-3 before you buy it, it could be fine with your amp, but I have the feeling that it isn't too good in conjunction with a tube amp!

You get the best results using the manual mode.
The preset are horrible. Take the time to build your sound.
The display can be hard to read.
The pedals are too small.
I wish it had knobs like the gt6.

As everyone else says the distortions are pointless. I use an od3 and a ds1 to take care of this.
But the trem is excellent (better than the tr2), the delays and reverbs pretty nice...there is alot you can do with board, but you need to learn to assemble your sounds. It's got a world of wacky misc. sounds that make people look up, too. There is alot you can do with this.

Never let me down at any gig any time (In 3 years).

n/a

I'm the only guitarist in my country ska punk band The Drug Squad (thedrugsquad.net), this unit gives me a great variety of options and sounds. It add alot of colour to the set. But, use it as a link in your chain, not exclusively.

Takes alot of fiddling with it to get good sounds but once you figure out how to work everything it's pretty easy. I lost my manual a long time ago.

For what I use it for, (time-based effects mainly), the sound quality is excellent, but the amp models, distortion and wah are pretty weak in my opinion. I play an Ibanez Jem into a Crate Blue Voodoo tube head, and in a pinch I can get by just fine with just my guitar, amp, and a delay (Boss DD-5) pedal. My full rig is an Ibanez Jem into a Dunlop crybaby wah, Zakk Wylde overdrive pedal, the GT-3, and the BV head into a Marshall 1960 cab with vintage celestion 30's. I get plenty of distortion from my amp, the OD pedal just fattens things up nicely. The GT-3's distortion doesn't hold a candle to a tube head's so I use it for the delay, chorus, flanger, EQ, noise-gate and, once in awhile, the slicer effect. The great thing about the GT-3 is the patches. You can have up to four distinct sounds at any given time with just the stomp of a pedal. My main patches consist of a rhythm sound using the EQ, noise gate and a little chorus, and a lead sound that is similar, but boosts the volume, low end and adds some delay. I love being able to hit one pedal and have my solo just scream out loud and clear. I use the other aforementioned effects for texture once in awhile but my rhythm and lead patches are what carry me through 90 percent of a gig. If you like to use a wah, keep it in front of the GT-3 in your signal chain and don't even bother with the built-in one. I send my GT-3 through my amp's effects loop and it's perfectly quiet, adding no noise.

Had it for 5 years, 50+ gigs, hundreds of rehearsals, spilled beer on it, knocked it around, it's built like a tank. I always bring a backup delay just in case but have never needed it.

NA

Like I said, I don't care for the amp models, distortion or the wah but I don't need it for that. Having the GT-3 is like having all the time-based Boss pedals under one hood, being able to mix-and-match them as you like, plus control of volume, EQ and a noise gate. The other guitar player in my band likes to have all his pedals, (like 12 of them!), spread out around him in a semi-circle but he has to do a pedal dance every time he changes his sound. Plus, our singer is a lunatic and he ends up kicking or accidentally engaging one of those pedals at least once every show. With the GT-3 and some time spent programming patches to your taste, (the pre-programmed patches suck), you can dramatically change your sound with just one stomp.

Try all the factory presets to see what you like, but I HIGHLY RECOMEND plainly using the manual mode so you can create your own pedal chain, allowing you to turn on diff effects at your leisure. This makes it a heck of a lot easier to use and allows you recreate a pedalboard feel.

GT3 v GT6 ? Obviously bigger and better is the 6 and Im jealous of the actual KNOBS, the flat buttons are not prefered.

After 5-6 years I just fell in love with it again. Why? Because I put the distortion in front of the preamp. I use the turbo OD, and MS1959I+II. I also use the compressor at the start of the chain. Solid thick tone, without being to razorlike, and not to dull, yet sustainy. Move over Trey!

after 5-6 years, no probs whatsoever.

boss = tanks. I called them once for a simple q, they answered it right away.

Again, try the manual edit mode and experiment with different signal flows and effects.

has nice workable parameters...altough you cannot use the factory settings, wich are terrible. Make a fresh start and add effects as you need them...dont overuse effects, or you will have more engeneer working than playing

I use only the reverbs, delay, chorus and modulation, the distortions are terrible, except the vintage that can be worked a little to an acceptable level, cosm amp simulator is pretty lame, and the direct sound is terrible...So I use it as a modulation, and spacial effects processor, and volume control mostelly, and it does work pretty good at those levels. Not a complete unit, you will certainlly need external distortion, wah, and maybe some other...

Never failed me...and is sturdy built...no backup needed.

The features I use, are workable at any musical style, but if you dont use much diferent effects, you better buy separate pedals instead of this unit, because some features are not good at all, and some are unusable...

There are so many parameters to adjust that it can be very difficult for someone impatient or without tech skills. I went through all the patches when I got it and was not too impressed. But after I learned how to tweak it I fell in love with it. Basically I set up my own patches by turning every effect off and made different patches with one effect at a time. exactly as you would do it with pedals. THIS IS CRITICAL! You will never get your sounds right trying to adjust 10 effects at the same time. As said before, the effect chain is also very important.

The GT-3 sounds different with every amp but you can get great sounds out of ANY amp, even my 9V battery powered mini Marshall stack that I bought for $20. I have to adjust my patches to my amps though. Funny thing is I can get my favorite sound out of the headphone jack plugged into my computer speakers (with a sub) on a patch that sounds absolutely awful on any of my guitar amps (Comp Turbo). I mostly play a Schecter guitar using a Carvin amp. This setup gives me the most versatility.
The sounds are awesome. I usually only use about 2-3 effects at a time though, I hardly ever use the factory patches. I don?t like a lot of effects at one time and I fine tune my favorite ones to my preferences.
It is easy to make the GT-3 sound bad. This is not a bad thing, it just means it is versatile. What is bad on one amp could sound like gold on another

Built like a tank. Ive never had a problem. I would gig w/o backup. Who could afford backup? There are too many other things Id rather have than 2 of something I already have.

never delt with them

I use the GT-3 with a Schecter C+ with a SD 59 pickup in the bridge. Also a stock Yamaha Pacifica. I have a 100W Tube Marshall JCM 900 stack and a Solid state 100W Carvin SX-200 combo 2X12 combo I use for a cab and amp. I also have a cheap Matrix 2X8 practice amp. Other effects pedals I have are an Ibanez TS-9DX and Dunlop Wah. These are both high quality effects that I never touch anymore since I got the GT-3. I can almost duplicate their sounds.
I can get pretty close to just about any sound I want. I play Metallica, SRV, 3 doors down, Eagles, Led Zeplin etc...
I?ve played for about 11 years now, I can hold my own with other guitarists. I have a pretty respectable rig for being a poor college student for the last 8 years (med student) I was a purest with no pedals till about 2 years ago when I got ?the bug? to find better sounds. The bug was squashed by buying the GT-3. I would buy this anytime over the newer versions because of the cost vs. return. I remember drooling over this thing when it was $400 new. I don?t think the newer ones are much better, just cost more.