Boss GT-3

Well I suppose comparing something that has this many effects and parameters to something as simple (but effective) as an MXR Pedal or one of Boss's analogue boxes, so I'm comparing it fairly by using other multi-effects Pedals as comparison points. So far it beats the Zoom 505 I had years ago and also the Digitech range - in my opinion, it's easier than all of those to get a good basic tone quickly.

It's all very logically laid out and for me all the parameters are easy to find and where I would expect them to be. Editing patches is simple. The manual skims over the more in-depth details which might mean less technology-inclined users might not be able to take full advantage of what the GT-3 has to offer.

Just for the record, the firmware revision number of my unit is 1.02. The most recent is 1.03, which fixes some of the bugs I have discovered on my unit. However these bugs are on areas of the unit I don't really use.

Generally I'm using this with my stock Gibson SG Standard or any Teles/Strats I can get my hands on, and also an Epi SG as a backup, mostly through one of two amps - Sessionette:75 (solid state) 1x12 85w combo and Marshall Valvestate 8200 head with standard Marshall 4x12 cab. I run through the effects return on both and set the output to "Power Amp (stack)" or "Power Amp (combo) respectively. I'm quite impressed with the tones, in some instances closeness to valve sounds are possible.

I'd say that the distortions tend to get noisy - there's a lot of digital hiss and hum with high gain setting which is not the hum of a well-driven tube stack, but personally I expected this much. This applies to both the Preamps when driven and the OD/DS - also with a Clean preamp and heavy OD/DS.

I'd like to discuss some of the effects at this point. The Clean preamps I'm very impressed with - Clean TWIN and JC-120 are great, not that close to the originals, granted, but the manual states "amp simulation" - not recreation. The effects in the Mod group are generally good - Phaser, Flanger (not as powerful as I'd like but usuable), Delay (although max. time is a little short), Ring Mod (not overly useful but great for the "Paranoid" solo), Vibrato gives a nice edge to softer songs. Harmonist is fair - not bad but obviously not up to Digitech Whammy standard for say Rage Against the Machine. The auto riff is good for a laugh, the guitar synth is alright as long as you stick to single notes. The rest of the effects are not ones I use so I can't comment.

The Slow Gear, Tremolo and Pickup Sim are surprisingly useful for certain applications. The wah is passable - not a patch on my personal favourite, Vox wah. Best to buy a seperate wah if you don't already have one. I personally like the Chorus - very good when run in stereo. The Parabolic EQ is a masterstroke - especially with the adjustable Q point, it's a shame there are only 2 parabolic ones on the main EQ and another 2 on the Sub EQ. Noise Gate + Compressor both very useable if not that outstanding.

The distortion is very much down to taste. What one guy might love (the Metal distortions for example) I might hate. Personally I think the distortions are the weakest part of the unit only because valve power-tube drive sounds awesome. It beats most stompboxes and cheap amps. However, although in some circumstances the unit sounds great with the right Preamp and OD/DS, others it sounds truly digital - the way the notes breakup when using a JC-120 with Blues drive with Drive=5 it sounds too obvious - especially when recording direct with speaker sim on. I'm not sure if this is just the GT-3 or because I got mine secondhand and it wasn't in great shape.

Overall though, this was well worth trading in my old Boss stompboxes for. Just needs to sound more natural, if thats possible with digital gear.

Well I did get a little bored of reading "Boss = Tank" and that when checking out these reviews, but in a sense it's true. Here's my story of why Boss can build things to last, unlike todays motor vehicles and computer systems.

After a particularly bad gig and being blind drunk, I woke up the next morning to find that my GT-3 was all dented and a little out of shape (not much tho...). I asked my band mates and apparently after our set I chucked my GT-3 out of the window, from about 20 feet up... then I went outside picked the thing up and started laughing, as it hadnt broke.

The thing had been rained upon so I let it dry out at room temperature for a couple of days, then plugged it in... still worked. Damn thing didn't even reset itself.

There is no other piece of musical equipment I can think of that you can drop out of a window without seriously messing it up. This works almost like it never happened. Score another one for Boss.

Someone said in these reviews that the manual is the first line of customer support and thats true. The manual isn't very good, so I think it's fair to say the guys on the phone might have similar problems - can answer basic questions but don't stand a chance if you have serious trouble. We'll see.

First of all I have to give it a 10 because of how cheaply I picked this up - #129 is a steal. That represents fantastic value for what I've got, considering how much my old analogue ones cost new. Instant top mark. If I'd have paid more than #170, it would have been 8.

Other than this I owned some real McCoy analogue pedals - all Boss. CH-1 Super Chorus , PH-2 Super Phaser, MT-2 Metal Zone and best of all, OD-2 Turbo Overdrive. This pedal compares well to all these - Phaser, slightly more warm with the stompbox but I prefer the cleaner sound of the GT-3, CH-1 Chorus, again the GT-3 is clearer. I hate the MT-2 I had, but the GT-3 has that sound on it, not that I ever use it. The Turbo OD on the GT-3 still doesnt quite compare to it's stompbox counterpart, however it's more sensitive EQ gives it an edge.

Overall, for what this is and how much it cost me, it's a great piece of kit. I would point out that I do not have extensive experience with pro-quality equipment or rackmounts, but even if I did I still think I'd come to the same conclusion - it's great for what it is.

After reading a little in the booklet and a little experamentation you will have it down.

I said 5 because the effects arent that bad for being digital. Yes the wah could have used more tweaking knobs. But the DISTORTION IS AWEFUL. After about a year of labor intencive experaments i have only come up with a few good patches. I am going out too look for a distortion pedal tomarrow to run through the send&return.

I like it but the distortion sounds to muddy and low ended with no sharpness and shred.

very good

I find it really easy to use, but im having a bit of trouble finding a distortion that i like. I have a 2 speaker peavey amp and i had to make a "Y" connector for the back of the amp because it was only playing out of one speaker.

Im using a Charvel guitar with a Peavy classic chourse 130. I get a bit of noise but thats because of my patch chord. the effects are great but i need help from anyone, i need better sounding distortion. I like some that the newer bands are using like Creed and Good Charlotte. If you can plz email me some of your settings that you like and i will give it a shot that would be great. prettyboy_107@hotmail.com

So far i can depend on it. I have never had any problems. I would use it on a gig without backup.

I like to paly punk/rock but i need a better distortion. I dont mind the sound of the waw but i will buy a cry baby later on.I compaired it to the GT-6 and liked it more but jsut couldnt afford it.

I've owned many different multi-effects units, several from Roland/Boss. The old GP-8, the orange Boss GX700, and now the GT-3. Let's face it...ease of use with anything in this category comes with understanding the logic of the unit, but Roland/Boss has really worked hard to make sure us guitarists don't have to work so hard to have fun with our toys. Some other guys may not know how to get happy sounds out of this thing, but it's really about as easy as it can be and still have so much depth.

Here's where I've struggled. I'll give it a "9" because the effects are really smooth-sounding and versatile for the way I use it, but the overdrive and distortion sounds are pretty worthless. Ditto for the COSM models. The GT-3 is awesome for applying effects to the setup of a player who already has a great-sounding axe & amp, but don't count on this unit to give you "tone". I've found near-bliss using the GT-3 with a TubeScreamer and other overdrive pedals in the "Ext OD/DS" loop, and plugging the GT-3 output into a good Fender amp set clean. The GT-3 is transparent, and it's effects are pro-quality (so long as we don't discuss the OD/DS/COSM crap).

Built tough as nails...though I'm really tired of units like this with outboard power supplies and cheap zip-cable power connections. Mine hasn't given me a single problem over the 5 years that I've been beating the crap out of it, but it'll happen...probably some night at a gig. How about an outboard PS with a detachable cable that's easily replaceable on the road, like a MIDI or 1/4" cable?

No problems yet...

I play Strats in just about any style of music except hard-ass metal and the like. The GT-3 allows me to get pretty much any effect sound I need easily, sounds great and allows a lot of expressive control. Two thumbs up for the effects, but two thumbs down for the OD/DS/COSM stuff. This is typical Roland though...all the way back to the original JC-120 amp; great clean, great chorus...just stay away from the dirty channel! I highly recommend this unit for players who need effects, not tone. You can find them CHEAP at pawn shops now...

One advantage is that this pedal is relatively easy to use and set though an amp, or headphones or mixer or P.A. The only real concern is using the unit in an effect loop that has a gain send and return knob which the gt-3 seem to overload with harsh feedback. One huge advantage of the gt-3 is that its patches are really easy to use and program and offer quick and easy sound changes while playing live.

What can you say digital guitar effects just can't even come close to the tone of analog. I used this effect through warm, fat, fender tube amps (vibrolux etc.); yet the gt-3 still sounded thin and small in comparision. The pedal is digital and as such produced an anemic and simple sound lacking in the harmionic richness that a good guitar sound should have. The gt-3 also tracks slowly, causing a small but noticeable delay between what you play and what comes out of the amp. The distortions are poor. The wah is poor. The reverb is poor. The preset patches are cheesy and completely useless. All in all the gt-3 is more of a toy and does not deliever true guitar sounds. Even with these negative points the gt-3 does have one spectacular sounding effect. Check out the step phaser it is absolutely phenomenal. This is a first rate effect and is the only reason why I am holding on to the pedal.

I have beaten the daylights out of the Gt-3 withiout remorse and it plays just like new. It is absolutely in-destructable.

If you are serious about quality tone and can afford analog and tube equipment dont waste your time on the gt-3. If you are a beginer and need a lot of effects and have no cash then the gt-3 is probasbly the best bang for your buck. Other units by digitech, zoom and the like are even more pathetic sounding than the gt-3. If you like phaser sounds check out the step phaser. the way it jumps is phenomenal it sounds like the heavens are opening up. For this effect alone the pedal is worth checking out.

Es una unidad algo complicada de utilizar si pretendes tocar via MIDI.
En cuanto a la edicion de patches, es sencilla, aunque el sistema EZ Edit es de gran ayuda.

Utilizo una guitarra Washburn Maverick, con un kit de pastillas EMG, la conecto a un Cry Baby y despues a un Peavey Envoy o a un ampli a valvulas cableado a mano hace como veinte a?os. Me encanta el sonido de valvulas, y cuando compre esta unidad, no crei que me daria un sonido tan calido.
Las saturaciones que se pueden lograr son muy variadas, desde el sonido VOX de Graham Coxon, hasta la saturacion Marshall de Stevie Ray Vaughan; claro, toda proporcion guardada; y por lo regular, en este tipo de unidades no son tan faciles de conseguir. (Antes utilce DIGITECH, y la verdad me quede muy decepcionado de las unidades multiefectos). En general es muy versatil, Decepciona un poco el phaser, que es demasiado frio, pero se puede aderezar con un poco de reverb para darle un poco mas de cuerpo.
De las distorsiones no hay nada que decir, la casa Boss las respalda, aunque a veces prefiero usar un Big Muff como External OD.
Por lo regular, no utilizo los preamps, sino el sonido directo de mi guitarra con un poco de Blues Dist con una ganancia de 7 u 11, y eso es todo, y sinceramente, satura muy bien mi ampli de valvulas.

NUNCA LO HE NECESITADO!!

Por lo regular la utilizo para tocar blues, o cuando tenemos algun trabajo, que por lo regular esta en tocar a grupos como Doors, Blur, Nirvana, Manson, Alice, Sound Garden, etc.
Y me ha convencido tanto, que de hecho planeo comprar otra para tenerla como backup, ademas de que gracias al MIDI no necesito editar nuevamente mis patches personales.

Not a simple unit to use by any means, unless you are one of those that enjoy jogging through 100 parameters for each patch. The manual was brief but to the point and easy to understand, but it lacked explaination of various setup configurations to use with or without your amp, with or without an effects loop, but overall, it did explain the basics. I didn't get to the point where I used it fluently for about a year, but it was from being lazy & having a stage rig I was accustom to anyway. I finally used it at band practice and a couple of gigs, but I was never happy with it. But you're listening to a guy that is use to playing through a Fender "Evil" Twin and uses Boss Pedals. So I'm picky!

I used a Fender Deluxe Reverb RI and a Roland JC-77 with this unit and even though the Fender gave it more of a tube warmth like I'm use to, it still didn't satisfy my ears. It was good enough for rehersal but not at gigs.
The multitude of effects were everything but the kitchen sink. The olny effects that were displeasing were the distortion effects and the wah~wah pedal. The wah~wah was the worst, nearly the worst I've ever heard. It just had no bite and no tone. But, I'm use to my Dunlop 535Q, so once again, I'm picky.
The acoustic simulation was great, one of the best features of the unit, but hardly worth lugging around just for that.
The amp models were fairly nice, and since I own or have owned every amp in the selection, I can tell you they are fairly accurate. The only one lacking was the Mesa/Boogie. The Twin and The Soldano were my personal favorites. The chorus was OK but not as good as a T.C Electronics, (but we're talking about a $300 chorus pedal vs. a $300 multi-effect box, so you do the math) The delay was good and the other effects were useable but not the best I've ever heard.
My Boss effects pedals beat all the effects on this unit, but once again, you get what you pay for. The variables on the boards effects is it's only saving grace, you have more programability than any single pedal I've ever seen. One user review I read on here said that the distortions on this unit sucked, and he prefered a Digitech unit. I can't imagine a Digitech unit being better than this GT-3, but to each his own. I haven't used a distortion box in 12 years. I rely on the preamp in my amp for distortion. Concidering this, the preamp modeling was more than enough to suit me. Adding the distortion effects to the preamp effect gave so much gain and noise that I can't see why anyone would use both at once, but again, I'm picky. The preamp distortion variables were enough distortion for nearly any sound you'd need (except a grungy fuzz). I get that if I don't shave for a few days anyway. One preprogramed bank had a Boston tone. This is nearly all the effects at full tilt. Don't do this with this unit unless you are recording. At high volumes, the gain level is just to much for most situations and it will make you amp squeel like a banchee. Fun for practice or recording though.

Falls apart at the lightest touch! No, really Boss has some of the most rugged roadworthy effects on the market. This one is built like a tank! The only unit that is not by Boss is the ME-30 (the cheapest in their line of multi-effects boxes) One user comented that he wished the pedal buttons were made of steel not plastic, but believe me, this type of plastic is hard as steel and very durable. Unless you plan on switching channels with a sledgehammer, these will last a lifetime.

Good company, though I've never had to repair anything I've bought by them. I own 15 different products by Roland/Boss. All have stood the test of time and I'm sure this unit is no exception. However I believe this unit is out of production now. The GT-6 is now the top line and the GT-5 and GT-3 are gone from prodution.

Flexable enough to use for any style/genre of music/venue. Programable to a fault. Slack Wah~Wah but everything else is good enough for most things. Great tool for modeling sounds with, esspecialy in the studio. Harder to tweek for giging but not impossible.
I have been playing for 23 years. I bought this unit to replace my gig rig of pedals to simplify my setup. My gig rig is still in place!
Lost or stolen, I'd get a Line 6 POD, just because I know now this unit will never replace my gig rig. But for $150 bucks, a used one would be hard to pass up!

The Boss GT3 is daunting at first. But after you go through the various controls, it comes to you. A lot of guys just won't take the time to tweak and therefore get frustrated and chuck the thing. Admittedly, the manual is horrible. I mean, it really sucks. It only superficially grazes over each subject; very vague. The best teacher is experience. Get in there and start twiddling and before long, you'll grasp the inner workings. Editing patches is fairly straightforword, punch up the parameter and adjust it with the parameter wheel. Simple, huh? If you can't wait to start playing, some of the pre-set sounds are pretty cool. Some are pretty cheesy too. I gave a rating of 7 because the learning curve is somewhat steep.

I use two guitars with the GT3; a Gibson SG Custom with stock humbuckers and a Hamer Diablo with Seymour Duncan humbuckers. I'm running the unit through a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier amp. I have it wired to the amp using the Ext/OD/DS loop. That way I can bypass the amp's preamp section for clean sounds. The compressor is a bit noisy at higher settings, but if kept below 50, it's not too bad. The Dual Recto needs very little, if any, compression anyway. My main drive sound comes from the amp, so I set the OD/DS parameter to EXT/OD to use the amp's preamp. I do use some of the built-in distortion patches for different sounds. Only a couple of them sound descent, the rest are pretty crappy. The chorus is a little disappointing. It sounds boxy and flat. A better sound is the harmonizer set at about +4. Speaking of the harmonizer, if set to harmony, the tracking is horrible. If all you want to play is riffs to sleep by, the thing works pretty good, but anything faster than moderate, and it has a lot of trouble finding the right note. And the 2 voice mode is even worse. The sound quality of the clean patches is excellent though. You don't even need an amp; just plug it straight into the mixing console. Some of the stereo effects are really sweet. Mostly, I use the GT3 to categorize my sounds so I can change them with the push of one pedal. Like I mentioned earlier, the way I have the unit wired to my amp, I can go from, say, clean with chorus to crunch with delay without changing channels on my amp, just by pressing one button. The built-in preamp models are all pretty dismal with the exception of the Roland JC 120 and the Fender Twin. I don't see how they can think the BG Lead patch sounds like a Mesa, it's not even close. The Fender Twin, they've nailed on the head though. Sounds just like it. My sound quality rating is a 5 because 80% of the distortion/drive sounds are subpar, but 80% of the clean sounds are superb.

I've had my unit for over a year and have had no problems. 10, so far

Never dealt with them.

Overall, you can't beat this unit for the money. It has tons of different sounds, albeit some not too good. What I love about it is it's rock solid construction (all metal) and it's versitility. What I hate about it, (not really hate, but dislike) is the pedal. When used as a volume pedal, it's extremely touchy; especially at higher amp volumes. It seems like it goes from 0 to 20 all at once, then on up to 100 smoothly. Also, when changing patches, the sound is cut off while the subsequent pedal is in the down position. The only way around this is to push the pedal really fast to minimize the delay. My favorite feature is the delay. Very smooth and even. I wish it kept the original patch name when writing from another patch. For instance, if you decide you like another patch better than the one you have in a certain position, writing another location to that patch transfers the name of the new patch also, so you have to rename it back to what you had in the original patch. A hassle. The unit does help me make music because I don't have worry about changing a bunch of stomp boxes to change sounds. It all happens with the touch of one button. If you don't want to take the time to learn your way around it or take the time to tweak it, don't buy the GT3 and stick to stomp boxes. The overall sound quality you'll get with this thing greatly depends on what kind of amp you're running it through. Sounds that are horrid through my Fender Pro Reverb don't sound too bad through my Mesa. But for the money, you can't go wrong. Have Fun

I've owned the GT-3 now for a bit over 2 years and I only now feel that I can make an accurate review. It's taken me a long time to figure this thing out. I'm typically the kind of guy that likes to turn knobs instead of editing patches with buttons, as if it were a computer, so it's taken me a while to get this where I can get a good live sound. It really isn't that hard anymore but for someone who just bought it, it could prove to be difficult at first. The manual that was included is horribly written. However, there are user-friendly, downloadable manuals that can be found on the internet.

My current set up is one of 3 guitars; a Les Paul, a Hamer Sunburst and an Ibanez Talman, into a Dunlop Crybaby, a Tubescreamer, a Marshall Guv'nor, the GT-3 and then into the power amp section of a Marshall Valvestate head and 4x12 Crate Blue Voodoo speaker cabinet. After using the GT-3 through various configurations over the last couple years, I'm convinced that the best way to use this is through the power amp section of an amplifier, bypassing the pre-amp altogether. For some reason, when the GT-3 interacts with another pre-amp, it just doesn't sound right. Setting up the global settings properly is also of the utmost importance. It can honestly take you from sounding underwater to sounding great.

I like to use the GT-3 sparingly. Mainly I use a pre-amp, throw in some reverb or delay depending on the situation, and every now and again using the effects for whatever is necessary for the tune I'm playing. To me, the pre-amps make this unit. The heavier pre-amps like the 5150, Soldano, Metal Drive and Mesa Rectifier do a good job for hard rock/heavy metal, but the in between sounds are amazing. The Clean Twin, Matchless, Vox, Crunch and Marshall Plexi models are excellent. The amazing part is the dynamics that are present. Turn your guitar volume down and it cleans up better than a lot of amplifiers I've played through. You can get Who-ish crunch out of this thing, an excellent clean sound, mild breakup. It's not very noisy. The noise gate is serviceable. Not the best in the world but works fine.

The effects for the most part are good. The reverb and delay are excellent, the chorus, flanger, phaser, tremolo, vibrato, the time based effects in general are good. I'm bummed out about the harmonizer though. It works fine if you set it up to be used in the style of the Whammy pedal. However, when you use it to do harmony parts (like when I play Detroit Rock City), the tracking on the harmony part is a little slow so it just doesn't sound right. I don't think I'm ever going to use auto riff or the guitar synth. The synth is not good for faster runs. You have to play slow otherwise it won't track the notes. The EQ is okay but I wish it had a few more frequencies available to adjust. I don't really use it much. The distortions are actually cool. I've used them to boost the preamp and it does a good job, but I need a couple stompboxes just to keep me happy, plus I love the sound I can get with the Guv'nor. It can take the Plexi model, which has a great AC/DC like crunch to it, and just push it over the top. I kick on the Guv'nor for solos on a lot of spots.

I'm giving this an 8 as a whole. There are some really great sounds out of this thing, and there are some that I don't think are that hot.

The chassis is solid metal which is very reliable. I wish the pedals weren't plastic though. I hope they survive the bars and nightclubs.

I actually had a great dealing with Roland's customer support. I inadvertently plugged it into a 240 volt input and fried the transformer in the AC plug. Ended up calling Roland US and they sent me a plug in about a week. They sold it to me for less that what Musicians Friend quoted and they got it to me quicker than Musicians Friend could.

I think this processor is great for the gigging cover band musician who has to cover many different musical styles. When I'm out playing, we do everything from Tom Petty to Judas Priest to Neil Young to Jimi Hendrix to Metallica. The GT-3 can cover all those bases. Ideally, I'd love to have a setup with a great amplifier that could cover broad styles (something like the Fender Twin) but since I'm the head of my household with only one income and a shitload of debt, I can't have everything I want. The GT-3 is a good alternative for the budget minded musician (most of us I would assume). If the 8 seems a little low of a rating, it's just because I'm taking into account everything about it. The amp models are worth the price, but some of the stuff is unusable live.

it's easy to use. I didn't have a manual but figured out how to work it pretty quickly. there's options everywhere for getting a sound quickly as well. although it's easy to figure out how to tweak anything as much as you want.

i'll have to admit i havent really run this through a proper amp yet, just through a tiny portable stereo and into my 4-track at low volumes. to me it sounds great though, i prefer clean tones. i've never been too picky about tones though.

overall this thing sounds good. it sounds like boss pedals, which of course sound good. some of the distortions are crappy. everything overall sounds good.

it's boss, so probably reliable.

na

Overall, this is a pretty good effects pedal. I've had a lot of individual pedals, and a zoom 505, alesis effects unit, digitech reverb, and i've played a lot through the effects on a roland vg whatever digital 8-track.

compared to all that, this thing is definitely worth it. nothing really beats having a bunch of individual pedals to play with and mix and match, but this thing has pretty much every stock type of pedal made, with a few thrown in besides. where this thing really comes in handy is how versatile it is. anything you can come up with in your head to do with effects, you can do with this (the only limiting thing is that you can only use one modulation effect at a time).

a cool feature is that you can hook the expression and the control pedal to control any parameter in the whole effects chain. you can control phaser depth, pitch shift amount, compressor level, type of distortion, anything you want... there are also a lot of cool nonstandard effects on here, including feedbacker, synth,slow gear, ring modulator, humanizer, some other stuff.

the sound in this is solidly good, not spectacular, but for what it is, an all around effects pedal to get any sound you might need, it's great for that,