Boss GT-3

When using this effects processor for the first time it can be done easily. It is different when actually using the effects processor the way that it is designed though. I personally had to get familiar with all the options before setting my own channels. The manual doesn't really help in this situation since it just has an overwhelming amount of features. memorization of the effects is the only inconvenience I had to face. All of effects are quality though.

when using this system with headphones it is amazing. To truly get the sound quality, you really have to be playing on a quality amp. All of the effects are of great quality and can manipulate anyone else's sound. I play on an ibanez guitar and a crate blue voodoo half stack, it really goes perfectly with the GT-3

100% Professional quality, I use it at all the gigs and it can do it all. I rely on it solely for my shows.

I have never directly dealt with the company,I know all warranty info has been established and my boss products are fully warrantied.

I am a college music major and play many styles of music. I have been able to explore more styles and have had more chances to vary the styles I write because of my BOSS GT-3 effects board. I have everthing I need in this board to play gigs or just have fun and write music. This effects processor will still be quality for me to use in ten years with all the effects it has.

This unit is quite easy to use, pretty straight forward, the presets are all available with the turn of the dial. Editing isn't too bad either

I'm using with this with a crate gx-15, yeah i know its just a practice amp, but i'm comparing this unit to my zoom 505 pedal. I will say one good thing, Its pretty quiet, not too much buzzing. However the distortion is absolutely horrible, my zoom 505 has way more balls than this piece of crap. You might as well just poke a hole in your speaker like they use to have to do in the 50's, cause thats what most of the distortion sounds like. (vintage 50's, 60's) The chorus and flanger are halfway decent. And the synth effects were absolutely useless. I worked with the distortion for a long time, the best i could was a really flat grainy sound, absolutely no balls, and no crunch. You might think the reason for that is my amp, but trust me, the 505 kicks its ass.

It looks pretty solid, i wouldn't think it would break easy

I've been playing 7 years and my style is a lot like Static X, lots of palm muting and jud juds so its not something i can use, perhaps you Vintage lovers might like this thing.

In my opinion the Zoom 505 out performs it, although the GT-3 has more effects. I think they should quit wasting time making lots of lousy effects and just make a board with a few very good effects

Love this baby YEAH! Just got it & sounds are just oozing from it. It might take awhile to pinpiont the crucial aspects cuz I'm kinda green on the MULTI-EFFECTS SYNDROME but it doesn't seem to be to difficult. I do like the 'manual' setting though. It's a floor full of pedals in one integrated unit. WOOO-HOOO!

Sound is awesome no doubt, CAN I GET A WITNESS! I take my epiphone LP-100 through the GT-3 & out through my Fender Automatic GT and I'm there. These instruments compliment each other quite well. (I know it's not fair but just hang in there you'll get there someday)I read others talk about 'crunchy distortion' but thats the way I like it, uhuh uhuh. Take off some reverb & short delays & it won't sound too digital, alright? The effects are top-notch & you get alot of them. All-in-all, a tight package for the people.

Stronger than a BULL-DIKE WITH A CREW-CUT!

Great stuff, my retailer doesn't let me down.

You got GAS? (gear acquisition syndrome) Then this unit has got the cure! If it were stolen I would kick their ASS & name their children. Then I'd make them buy me another one in mint condition. This machine is the bulls balls & I would personally like to thank BOSS for putting together the 'total package'.

This is very easy to use. If you know anything about music effects and have been playing the guitar a good while, you wouldn't even need the manual. It's only there for support. On the other hand if you're new at effects and guitar technology, the manual will steer you in the right direction.

Sounds are tight! I've used the boss stomp boxes since I started using effects, then came this unit with almost all the stomp boxes you'll ever want. So, I got the GT3. All the effects sound just like the stomp boxes, so if you like boss you'll love it. You probably won't use half of the stuff in it so it's nice to know exploration of the unit is endless. I play in a band at my church and I do lots of gospel gigs all the time. I can't say that I have anything to compare the unit to 'cause all I ever used is Boss. But, if I had to replace my effects unit I wouldn't consider getting anything else. All effects come so close to the real thing (like the wah pedal) you wouldn't notice a difference. Gospel is all music styles....jazz, rock, metal, country, etc. so, I'm constantly hitting the pedals and pushing buttons. The unit always gives me what I'm looking for. In light of what I just said I do need to emphasize that you must tweak the unit to get your desired sounds. It doesn't come out of the box tailored to your taste. But, you can get what you want out of it. You can even use it to emulate guitars you don't have like acoustics, jazz guitars, etc. Nothing is better than the real thing but it does a real good job. This unit is perfect for studio applications (directly to board/recorder), the days of hauling your amp to the studio are over! I've done very nice studio work with this thing. I use this with my EMG loaded Peavey Predator (Strat), Squire by Fender (High End) Thinline Series Telecaster, and Classical Acoustic Guitar. They all sound good coming out of my Peavey Special 212 Combo amp. The only issue I had with it was the noise reduction, I didn't like the way it sound and I couldn't get a good setting I liked so I had better luck just turning it off. It's not a loud unit so if you have a quiet guitar your unit will be quiet but if your guitar is noisy you may like the noise reduction. I'm positive that with time and skill you can get about 90% of all the guitar sounds out there with this thing. It's on top!

This unit is built like a tank! You don't need a backup. I literally ran over my GT3 with my '91 Lincoln Town Car and the operation didn't change at all. All pedals still operated normally, dial was still smooth, and display was still crisp. I've had it for about a year and I see absolutely no need for a backup. Backup...for what?!

N/A

I play all styles. I just finished my jazz guitar demo and this was key behind half of my sounds. I've been playing about 7 yrs. and I think this is the best fx around for this price range. I change roles in the bands I play with all the time (lead, rhythm, fx, specials, funk, pop, grunge, etc.) and this is versatile enough to change with me in the moment of the twinkling of an eye. Only thing I miss on it is the reverse like on the Boss Digital Delay (DD-5) stomp box. It's definitely tight and right!

OK, I started with a GT-5 and got the GT-3 when it came out 'cause it was smaller and had extra effects. It has the same excellent sound as the GT-5, which was superior to all previous floor boxes in terms of realistic amp simulation and qulaity of effects.

Tweaking the factory preset isn't too hard and the best way to learn the insides of teh unit if you're not a computer geek to start with.

All the operating systems found in modern Boss/Roland gear is pretty well thought out. The GT3 has a logical interface BUT scrolling through menus is always going to be tedious on a small LCD display. The main gripe I have is that the display doesn't blink for unsaved patches. This was a great visual reminder on the GT-5 and for some mystical reason the GT-3 doesn't do this. Be wary - forget to save and your patch is gone!

Manual is fine, although it's more of a reference as opposed to a complete programming walk through. Whatever...

My unit has firmware 1.01 - Is there any other?

My setup: Parker Fly Deluxe -> GT-3 -> Mackie SRM-450

No noise! This combination allows for an incredibly flexible and accurate system. Using full range speakers (with the Headphones/Line output setting) the effects sound lush and detailed, the amp models show more character, the piezo pickups on the Fly sound breathtaking and synth-type patches are much more startling.

Previously, I plugged the unit directly into the effects return of a Peavey Classic 30. This was good also - warm, clean valve sound - but guitar amps impart too much of their own flavour on the signal.

Using a PA type setup, it essential to tweak the Speaker Simulator to obtain realistic amp impersonations! It's daunting at first but you just need to listen and tune in the Distortion/Pre-amp/Speaker Sim. section very carefully.

I have been able to create some wild, Reeves Gabrels-style digital shred sounds... BUT, I've coaxed convincing Neil Young approved organic grunge. THe box can do most things, you just have to spend the time to work out HOW.

Solid. I'd entrust my life to this little guy.

Never had a need...

If you play rock, the presets should get you in the ball park.

Of, course it would be great if there was no limits on the effects combinations (pitch-shift, ring-modulation, synth simutaenously would be fun, yeah?), more dynamic effects (ducking delay, etc) would be welcome. AND, why, oh why, do Roland always omit certain effects from the previous processor? The GT-3 gains Slicer, Auto-Riff, Acoustic Preamp etc. but loses the Smooth option on the Delay, Reverse delay etc. ?

Same with the VG-88 vs. VG-8... Keep ALL the old effects in the next box, ADD but don't SUBTRACT!!!

Oh yeah, the price is outrageous... I used to have a Digitech GSP-21 Pro back in the day (around $1500 new) and it could do a tenth of the things this baby can. And evolution wonderful?

Boss GT3 is really simple to use after you have read the manual etc.

Sound quality is very good if you connect it up to your amp correctly.
I use mine as follows: PRS guitar to input of GT3, out of GT3 to input of my Marshall JCM 600 valve head.The amp is run clean with Bass at 5, middle at 5, and Treble at 2.The GT3 sounds very good and i use Vintage Overdrive at 65 and Pre amp MS 1959 1+11, vol 55, bass 30, middle 45, treble 25, presence 0, master 100.This sounds the best for most rock sounds.Do not use in the f/x loop if you want overdrive sounds specially if you have a valve amp, as it will sound crap.

Boss quality, and well built

N/A

EXCELLENT FOR ROCK IF YOU USE IT IN THE WAY ITS DESIGNED

Its really easy to get a good sound- you dont even need to edit it and you could still play gigs. Loads of clean and distorted tones. I thought editing was easy to start with -about 20mins to work it out. The manual is complicated and long so its best to work it out yourself- its better experience.

i used it with an Ibanez RG570, a laney 4*12 angled cab with celestion vintage 30's, and a Marshall VS100 powering it all. There is no noise AT ALL from this processor. All the effects sound fantastic- even the wierd ones. There are a few pre-programmed sounds such as "satch"-this makes it easy to get the Joe Satriani sound. The delays and choruses especially sound excellent.

Metal case, excellent warranty- well dependable. No need for a backup.

dont know.

I play loads of different styles- this suits EVERYTHING!!! It can stop you from practicing because you start fiddling around trying to get the right sound. If you are considering getting one - do it now!!!I looked around and it's easilly the best processor on the market.

I've only had my GT3 for a short while, but i've had no problem getting good sounds out of it. It's not as easy to use as a line6 pod, but it also has a lot more sounds at your disposal. I'm not saying it sounds better than a pod, however having spent time with both I think it is in the same ballpark. The manual is ok, about the best you can expect for an electronic device. Editing patches is fairly easy, no better or worse than other processors I have used. I think it is very important to try the different utility settings with your setup. When I first plugged it in my amp I wasn't impressed with the sound, however after setting the proper utility for my setup it made a world of difference.

My main setup is an ESP M-II with emg 81's in it, then into my GT-3, then into my MESA Mark II in the effects return. This setup sounds great for my playing style. I play mostly metal, mixed with some funk, blues, and surf. This processor has a sound for all of these and pretty much anything else I want to play. As far as noise there really isn't any to speak of, with the exception of the acousting simulator. That noise level is within what I consider to be a reasonable level however. The preamp simulators sound great in my opinion, I'm not saying they are a dead match for the amps they are trying to simulate but they are very close. Especially the boogie lead sound is dead on. I've noticed a few people complaining about the distortions in this unit and I couldn't disagree more. I think these people are experiencing weak distortions because of the other gear in their rigs, not because of the GT-3. If you have a squier strat running into a crate gfx 15 you can't expect to get killer death metal distortion out of it. The effects for the most part sound great to my ears, I do think the wah pedal could be more pronounced. For the money I layed down for this though I can't complain about a little thing like that though, I also think that the whammy effect leaves a little to be desired, but I haven't had time to tinker with it that much either so maybe my opinion on that will change. As far as emulating my favorite artist, this will get you as close as you can get to most anyone's sound without spending thousands of dollars to get the rig excactly like theirs. And everyone knows that half the sound of someone comes from their fingers anyway. I particularly think that the chorus, reverb, delays, and harmonizer in this unit are
very good. I tried out the digitech rp2000 and also the korg ax1000g, and they weren't even close in my opinion. They are more in line with
the Boss ME30 to me. Overall I would say this box sounds amazing especially for under $400.

I have no reason to doubt the reliability of this unit. I have owned boss products in the past and they never let me down.

I have been playing about ten years, and have owned various pieces of equipment. Other than my current guitar and my Mesa head this is the best piece of equipment i've owned hands down. If it were stolen I would be back at Keeper's music in a second and get a new one. I do wish it allowed a little more precise adjustments on the gain and the detune feature's were a little more in depth, but overall I don't have anything bad to say about it. It's definatly made my life as a musician a lot better just by letting me get the sounds my boogie doesn't produce(bright funk tones, surf tones, etc.) I would recommend this to anyone as long as they have the time to sit down and
get to know it so they can take full advantage of it's many great sounds.

This is just an update from my original post I spent A LOT of time with the unit and that's what it is going to take if ANYONE buys this unit. Organizing banks, setting up sounds, etc. is a real displeasure but the results are very much worth it. Like I said, the manual isn't the best but it explains the basics. There are other Unofficial manuals for it that are really good.

Well, my original complaint was that it sounded good @ low volumes, but at high volumes it sucked. With time, the sound came...and so did the VOLUME ! I am very pleased with sounds I am getting from it. My set is either a Schecter C-7 (7 string) or ESP LTD ( 7 string). The output from the GT3 goes to the input of my guitar amp (Crate 1/2 stack), and then from guitar to the GT3 input. I don't like the way it sounds through the fx loop so I am going to keep it set up this way.

It is not noisy at all. One of the quietist units I've seen.

In my opinion all the effects sound really good. The thing I stress the most is that you have to spend lots of hours tweeking before you get the sounds and organization of banks that you want.

I can get every and any sound I want out of this unit. I like to jam along to KoRn, Slipknot, Limp Biz, etc. and any fx they are using, I can create within about 15 minutes the exact sound.

Some fx on theunit I havn't found a use for yet. I am sure I will in time but right now, I don't use the ring mod, auto riff, and other fx like that. There are a lot of effects in the unit that I really like like the reverb, delay, flanger, chorus, ac simulater, and others.

Well, the unit itself is very durable,,,but I am worried about the foot pedals. The expression pedal, and the other 6 pedals seem kinda unstable I hope they all continue to work. Te rotator dial thingy is nice but I have heard that is starts sticking and skipping things so you have to be careful with that.

Havn't dealt with them

Play heavy music, works perfect

been playing for 7 years

if it were stolen, I would definatly by a new one

I like everything about exept foot controlers, don't seem like they will last

I wish you could use multiple mudulation sounds @ once with it (like the flanger mixed with the slicer)

It helps me make music but it does kinda get in the way.

this unit rocks, go buy one and an extra expression pedal

The USER INTERFACE of this unit is superior to a lot of other multiFX pedals I have seen. Everything is logically organised, and even without reading the manual one can attain satisfaction

I am using the unit for a 6-String custom Bass (Vadim/VR) with a Peavey Mark-III Head, going tru 2x10. I took a while to figure out the best setting for my bass, and it took quite a lot of experimenting. Effects that I don't use are the PitchShifter and the Synth sounds. Their response on Bass is not precise, and doesn't sound good altogether. Everything else is used and abused by my Fat 6-String, and made my sound what it is. It literally made me sing.

I also use the Processor for Studio recordings, for Voice, Guitar, Keys, and it has allways fascinated me with its versatillity

Oh Yeah, Never failed me once

It is a kickass module that allowed me to fully bring out the qualities of my bass. It is for me what different Filters are for the photographer. Depending on the scenery an apporpriate filter can be of immense improtance, or complete destruction of the picture.

It is a very powerful weapon, and should be used with care, and taste. Remember: too much spice can ruin the food, a good amount can make it fantastic

No way is it easy. It has 5 eq's. How can stringing together 5 eq's
be easy? It's not hard to program, it's just that the tone tweaking
NEVER ENDS. It's sort of like having a bass guitar amp with 93 knobs.
What's the point Vanessa?

Any sound can eventually be made with this thing. BUT BUT BUT don't try to adjust it at a rehearsal or at a gig. And that is my complaint. It may sound super at home and you get a great sound thru headphones or your computer but when you run the same patch thru your amp it might sound like its coming thru a tunnel. There are simply too many eq options and the thing is thin to start off with. You've got distortion eq. then amp eq then eq then another eq (I'm not kidding) and then a master treble and bass
and then a bunch of different output selections such as phones, stack,
combo, power amp combo, etc. And boss recommends setting your guitar
amp at bass 0 mid 10 treble 0 WHAT THE HELL IS THAT? Who in the
hell would ever set their guitar amp at bass 0 mid 10 and treble 0
I swear that's what it says to do in the manual. Read it for yourself. Another note, the amp distortions are much better than the
stompbox distortions. How can a fuzz box sound better than a
blazing Marshall? Answer.... IT CAN'T!!!!! For me their inclusion at
all is somewhat of a perversion. Like preferring a magazine to a real girl.

very solid construction

who can say, but boss stuff is solid

I had to sell it. Because although it can make ANY sound. Finding and changing sounds on the fly (I hate that expression) (why can't we change sounds on the cockroach for a change?) anyway changing sounds
quickly, well it's TWEAK HELL. it Will get in the way of inspiration.
A guitarist needs a good tone FAST so he can find a GROOVE. Tweaking
the GT3 is sort of like having to go to medical school just to let a
fart.

At first the unit seems quite complex, but after a few weeks of use it's very understandable and simple to use. the instruction manual can be useful in some area's though it's not needed for most cases. editing is complex but not hard.

i'm running an epiphone SG through the GT-3 into the power amp of a marshall valvestate 8080. with this setup i can get a wide variety of sounds. the presets on the GT-3 are very poor, that's why you need to program your own effects. to get a good distortion you need to use a distorion, preamp and equalizer on the the GT-3, just using a distorion is to weak. the GT-3 was designed to plug into a power amp and to use the preamps on it. if used the correct way the sounds available can be great, but if used incorrectly it can sound like shit. when used correctly the only effect that is a minor let down is the wah pedal, but it still does the job. the GT-3 can produce very heavy distortions, soft jazz tones, cool chorus's, trippy vibrato's and many more adventurous sounds. you won't get mesa boogie triple rectifier tones out of this.

very dependable and solidly built. no backup is required for giging.

never needed to contact them

i play in a hydrofunk band but personally i play anything from jazz to funk to triphop to blues to metal. this unit can accompany all these styles of music. i've been playing for just over three years and the GT-3 is not designed for begginers. i've owned other distortion pedals, boss ds-1(shit), danelectro fabtone(great) but no longer need them because of the GT-3. i'd probably get it again on insurance if it were lost or stolen but i'd probably try other units just to see what they're like. if the GT-3 had warmer distortion and a more variable wah i would give it a 10. but for the price you can't buy better.

"How easy is it to get a good sound out of it?" -pretty easy, this is my first effect & it doesn't seem difficult to put patches together.
Manual is a little spare, but i didn't find it that necessary.
my unit has not been upgraded.

"Noisy?" Generally not too noisy, although it seems like the delay, the compression, and the equalization have more noise than is ideal.
"Are effects weak?" I think the effects are generally probably not as good as you could get in better individual pedals, but still reasonably good, given convenience, ease of use, and value for the money.
"Are certain effects very good/very bad?" I don't really like the wah-wah or the flanger. The overdrives & distortions are reasonably good. Compression, eq, delay & chorus are good. Vibrato is pretty good. Don't really care for the pickup or preamp simulators but they're not bad. Haven't really used the reverb b/c I use my amp's reverb. Haven't really used the various other effects (harmonizer, phaser, tremolo, slicer, ring modulation, feedbacker, acoustic guitar simulator, auto riff, etc.)
"What setup are you using this with?" Fender Stratocaster/Jazzmaster/Jaguar/Telecaster>Boss GT-3> Fender Vibrolux Reverb.

very good. if i ever got a gig i would feel comfortable using it w/o a backup.

n/a

"How long have you been playing?" Seriously, 4 months. Played keyboards & bass for a few years. I think this is an excellent product for all players of little or no experience, as well as anybody who wants the convenience of a multi-effects unit. This is the only effect I've ever owned, but I liked it better than the other multi-effects I auditioned. The sound quality, I think, for the # of effects, is as good for the money as you can get. Hopefully in the future I will have lots of cool analog effects, but this is more than good enough for the foreseeable future.
"What other gear do you own?" I'm playing Fender Stratocaster, Telecaster, Jazzmaster & Jaguar into the GT-3 into a Fender Vibrolux Reverb Reissue. Plus an Epiphone electro-acoustic, but I play that directly into the amp. (As I said, I am new to guitar, but I did decide to splurge big-time).
"If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again?" -Yes.
"What style of music do you play? Is this a good match?"-The sound I am seeking is sort of Ira Kaplan/J.Mascis/Kevin Shields. This unit is probably not good enough to give even a much better player than myself a true approximation of those guitarists' sound, but it's close enough for my purposes.
Easy to use, easy to get decent sounds, definitely doesn't get in the way of making music.
Overall-This is my best effort at an objective & independent review. I would definitely recommend this product, but since I do not have a great deal of experience with guitar effects, please take with a grain of salt.

This is the first multi-effects processor I've used -- I bought it to replace a bunch of pedals that were stolen from me. Anyway, being used to pedals, there was a little bit of a learning curve for me. After I got used to how the thing operated, I found it pretty intuitive. The manual is very dry reading, but it did help me a little in terms of learning the basics of the GT-3. Editing patches is a little bit if a pain since the unit is on the floor. When I'm at home I pretty much leave the thing on top of my amp. I would hate to have to screw around with patches at a gig, because there are a lot of parameters that can be modified with each effect. It's not hard to edit patches, but it is a little time-consuming.

My main guitar at the moment is a Parker Nitefly-SA, and my main amp is a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. I run the signal from the magnetic pickups into the GT-3, then into the first input of the fender, and I run the piezo pickups dry into the second input. I really love the clean sound I get when doing this. The modulation effects are great in my opinion, and the noise gate is much better than on Line 6's products. I've heard a lot of people complain about the distortion on this unit. They are a bit harsh to my ears. One thing I have found to remedy this is to set the reverb on my amp at around 3 (this is also utilizing the reverb on the GT-3). This takes a little of the edge off the sound. I like the amp models very much. When I was shopping for effects processors, I tried the Line 6 pod as well, and found that I liked the models on the GT-3 much better because they seemed a lot less abrasive. I have owned a few of the amps that the GT-3 simulates, and it certainly doesn't produce an identical sound, but it's close. I guess that's why they call them amp models instead of amp clones. Anyway, with a little bit of tweaking the amp models can sound really great.

It hasn't broken down yet, but I haven't had it long. I've heard that Boss products are pretty solid.

I've only had this thing for a week, so I haven't had to deal with them. The warranty sucks big time, however. I guess I'll just hope nothing goes wrong.

I play a lot of different stuff from Steely Dan to Rush, to original material, and the GT-3 covers all the bases really well. I don't know how it would do for metal though, since I don't play that too often. I really love the fact that I can get a great sound out of one box instead of a mess of pedals. The sound of this thing rivals that of processors costing three times as much if not more, it kills anything Digitech makes. If it were stolen, I would certainly buy another one. The only thing I wish it had was more of a selection of reverb, and a better warranty.

IT IS PRETTY SIMPLE TO USE. EDITING PATCHES IS REALLY EASY. THE MANUAL IS A ROUGH TO UNDERSTAND. I WISH THEY HAD GIVEN SOME SETUP EXAMPLES OF CURRENT GUITARIST SO THAT YOU COULD TOY AROUND WITH SETTINGS AND LEARN. ALSO A BIG THING THEY LEAVE OUT OF IMPORTANCE IS A GOOD EXPLINATION OF THE EFFECTS CHAIN SETUP AND THE DO'S AND DON'TS

I USE A FENDER STEREO CHORUS, MARSHALL VAVLESTATE, AND MARSHALL ARTIST 1/2 STACK WITH THE PEDAL. I PLAY AN IBANEZ S470 AND 570, EPIPHONE LES PAUL STANDARD, FENDER MEXICAN TELECASTER AND STRAT. THE UNIT CAN FEEDBACK EASILY. I WISH THEY WOULD HAVE PUT IN A UNIVERSAL VOLUME SETTING. WHEN YOU GO FROM ONE PRESET TO THE NEXT THE THING CAN SCREAM OR BARELY BE HEARD. THE DISTORTIONS ARE GOOD BUT YOU REALLY HAVE TO TOY WITH THEM. IN ALL ITS JUST LIKE OWNING A FULL COMPLIMENT OF BOSS PEDALS EXCEPT YOU DON'T HAVE TO TOY WITH THE KNOBS FOR EACH SONG.

IT'S BOSS THEY'RE 100% RELIABLE. THE GREAT THING IS THERE IS NO BATTERIES TO CHANGE. THAT PAYS FOR THE PEDAL IN A FEW MONTHS.

NEVER HAD TO DEAL WITH THEM.

I WOULD REALLY TRY IT OUT FIRST. IF YOU LIKE BOSS PEDALS THAN BUY IT. NOTE, THE WAH PEDAL IS HORRIBLE SO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A GOOD ONE TO USE. THE SECOND THING IS BE PATIENT AND REALLY FORGET THE PRESET STUFF MOST OF IT NEEDS TO BE SET PER YOUR RIG ANYHOW AND BE CAREFUL WITH THE VOLUMES OF EACH PATCH.

I got it for X-mas and figured it out right away. Takes lots of time to get it organized and programmed but it is worth it. The manual is pretty good. Helped explain the basic things.

I connect the output from the GT-3 into the input of my amp (Crate Half stack) then plug my guitar into the input of GT-3. This thing sounds amazing when at low levels but I can not get a damn good sound from it at higher volumes. It really pisses me off. If anyone has any help for me, PLEASE E-MAIL ME !!! adidas@kornographic.zzncom
I can get any damn sound from this. Great product, but I don't like how I can turn it up. Some one help !

Very, Very durable.

Havn't had to,,,yet

I think this thing is great. I would like to use this in my band and at gigs but until I can get a good sound from it when turned up,,,I guess I won't be.

The sounds are pretty to form. Each effect offers a lot of different peramiters which can be set reliativley easy. The banks are full of preset effects that can be tampered with and set to your own ear. To be truthful, I didn't read the manual. I'm the kind of person who has to figure it out for myself. I found the manual a little confusing, but like I said, I'm a "do it yourselfer", so this may be the opposite for you.

I'm using a Mexican Fender Strat with this processor. I'm also using a really really crappy Crate GX-15 (15 watt, 8 inch speaker), but I patched an old record player to it and crank the sound out through 4 speakers, and it sounds great! They effects are pretty clear and sound really good. The distortion and overdrive effects will obviously produce fuzz in the back ground, but I'm sure it's mostly because I play close to, and facing, my amp. At a recent jam session I had with my band I used a longer cable and stood facing away my from my amp, and there was a very little amount of fuzz.

I would deffinatley wip this processor out at a gig or concert, as a matter of fact, I DO!!!

I was told by one of the guitarists in my band that I sound 10 times better because of my processor. I only play rock and using the effects that it offers, I agress with my guitarist. If it was stolen or lost I would probably get the Boss GT-5. It's the same thing as the GT-3, but it offers more effects under each one of it's banks. It's usually about $550-$600 in comparison to the GT-3's $350-$400. This product is deffinatly worth what you pay for it.

Very easy to use

Great sound, some digital, but everything else is great

OK I HAVE HAD A FEW E-MAILS ON THIS ONE. I SAID THAT I GOT IT ON CHRISTMAS, AND THAT I GIG WITH IT ALL THE TIME, BUT I SUMITTED THE REVEIW ON CHRISTMAS SO HOW COULD I GIG ALL THE TIME WITH IT??? WELL IM NOT THE ONLY ONE IN THE WORLD THAT HAS IT! MY BAND OWNS ONE, SO I GOT ONE BECAUSE IT WAS A GREAT TOOL. THIS THING IS GREAT. LIKE I SAID BUILT LIKE A TANK!!!

I called them up and they were very nice. i just had a quest about carrying case that are built for the GT-3. nothing wrong with my boss stuff... yet. not saying that somethings gonna happen but... you never know.

great. this is a fix to the reveiw 2 reveiws down. i love the GT-3 now! its the best!

simple to use, yet time consuming to program. that is if you care about your tone.

to all who think the GT-3's distortion sounds are "too digital", think agian. i am a tone freak and i just got this unit, the first thing i did was figured out how to get the phat tone. if you use the "clean twin" preamp matched with the "distortion 1", "natural od", "turbo od", or "fuzz", you should be able to get a great tone. if you kick the drive down to "7" on the fuzz you got jeff beck. of course amps and axes mater, but if you know what good tone is you can achieve it with the GT-3.

have'nt had it long enough to break

rolan is too slow, but they are a big coorporation

just know how you want to sound, and devote your time to programing the thing and it will do some miracles

Boss started out with the GT-5, wich was supposedly the "top dog". Now they came out with the GT-3 and it is much better. at $250 cheaper, 4 new effects, and a much easier, sturdier sytem blows away the GT-5. The sound sounds great but sounds a little digital at times. I will talk about how to fix that later on. It is very easy. I didnt even have to consult the manual. I got it on christmas day and was editing and making new patches within 10 minutes of trying out the gt-3. this is the way to go, in any instance, unless you are rich and can afford rack units, and every pedal you want. the manual is so-so. its not great but it gets you rolling. the Auto-Riff is crap. i dont know why you would want to use it.

I use a fender strat or an esp > into a boss mt-2 distortion pedal > then into the boss GT-3. I then run the Line-6 distortion box (DM4) in the GT-3's effects loop(less noise this way) > then into a marshall VS265R combo amp. It sounds great. but like I said up there it sounds a bit digital when you have the distortions mixed with a mod or when there is high treble. you can remedy this by buying a distortion pedal. the best out there is the MT-2 or the DM4. it is noisy on high gain and volumes. the effects are pretty good except the auto riff. it is worth nothing. total digital crap! i can get linkin park and korn and rage and metallica and slipknot in conjunction with the Mt-2 and the DM4.

oh god! watch out if it drops on your foot. it wont hurt the GT-3 but it shure will hurt you!! this thing is built like a tank. i gig with it all the time!

N/A

I play heavy metal and some blues like SRV and some 60's rock like Hendrix. i have been playing for 7 years i own 2 guitars 2 amps and 2 distortion pedals. my setup is great. you can get any sound out of the boss GT-3, but beware. I advise you to buy the DM4 or the MT-2 or you will get some digital, but if you like that then you are set. i would definitely buy another one. i dont like how when you swich to a different patch it isnt smooth. it is a rough transition. Nothing compares with the GT-3, only one other multi effects processor is better and that is the VG-88 by roland. But the catch is it costs $1000 dollar!!! It helps me make a whole variety of sounds and it expands my creative juices, but if you are looking for this to make you a better musician, it wont. the only way you will get better is by practice. THIS IS THE BEST MULTI EFFECTS PROCESSOR. NOTHING COMPARES!!!!

I've been playing for about 10 years now and I've worked with a few multi-effects units in the past. This unit is pretty easy to use. There's definitely a learning curve but you'll be getting good sounds out of this unit in no time. . The manual is very straight forward and basically just gives you the facts. If you want tips and tricks or anything like that, check out some of the GT3 sites or newsgroups on the web. They really did a good job designing the GT-3- it's simple enough to get up and running quickly but yet it's got enough depth to keep you busy for a long time.

I bought this unit for 2 main reasons. First, I needed something that I could use to record directly into my PC and second, I wanted a quick fix to get some effects to work into my live setup. The GT3 fits my needs perfectly on both counts. As a direct recording device, this thing rules. The amp models are really useful and sound great. As to the question if the amp models sound realistic or not- they're good enough for me. They may not fool a studio engineer or anything but they will definitely put you in the neighborhood of the sound that you're after. As for my live setup, I have my guitar, a Mesa Boogie V-Twin preamp, and a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe tube amp (40 watts, single 12"). The amp models don't sound quite as good when played throught my amp (except for the clean models)- but that's because of my amp, not the unit. It simply isn't realistic to expect a guitar amp to faithfully reproduce the sound of a totally differnt type of amp. You can still get some interesting sounds though- just don't expect to get a convincing Marshall tone out of a Fender tube amp. The analog distortions/overdrives are pretty good as well. As for the rest of the effects, the chorus, delay, flanger, phaser, and harmonizer all sound great to me. Some of the "out there" effects don't really appeal to me (like the autoriff) but I'm sure someone might find them usefull. Plus, this unit has many Global EQ settings that allow you to make the GT-3 compensate for your amp's tonality. This allows you to make the GT-3 work with (or work around) your amps tonal characteristics.

As many others have pointed out here, reliability shouldn't be a problem with this unit.

Haven't had any contact with Roland or their support resources.

Overall, I think that this is a great piece of gear. Boss/Roland really put a lot of thought into this thing. For instance, Boss gives you the option to use an external overdrive. I think that this is a great feature. This way you get to have the best of both worlds- you get to use the GT3 but don't have to abandon your favorite distortion pedal/preamp. I still use my V-Twin pedal for the majority of my distortion sounds but I'm finding new tones in this thing every day. This thing is very versitile. Boss made sure that they designed this thing to be used in a number of different ways and I think that it pays off. There are some peices of gear that simply aren't compatable with other peices of gear. The GT-3 should be able to fit nicely into your guitar rig and "play nice" with all of your existing equipment. Simply put, this is a very well designed, very good sounding unit. Feel free to email me if you have any questions.

This is my third review, but what can I say, this things is the dog's proverbials. I have now had this for over 4 months and have learnt some new things about this unit.

1. In the UTILITY section, you can select the Global settings, I set YOUR SETTING to Line Headphones, for some reason though, my patches tone is at it's best with this setting even though I am not using any headphones. My distortion patches particularly sound much better through this, the tone is fairly well preserved under all the gain.

2. Live, this sounds good, I have played my first gigs ever with my band and the sound cuts through quite magnificently, my distortion is very crunchy and yes digital I suppose, but the thing is it sounds quite distinct from other guitar sounds. Using the stereo output helps this sound good through the amp and gives it a "wider" feel. In my band though, I basically have a distort patch (ctrl set to mute), a chorus/clean patch (ctrl set to delay/on), a patch which is just plain clean, (for tuning up), and a distortion/delay patch. When using this in different settings and through different amps, you have to alter patches so they keep their tone. Preamp and SpeakerSim needs editing to control factors such as treble, gain and noise, as does the EQ to control the mids.

Despite this though, sound is excellent, I reckon it is probably THE best of it's price range, possibly one of the best full-stop. You just have to learn how to understand the effects and the way they work and where they work best. If you are unsure, a rack unit such as a parametric eq or basic rack preamp will help even out sound and add more tone if you feel it is neccessary.

No need for a backup, I protect this thing with my life and make sure I store it away properly when transporting it to gigs. I basically either use the box it came in, or wrap it up in soft protective material (jumpers and t-shirts etc) and store it carefully in a bag that has a layer of protective material inside it. I just fear the memory battery failing on me, in which I would have to fork out for a new one and also have to re-program all the sounds I have made.

This unit is amazing, like I have already said many times before, but what's great it that it sounds professional (okay maybe not like an Eventide), i feel that most of the sounds sound professional and also put you in a world of your own. It is fairly affordable, but once you have bought it, there is no turning back. Don't let it bother you that it sounds too "digital" and not "analogue" enough, you will find your sound in here.

This pedal is sooooo easy to use. i didnt read the manual, didnt use ezy edit. i just sat down and programmed in the sounds i wanted

i am using a Ibanez rg with a Seymour Duncan Screamin' Demon humbucker into the GT-3 and into a Marshall JCM900 combo. It sounds awesome. I can get the most brutal sound there is from Meshuggah to Cannibal Corpse to Pantera. The effects are fantastic and the EQ is very good.

I would depend on this and would use it without a backup becasue it is built like a tank

Never dealt with them

I play heavy meatal and this pedal does everything for me. From brutal to rippin lead breaks, it can do anything

Pretty easy to use once you get the hang of it. Manual isn't really in layman's terms but after a couple months you'll get it. Editing patches is easy once you know what your doing.

I have been using an American Standard Strat with it. It does an excellent job. The group i am in has been playing some Metallica tunes and It will do wonders for you if your trying to achieve their live sound. It takes a lot of work to find it but it is in there. The reason it takes so long to find it is because there are so many little minor adjustments and tweeks this thing will do...for instance it has a sub EQ that will change your sound entirely. For Metallica's studio sound you might have a harder time finding this, but with a few rack effects you'll be on your way. (If your looking for that western Unforgiven sound look no further...It will match it.)
We have just been puting these through our PA system and had excellent results. It also will get you a nice Jazz sound and a nice Stevie Ray Vaughan sound. For getting the tone you want i recommend looking through the presets and finding the one that is closest to what your looking for...from that point you can adjust each setting in that preset until it is pretty damn close to what you want...it takes time, but it's in there. For not buying a $1000 dollar preamp this is probably the best way to spend your money. It sounds a hell of a lot better than those individual tinny cheap sounding stomp boxes. Those things'll keep you in the garage forever.

ok...here is were i have a problem. I have only had this happen once in the last year since i have owned it...but one time a sound was entirely different than what i had programed it to. Fear not because i think i am an exceptional case. For some odd reason i turned it on the next day and it was back to normal. I do use it on gigs without a backup because i do have faith in it. I can always substitute another patch bank that has a similar sound if needed. i don't know why that happened but it fixed itself and it hasn't done it since. It's not nearlly as tempormental as the computer your reading this on now is....if that were the case i'd never rely on it.

I know people that use this for everything from jazz to metal and i don't know of a single one of them who doesn't love the thing. I'd definately replace it if it were lost/stolen or broken. It's a good idea to write down all of your settings and keep them in a safe place so if you do need to get another one you can quickly have it set up like the last one. One really great feature is being able to set the overall EQ level (volume) of each patch...that way you can really add some dramatic dynamics to your performance as well as being sure about your level before you change your sound...this works well for the overall balance of the group espcially if you have two guitars doing different things at the same time.

this unit is pretty easy to get a good sound from. editing patches is easy too, the easy edit is pretty useless.the manual is ok but needs more detail about things like the auto riff programming and stuff.

ok the gt-3s effects are awsome and being able to assign multiple effects to the ctr pedal is awsome too. some of the effects are not very usefull such as the auto riff sometimes but theres always someone who can figure out a good use for it. i mainly use it for fast riffs that i have to do and my pick hand gets tired. I like using the wave pedal to controll parameters and other junk..example- use the phaser
use the wave pedal to controll the rate and depth and put them on different times then use the expression pedal to turn the STEP effect on and off and walla....it sounds like wacky space noises! i love this option. you can do things with this magic box that you cant do with individual pedals.thats what i love about it.

Now heres what i dont like about the gt-3
1. the distortion is not that good. it feeds back at high volumes and sounds like rice crispies. PLEASE DO NOT GET THIS FOR A DISTORTION! USE YOU AMP OR AN EXTERNAL DEVICE SUCH AS A METAL ZONE OR SMASH BOX.
2.the eq is very hard to figure out because of the frequency and Q. i wish boss had just put in a regular 7 band eq like in their pedals.
And thats all....
if boss had fixed these problems this box would be perfect.
im giving it a 10 for effects and a 5 for distorion.mkay.

oh yeah! this thing is pure metal. i only worry about the plastic screen breaking is somthing fell on it.

i play in a deftones-a perfect circle-metallica style and this fits very well but i always have to ether use the mt-2 or smash box for distortion.Oh yeah i also have a dod delay, a hyperfuzz, an envelope filter and an ibanez chorus flange in the effects loop. Im using a peavy classic chorus amp.my rig sounds pretty good but i need to get seymours fo my les paul and a monster cable and it will sound good.
If it were lost or stolen id try a digitech rp2000 and if i didnt like it i would get another gt-3. this thig helps me write music but sometimes i get to involved trying to get a good sound that i forget the basic concept of playing guitar....PLAYING THE DAMN GUITAR. so please dot buy this to because you think it will help you write music but to give your writing a kick in the pants and some extra spice

Kinda tricky at first, but just play around with it, youll get the hang.

I use a Marshall JCM2000 DSL401, 40w 8 tube 1x12 combo, all i have to say is give the Metal Solo preset a try with the tone and vol on your guitar backed off. Raise the gain on the clean channel a tad, and solo away. This has a killer Slash, REALLY hot lead sound. Dont use for Clapton/Cream like solos, i stick to my amp for that. Give it a shot!!! Amazing not definition with the Wah on, and left in the up position. Especially good pick-tapping sounds.

Built like a freakin tank man.

Good for pretty much any style. Just play with it, youll find your tone.

I've used rack effects (Digitech 2120, Roland GP-100, TC G-Force, Lexicon GX series) and several other floor multieffect boards. This one is one of the easiest to use.

Ordering effects is a snap. Programming the external switches/CTL pedal top control parameters is the most tedious part of the operation, but it's pretty simple once you get the hang.

This thing sounds AWESOME. I play three different guitars through it (Fender Stat w/EMG active pickups, Ovation 6string with piezo+soundhole EMG pickup blended output, '65 Silvertone short scale Jag style gtr.) I have to use different patches for each to accomodate output levels, but they all sound awesome.

I play mostly clean, but I have to disagree with thos who comment the distortion sucks on the GT-3. You have to balance the levels carefully. the internal level meter is great for checking the output of each effect in a patch, and it is very useful if you use compression and/or distortion in you patch. I suspect those who have trouble with it don't take full advantage of the features if this mighty little box.

I create a variety of sounds with mine, fron Pink Floyd esque solos, ambient violin swells with auto-wahs, Hank Marvin surf to Eric Johnson's clear bell-like tones. Whatever you can think of, you can make the sound. The best way to fully utilize this unit is to incorporate the external pedals to add more flexibility to your live sound.

Very heavy duty. I gig without a backup and I have never had a problem

Never needed any support for a Boss or Roland product, so I can't complain.

Overall a great tool for live or recording. I use this unit in conjunction with a GR-1, several rack and stomp delays, and I've owned several other multieffect units. This is the single best piece of gear I've ever owned. It took a lot less time to really "learn" this unit than any of the rack units I have owned. It may only have 90% of the flexibility of some real high-end delay units, but for one-fifth the price it's teh best value on the market. And it's the best 24-bit unit around. I would buy another one if stolen.

I have been using Boss foot pedals for years and years, and I have always resisted the urge to purchase a multi-effects unit for fear that there will always be better sounding, more flexible effects coming out. When I started playing shows regularly with my Progressive Metal band URSHURAK, I quickly found out that I needed something that would be easier to set up than individual pedals with all those dials to set. So, after trying out a few different processors, I settled with the Boss GT-3 for 3 reasons: It sounds great, it is indestructable, and it will talk to my Roland FC-200 MIDI foot contoller and Roland GR-30 guitar synthesizer. This unit comes with a plethora of great presets that will get you about 75% of the way to "your" tone, but will definately need to be tweaked. The LCD display is great and I love the COSM modeling; you can choose a clean amp, for example, and put a disortion pedal in front of it. Parameter changes are in real time, so you can hear the changes as you are making them. The manual is extremely murky and explains little besides the parameters for each effect. I would give this unit an 8.5 for ease of use, since setting up external control pedals is not explained well at all, nor is latch-type control using the internal pedals. You are forced to experiment to get the sound you want because there is not enough information. This leads to a LOT of wasted time! Editing patches is a breeze, and there are at least 3 ways that I know of to turn a given effect on or off. There are enough foot pedals to make a live gig very easy to pull off. With 4 presets for each bank, I pretty much stay in one bank for the whole night. I don't know if Roland/Boss has put out a video for this unit like the ones for the VG-8 and the GR-30 (now the VG-88 and GR-33), but I think they should just raise the price by $10 - $15 and include the video. Or they can make a "pro" model with the video and a more comprehensive manual?

I love gain! In Urshurak, the basic style of music we play is 70's influenced Progressive Metal. We are heavily influenced by Rainbow, old Rush, old Black Sabbath, and Iron Maiden. We also love Gamma Ray, Yngwie Malmsteen, and Blind Guardian. So, distortion is very important to me. I play a 1979 Strat with Joe Barden pickups, an Ibanez JEM 7DBK, and a George Lynch M1 Tiger ESP as my main guitars. I also play through a Rivera Knucklehead K100 head, Rivera 4x12 cabinet, and a Marshall 2x12 cabinet. So, as you might guess, while I love distortion, I do not like mud! The sound must be articulate! The GT-3 has about a million different flavors of gain! I am truly impressed that I can get a great type of distortion for all 3 of my main guitars, which all require their own settings (especially the Strat; Meal distortion sounds terrible through that guitar). The distortion patches can get pretty noisy, but there is a noise gate that works quite well. Once again, judicious use is required! You will squash your tone if you try to totall kill all the noise. Be real, people! Do you think a REAL 5150 stack maxed out is totally quiet? No, it's noisy as hell. However, the noise is ALWAYS well below the noise floor when you start playing notes. I have NEVER been distracted by background noise at a show and have received rave reviews of my tone. The Flanger can be forced to make a good imitation of a rotory cabinet, an effect not on the GT-3. The only major ommission is the absence of Pitch Shifting or Detuning on the GT-3. I have to use a PS-5 to get those effects. The only time I try to emulate other artists is for the rare cover tune. I have had no problem getting tones from the Beatles, Mick Ronson, Randy Roads, or others. The acoustic guitar simulator is choice! You can get great clean tones using it, though they sound nothing like an actual acoustic guitar. The GT-3 is WAY quieter than my Boss acoustic simulator pedal. I love the virtual mic placement, also. With the right blend and the Limiter, you can get a really bell-like clean tone.

I have NEVER had a piece of Boss or Roland gear fail on me, that wasn't a problem I caused (dead battery, chomped power cord, etc.). I drag the GT-3 from Brooklyn to Ultrasound Rehearsal in Manhattan every week for rehearsal, and at least once a month to gigs. I have no case for it, I just use a duffle bag. The GT-3 weighs as much as a guitar and is very much a musical instrument in its own right. It is solid metal and the expression pedal feels amazing. My unit has been used every day for about 3 months now and it only has the most minor surface scratches. And while I am not careless with my equipment, I am far from overprotective! The local Sam Ash in Brooklyn uses me as a demonstrator for the GT-3 whenever I'm in the store (Chris G @ Sam Ash Brooklyn is the best!!). I have managed to help them sell about 5 units since I bought mine. Every guitar player who I've met that ISN'T using the GT-3 either owns a GT-5 or is not playing out. It's that simple; if you want the best, stick with the Boss. I make sure my amp has a killer gain channel just in case the unthinkable DOES occur one night, but so far I've only used the clean channel on the Rivera at every show.

The only other unit out there that I'm interested in is the Lexicon MPX-G2. That's 5 times the cost of the GT-3 when you add the foot pedal. For a guitar player in an unsigned band, I simply love this thing. I have been playing guitar for 17 years, and this unit can handle anything from country to jazz to metal. If this unit were stolen or lost, I would look into the Lexicon again, and if I could't afford that, I would still get the GT-3. While I wish this unit did have Pitch Shifting and Detuning, that is a minor quibble. For $400 you get a ton of Boss effects in a great package that's reliable, easy to use, and sounds great! In conclusion, if anyone would like to hear my rig in action, you can get a free copy of my band's CD, "The Endless Days of A Stranger" by emailing me at urshurakmusic@aol.com.

This is an update to my last review which is probably the first or second one beneath this one. By now I've gotten into trying to get the sounds of other guitar players for my cover tunes band. I think the GT-3 gets alot of these sounds fairly well, close enough for clubs anyway. There are so many popular bands that have "digital" sounding guitars, I almost wonder if most of them are using simple stompboxes these days. For example, my band is doing "Kryptonite" by 3 Doors Down, and I had no problem getting this sound, including a separate patch for the acoustic/electric sound. Generally though, it takes alot of fiddling to get the sound you want, but alot of them are in there. Incidentally, I find the Utility button's quick tone adjustment invaluable for instant access of simple EQ: Got cool sound in the bedroom but not at the club? Just adjust the quick bass/treble settings to even it out!

Using a Lonestar Strat through the GT-3 and into a Marshall JTM30, the highest gain settings turn everything into unuseable mush, all the other gain settings are good though, and honestly, I find that the medium gain setting is very sufficient for even thrash metal, when mixed w/ the right overdrive and simulator. I like the noise gate alot, it works well and is another feature in the Utility's quick access button. I think all the effects are cool except the comp/lim and the pedal Wah, which don't sound right.

Rock solid, baby!

Good.

The GT-3 is an overall excellent value in a multi processor. You can get pretty much any sound you want, it seems. The quality of the effects and distortions are among the highest out there for electronics. I feel the only real drawbacks are the inferior Wah, and the sound dropout that occurs when switching patches, which really does aggrivate me. I'm glad I bought it, I'd buy it again, and I'll have it for years to come.

I find that the Boss GT-3 is equal to most audio programmable processors in it's ease/difficulty of use, which is usually not overly simple. Editing patches is relatively simple. The manual is pretty much as everyone here says, it's not that great-just ok. I wish there was more detail. (-1 for the manual).

I have always been the proverbial "tube purist" whenst it comes to guitar sounds and have owned Marshalls, Fenders, etc., however, I just recently joined another rock band and needed something that could give me alot of switching capabilities for distortions, volumes, and fx. Outside of one or two multi pedals with a tube,("one 12ax7 does not a tube amp make"), the GT-3 sounded the best. I've seen alot over the last 20 yrs., and this unit has probably the most useability of any processor, especially for the pricerange. I appreciate that they didn't put stupid colors and silly racing stripes, and bright paint all over this thing; it looks "adult". Anyway, at first I didn't care for the distortions too much because I hate that digital sound; they're usually grungy in the low-end, not tight enough. After a day or two of farting with the tweeks, I began to realize what an awesome piece of plastic and metal the GT-3 really is. This thing is the tits! (-1 'cause it's solid-state).

Kick it, beat it, smack it, whack it..... no, not me you idiot- THE STOMPBOX!

Whelp, the hour I first took this unit out of it's box and started plinking away on a clean Jazz patch, I noticed a faint, underlying distortion, which sounded like input distortion. Not finding an input level adjustment anywhere, I called up the Boss dude and said, "Dude; blah-blah-blah". And the Boss dude said, "Well blah",(which when translated means, "You need to turn down the internal gain or lower the High/Medium/Low gain settings"), at which point I said, "BLAH!". Therefore, I think they have good customer support.

I wike it awot, you cwazy wabbit! If it was ever lost or stolen, I'd come over there steal yours! HA!! (She gits a "10").

I have to say when I first saw this unit.....I could not believe it. It is a every guitar players dream come true. If you know how effect work this is a very easy unit to operate. It took me like a week to learn all its little quirks and it is awesome. Some of the presets are great and can let anyone get started without a hitch. The manual is O.K it just talks about all the different parameters within the different effects.

I have been playing guitar for 15 years and the sound from the GT-3 is one of the best I have heard. I primariy play strats through a several amps that I have collected along the way(fender, mesa, marshall) The sound quality is fantastic. The pre amp section is very true. Having played through several amps, I can tell you this thing replicates their sounds almost exactly. I am now able to get great warmth and tone without having to crank my amp up. Guy/gals listen up.....get this thing if you want versatality!!!

If you tweak right you can get great distortion without almost any noise. The modulation effects are over the top.....I never owned a harmonizer before and I have to say this one is really good. I can play pretty fast and this thing follows you like a shadow with out any blip or skipped intervals. I cannot name a effect here that has betrayed my expectation. My only grievance is that the max delay time is too short. For a unit like this I would have expected at 3 sec. With so much capability that would have enabled guitarist to play along a repeating rhythem.

I have actually dropped it once while taking it out of my car. I dont have a case for it and this puppy survived with a few scratches.

I have played with several effects and amps and the GT-3 has to rank amoung the top 3. For a multi effect unit I think it is the best in the market. I compared the modelled amp sounds to the line 6 amps and it is as good if not better. There is more noise in the line 6 amps than in the GT-3. Plus there is a lot more flexibilty in the GT-3 than in those amps. It is almost impossible to tell any difference between the actual amps and the modelled sound thru this Unit.

The flexibiliy in the GT-3 is the its greatest strength. You can change and manupulate any effect, any parameter any time and the memory storage for patches is just incredible. I have had this for 6 months now and boy has this improved my sound.

I play all kinds of music and this suits them all. I have managed to get almost every guitar hero's sound from this. Its a great bargain and would recommend it to anyone. I will definetly buy it again it its lost.

The booklet is really easy to follow but you don't really even need it.

You can get any sound in the world out of this thing. It depends on what kind of amp you have, but I have a crappy Crate Gpx 15 and it still sounds great.

You can stomp the shit out of this thing and it will ask you for more!!!

never had a problem.

You will never have to buy another pedal. It can do anything that you would desire.

I have had this unit for 4 months and I am now really used to it. Initially it was a little comlicated due to large number of parameters that are available at your disposal. Give yourself 2 weeks and you should be a master at it. Some of the effect presets (not the 200 patches) are good and should be able to let a new user get decent sounds right away. On the other hand the patches mediocre. They have been created more to show you what this unit can do rather than for use by guitarist.

The sound quality through this is good and bad depending on what you are trying to do. I use it with a strat through a Fender Princeton 65. There are different ways you can use this unit?.1) As the manual says in to the Efx return of the amp or 2) you can put it through the loop and use your amps pre amp or 3) you can put through the input of your guitar amp. The 3 methods yield different results and are best suited for specific purposes.

If you want to make the GT-3 your primary sound processor then use it like the manual says. This way you can take full advantage of the Amp modeling in the unit. Many of the Amp sims are great. But don?t buy this unit for that alone because it has some drawbacks. I?ll come to that in a bit. If you are trying to get clean / clean crunchy or classic rock distortions this unit can do wonders for you. BUT IF YOU ARE IN TO HEAVY METAL DO NOT BUY THIS UNIT FOR THE AMP MODELLING OR DISTORTIONS. At very high gain levels the amp models are breaking down resulting in a lot of noise and the sound gets very digital. But if you are not going to play very highly distorted music, make the investment and buy the GT-3. Clean to crunchy distorted sounds are just superb!! Also the distortions in the GT-3 are not at all like the stomp boxes we know. There is a lot of noise that even the noise suppressor can?t manage. Again this happens only at high distortion levels. The best way to get good distortions in the GT-3 is through the amp modeling section. I?ll talk about the amp models and effects later.

If you like you main guitar amp then use it in the loop. Make sure to turn the amp modeling off. This way you can keep your amps sound and use the modulation effects, delay, and chorus along with the other SFX. I do this as I really like the Princeton 65. I find this a good alternative to what the manual suggests without getting poor results.

If you want to connect the GT-3 in to your amps main Input, then you are in for some rough time. The Amp modeling section does not work well this way. You can however turn this off and use the other effects. But since the best distortion in the GT-3 is through the amp models, you are never going to get good results. What?s happening is ?the processed sound from the amp modeling section needs to be amplifies as is. If you are going to put it through another non linear amp then the sound is no longer what the GT-3 created for you.

There is only one way to get maximum results from the GT-3. That is to play it through a linear amplifier like a Keyboard or a acoustic amp. This is the only way you can hear how the GT-3 sounds like, of course the other alternative is to use a headphone. The reason why the results are not the best when used through the EFX return as the manual suggests is because almost all guitar amp speakers and cabinets are not linear. They have been designed to create a specific sound and will not truly reproduce what the GT-3 sends out.

Some of the best amp models in the unit are the Clean Twin (Fender), JC-120, Crunch (sounds like Crate), and blues. The Soldano model is also good. The Marshall?s are O.K. Don?t get me wrong here, it not like the other don?t sound good its just that at high gains they are noisy. But they all give a very nice warm crunchy sound at lower gain levels. The ?sound? replication is very good in almost all of the models.

Coming to the effects?..Unbelievable!! However there are some that are so so. The Wah Wah, is definitely one. I am not an expert in wah wah and I can tell you myself that it does not sound good. I have tweaked the parameters all I could but it has not helped. The distortions (there are nine of them) are good for most part, but when you start cranking them high they start producing a lot of noise and sound very digital also. But they do give you that nice warm classic rock sound with out much fuss.

Now to the stars of the unit?..The delay, the chor

I have experienced only one problem........sometimes when you have the 2 pitch stereo harmonizer going and you save a patch, when you try to retrieve it the sound it gone. I have not figured out why that is happening. But its not always though!! Over all I think I can depend on it.

No experience here.

I have been playing for about 12 years now and play a lot of different material. I don?t do too much of the very high distortion music. Mostly jazz and crunchy blues also a lot of John McLaughlin type of stuff with Indian classical music. I use this unit primarily to write my own material and it gives me a lot sounds at my disposal. I have managed to get Malmsteen like lead to the giggles and gargles of Vai with this unit.

I have not compared this to many other units side by side although I have played with some of the others like Roland GP100. This does sound very good, except for the drawbacks that I have mentioned. But it?s a question of what you want your processor to do. It cannot play for you!! I think it can compliment most styles of guitar playing very well. I would recommend it to all guitarist even the professionals. Remember a good guitar player needs very little effects to sound good!!

I have already posted a review of this unit (see further down the page). Having owned this for a few months now, I have learnt a lot more about this unit. Getting a good sound is quite easy, only the distortion and eq is hard to tweak to get a good brutal metal distortion, (IT CAN BE DONE), i have created two distortions now as well as a couple of clean sounds and some other more FAR OUT sounds which I shall not tell you about.

Herein lies the problem with distortion.. it is difficult to setup for different amps and rooms. At home I play for a small Squier 15 watt practise amp. I have recently joined a band and am using this unit through a Marshall Valvestate 100 head and into a Marshall cabinet (size? i'm fucked if I can work that out, probably a 4x8 or something). The distortion I use at home sounds great but at practise I have the same distortion but on a different patch, but here through the Marshall it loses it's character. If you practise through different amps, you are gonna need to setup a separate distortion for each amp to ensure heavy or subtle distortion is going to be effective in any environment (bedroom, rehearsal studio etc.). Nevertheless I have tweaked the studio patch so it is listenable and hassome tone to it. All other effects such as chorus, reverb, delay etc seem effective no matter where you plug it into. Patience must be one of your virtues if you metal lovers are going to achieve a snappy, crunchy, brutal distortion through different amps. Also use the Utility Global Settings according to the amp type you use and also experiment with the effects chain facility and try arranging the Preamp, EQ , Sub-EQ etc until you are happy. This unit is a great piece of gear and really what is the difference between analogue and digital, THEY'RE JUST SOUNDS, TWEAK EM 'TIL YOU LIKE EM. I am currently the new guitarist in my band with our lead guitarist moaning that it is too digital or that it is basically crap and the others joking that it' more of a computer. This is an effects unit, an alternative to sounding the same all the time, a gateway to another world, if you have something like this to help you achieve sonic utopia, what does it matter that it is too "digital" and not "analogue".

No need for a backup, it's that tough I stubbed my toe (one with hyper-granulation from an ingrowing toenail), and yes it was fucking painful. I also crushed a spider that was walking across it by accident (you do get over-enthusiastic with the stomping you know).
Although this unit seems to pick up alot of dust if not used for a time. It's tough and can withstand alot of punishment (it hasn't even fucked up after being left in the boot of a car for hours)

I love heavy metal and rock and other styles. Basically it has helped me achieve new sounds, that is what it is supposed to do, not make you a cup of tea, not make women feel attracted to you, it does not get it it's kit off, it creates sounds and a shitload of them at that. I use this for personal use, for band practise and will also use it live and for the studio. It has helped me get creative within the band, i used it to add a nice chorus and delay to a moody, slow-picked part at the end of one of our fast songs. I adds new dimensions to your playing, my advice though is to not be reliant on effects.

For anyone who has ever dealt with any sort of floor effects processor before, this unit is really straightforward and easy to figure out. Having an EZ-Edit option almost seems pointless. Everything is laid out on the machine very nicely. Getting a good sound out of it is really a matter of tweaking. Some presets are rather nice (JC120, Rotary, etc.), but a lot of them are downright useless (ie/ most or all of the synth options). The manual was a bit confusing, especially with regards to putting this unit through an effects loop. In fact, I don't think that they explain that aspect of this unit at all! Overall though, using the GT-3 is a piece of cake.

I'm putting this thing through a 5150 head (soon to be replaced) and a Mesa Rectifier Cab. For guitars, I'm using a Gisbon SG for a lot of the chunky stuff, and a Tele for more ambient noise (by the way, this unit sounds really good with one of those cute little Danelectro guitars!) On some settings like the acoustic simulator, the GT-3 exudes a lot of washy background noise. The gate option, for the most part, is useless in combatting this. Personally, I don't really bother with the acoustic simulator anyway. There really is no acoustic simulator that comes close to the sound of a real acoustic. One thing I can definitely say about this unit: don't rely on it for your distortion. A lot of the amp settings sound weak. In fact, when I do use distortion, it is usually to make the effect sound smaller and more tinny a la Cigarette Box Amp. Usually, I just bypass the unit with the CTL button whenever I need to go for gain. Chorus, Delay, Reverb on this thing are great; I really get a lot of use out of them. I found a lot of EXACT Incubus-like sounds in this machine, and a few Deftones-ey presets that I could tweak. Therefore, if you like your new metal, pick this up. Of course, it goes a lot further than that. I got pretty close to a lot of Radiohead sounds as well, though I think I could have gotten closer with analog effects. In closing: try to ignore that the presets were most likely made by guys who still have mullet haircuts and who spend their nights and days searching for the coveted "brown sound", and make your own effects.

It seems really durable, being a giant slab of metal and all. I gig without a back-up.

Never dealt with BOSS.

I play a SOAD/Far-style punk rock with u-Ziq/Aphex Twin type ambience and drum beats. I have to get A LOT of sounds out of a unit, and this thing does the trick nicely. I wish that it had more lo-fi sounding options, but, as I said before, I can get pretty close representations of those sounds with a little tweaking. I compared it with the new Digitech RP-2000, and they seemed pretty close. It was kind of a toss up, so if this were stolen I'd probably either pick up a new one, or look more closely at the 2000. Two MAJOR complaints: My playing style requires my guitar to be very detuned, usually so that the 6th string is in A or B. At this low of a frequency, the guitar synth becomes VERY confused and VERY useless. Also, the stupid tuner doesn't register anything lower than an A#! That is very poor planning, considering the magnitude of bands that tune down to that pitch (ie/ Meshuggah, Machine Head, Hatebreed, Nothingface). Therefore, I strongly suggest, if you play in this style of music, that you use an external tuning device. On the bright side of things, this unit lets me be very creative and I've written more than a few songs based around the way that a certain effect will make me feel. A worthy invesment.

It's so easy to get your own patches and to get them of the internet.

Amazing sound every time. No doubt the best FX around 4 this price. I use this with a Peavey Bandit 112 and a lengend les paul and a my own custom guitar with DiMarzio Breed Humbuckers.

Very good build quality already used it at a gig at high volume. Brilliant.

You can't buy a better effects for this price I fell in love with it the first time I heard it.

well let me start out by saying i love this thing. it is not as easy to get a good sound as a korg ax1g, but when you do its amazing. it has so many numbers to tweak so its not as easy as a chain of boss pedals.

im using a epiphone les paul special II and a peavey classic chorus amp. The gt-3 sounds very good clean. but when you get into a high gain situation it gets wiered and digitized. if you edit a patch at a low volume and then turn it up it sounds like my kid brother eating taco's. If i were you i would buy the boss metal zone or an ibanez smash box(both great pedals in my opinion:).

As fo the effects>they rock
most of them sound as good as thier real life counterparts if not better. i love the ability to turn each one off in manual mode or with the controll pedal.it also includes an extra jack for up to 2 external pedals to controll effects.

i would use it without a backup definately .

ive never had to deal with boss and i hope i dont.

i play a neometal rock orented style. it suits it very well.
if it were lost of stolen i would definately buy another one if i had the money. ive always been in the constant search of the perfect tone and if i find it it'll be with this thing.

Really the GT-3 is a well designed unit. However, it does take a little time to adapt to the methods of changing the parmeters, but once you get everything figured out its quite simple. The owners manual can be quite helpfull in the first few weeks of use. Dont be afraid to reach down and push some of those little buttons. Play with it till you find the sound you want. (Which may take some time.)

The sound quality really depends on what effects and distortions that you ae using. I use the Metal 5150 amp simulator with a micro-pithchshift from the harmonizer a lot and the sound is really flawless. NOT!!!! It SUCKS!!! If you want to use any kind of heavy distortion with the effects on this unit, you will NOT be satisfied. If you even think of buying this unit for the distortion and/or amp simulation save your money and buy the exact amp that you want or a nice Line 6 amplifier. Most of the distortions and amp simulators on this unit ar sub-par. Dont get me wrong, not all of the simulated amps are bad. If you are wanting cleaner sounds with good effects, delay, and reverb, this thing is superb. The effects themselves sound quite good. Just dont try to run them with a really heavy ampsim.

So far so good. I've had it about eight months and haven't had any probelms with it......yet anyway. Although, it is built quite rugged.

Haven't needed it yet.

I play heavy Van Halen/Metallica/Pantera type stuff and things. Had I known that the GT-3 would sound this way before I bought it, I would have just saved up my money and bought a 5150, Line 6, or Marshall. I would get the Line 6 if you are looking for good amp simulation and effects at the same time.

For the uninitiated, the GT-3 presents an interesting blend of classic and contemporary patches - able to be tweaked easily and quickly. Whilst hardcore users will tweak all parameters (to death!), the beginner can achieve professional sounds through the simple factory presets, and without sounding cheap or predictable.
Editing is very simple, with the LED screen presenting all the necessary information in singular sections - one step at a time. The manual is direct and informative, and helps when making accurate decisions regarding tone, frequency, etc.

I use a Fender Strat Plus with Lace Sensor pick ups, a Takamine semi-acoustic 6 string and a Seagull 12 string acoustic (hooked up with an external pickup). I also have other assorted cheap guitars to numerous to mention. I run them all through a Marshall Bi-Chorus 200 head and two 300 watt cabs (JCM 900 A+B).
The GT-3 is run through the main input of the Marshall, as the effects loop severely compromises the distortion sounds of the deck. When properly rigged for looping, the stero capabilities of the amp and the processor combine to give amazingly full stereo effects (based on clean). The distortion is another matter entirely. Firstly, the sound of a Marshall stack is, traditionally, great (no more need be said). However, in routing the GT-3 through the clean channel, the full body tone of Marshall distortion is unable to be used (as boost severely screws up the processing sounds). I have tried different kinds of routing and effects lining, but the problem prevails. Now, I am uncertain whether I should blame the amp or the processor for this, but either way, I sacrifice Marshall tone for a significantly reduced distortion sound (even with modification) coming from the GT-3. When playing certain material this is OK, but when approaching anything remotely overloaded (from Cream, Hendrix or Led Zep to Slayer, Korn, etc) sound is compromised. Oh well.
'Clean' sounds through the GT-3 are, in most cases, amazing. Any of those phenomenal Hendrix ballads, from 'Axis' or 'Ladyland', sound great when played through the GT-3 effects (tweaked, of course). Any U2 sound (delay, etc) is also well catered for, and gives depth and clarity (where other pedals or decks can slide the sound and end up producing poorly regulated feedback of the signal). The Harmoniser effect is very clear and distinct, and evenly descends when one plunges through the octaves in a theremin-like whoosh. Conventional use of the harmoniser also yields a broad envelope of sound, which can be accentuated with chorus, etc. The broad parameters for each of these effects also help in isolating different elements easily, which makes pursuing a certain sound intriguing and interesting.
However, and I say this when using a cheap Ephiphone Les Paul or a Strat (with, admittedly, lace sensors), the flange and compression effects (even with drawn out tweaking) can give a high, cutting tones that can reverberate and distort (not at all good). One has to be very carefull with the compression and limiter, testing the sound at different volumes in order to ensure that the patch sound remains constant across different registers.

The GT-3 has always produced the same patch sound when needed. Rather than start looking for the problem on the deck, one always has to consider the different environments one plays in before searching for problems at the 'gear' level. Tweaking may be needed for some effects in some circumstances, whilst not for others. If your rehearsal space or area differs from a live situation (and it often does) then a patch may sound different, or present itself differently in a live situation (or in another practice area). In this case, use headphones to understand the difference in environmental changes, switching between 'open' sound to 'headphone' in practice in order to understand how sound changes. A patch should always sound the same through the same headphones, wherever you are (theoretically), so one has to make sure that any differences may not be issuing from the deck itself.
Not all of us can afford backups. The GT-3 works well with its adaptor - I cant speak on the reliability of a battery in a live situation (I wouldn't do that EVER!)

Never dealt with customer support - but that could be because I treat my equipment well.

I mean, seriously, what idiot would remain friends (or in the same band!) with someone who threw water on their equipment!! Huh?!?
(James Marshall Hendrix excluded, of course).

I play every style of music (and I do mean everything). Many of the effects give 'eastern' flavoured songs a lovely sound, but more conventional or popular genres are well catered for.

I have been playing for 12 years and have owned too many other units to mention. If this deck was stolen or lost, I would test other products first, but for its price, the unit is acceptable.

What do I love about the deck? I likes its spacious design - pedals are spread evenly across the unit. However, tweaking in a darkened live situation would be near impossible, not because of the LED, but because the buttons are small!

I compared this unit to individual pedals, other DOD and BOSS pedal decks and rack mounts. For price, it seemed to strike a balance between professional sounds and cheezy trash gimmicks (the mark of a good deck!!!) Not all of us can afford vintage effects gear.

I wish it came with a recording contract as well.

The only thing the deck gets in the way of is the bass player walking/moving around the stage. This is great, as I like having one side all to myself. (With sequencers and programming, who NEEDS a bass player anyway? Certainly no self-respecting guitar player.)

I'd like to share my debts with you, but is that what you're really asking?

I found this unit to be fairly easy to program. any bona-fide tone freak knows that you don't buy a unit like this for what the factory puts in it! it took a couple of minutes on my own, and with the manual to figure my way around some of the other parameters in the unit. but it ain't that bad overall.

I happen to particularly like the Matchless patches in this unit. I set it side by side with a friends Dr Z Maz 18 Jr. and through tonal comparison, was able to simulate my own Z TONE!!!! I love that about this thing, its just soooooo versatile

does the name sherman mean anything to you???

haven't had to do this yet, but Boss is reliable.

I play blues, rock, and country. I find this unit to give me all the different tones I need to perform confidently.

As far as using processors goes, this is very easy to navigate, and all the handy programmable presets make life soooo easy. I've never used the manual except for the MIDI implementations, but it seems easy to follow. I'd be interested to know if there is a firmware upgrade available..... Oh yeah, the presets are really good.

I have a 200w stereo Valvestate setup, and there is a huge difference between looping the processor or using it in line. The sound quality is great thru a loop, I reccommend it. The effects are just as good as the pedals, and we all know that BOSS makes the best, but I am unhappy with the response on the synth effect, and it's too bad I can't use more than 1 mod effect at once.

BOSS is always dependable, I never worry about my FX failing me, or getting broken from a rough gig. I've had booze dumped all over it, it's been dropped, trampled, and generally abused, and there's barely a scratch in the paint!!!!

Sorry, never needed support...

I play death metal, and do electronic noise as well, so I am definitely pleased with the diversity of this unit. I'd replace it in a second if it were stolen. This is my second BOSS processor, and millionth FX unit in general, and I'd say this is definitely the best bang for the buck. I did try out other units before deciding on this one.

I bought this pedal after hearing the GT-5 and being told there was little difference between them.
I found it to be a little overprocessed harmonically with my RG470, though I have fallen in love with the neck pickup sounds. It hates the middle single coil for some reason and the bridge humbucker sounds brittle for cleans sounds.
I tried it with a cheap Strat and was frankly amazed at how good some of the cleaner presets were with the single coils - but the distortion was in need of a little pepping up.
Editing patches is easy unless you are really after a specific sound. Many people have said it to be easy but it does require A LOT of time to get a good set of presets. I don't get to use it with my full rig (the tonality changes drastically depending on what you use it on) until I gig. So therefore I can tell you that it is no fun editing 5 mins before you play.
The manual is good if you are familiar with the workings of FX but if you simply like to twiddle a few dials until you find a nice sound (like me) then it is a bit on the barren side when it comes to offering tips on use.
I don't believe there has been any mods to the firmware as the unit has not been revised in any way (I bought it in Oct 99).
I have given 8 because I managed to clean away all my analogues pedals with no real remorse.

I use this with a RG470, a cheap squire strat, a Marshall Valvestate Pro 120/120 Power Amp (blinding!) and two 1936 Marshall 2 x 12" Sealed Cabinets.
It can be noisy but more often than not that has been because of a poor earth on the guitar. Once solved the pedal is quiet. It does tend to sound over processed if you apply the FX in a heavy handed manner. Other than that I cannot moan as it has done me proud.
I have reservations with using this in conjunction with a valve amp base on my old Marshall 50watt Valve Combo. Every thing was too trebly and when I got my new rig all my user patches were bassy as a result of the mods I had made.
Now I am using it with the VS Pro it is more subtle and I can get the sounds that I want.
Some of the settings are weak - wah needs serious tweaking (the hard wah preset is the best but lacks cut in a live scenario and the Flanger is a bit too modulated for my liking (not that I use it!).
As the unit works fine for my rig I will give it a 9

Yes I depend upon the GT-3 as it also handles my amp simulations on top of the sound fx and I do gig without a backup.
I do have one minor grievence though, and that is because it has a poorly lit display for heavily lit stages and daytime festival gigs - hence 9

Not yet but the seperate PSU remains a worry.

I play in an eight piece Soul Tribute Showband and I can do Steve Cropper with ease with this unit.
As for loss or theft of this unit then I would replace it with another or maybe even the Flagship model, the GT-5 as I have had much pleasure in its use.
I have to say that the subtlety of some of the sounds make this a joy to use but a stronger wah and flanger would have been nice. Also the synth fx are really bad!
I tried some other fx units dod, zoom and digitech - but they had delays/dropout in switching between patches and that really sounds bad live.
I am very happy to have purchased it. It is a genuine tool and it embellishes the sound of your playing - what more could you ask for?
My only reservation would be to try it on your rig first, unless of course you have a Roland Jazz Chorus. heh heh.

I've only had this unit for about a week. Replacing a Digitech RP-3.

* Fairly uncomplicated. Guitarists that are new to multi-efx units may take some time to warm up to it. Logical layout and design make this unit pretty user friendly.
* Editing patches: fairly quick, but can become time consuming - depending on how particular or fussy you are.
* Manual: not bad - not great.

* I'm using a Gibson Les Paul standard stereo into a Peavy Bandit (80W) and Fender Frontline 25 (25W). I need better amps.
* Some of the pre-amp settings get a little noisy, but the noise suppressor is good. I've also tried a Strat with this pedal, and single coils get very noisy.
* Pre-amp efx are good, very deep eq. (great for tweaking that exact sound - if you have the time), great reverb, nice delay, overdrive and distortion takes time to get right - however using the eq (especially tweaking mids) and pre-amp settings it is possible to get great overdriven sounds. Wah sucks, wacky effecys (synth, humisor etc) are great for what they are. Compressing is tight and tasty, phaser is great.
* I owned a digitech rp-3 and the sound was a little too "digital" and processed for my liking - this unit is more authentic sounding, and one of the best for its price and size!!!

* Rugged metal body and sturdy design. Should handle gigs and travelling well. I think i will get an external expression pedal though to save the one on the unit (lets face it - anything with moving parts will need some attention after a while - it'll be easier to replace a seperate unit than the pedal on the board).
* No backup necesarry.

* n/a

* I play new school funk / dub / ska. Some heavy stuff occasionally.
* Playing for 10 years.
* This is a great compact unit .... it's has quality features for its price and size. Beats the crap out of my old digitech RP-3. At the end of the day you get what you pay for. Buy a pro rack mount unit with foot controller if you can afford it, and you'll probably have better tone. But this is one of the best multi-efx units in its class.
* It is possible to get anally retentive when it comes to tweaking your tone. Try to avoid this cause the unit is there to enhance you tone and sound, not to dominate it.
* If you aren't into booz rock or tired blues, and are looking to create some fresh and original guitar music then this pedal could be a great accessory.
* Boss have been around for a long time, and know the biz. This unit has been carefully designed with the guitarists needs in mind. Worth a try, no one is going to force you to buy it OK??

Dont ever settle for presets (you all know that). I figured the GT-3 out in 5 minutes. The manual is nice and helpful but seriously I didn't even look at it till after I had my own patches down. EASY EASY EASY

ESP MH-307 7 String guitar ---> GT-3 ---> DBX 15 band Equalizer/Limiter(to further cut mids) ---> Fender Roc Pro 1000 Full Stack! Awesome METAL SOUND!

Never will I drop it, leave it in the sun, let "some dude" borrow it, or anything stupid. This thing is basically as important to me as my actual guitar hands. IF ANYTHING ever happened to it, I would have to BUY another one because NO other pedal gets me my tone EXCEPT this pedal board.

Never Had to deal with them. Hopefully never have to.

I play Black Metal. But I'm not just looking for high mids, or a Shitty Slayer sound(more high mids)...but an awesome cuffing that is pleasing to the ear and shakes your Balls! at the same time. I needed the PERFECT Frequencies and Cuts and between the Equalizer and SUB EQ, and my other 15 Band EQ, I own My tone...I have the exact tone of my dreams and now I can sleep comfortably at night!

At last, a processor to call my own!!! Oh joy!!. The GT3 looks intimidating to program at first, I am learning so much about it now,
i can copy, save, write, tweak, twinge, destroy and rebuild things so easily on this. Only the one dial and the parameter jump buttons are needed to transport you through all the endless possibilities available. The manual actually wasn't to hard to understand, although some parts were understated and obvious, almost to the extent of patronising the user, i.e " Treble: adjusts the treble frequency ", never mind, because this thing is the best, infact, I want to marry it. It is though the perfect mistress for my guitar. Patches are easy to edit, but ironically the EZ edit is rather hard for me to properly understand.

I only have an old Encore Custom Model guitar (superstrat shape) and a Fender Squier 15 watt practise amp, yet this thing sounds amazing through it. I hope to purchase a brand new guitar and a more powerful amp to accompany this unit. The presets are not bad, some are laughable, the best though is 84,3 E.Ac Detune, I have wrote a song part with that effect. Distortions are good, some crap through the preamp models, i only realised this when I tried using a heavy distortion through the Metal Drive preamp before realising the Metal Drive distortion was on high gain settings. I am nearly there in getting the perfect noisecore/death metal distortion, the problem is allieviating the sub bass characteristics despite tweaking the bass e.q and bass settings, the scooped mid sound is no problem in achieving, the bass needs controlling in order to get good palm muting sounds. The distortion is crucial in any style really and therefore needs plenty of attention, here though the GT3 has succeeded in creating accurate distortions for different styles. The chorus, delay and reverb are just ace. Flanger is so damn good alot of the time, i can't see how some people have rated it badly, i have tweaked it to get sounds similar to that of the BF2 and the EH Elec. Mistress. Phaser is class say no more, infact all modulation effects are brilliant, i do have trouble harnessing the character of the Ring modulator. SFX group has good sounds available, I use the Feedbacker a fair bit. Finally E.q and SpeakerSim facilities are really good too. I can get alot of sounds similar to many artists, in particular Robert Smith's ambient sounds and also bands like, Led Zep, Pantera and Slayer, yes Slayer, bet you didn't see that one coming did you. You can get that blood and fire that spews from the Slayer axe maestros's guitars, spend a few hundred hours editing away.
LOVE THIS UNIT

I can't afford a backup, i'm too careful as it is that i won't let anyone breathe near it, let alone touch it, it is very strong and is built like a titanium fist. I won't bother with a backup, i look forward to gigging with it, first things first though is to...ahem..get a band together.

Never dealt with Boss or Roland but the company i bought this from, The Flying Pig, jacked up the price to 295 pounds when it was originally 269. I went all the way there to collect it for myself and lug it back through London and get the train back to Cambridge. You can imagine the look on my face changing from a happy boy to a slack jawed dog when I merrily skipped into the store with my hard earned 270 punds in cash to be told the price had gone up, still one cheque for the rest allowed me to take the GT3 home with me happier than a pig in shit

I play very heavy music of my own creation (not Korn!!!) and other styled like blues and ambient and whatever else i can wring out of my guitar. I've been playing just over two years now and will continue to do so as long as I live. This unit is so amazing it allows me to be creative in even more ways than ever. If this was stolen, the thief had better hope I never catch him and that he lives in fear when I have ripped his balls off and beaten him round the head with the unit, you see this thing is even more amazing because it doubles up as a weapon. I have used a Zoom 505 and a 3030 before but they are not a patch..ahem... on this. BUY IT BUY IT BUY IT!!!!. You Korn and Limp Bizkit fans will shit yourself when you find out it's potential. This is an amazing unit for bringing out the emotion, texture and mood in your music and playing, though rememeber it is better not rely on this thing even though you can almost get every sound possible you can imagine.

This is my first effects unit.I found it easy to work and I can't even hook up a tv and video.The manual wasn't much help but once you get moving you don't really need it anyway.One bad thing people say, is you can't really edit things "on the fly"(like live on stage?).But if you knew what you were doing then you would have set it up with all the sounds you need before you got on stage.In a rehersal situation, if someone said you're sound had "too much treble",then it could be fixed in a matter of seconds if you knew your way around the unit.As with most things, the more time you spend with it, the easier it is to use. I've been using it for about six months now and I wouldn't dare say I know the ins and outs of it. The limitations are endless. I you own one then there's a good chance you will never have to buy another pedal to get "that sound".

I'm play my guitars, straight to the GT3 and into my Marshall Valvestate. After reading some of the reviews here, it seems as though most people complain of the distortion sounds. I've found that the best sounds come from the pre-amp simulations rather than the overdrives and combining an EQ can give great flexibility to the sound. You can get the sound you want from the GT3 but you have to make it yourself, its not going to appear as a preset for your convenience. When playing through headphones it definatly sounds different but try backing off the master by about 20 and make sure the unit is set for "line headphones". It will sound a bit better but avoid any editting coz it won't sound the same through the amp.

I've used it live and never had any worries. I did own 4 Boss pedals before I got the GT3 and over the years never had any problems with them so I was confident in the Boss name. However, the reverb did cease to be, but it was fixed and its been fine ever since. If your thinking of getting one, have a read of the other reveiws here. Most are trouble free so I wouldn't pay too much attention to the little glitch I had with mine. Ever known someone with a Boss pedal who had problems with it? I don't. There're bomb proof and its not going to break, it made out of steel.

Now when the reverb dropped out it was repaired by an agent for Roland/Boss company and they took their sweet time doing it too. About three weeks although somehow I get the feeling that had it needed to go to Roland/Boss it may have took longer.

Too many people get carried away when it comes to effects. All you really need is a good clean sound, a distortion sound and a boost for both for soloing. I set my GT3 up in this way;

Bank 1 Patch 1: Clean (boost for solo when CTL is on)

Bank 1 Patch 2: Distortion (boost for solo when CTL is on)

Setting up like this (using the CTL) can also be used like this;

Bank 1 Patch 3: Clean (Distortion when CTL is on)

This lets you keep the number of patches down and saves time on stage. I keep all my sounds within the first 10 banks and there's enough variation there to cover just about all styles. All in all, outstanding value for money and heaps of versitility. When you go on holidays, just take the GT3, guitar and headphones. Its easier than taking an amp! This is the first time that I would say I'd buy it again if something happened to it because once you set it up, it makes life real simple.

If you have never used effects before this can compleately overwhelm you. Its extreamly easy to start using the preset patches and to do basic changes to effect parameters. But the GT3 can do so much that its going to take you a while to figure out everything that it does and does not do. Its going to take a lot of practice, its almost like learning a new instrument, but learn it and its time very well spent!! The manual is very high level and needs to be re-written in greater detail(especially on using control assaigns and the internal and the wave pedals). I strongly advice learning how each effect works (the tech side) and applying that knowledge to put the GT3 to best use. It is an awesome piece of equipment.

I play a Standard Fender Stratocaster thru a fender amp and always loved a natural overdriven amp sound. The Strat with its single coils always creats a noise especially when using the bridge pick up. The GT3's noise suppressor is great in dealing with this. Whenever I play hard, I try not crank the pre-amp and the distortion up at the same time....thats going to create a lot of noise. Instead if I adjust the pre amp to not create distortion and using the OD/DS in the GT3 I am able to get really cool / hard / noise free sounds.

You can almost get every kind of sound through this puppy, if you are willing to tweak the effect parameters. The presets are BAD and the preset patches seems like they have been created to amuse a 5 year old...way too many gimmics. Dont buy this for the presets!! The harmonist, chorus, delay and reverb along the pre-amps are the stars of this unit. Distortion is great too, but takes time to make it sound like you want it. Overall sound quality is stellar!!

I have not used it long enough to give my opinion on this. I have had it only for a month. But looks mighty sturdy.

Not had any problems yet.

I think this is the most versatile multi-effect processor you will ever find at this price. It should meet the needs of almost every guitar player, regardless of style. Best of all sound quality has not been compromised to achieve this versatality. I play real hard blues to hard rock to Indian classical music and this great for all of them.

There are some features in this unit that are too complicated to use and I think BOSS should get rid of them....like the auto riff. The control assigns also need to be made a little easier to use, given its tremendous potential. Also I think there should be manual setting for each patch, now the settings change on all the patches each time you alter the manual assigns in one patch. Thats a big pain in the rear. But I dont mind tweaking the control before I start playing a song thats going to need a lot manual effect changes. Overall great product...but takes time to learn. ITS WELL WORTH IT!!

This unit is a breeze to operate and boy does it operate, but when you want to edit some patches you can get pretty in depth. You can tweek any effect and use it in endless combinations. The GT-3 comes with a quick set-up guide to keep you from shitting your pants because this thing is incredible. The manual explains the important detail of every effect and the parameters this unit is capable of.

The sounds that come out of this little beast are the best ever. Take your RP-2000 and use it as POOPER SCOOPER this thing has it beat by 2000 miles. The RP has some great distortions out of the box, so thier is little tweaking, but other than distortions it has nothing to offer. OHH YEAHHH BABY I love that Aliens patch. OHHH Yeahh I love that Limpy Distortion. Give me a Fu*@ing break, in ten years nobody will know who LIMP BISKUT was. The GT-3 on the other hand puts you in another dimension, and you can create any world you want. I am currently using a Fernandes Native Elite with an old 70's Kustom stack, and this thing kicks some royal with cheese ass. Some of the distortions are digital sounding, but at first I didnt set my amp the way the manual tells you. After I tweeked it the amp and turned the GT-3 to "Guitar Stack" it was all over. The acoustic simulator is the best ever, the Harmonizer is top notch, the synth patches are monophonic but when placed with effects they are unreal. The cleans are rightous thanks to old Roland, the best clean sounds in the business, the wah is a wah I dont know why people are so critical about the wah, if you dont like the one in the box hook one up its simple, I have a Hendrix wah and it has to much treble for my taste. The distortions are rightous when tweaked with the different amp models and attacks, the flanger is good but needs tweaking, chourus is the best thanks to Roland... All in All this is the best processor on the market for the money.

Its buit like grannys panties, nothing coming out of this bitch.

Boss products have been around for years, I dont think Ill have any problems.

Please do me a favor, sell all those old stomp boxes and go out and buy this timeless machine. This has to be the best processor for the money. It takes seconds to set up, minutes to tweak, and the sound is so unreal, that digitech has to go back to school. I can not wait to hear the follow up to these boxes, technology has come so far in the last 6 years that the GT-5 is old news. With this box I have been playing old songs I havent played in years. This is definatley a quality product and it can only get better when the third generation effects processor comes out. I would definatley buy another if this one broke down. Next I want to buy the GR-33 and open up the pallete of sounds with the two combined. This box definatley opens the door to creativity, so dont get frustrated if it doent sound like Korn out of the box, or Limpy, or Steve WHY? get in their and create your own sounds and be original for once and stop trying to copy something that has been done.

Because of the number of different effects and paramaters, the GT-3 can be a bit complicated to use. Fortunately, I know alot about guitar effects, so I'm managing. Someone not familiar with a wide variety of effects might have a hard time programming the unit. The manual isn't too bad, but could have been more user friendly. Anyone willing to spend some time on the technical aspects of effects will not only learn alot, but will be able to come up with some great sounds.

I use a Parker Nitefly and an Ibanez S Series Custom through an Ampeg Reverberocket 2x12. The unit makes little or no noise. I still have much experimenting to do with the unit, but I can't imagine any guitar sound that can't be found with the GT-3. It can be programmed for different pickup sounds, simulated amp sounds, and even simulated microphone placement. The unit include pretty much every guitar effect known to mankind. The unit can get sounds of everyone from Joe Pass to Joe Satriani to Dimebag Darrell.

I only recently purchased the unit, so can't really comment on reliability. The unit is solid metal construction, and seems to be quite well made. I'd recommend getting a padded carrying case of some kind. A good hit in the wrong spot while transporting could be a bad thing.

Haven't had to deal with the company.

I play every style from light jazz to pop to blues to hardcore heavy metal in different groups and places. I've been playing for 15 years, and graduated GIT with honors. I was using an ME 30 for awhile, and upgraded to the GT-3. If it was stolen, I'd definitely buy another one. It certainly takes some time and effort to learn to program, but once that time is put in, the unit is well worth every minute spent. The sounds are incredible, and it's versatile enough to be used with pretty much any style of music. I won't list the effects here, but you can check out the list at zzounds.com or Musiciansfriend.com, or any site that sells the unit. There's even an unofficial user's site at www.members.tripod.com/bossgt3/ with all kinds of info on the unit. For the $$$, I really think that the GT-3 is the best thing out there.