Boss GT-3

I'd have to say that this unit is probably easier to use than it appears on first glance, but at any rate well worth exploring! The easy edit function is a nice touch, though; but once I started digging into this box, I learned it quickly. Although I've been playing for 24 years, this is my first guitar multieffects unit, and I love it. Recommended. Sometimes when you see a processor that looks right-and this is my first new pedal in 14 years-you just gotta try it. This is the right one for me at the right time.

I'm accustomed to experimenting with all sorts of sounds, mostly electronic, using guitar (Les Paul copy modified by Paul Reed Smith years ago, an Ibanez EX350 w\Floyd Rose bar, a Westbury Standard with Dimarzio PAF hum in the saddle, Super-Dist. hum in the bridge, and others), synthesizers, drum machines, sampler, etc. I find this unit to be damn near perfect, except for 2 things sticking in my craw:
you can't have a vol. pedal and wah pedal in the same patch and switchable (which I don't understand, but can easily get around by having adjoining patches identical but having one with wah and one with vol.), and I just noticed that if you change one effect's position in the MANUAL setup-such as preamp-it'll also change ALL others in your patches (that have 'manual' setups) to that same position. In other words, if (in 'manual' mode) for pedal #1 there's 'preamp,' all the other patches that you have with 'manual' will have 'preamp' for pedal #1 as well. I thought this was a defect, but when I checked the 'manual' setting for all the presets (which can't be altered), I noticed "EQ" is set for pedal #1, so it must be in the design. (You'll only notice this if you press the 'manual' button-it won't work for most of the (preset) patches if you use the Control pedal).
Anyway, the sound quality is excellent-things 'glisten'-but without a doubt, I wasn't satisfied until I tweaked and tweaked--then and only then was I delighted with the rich, fat, sparkling colors and tones on this beauty. Oh yeah, the wah is just adequate.

Can I depend on it....only time will tell; but like most of my peers here, I've never had a problem with Boss devices. This box is a good bit more complex than my Metal Zone, though, so I'm crossing my fingers.

Haven't tried.

Excellent. I'm very satisfied. It's the next step for me, and probably all I'll need. I haven't tried many others, but my gut told me this is what I need now.
I choose my weapons carefully, and if I like something enough and the time is right, I'll get it. My music is paramount to me, it reflects my personal vision, but the things I record are all experiments-I never know what will come out onto tape, but I place few limits on what music I create. I have never done anything but original stuff, and do it all myself. This is my new tool and toy. Check it out...

I had it for, hmmm, about 20 minutes and i had 7 completely customized effects without even cracking the manual. The pedal is so easy to use.

i had a zoom gfx707 peice of shit. it made my very nice amp, Hiwatt lead 50 or sumpin like that, sound shitty and it pissed me off. My friend had a Korg AX1000G and i loved the way that thing made his amp just sing. Same story, the sound i get from this machine is just amazing. The distortions tho, they need tinkerin, there arent enuf mids and lows and a little too much trebles. But then again doesnt all effects processors need adjustment?

Well ive had it for 2 days now and im positive ill have this thing for years to come but i cant comment on it now.

I could tell u if i talked to them.

I play metal, but my favorite band to play is Pink Floyd so thats all ive been playing these last few weeks. My favorite song is Echoes. Ive been playing guitar about 5 years. I have the afore mentioned Hiwatt 50 lead and a carvin DC127C. If it were stolen or lost i would be so damn pissed cuz im a busboy and i saved up my first two weeks of working (2 straight weeks im only 16 so its a decent job for my age) and spent it all on this machine. I doubt it would get lost cuz its rather big and its not like im gonna take it to california or something on a gig, the farthest id go is some dark club and id keep a close watch on it. I compared it to the Digitech RP7 and the GT5 and even the GT5 wasnt as good as the GT3. The RP7 was nice and it had some good sounds because of the tube(s) but the GT3 was well worth the extra $60.

Getting a good sound is really easy...once you figure out what you're doing. Learning the in's and outs is tough, but the pay-off is huge!!! Editing is pretty easy when you get the changes wired, but if you ddon't know what you're doing, changing on the fly could get you lost. You really need to know what it is you want to do, or you could spend days looking. The Harmonist is hard as hell to program, and takes forever to change. It sounds really good if you can do it, though.

I use the GT-3 with my Randall full-stack(straight and slant 4x12 cabs) and 120-watt head, or my 50-watt Crate Bass amp (just to be quiet at home). I use my Paul Reed Smith Standard-24, usually with the first or second bridge pick-up for both rhythm and lead tones. Some of the heavy distortions get really loud and feed back, but the limiter can handle that if you use it right. The effects are usually great- I, as of yet, have had no problem with the pedal except for me programming it retarded. I haven't tried to imitate anyone's sound, but I bet it could be done. The pre-programmed "Satch tone" is an excellent distortion. The telecaster effects are very stong, too. I think some of the synths are a little weak, but I don't use them, so I don't care too much. I'm not into trippy sounds, so I leave a lot of the weird patches alone. I like a little compression (which isn't too great on this)and lots of different chorus's. This pedal has a ton of programmable chorus that is great, and totally editable by itself or with other effects. The reverb is really good, too.I can't comment on the amp modeling, because i don't have anything to compare it to. I think it is probably really good, though.

This pedal has really strong metal chassis. The digitech peadals are weak in this area- I don't think they can withstand any real wear and tear I don't really like floor processors for a gig, but this thing kicks ass. I've knocked it all over, and it still works. For a really cheap price, I could even replace it easily if I had to. Most of my playing is really clean so if it busted I could run straight through my amp. However, I don't think it would. I wouldn't recommend using the expression pedal too much, though, because it feels weak. Just get a real wah and volume pedal- they are good investments.

I haven't ever dealt with customer repair, I can't tell you about this part. The pedal hasn't ever needed work, so I don't know.

I play a lot of rock and blues and Christian worship music. I run right through my full stack with no effects for blues, but I get great rock distortions and trippy effects from the GT-3. I've been playing for two years, but don't let that fool you. I'm a trained classical guitarist, and know what I'm doing (for a teenager). I play ni local shows, and at church, and the pedal is totally reliable all the time. I'd probably get another one if it was lost or stolen, but I might buy another floor processor just to try something different. This pedal is sooo cool once you get it figured out. It's harder than most floor boards to use, but there are more effects and more adjustable parameters than anything else. I checked everything out_all the big Digitechs- RP-21, 20, 14D, 2000, KorgAX1000, line 6 POD, Johnson J-station. I think this one is the best I've used. It's tougher, and much higher in quality than the others. I wish the display screen had a digital diagram for the equalizer, and that the expression pedal felt more reliable under my foot. Sometimes I think it is going to snap. It won't, but that's how it feels. I highly recommend this pedal to any and everyone interested in good, high quality, inexpensive effects. Alng with tfree or four smaller stompboxes (tuner, octave, volume and wah) to control every possible parameter, you have yourself a studio worthy set-up. The MIDI capability is a plsu, although my computer programs aren't set up for it yet. That should be really cool.

I like the old days of spinning a knob here and there to dial in certain parameters but, with this much packed into a box, that would make for an awful lot of knobs. After a bit of getting used to, I can change things on the fly pretty fast and everything is real consistent.

I love the sound of this unit. I'm running the melody side of a Chapman Stick through it. The instrument itself sounds wonderful as is so I had to be real careful to select a unit that would enhance, not detract. I'll be adding a second GT-3 to process the bass side.

The unit is not that old so I guess this one is a bit hard to call but it's sure built durably enough. Like any other Boss product, it'll probably out last me.

I play a Chapman Stick through this unit. The style of music ranges from rock to funk to progressive (although not metal). The quality has been outstanding and it's worked very well for everything I want to do. Once I get the twins setup, it'll be even better.

Once I read the manual it was easy to program and edit patches,but I must say the levels on almost everything have to be tweaked so the peaks and valleys match up.

I play a les paul and a schecter a-1 through my gt-3 then into a marshall jmp-1 preamp into a 5150 head into a blue voodoo 4x12 cabinet although lately I've been going from the gt-3 into the 5150.
I tune to a b flat and use heavy guage strings (13-65's) and tons of distortion.The main uses for my gt-3 are the tuner, noise suppressor
and the volume pedal-all of which sound and work great except for the volume pedal.It seems to have a breaking point and doesn't work well for subtle swells that are slow but if you just use it for on/off type use it works fine. The noise suppressor is killer, I can let go of my strings at full volume and it makes no sound or feedback unless I want it too.I set the threshold high and the release low and it does an excellent job-I highly reccommend a boss noise suppressor to anyone who plays any kind of metal!Just remember to run it first in your chain of effects if you're using a pedal, if you're using the gt-3 though program it into a patch that has nothing but the noise suppressor and maybe the foot volume controller thats what seems to work best.Most of the effects sound good but like I said the levels need to be tweaked to your liking.I like the space/echo effects but they sound really harsh and trebly-once again try adjusting levels
and the eq.I also use the sub eq for a slight mid boost to get rid of some of the "mud" that comes with tuning low with lots of distortion.I don't like the phaser/flanger effects they sound boring and plain, pedals are better.I play stuff like slipknot, mudvayne
soulfly and sepultura and my rig works really well for me.but, i'm thinking of getting some pedals for flange/phase effects and just using the gt-3 for the tuner,noise suppressor and volume pedal.

I play live with the gt-3 and abuse the hell out of it, my singer threw water all over it at our last show and it still works fine(although I was pissed)it gets kicked around alot by me and our bass player and comes back for more-it's a boss, built like a tank!I use it without a back up although a back up would be nice in case the memory battery ever failed.Write everything down in case this ever happens cuz reprogramming the whole thing would suck!

Never dealt with Roland and hopefully I never will, I've recorded twice with it and practice every day with it as well as play live all the time and in the 6 months I've owned it I've had no problems.

I play modern metal and the gt-3 is a good match for this style of music but I'm still gonna buy other effects pedals for flange and
phasing effects it lacks in those departments.I've been playing for 14 years and right now I'm pretty happy with my sound, although I'd
like to get a VHT head or a Mesa/Boogie triple rectifier in the future to run in stereo with my 5150.If it were lost or stolen I'd buy another after I beat the crap out of whoever lost or stole it!

After dealing with several different effect units over the years (Digitech, Alesis, Zoom) the GT-3 falls into the so-so. Do yourself a favor and check out all the info you can find on the unit. It comes with a typical Roland manual which makes you feel like you are speaking Tagalog in France.

Yeah, I know everybody else hears noise or can't get the sound thick enough or can't get that elusive 1958 Plexi sound (or whatever). That doesn't mean it isn't there, it just means you need to tweak the sounds a little. I have gotten mine to ALMOST perfectly sound like what I might need for tracking (everything from an SRV style blackface Twin to a Randall solid state black metal grind). If you can't get the sound you want out of it, try bringing global hi eq down 4 db and run the output into an ART tube MP pre or a Tubeworks blue tube.

Metal Metal Metal RULEZ!!! Don't ever buy plastic effects

I've been doing stoner electronic and nothing I've ever used has sounded this good! Throughout my 12 yrs of playing I've tried everything and this box 'does it' for me. I wouldn't use the synth live but it's great for recording, and for those of you who don't like the tracking - PLAY CLEANER!! (just kidding - try running a mild overdrive BEFORE the synth and 160bpm 16ths are no prob)

The GT-3 can be intimidating when you first plug into it, but with a little time and some reading in the user manual, no problems. http://members.tripod.com/bossgt3/ is a good site. Check out the Supplemental user manual. Everything is pretty straight forward, although editing can be time consuming.

I'm playing a Amer. Stand Strat directly into the GT-3 and running straight into a Church PA system (church seats approx. 1000). I'm running back to my amp from the direct box so I can control my own monitor. I love this effects pedal. I can get a good "acoustic sound" out of my Strat. Not an acoustic guitar out of it, but and acoustic sound. My acoustic-electric Yamaha sounds really good through the GT-3 with some chorus/delay and EQing.

You can get basically every sound you could want. I've read in these reviews that the distortions suck, but... Tweaking is involved. Most of the presets have to be redone/thrownout. Reverb and delay are very good. The unit, overall, is very quiet. Heavy distortions can be noisy, but that's the way it's supposed to be. Wah is lacking, but I haven't had time to tweak it. I usually play with a Vox Wah, and can't quite get the sound I want. This unit also has some wacky sound -effects. You can get some string/pad/space sounds. I might have some use for these, but the church band also has two keyboard players who handle that stuff... Most guitarists aren't going to have any practical use for these, but they're fun to play with. I've only had it for about two weeks and haven't had a lot of time to explore all the possibilites.

It's built to last. All-Metal chasis. No backup.

Only had it for about 2 weeks. No problems so far...

I play in a church that does a little (very little) southern gospel, funk, pop/rock. I also play blues, rock, acoustic (Third Day, Delirious). The GT-3 lets me get all the sounds I want and more. I would definitely get another one if I lost it. I had a Zoom 505 before (crap), I also own a Ibanez Tubescreamer TS-9, and a Vox Wah-Wah. I don't use any of them anymore, except the vox occasionally (I'm hoping to tweak the settings on the GT-3 and do away with the Vox as well). I just love playing through it. The sound I get out of it gives me goose-bumps. LOVE IT!!

I found the GT-3 to be quite easy to use. You can do some surface quick editing with the EZ Edit function, although with some of the patches you would probably want to go into the full editing section. I feel this unit has a rather short learning curve myself. Some of the editing seemed a little tedious at first but after reading the manual thoroughly one time it was really easy to pick up. One of the best options of the GT-3 is that the pedals can be assigned to control individual patches or can be turned into effects pedals within a patch at the touch of a button. If you set it up right you can run through four totally different sounding patches with a 7 pedal effects string for each in a matter of seconds. You can cycle through more than four of course but when you're stomping around on stage time is of the essence right? The only questionable aspect of this box is that you better know what you're doing when using the full edit option. It's not hard to use, but when you first start playing around with it it is pretty easy to get some totally useless sounds. Outside of this though, it's really quite user friendly. The manual takes time to explain all of the effects and how they interact too--for those novices out there.

I am using a Gibson Les Paul Studio and some crappy Yamaha strat knock-off through a pair of Carvin SX-200's ran in stereo. I have found that the GT-3 is actually reasonably quiet. At least quieter than I expected. These amps are really clean so I basically use them as power amps for the GT-3(you can choose the bias for speaker configurations in the utility function). I run my guitar into (usually a BBE 482 and then into the GT-3, but for this I didn't in order to rate the GT-3 on it's own merits) the GT-3 and then run the left/right outs into the effects loop of each amp respectively. As I said, the noise is almost none existant, except a few patches seem to generate a little more than others. The varying noise in patches is similar to the varying output levels of patches even within their own patch bank. This is easily solved through some editing although it can be time consuming to change of bunch of them. Right out of the box this thing can be annoying because of these drastic jumps in output. A minor easily fixed problem though. I have found, unlike many others who have rated this, the distortions to be excellent. Granted, the overdrives and distortions on there own are a little thin, but when combined with the amp simulations you can get some good crunch, hardcore distortion and a really nice fuzz. I even think some of the preset patches have some good distortions. All it takes is a little editing to bring them out. And for you "death metal" fans out there, you CAN get some really swarthy distortion out of this thing--all it takes is a little time to dial it in. I found all of the effects to be very good with one exception--the wah. Basically the wah patches out of the box are terrible. Useable but terrible at the same time. This is by far the weakest point of the GT-3. With some intense editing work and lots of trial and error I have been able to get a pretty solid wah patch, one I can use to play "Bulls on Parade", but I would highly recommend an external wah pedal for all of you wah-heads out there. Being one who doesn't use it that much, it is a minor flaw for me. Plus I am very content with the picking wah progams on the GT-3. The synth sounds on this thing are quite a bit of fun. In my band we like to bust out the occasional 80's cover as a joke(I know, everyone does it) and with the "Strings" synth patch I have got the opening to Europe's "Final Countdown" nailed. They are kind of wacky and a little weird for most music, but hey, I found a use for them! Overall the sound quality is excellent in my mind and this thing would get a ten if you didn't have to fix the output problem and if the wah was even reasonable without major editing.

I have been stomping around on this thing for nine months everyday for at least three hours a day and it hasn't really failed me yet. It's built like a tank--the entire thing is metal, except the pedals which are just as indestructable. The one time it had a glitch it kind of "locked up". All I did was turn it off and then on again(it has an on/off switch unlike the Digitech RP's) and it was fine. The cool thing about this is that when you turn it off it saves your settings and stuff so when you turn it back on the amp bias and regional settings are all the same. You have to cycle back through the patches though, but with this thing it takes like a second. It only happened once and I run this thing all of the time. I gig with it all of the time without backup even though the Carvin's have built in effects if you really want to think about it--I couldn't use them to match anything from the GT-3 though. About as reliable as it gets for as much use as I get out of it!

I haven't dealt with Roland/Boss in relation to the GT-3, but everytime I have had a question about something they have always been knowledgeable and quick to reply. I also use a Roland VG-8 and have had to get help with that before--they were right on the ball. No complaints from me so far. And seeing as how the GT-3 is built like an old Studebaker, I don't think I will be needing to call about any problems anytime soon.

I play anything rock related, from 60's, 70's & 80's to punk to the new rap metal Limp Bizkit/Korn style stuff. For me this box can do it all. I like to play some more mellow bluesy stuff and some jazz-style things every once in a while and the GT-3 handles that with ease too.

I have been playing for five years most of which has been with my band(we all learned to play together from the bottom up to where we are now!) During that time this is one of the better purchases I have made. As I said before, I have a Les Paul Studio and a Yamaha strat with a Roland GK-2 synth pickup installed on it. I run these through a BBE 482, through the GT-3, and then to the two Carvin SX-200's. With the Yamaha and GK pickup, I run that through a Roland VG-8 into a Roland KC-500 amp. With this setup I can basically get any sound I want. For anyone with about $1500 bucks(w/o tax) you can get the BBE 482, GT-3, and two Carvin SX-200's. It's quite a set up and capable of almost anything--I would recommend it to anyone!

If this thing was lost or stolen, first I would hunt down the person who took it and mess them up, but I would sure as heck replace it. It has become an invaluable part of my rig.

For anyone looking for an all-in-one most bang for you buck kind of setup I would highly recommend the GT-3. It is one of the highest quality pieces of gear I have ever seen in this price range. It blows away anything by Digitech as far as I am concerned. It's built tough, has exceptional effects, and has so many options that the possibilities are virtually endless. It's a great buy that I highly recommend to anyone--oh and maybe a wah pedal too, if that's your thing!

Once you read the manual a couple of times, things start to click. I think the more you use it, the more you can come up with. With all of the parameters of all the effects being adjustable and the ability to change the order of effects, not to mention the pre amps sims and o.d.s-there is a lot of shit you can do. I give it an eight though because it took 2 months for me to start to feel comfortable with it.

Prs santana>gt3>(stereo out)marshall stereo chorus 8240 or mono into a fender concert with 4x12 cab. After I sold the marshall and only used this thing with the concert I realized something.-Who needs a amp simulation when you got a good fuckin' amp? If I had the gain up on my amp or just really had the tubes glowing,the gt-3 was over it. It is made to play thru a solid state clean amp like the jc-120(what a coincidence) If you have a bitchin amp, don't get this because you want a lot of effects, it is not like a bunch of floor pedals in one. I like a lot of shit it did, but the harmonist and the octave stuff was just off. And boy was this thing noisy, even with the noise supressor on it would hiss. Wah wah was even worse....

This thing is reliable and I would never think twice about using it anywhere. The only thing that would fuck it up would be a loss of power or a power surge(and then you are fucked anyway because your amp is on fire!)

I have no Idea.

I play dead,phish,funk,jazz,srv,blues kind of stuff, really just play what feels good when it feels good. I have been on the guitar for about 5 years now. I have a bunch of shit but this pedal has to go, for all the frustration it is causing me I can have a bunch of little frustations instead. If you set it up in a stereo effects loop with the 2x2 chorus on, it is very cool, so is the feedbacker, but definitely discolors your guitar and amp sound. I think I spent so much time exploring it possibilities that I played alot less. Thats about it. I suggest that if you are interested you go try one-WITH YOUR OWN AMP AND YOUR OWN GUITAR. A music store will hook you up on a clean shitty amp to show you what it CAN do. I got home and plugged up and saw what is COULNDN'T do. I am no expert and sound is a subjective arena. So try it yourself

Concerning ease of use, I can't say that the GT-3 is "easy" to use. Although not difficult, you will have to read the manual thoroughly the find your way around on the unit. (This is a must.) After one reading I had no problem plugging in and experiencing what the GT-3 can do. And what an experience!!! I'm playing through an Ampeg Reverberocket Combo (reissue). This is a clean sounding tube amp with dual 12" speakers that pump (a loud) 50 watts of sound. The amp alone sounds really good but with the GT-3 plugged in it's down right too much. The sound is really impressive.

The editing patches are swell. You can choose a sound, say...JB-LEAD (Bank 49.4) and customize it to just about any imaginable degree. The effects that make up this patch consist of Delay, Reverb, and a clean overdriven Preamp sound. What's neat about the unit is that you have total control over each individual effect and over the order in which they are driven. Like pedals you can choose which order to drive them.

The manual spells all this out and again, this is a "must read" item. No plug and play here. I found it to be a little on the technical side as far as reading goes but it's not difficult to understand by any means. No problems here.

There is some (meaning a small amount) noise with 3 of the heavily distorted patches, but there realy is no way around that with pedals any way. All the other sounds are relatively quiet. There are six or seven sounds that I won't use. These are weird spaced out sounds that can only be used for sound effects. All of the other setting are fantastic. I've found 22 that I knew immediately I would put to good use for Christian Rock.

I'm using the GT-3, a Kramer Ripley with a Seylmore Duncan 59" humbucker in place of the original pickup, and the Ampeg Reverberocket. I can get some old Van Halen sounds, some Eagles, and some realy nice clean sounds. This unit comes with a wah pedal effect that you can use with the expression pedal. It works but it's the end-all/be-all when it comes to wah wah's. I'd give it a 7. the chourus I'd give an 8. All the other effects get a 9. I found nothing on the GT-3 to be bad. Interesting note though. When plugged into the GT-3 the volume knob on my axe doesn't seem the have much of an effect on controling the volume that when I'm using guitar and amp only.

I've had it for 4 days so I can't comment yet.

I've not needed customer support.

I've been playing for 1 year. I play Christian Contemporary and Christian Rock. i have a TASCAM 4-track that I use for writting. I initialy bought the GT-3 to use as an effects board for recording. I've been having so much fun with it though I haven't done any recording yet. The reason I chose this unit was because I owned a Boss digital delay that was awsome. I went through three delays before buying the Boss DD3 and I was very happy with it. In the past I've played Roland keyboards that sounded pretty good. Originally I intended to buy individual pedals and mount them on a ply-wood board. The cost of doing this would have been nearly $600 for all the effects I wanted. The GT-3 was a great solution for recording and live playing and I didn't have to compromise!

I find this unit very easy to use. It has replaced all my pedals and is the only thing I now use. I plug input/output into an effects loop on my FenderTwin amp. Easy. I keep a clean sound preset to go to in case room acoustics or whatever suddenly makes things wierd. Editing patches during a gig is so very much not an option that I just don't do it. I'm talking about kneeling down, trying to read the LED display in wierd light or daylight, dialing in a minute parameter change with crowd screaming, it's difficult. But I didn't expect to be able to do that when I bought the unit. When you get the unit, do your homework. Put headphones on after each gig in the hotel room and make the changes to your presets that you've been thinking about during the gig. Like, I need that delay to be longer, etc. The manual was fun to read and seemed complete. Although a section on describing the factory presets would be useful. Their little preset names don't mean a whole lot. What's a "Match Lead" really sound like?

I play an Ibanez Custom S-series electric guitar with this unit, through a Fender Twin. It is not a noisy unit, but for some reason, certain presets go haywire when my Fender Twin's internal reverb is on past 5 or so. Like if I have reverb on to 8 and the preset has a compression setting this high squeal emits from the amp. So the unit for whatever reason is driving this lame noise. I can't seem to make it go away. I do use the noise suppressor because on really heavy presets with lots of OD and compression, there's some noise. The delay is very good, the phaser is good, the wah is thin, the synth sounds are unusable by me, the reverb is excellent. I give this section a 7 only because the wah is weak and I haven't found a ballsy distortion sound yet.

It is my sole unit, no backup needed. It's burly, doesn't slide around. I clean it with a rag so the gunk doesn't build up. I played a midday gig last summer and reading the display was so hard I panicked but built a little sun glare shield and that worked.

never needed it.

I play guitar in a 5 piece marimba band, so I need a very clean sound for fast soukous-style picking and trippy stuff for intros and ambient sections also searing distortion for when I break out the slide. The GT-3 lets me do all this. I like to be able to name my own patches, and the effects loop chain feature may be the underappreciated feature here. Simple and reliable.

This is my first unit and I think it is quite easy to use. The manual is very detailed, and the unit itself contains logical diagrams to help you out. The unit has about 85 banks with 4 selectable patches in each bank. You can change bank with up and down pedals and change the patch with pedals 1-4. About 35 banks are programmable. If you own a computer, you can download patches from the internet created by others and send them to your GT-3 using a Midi interface, very simple and cool. The unit also features a CTRL pedal for switching and an expression pedal. The CTRL pedal and expression are fuly programmable with everything you want, so you are not restricted to, e.g., WAH and volume only. Also multiple effects, up till 7 or 9, don't remember exactly, can be assigned to the pedals, which is quite awesome. A disadvantage is that the effects cannot be fully controlled by the large pedals, you have to get down and use your fingers to look for a new sounds. There is a manual mode to turn off/on basic effects with the pedal, but to change the values, you need to get down on your knees. The effects are easy and fast to set up though, a disc can be turned to quickly change the values of the effects.

I use a Ibanez JS100, and that sounds very good . The unit has lots of effects (32), some basic and useful, some less useful, but fun for intro's or special effects. The preamp simulator is very cool and I use it to get my distortions and the best clean sounds. I play a lot with headphones and I don't like the distortion/overdrive effect that much, the preamps sound much better. With an amplifier, the OD/DS sounds good, though. The acoustic simulator is quite nice for background chords. Delay, reverb and chorus are perfect, with lots of options to fine tune. Phaser and flanger are OK. The double harmonizer can shift up 2+ or 2- octaves, sounds cool, but doesn't always know how to handle multiple strings together. The guitar synth is too slow and sounds cheap, but I like to play with it and hold a synth tone as background noise. The wah is quite good, especially for clean sounds, but seperate pedals like the cry baby are better. The problem with the wah is that it changes the sound of your patch a lot. This can be compensated with the two build in equalizers. There are also some less useful effects, but fun for special effects or intro's. These are the ring modulator, auto-riff, slicer. The vibrato doesn't seem to do much. The enormous amount of patches are all of good quality, but I prefer some patches I found on the internet. Overall, you can create a lot of good sounds with the unit, for all kind of musical styles. The ability to change the order of the effect, makes the unit perfect to find an unlimited number of different sounds and experiment forever.

The unit has a metal casing and is very heavy because of that, it doesn't run away when you step on it. The expression pedal is a bit light to use, but very solid.

No experience with it.

Well, it's perfect for me. I've been playing electrical guitar for about a year now, played acoustical guitar for about 9 years. I used to be not that much of an active guitar player, but this device gave me a new spirit. I play almost every day now, preferably late in the evening when it is dark outside :-)

I skimmed through a few of the reviews of this unit and found that a few people have problems with the distortion sounds. It's taken me 2 months of tweaking and playing with the unit, and I'm just getting to grips with it, but the work has paid off, and now I'm getting some great driven sounds. Editing patches caused me no problems. The manual isn't too hot - I found out much more from the manual that is on the gt-3 users site.

I use a Fender USA Tele and a Yamaha Pacifica 812, into a crybaby wah, into the GT-3, and out to 2 Trace Elliot Speed Twin C100 amps. At first I combined gain from the amps with the od/dist on the GT-3, but am getting better tones having the amps on the clean channel and getting all my distortion from the GT-3. I don't need to use the noise suppressor, the unit isn't too noisy. I'm into Stone Temple Pilots, Black Crowes, anything with passion and groove but try to come up with my own sounds and not copy anybody else. I never use the preamp models-they just don't sound good to me. Wah is not good - I use a crybaby. Guitar synth is unusable for what i do. There are various other effects in there that aren't for me but the things I do use on it are great.

I can depend on it. I would use it without backup.

I play original music with 3 other badasses. We laugh at how good we are. You will be hearing from us. I've been playing since the age of 7. I'm now 24. If it was stolen it would be a pisser reprogramming it, but I would get another one. I like it 'cos it's a solid unit and I'm very heavy footed on stage. I don't like the fact that you can't mix fx from the mod group. One more thing...smile, you look perplexed.

This thing is probably one of the easier units out there. The manual was long, but it described everything in detail. Nice setup, patch changing is quite simple, it helps to have the bank up and bank down that isnt found on some other pedals (The GT-5 and the Korg AX1000G). Editing your sounds are easy as pie and finding a good sound takes minutes after you are familiar with the unit.

I run the GT-3 from my Les Paul Studio or Jay Turser Strat copy (P.O.S.) to my Peavey MX and my Kustom practice amp. The GT-3 sounds better in stereo so its worth the extra amp. There is no noise from the unit. I dont use the distortion that often, instead using the amp models for distortion. You can get a very convincing overdriven Fender sound with this. I play all sorts of styles, Jazz, Blues, Hard Rock, Metal to name a few and this lets me nail everything. I have found that you can really nail some good tones with this unit (Santana, Pat Metheny, SRV to name a few) The distortion and amp modeling is great, as well with the modulation effects. The accoustic simulator isnt too hot but of well. I have found some good uses for the guitar synth (U2-style). The Ring modulator and auto-riff are pretty useless except if you play acid rock. The delay is quite good and I have tweaked the Space Echo patch to get some nice eerie lines. The wah sucks. It doesnt even come close to gettinga good sound, hell, it doesnt even come close to a DOD and thats pitifull. Instead, I use the auto-wah and use the expression to control the sweep. The unit itself is pretty impressive and picks up picking dynamics well but doesnt respond well to your guitars volume control.

This thing is built like a tank. The only thing that could break are the switches and youd have to jump on them. I gig without a backup all the time. I wouldnt have bought it if I wasnt sure it would hold up.

Never dealt with them. I dont like the fact that you have to live in the US to register the warranty on-line.

This pedal is the best thing in its prrice range. I compared it to the RP-7, Korgs AX1000G, a bunch of Zoom Pedals and even the GT-5. The others didnt come close (except for the GT-5). Ive been playing for about 2 years now. If it were lost or stolen, Id probably buy it again or a nice Rocktron rackmount. My only gripe is that the wah sucked. That isnt too much of a problem though, Im looking into a Budda or Teese wah now (I cant stand Crybabys). I can easily recommend this pedal to anyone who is looking for a good multi-effects unit.

When I first got this pedal, it looked VERY indimidating to program. I had to read the manual more than once and get the very feel of working this thing. The manual deal didn't help much throughout the whole learning experience of programming the pedal but I managed to get good sounds after a few weeks of tinkering and tweaking it. Once that was accomplished, programming each presets is a breeze. The manual generally just gave basic descriptions on how each effect work and blah... doesn't really give a clear detail on acheiving good sounds. On the other hand, you really have to tweak with this unit for a long while along with the amp you're currently playing it to compliment each other and get great tone.

I'm currently playing an Ibanez RG470 with EMG 85 in the neck, EMG-S in the middle, and an EMG 81 in the bridge and by far, the guitar sounds extremely good with this pedal. With my setup, I can get a lot of tones and depth with the unit. Although I have yet to explore the other features in this thing, it certainly has a lot of features that I would need in the future. Distortion(s) are excellent! From blues to death metal, this processor will definitely suit your needs! Other effects include EQ, Slowgear, Anti-feedback, Compressor, Limiter, Sub-EQ, Harmonizer, Guitar Synth, Chorus, Delay, Reverb, Humanizer, Vibrato, and a whole lot more. Effects such as the Chorus and Delay are definitely great for solos... especially when I have the guitar set on the neck position. The Acoustic Simulator is awesome whenever I have my guitar set in the middle position... great acoustic sounds! The Noise suppressor does the job right w/o use of external noise suppression units.
Practicing with it along with the Crate 15W amp actually made it sound brutal! Practicing at the studios with a Crate BV120 and 2 Amepeg 4x12 cabs is a whole different story!

It's a Boss. This will pedal will stay with me for a while unless a far more better version come out, which I doubt. Made out of blue steel, this pedal will certainly last gig after gig after gig. Although I can not find a gig bag for this, the LCD display can be a little hassle to carry around since it's the *most sensitive part of the unit*.

Never bothered cause Boss products are too good to get any complaints.

I play death / black metal. I like to experiment with the sounds involved with this unit and use these sounds as an additive to my band's music. I've been playing for the past 6 years or so. I've upgraded from an ME-30 to a GT-3 in December as a b-day present and I was definitely happy with the GT-3. The ME-30 had it's moments but by far, the GT-3 is the next best thing in the affordable great quality processors category. I debated between ths GT-3 and the recent Digitech RP2000 processor and the GT-3 gives ya all the freedom to program effects in any way you want... even changing the arrangement of these effects within the *pedal chain* of the unit. This was a major advantage for my purchase because I don't like my sound to be limited into the same *pedal chain* arrangement for every bank (which has about 86 with 4 presets per bank). I definitely love the CTL pedal because you can set it up to anything in the effects chain and control your sound within a stomp of your feet.

Manual can be vague on some subjects. Editing is about the same as most units. I did like the EZ editing mode to get a general sound without lots of tweaking, then you could refine that. Low rating mostly for the manual.

I upgraded to the GT3 from a Digitech RP-7. The GT3 seems quieter, and some effects seem more refined, but... my opiniion is the sound is very compressed - the RP-7 sounded much "fatter" to me. Perhaps the tube (valve) in the RP-7 makes that much of a difference! I really didn't think any of the amp emulations were that realistic. Might be OK for some amp rigs, but I use a power amp stereo setup, and it just didn't cut it for me. Ended up trading it for a ART SGX 2000 Express rackmount - much happier now!

Built like a tank. I can't see how you could break it unless it fell out of the van on the way to the gig (and even then...). Note - I only used this for about 6 months before trading it in.

Never had to deal with them.

I play mostly classic rock type originals, 50-50 clean and dirty. Have used many floor type multi-effects, I thought the GT-3 was comparable to most, but really nothing special. It did seem a little less noisy than most units, but then again I really didn't care for the sound. It does offer many functions, but in my opinion many of them don't lend themselves to realistic live playing. For the amount of money this thing costs, I would reccomend going for a used rack mount setup- much better sound.

Fairly easy to operate. If you want to get into specific sounds and matching artists sounds, you can get lost pretty easy in the gazillion options (but they are nice to have, though). Very easy to get a good clean sound (what isn't, though). Distortions will drive you crazy trying to get what you want. Editing is simple overall. the manual is dry and boring and will make you want to write your own. Big surprise there.

I use a '79 Hamer standard with a Peavey heritage (2 speakers) amplifier. Noise was very controllable with the noise suppressor effect except the sustain would suffer horribly no matter how you chained it or altered tone values and cuts. My old crappy DOD G7 sustained better. The overall effects and selection are fantastic and most sound great to excellant. But....If you recognize a common complaint throughout these reviews it is the distortion and overdrives. Wow, are they weak! You can get a decent sound, but you have to work your ass off to get it, and the next day when you come back to listen to it, it sounds bad. Anyone who truly likes to have a full range of hard, grinding, good sounding distortions will be dissapointed overall. It's almost surprising they were included with the awesome sounds that make up the other effects. Yes, you can add in the amp sim (some are excellant) but you really have to work to get what you want and for me in the end it didnt cut it. Otherwise, the effects sound as good as I've heard (I really enjoy the harmony and pitch shifting). I believe you can get the sounds of many artists but for the heavier stuff (and I'm not talking "death metal" here), I think it sounds either too much/uneven or way too little (very little punch to it). If it wasnt for the lame distortions this pedal would be perfect. I really believe this. But once again, people prefer different types of sound to others, so it may suit you, but listen to the pattern and if this area is important to you..... Overall, I think this thing sounds like an 8, but the distortion and overdrives alone, are about a 5.

I think this this thing as is reliable as your going to get for the money. It truly is built solidly and I have not seen anything that has a look that makes you want to play. It's weirdo blue, but nice and classy in it's own way.

No dealings with 'em.

Like I said, this thing would be a 10 if it werent for the distortions that will bother a lot of players. I've been playing for 17 years now and do not want to have 18 stomp boxes to get the whole job done. This gizmo almost corrects all of that. If it were lost or stolen, it would have to have happened at the store where I bought and returned it back to based on the annoyances of "trying to find that sound". There was more tweaking and tinkering than playing for me and that is when things get the boot around here. If you do not care much for a lot of tinkering, tweaking, and twaking to get what you want or something even closs to it, do not buy this item. This is what bothered me the most as I just couldnt quite find it! Blah!. It is remarkable in a million ways and dissapointing in a few areas in a major big way. I am truly upset about not keeping it, because it is really a nice little gadget with plenty of surprises and sounds within for the money, and you can get a lot of great sounds out of it. You shouldnt have to always have to work to get it though. Why can't true guitar players design these things? Not techno pilots (horrendous presets!). It's too bad the little things of this model turned me off to an otherwise amazing product in the end, but Boss should be commended overall for a very complete and well built product.

It's a big pedal but with a little time youll learn how to master it. when i first got it, it would take a long time to edit patches. but now ive gotten pretty fast at it.its well worth the extra work to edit because this pedal has some awesome fx.and how u select effects to change is really easy. all the buttons are right there on the front of the thing with all the fx listed for you.and also, this pedal being slow to edit is a good thing because it will teach you all about fx and how to use them.

i use my gt3 through my yamaha pacifica 112(a good guitar,yamaha can make anything) and through a peavy studio pro 112 65w amp.i plan on getting a marshall valvestate halfstack soon though.the fx on this thing surprised me. almost every other processor i heard sounded very digital but this pedal is exactly opposite. if you like boss fx pedals than youll like the gt3. the fx are just as good quality. they dont sound digital at all.the fx are even set up like the little boss pedals.for example, the same parameters you edit in the processor are the same as the boss compact pedals knobs.its also a very quiet pedal which is very good when it comes to my style of playing. i play hard, i play stuff like fear factory,pantera,sepultura,slayer,slipknot,white zombie and other heavy stuff and this pedal can get all the sounds you want for that kind of music.i especially like that this pedal has analog distortion and not just the digital preamp. i personally dont think the preamp distortions are that great but the analog are amazing. most processors have horrible distortion but not this one.all it takes is a little editing.the only way you cant get a good sound of this thing is your own lack of creativity.

it is very reliable. its solid metal like boss pedals so it can withstand some scracthes and dents. i plan going into a band and i am definetly going to use this pedal live.

if you play HEAVY metal like i do, and dont mind a little editing than this pedal is for you.the parametric eq is the key to the good sounds.it keeps the pedal extra quiet and sounding crystal clear.ive been playing for about 4 years and ive owned a zoom 505,boss metal zone,and a boss ge7 eq but after i got this pedal i didnt need those anymore. not even the eq pedal makes it sound better. it sounds great by itself. the only thing that would make sound even better would be a seperate parametric eq. they are the best(alot better than graphic eqs).if this pedal ever got stolen i would first track down the person who did it, kill them, and definetly buy another one. and dont fall for the boss gt5. it is older. the gt3 has what it has and then some.and it costs less.

Obviously, it takes a while to get good sounds, but it is worthwhile. Editing patches is easy in most of the fx (chorus, eq, comp, pre, wah, delay, etc) but it is not very easy to edit modulation fx, cause they have many parameters, I'm still not-knowing about some of them. The manual explain very well except the control-assign part cause it has so many technical lenguaje. I never use the EZ edit funtion, instead I 'd like this unit has some knobs to real time editing (like Roland GP100). The CTL and assign funtion are very usable, it can affect every fx parameter! The LCD display (with lot of characters) helps so much.

I use it directly to a Mackie console and Peavey power amps and my main guitar is an Ibanez FGM100. The GT3 is able to sound as good as I was playing through a real guitar amp when I use it on "Line(Headphones)" setting which works like kind of speaker simulator. In certain guitar/unit position you can hear some noise. The OD/DS stomp boxes fx sound really awful, but in combination with a driven preamp you can obtain interesting distored sounds. The quality sound of this unit is as good as other Roland devices like GP100, I'm impressed by the quality of effects (clean and driven), the acoustic sim is amazing only takes a little adjust; the pick up sim is realistic (if compare with ME30) it has enough preamps and their drives are so good and traited. You have so many possibilities with the modulation fx, humanizer is so cool. The Guitar Synth is amazing, but has lot of parameters, my favorite wave tipe is Brass, it is very fast and accept guitar technics like bendings, and tapping. you can sound like kind of Jhon McLaughlin's Axon synth....I love it! The expression pedal is not very accurate, it doesn't have a linear ratio, so I'm not very happy with the wah (which only has one kind of that) . As usually, this unit has unuseful stuff like AutoRiff funtion. There are enough preamps and fx to find the color of your favorite artist, just have to spend a while. You can get really great distortions.

Solid hardware, but maybe the digital part could be delicated. I had to send it back to repair.

I live in South America, so my main contact source is internet. Roland website doesn't has any e-mail address to ask for. I had tech troubles and I couldn't found help from them! I appealed to the retailer in Connecticut.

I've been playing guitar 6 years ago, I'm playing in a christian church, we play many kinds of music (pop, gospel, rock, blues-rock, swing, latin fusions) and I'm an early jazz student, This unit is able to cover all of that styles with no problem. I've tried Zoom 3030, 505, Boss ME30 and Digitech RP12 and it was from earth to heaven! I think I will be with GT3 for long. I play a GP100 from a friend and their sound qualityes are comparable, but GT3 is lots most practical. If stolen, I maybe watch the new-born similar units (RP2000, Korg AX1000, Zoom GFX8) but I think I would back to GT3. Coming from ME30 I miss stuff like phrase trainer, patch exchange and jam-along. Speaker Sim was reduced to mic positions, I want more (like GT5). It is a great device and a good price, I'll play it for long.

If you know anything about editting effects, then you won't have any problem navigating on this machine. I've seen a LOT worse! The editing is rather intuitive actually, and I spent more of my time just following my nose (and ears) through the editting features. I like the fact that it edits in real-time, just like you were twiddling a knob on a stompbox. I don't use the quick-edit function, just because so far I haven't hound a need for it. The manual is good as manuals go, but as I stated, it's more fun and easier to learn by just going through and doing it. There is a nice bit about each effect and what it does in the manual.

I play a '93 Gibson CHet Atkins SST through a Roland AC-100 Acoustic Amp. Not your average Rock and Roll set-up, for sure, so finding a good processor for my sound was very hard. The GT-3 does the trick, and here's why: Because I can use it through my effects loop on the amp, I am able to still retain the character of my amp and guitar tone without having to rely on the pre-amps in the GT-3. I completely bypass the pre-amps altogether and just use the effects. THe COSM technology and speaker/pick-up simulations I have tried out just sound wrong with my guitar, since it's a Piezo pick up versus a Coil, but I have been able to tweak some nice distort-o-tones jsut by using the OD/DIST effect. I like all the effects, even the more bizarre ones, and by using them in conjunction with my non-rawk-guitar set-up, I am finding even more unique possibilities and tonal range than an average electric guitar.

It's a TANK! One of the reasons I bought it was because I want something to stick with me. I may play acoustic guitar, but there's still some rockin' going on onstage! It was a definate selling feature that it was in such a nice sturdy package. It hasn't farted out on me, so I have no reason to think I'd need a back up. It takes a lot of juice, but I have a high grade computer power strip to plug into.

Um, I had to deal with Roland about my amp once, but never with a Boss product yet, but I hope I don't have to! It was a real hassle dealing with the Roland rep, and although I'd hate for it to ever happen, I'd quicker go to an independent authorized repair place than go through Roland/Boss. Love the Product, not the service!

I play in a band that bills itself as Dark, Electro-Acoustic Pop. I had been sorely looking for something that could enhance my toanl spectrum without sacrificing hte acoustic qualities of my instrument. This unit is just right for that. If something happened to it, I'd get another one immediately. I did a lot of research on it compared to all the Digitech, Korg and other floor multi effects and really this was just the best sounding of them all for what I do. I really don't have any complaints about it, as it is veratile, sturdy and sounds great in my rig. It's really an inspriring product and has taken my playing to a new level and enhanced the voice of the band I play in. I haven't used it for recording yet, but it seems like the cleanliness of the tone would lend itself well to it. If you're an acousitc instrument player and need something to really enhance without ruining the uniqueness of your instrument's tone, I recommend it. It's not a beginner's product though, and a good idea of how effects processor works definately helps.

It's easy to get started, and doesn't look that much harder to tweak. I've had it for about 4 months. I would say the biggest barrier to tweaking is the fact that the presets are a bit exaggerated, to say the least, so you know once you sit down, you're going to replace at least 75% of them.

I was just mucking with the POD, and my feeling is for amp sounds, that has the GT-3 beat. However, I'm relatively new to playing (a year and a half) and this thing has a great collection of sounds, above and way beyond what the pod offers. synth, phaser, ring mod, etc. They may not all be perfect sounding, but they're pretty good, and there's a lot of them. It's a great toy, probably better for live than direct, but I'm sure it'll do me for both for a while (and my drummer has a POD, so I'll just borrow that when I feel picky about direct amp sounds).

It's a great metal monster. You could kill someone with it. You could probably spray it with a beer hose (if such a thing exists).

haven't had to.

Very cool overall. I'm happy. Probably better for live than direct, and the presets tend towards the dramatic, so you'll probably want to replace some and move them around.

This is an update after gigging with the GT3 for over six months now. I've discovered a lot about the programming end of it, specifically:
1) If you're gonna use it live through an amp, do your editing through your amp. If you're gonna run it direct, edit it while running direct.
I made the mistake of editing patches late at night with headphones, then discovering that something else came out when playing through my amp.
Also, 2)regardless of what the manual says, if you don't have an effects loop or a power amp in on your amp, DO NOT plug into yer input, set T & B to zero and set Mids to 10. Just use the Guitar Amp-Combo setting and tweak yer EQ to taste. Otherwise, it'll be thin as a transistor radio.

Also,3) do not neglect to check out the Manual mode. I can now play all night without leaving bank #1 (not really, but...). Build a good clean sound, create a chorus, delay, OD, tremolo, vibrato, wah that expand well from that sound and work well together, and load 'em to switch on and off with the manual mode. Then do the same with a crunch sound, a distorted sound, etc.
IMHO, the best feature of the GT3 - most of all like using stompboxes, which we all understand.

Once again, make it work WITH your amp/PA , not INSTEAD of your amp. Take the time to tweak the preamps. The Fender and Matchless models are exceptional. Don't go overboard on yer effect levels. Subtle is better, believe me.

After six months, the exp pedal bombed out in the middle of a gig. Had to quickly take it out of each patch I use to get a signal. Hand delivered to the BOSS repair guy, he fixed it while I waited (ten minutes), but it still cost me $25. This "one year parts, only 90 days labor" type warranty sucks. The parts probably cost a dime (bad linkage). The labor was $25.

Had to find a service rep myself. That part of the Roland website was down. Still is. Their phone in California was disconnected with no forwarding #. It's like they were trying to hide.

I love this unit. I'm real dissappointed that it broke so soon. I'm disgusted about the fine print in the warranty and the lack of support (or even communication) from Roland.

I've had this thing for about 5 monthes now and I have to