Boss GX-700

This unit is a joy to use. The learning curve is quite small compared to many of todays multi-efx units. The manual is good and informative without being intimidating. Even the presets are good for the most part. They provide great places to start creating your own sounds.

I have used only used it as a line-in direct sound source. It is very quiet, especially on the patches that use the noise reduction algorhythm. The distortions are analog and are typical Boss sounds which to my ear is a good thing. The preamp simulations and speaker cabinet simulations are simply great and add a great amount of versatility to this unit. The Fender Twin simulation is right on the money. The modulations, delays and reverbs are also top of the class with very musical parameters for editing. The tremelo is a bit weak, but the humanizer and harmonizer are really interesting and work well.

I have found Boss units to be top of the class for reliability. This feels quite solid and has worked just fine for the month I've had it.

Their website has virtually no tech support and no way to email the company and that stinks. On the other hand the manual is quite good and readible.

I'm a pop-rock pro musician from the old school (since 1969) and this unit makes me very happy. I've only scratched the surface and I haven't wanted something I couldn't get and quickly. I could tell right away that this was a very musical effects module. I would replace it with another one right away if it was stolen. My Zoom 505 and 9000 are gathering dust and my vintage Fender Concert amp is quite jealous. I'm really impressed with this piece and I'd recommend it to any guitarist looking to find their own voice and to emulate their favorite others.

After reading all the glowing reviews about the GX-700, I finally went out and bought one. Just as well I did, the shop was having a discount on it. Got it for S$530 (approx. US$330). Its version 1.09. I spent about 5mins reading the manual before I jumped right into fiddling with it, only occasionally going back to the manual to find out more details about specifics. The manuals pretty comprehensive but I think more details about what certain effects or settings do exactly would improve it. But this is minor since the unit itself is laid out pretty intuitively and such details might just bore some of us. Patches are extremely easy to edit and store. And it doesnt take much effort to tweak some decent sounds out of it. But there is a tendency (for me anyway) to over use all the effects just because there'll there and its so easy to edit them. So this box is definately one of the easiest rack units to edit.

I play mostly rock and blues style music. And I must say this box does it for me. Everything I need is there and they sound good. I'm using a Fender tube combp (Super 112) with a Strat and Gibson. Both guitars still retain they're character through the GX700. A strat still sounds like a strat, Gibson a Gibson. With the noise suppressor in the right place, the unit is dead quiet.
The individual effects all sound pretty good, esp the chorus and delay. But the setting the delay takes a little getting used to because of the different stereo channels and the percentage thing. One thing I have yet to find any useful purpose for is the ring modulator, it seems pretty useless to me; more of a gimmick.
I think the key to getting really killer tone out of this box is moderation and learning not to overdo all the effects.

I've only had it for a few days.. so far no problems yet. So I'm staying off rating this section.

No probs yet... didn't have to deal with anyone.

I've previously used rack mount effects (mainly a Rocktron PRO GAP, Alesis Quadreverb amongst other stuff) but I gave up rack mount after about 2 years. Its just too much trouble to edit. And I only end up using 10 patches out of like a thousand possibilities. The GX700 made me go back to a rack unit again. Great sounds, easy editing, versatile, and best of all it doesnt cost a bomb. A bunch of peddles would cost more. So I'd definately give it a 10 - FANTASTIC VALUE!

Dead easy to edit/create patches, especially with the Midi SysEx system, although I haven't yet found an editor that works! Very easy to instantly see what patch you're using & what effects are being used on each patch through big red lights!

Sounds great through my Fender Strat & Ibanez, into a Carlsboro 85W amplifier. Sounds even more amazing through my Aiwa Dolby pro-logic hi-fi!!! I tried the unit out in my local guitar shop going through a Marshall pre-amp and two cabinets in stereo and it was unbelievable. All effects sounds great to me, although the reverb seems a bit "not there".

I've only had one glitch with it - the power adapter died after one day! It took the shop I bought it from 5 weeks to get another one, and that had an American plug on the end, which ain't much use for us Brits! I presume it was just a one-off faulty unit. One point to note here - I was using a 12v adapter as a substitute whilst I was waiting for the new one. The proper adapter sends out 14v. This 2v loss in power & probably current as well made the GX-700 very quiet, and nothing at all came out of the headphone socket. Everything else worked OK, though.

Never had to deal with them yet!

I play all music, and this unit covers them all. I'd buy it again without hesitation. I didn't need to compare it to anything else - the first time I heard it, that was enough for me!

The main reason I am posting this is to make people aware of one thing. The Boss GX-700 cannot handle input levels over -10db. This ruined my extreme pleasure with this unit. This is the best-sounding f/x box in it's price range, but the fact that it cannot handle +4db is a ridiculous oversight. I wanted a unit to run in the f/x loop of my Boogie Mark IV (I have submited a review of this as well). The Boss would completely crap out, unless I wired it in a rather bizzare way suggested by Roland's tech support. They claimed that the Boss was never meant to be used in the way I was using it. I find this just plain silly. From what I gather, the GP-100 can handle +4db, but I don't see why putting a simple pad for +4db operation is such a hassle. Otherwise, all the sounds on this unit are great, and the preamp models are a great alternative to the usual distortion patches on other boxes. Just wanted to let people know. If you're going to use this as a dedicated preamp, or pre-amplifier, then go for it. Otherwise, you might want to keep looking.

Like any effects unit, if you don't know what your doing or your just randomly pressing buttons and turning nobs you caan get some pretty bad sounds. But if even the smallest amount of effort is used oyu can find the sound(s) thats perfect for U! Editing patches couldn't be easier or more self explanitory. The manual is very good but leaves out certian things, for instance nowhere in the manual does it say how to record CD's (well 4 seconds at a time) into your GX then how to slow it down as much as you need to figure out the riff, but U can. Also it neglects how to check what version you GX is. Simply hold SP SIM and PREAMP as you turn on the power, it will immediatly display the version #. WARNING by doing this you enter a TEST MODE and can really screw things up, so after it displays the version # simply press PLAY to exit the test mode. ( If you have version 1.08 or higher then all is good)!!!!

I find almost all the pre-set sounds are worthless, designed for old people who lack a desire for real power! A lot of people on this database have said they love everything about this unit except the distortion. To all these people I say, you're just not trying. Just push all the effects buttons untill untill all the lights are off and start from scratch... you will NOT be dissapointed! To the people in the world with small amps and small speakers be carefull, this unit can put uot FAR more than small speakers can handle! My favorite artist is DIME BAG DARRELL of PANTERA and with a little perseverance you can get AWESOME DISTORTION just like he has!

If you have version 1.08 of higher have no fear this version is virtually flawless!

Never Needed It!!!!!!!

I love sweet acoustic sounds and heavy powerful distortions and I get It all right here, Any style of music you play the GX is wonderful. My only complaint is the EQ should be more extensive (although I am a button/nob freak) Do yourself a favor and buy a FC-200 or somthing similar!!

I still have to pinch myself. This is a real live top-end processor for the price of a mid to low level unit! Moving effects around in the chain really produces some awesome results. I have moved my distortion to after my pre-amp on some sets and like the results. I am using a clean pre-amp after my distortion on other and have some huge distortions with that configuration also. I am a former GSP2101 user so my expectations for sound are the highest. Yet, the GX700 does the equivalent sounds without the huge programming hassle.

10,000,000 permutations and combinations because of the completely configurable chain. If you can't find your sound here, you just haven't tried hard enough. The factory presets have nothing to do with the capabilities of this unit. Nothing.

Yes. Boss's reputation here carry's the day. I liked the user survey information on the one web site. This was tangible evidence for reliability. ONLY 1 user out of 43 with a minor problem!

Not very clear who you call?

Yes, I did buy it again. I returned one last year that I paid 535.00 for, I don't think any processor is worth that. The guys at Musician's Friend did a price match, 45 day returns policy with a price like this! Need I say more.

Very easy, however it might take some time to program a full set of patches for your own use - The most of the pre-programmed seems quite useless to me. I recommand that you link it with your computer.

I think most of the modulation effects is quite good. Good chorus, tremelo, flanger, delay and a little weaker reverb. I think the pitch shifter is better that you would expect in this price level and I especially like the harmonist. Also the digital preamp and speaker simulater seems to be very good. At first I missed some more possibilities but I guess that's just a matter of eq. and fine adjustment. The week side is the distortion and OD unless your in to some kind of hordcore metal. The only decent one is the Vintage OD. I recommmand you loop your personal OD-pedal.

Don't know only had it for a month.

Never had to contact anyone

Well, after reading numerous glowing reviews here and speaking with several members of the online community, I finally decided on this unit to purchase for my be-all, end-all rack unit (at least until I can afford an Eventide!). To put it quite simply, this is the simplest unit to program that I have yet to find. Patches are easily selected via the control knob, and tweaking parameters are a breeze. Each effect has its own LED indicator, so it's easy to see what's on and what's not. The manual was longer than I expected, though it certainly didn't go in-depth at explaining what each effect parameter IS, merely how to adjust them. I'd reccomend getting a third-party book on multieffects if you're not familiar with all the terms. It came with the latest firmware, and has all the connections I need for now (no XLR connections, but I won't be hooking up to a PA for a while). Effects are easily relocatable in the chain, and each patch can store its own sequence independent of the others (all patch parameters are independent of other patches).
The display is very readable, but I agree it's poorly designed for viewing from an angle. I give it an 8, with a 10 being equivalent to an on/off stompbox. ;-)

When I demoed this in the store, I was quite fearful of all the buzz I was getting. It turns out my fears were groundless, as the noise was likely EMF from fluorescent lighting in the store (whoever picked that room for demoing rack effects was nuts). Very clean, recording direct is a dream, even with the heaviest metal distortion and amp simulator at full gain. Don't be afraid to tweak the noise surpressor... it's very intuitive. I've not owned all the amps that it can simulate, but I know it sounds light years better than direct boxes used to. You can mix the direct/"miked" sound to blend how you please. As mentioned, effects transition smoothly from one to another with no annoying signal drop; delay/reverb carries into the next patch. You can adjust input/output levels, and what setup you are using (combo/stack/line, guitar input or effects loop).

As everyone says, "It's a BOSS." Very rugged, yet lightweight for easy transport. I'm not in the financial situation to have a backup unit, but I don't anticipate any problems. It has an external AC adapter, but it's mid-cord-- no wall-wart (yay!), but an annoying "wart" halfway down the power cable.

No idea yet... they took some time getting it to my dealer, but stock might have been short. I'm filling out the warranty card tomorrow (yeah, right! That's the problem with dependable gear, you never remember the warranty until it's needed...).

I play mainly progressive metal (Queensryche, Dream Theater, Alice in Chains) and heavy death metal (early Metallica, Testament). This unit does an awesome job there, especially direct. However, I also play blues-rock, and some alternative, and could get a great sound for that as well. For example, I got a great Temple of the Dog or Mad Season sound. It probably won't fool a tube-head, but this unit is as close as it gets.
The price was phenomenal... I got a lead on the web from an online associate (thanks Donpaul!), and my local dealer matched it. Can't seem to find the URL again, but perhaps some other kind soul will post it. Another local dealer was trying to sell it for over $600 (the same place with the fluorescent lights). Because of this price, I'd jack the overall rating up to 10, for such great value. If you wind up paying list (+/- $500 or so), then I'd say it's still an 8 or 9.
This is a good unit. If anyone has any patches besides those on the existing sites, please get in touch.

Very easy to use , I didn't need the manual for instance. It was very easy to get good sounds out of it everything sound I wished for I can get out of it easily. I owned ( still own) a Roland GP-16 and the sounds i got out of that unit were almost the same as I have now, but it took me a few months to make them. and this unit (gx-700) was like a dream come true Tones from heaven/hell and back in a fly!! I have a firmware number 1.09

I use the unit with several guitars and the guitars all keep their character. a Les Paul sounds like a Les Paul and a strat sounds like a Strat. I use this unit with my old faithful Fender amp and it sounds great even when I hook the unit direct to my tapedeck!! All the sounds I ever wished for (Landau,SRV,SATCh,lukather and of course the BROWN SOUND) are all in it. I can go from Mike stern's jazz-chorus to Texas chainsaw sounds and beyond !! All the effects are great, but I couln't do anything useful with the ring-modulator.

I don't know just bought it a few months ago and haven't gigged with it yet.

Roland Benelux have always helped me great!!! when I owned the Me-5 they were great, when I had the GP-16 they were great and now that I have the gx they are stilll great!! I would say thumbs up for Roland benelux's support!!!!!

I would definetely buy it again . I play all kinds of music and the flexibility of the unit is so amazing!!. The only thing that it could use is a Master output level-knob

IT'S FAIRLY EASY TO GET A GOOD SOUND. IF YOU ARE WILLING TO SPEND SOME MORE TIME PROGRAMING YOU CAN GET SOME EXCELLENT TONES. THE MANUAL IS GOOD. I BELIEVE I HAVE THE LATEST VERSION OF THE SOFTWARE (ROLAND TOLD ME THEY UPGRADED IT AFTER I HAD SOME PROBLEMS WITH IT LOCKING UP ON ME).

THE SOUND QUALITY OF THIS UNIT IS AMONG THE BEST IVE HEARD IN IT'S CLASS.(I HAD TRIED OUT SEVERAL OF THE COMPETITION BEFORE BUYING THIS UNIT). THE UNIT IS FAIRLY QUIET. THE EFFECTS ARE PRETTY MUCH ALL GREAT (THE RING MODULATOR IS PHATT). THE SIMULATIONS ARE PRETTY GOOD (IVE EITHER OWNED OR USED MOST OF THE AMPS THE UNIT SIMULATES.) I'VE MOSTLY BEEN USING IT FOR DIRECT RECORDING BUT HAVE ALSO HOOKED IT UP TO SEVERAL TUBE AND SOLID STATE AMPS.

AFTER THE UPGRADE THE UNIT HASN'T GIVEN ME ANY PROBLEMS. I COULD NOT HAVE FAITH ON ANY UNIT AT AGIG WITHOUT SOME BACKUP.

I THINK I COULD HAVE BEEN TREATED BETTER BY THE COMPANY. THEY WANTED TO CHARGE ME FOR THE LABOR ON THE UPGRADE AND I STRONGLY BELIEVE THEY SHOULD HAVE DONE IT AT NO CHARGE. (GIVEN THE PROBLEMS MANY PEOPLE HAVE HAD WITH THE EARLY SOFTWARE.) I REFUSED TO PAY AND AFTER MUCH ARGUING THEY DROPPED THE CHARGE. (ACTUALLY MY PROBLEMS WERE WITH ONE PERSON AT ROLAND.)

THIS UNIT IS VERY VERSATILE I PLAY SEVERAL STYLES OF MUSIC AND IT COMES THROUGH FINE. IT COULD USE SOME BETTER NOISE REDUCTION AND A STEREO EFFECTS LOOP. I PROBABLY WOULD BUY IT AGAIN I BOUGHT IT RIGHT WHEN IT CAME OUT IN 1996. I HAVE NOT TRIED ANY OF THE PROCESORS THAT HAVE COME OUT SINCE THEN BUT THIS UNIT DOES THE TRICK NICELY.