Boss GX-700

After using many different processors in my rack, I was looking for a solution that would provide both the pre pre-amp (compressor, etc.) and post pre-amp (chorus, delay, reverb, etc.) effects that I normally use. I needed something that was easy to use, and programmable. After reviewing several units, the GX-700 seemed most suited to my application.

I've played around with many different setups for this unit, and finally decided that the following, while a little complicated, worked best for my situation. I plug my guitar (or wireless) into the GX-700. This allows the noise gate to get the uneffected guitar signal and the compressor, etc. to work on the guitar before the pre-amp. Then I run the GX-700 loop output into the input of my pre-amp (Mesa-Boogie). Then the pre-amp's effects send returns to the GX-700 loop return. This allows the delay-based effects to process the signal after the pre-amp. Finally, the output of the GX-700 is returned to the pre-amp's effects return, and the pre-amp out runs through a BBE 462 into my power-amp (Mesa-Boogie) and into my cabinets (Marshall 1960). The entire setup is perfect (for me) and the flexibility that the GX-700 provides greatly enhances my sound.

This setup enables me to get the best use of all the effects in the GX-700, while retaining the character of my pre/power amps. I'm quite pleased with all the effects, although the reverb is a little generic. I do wish that the unit had adjustable input levels for each effect (it does have individual output levels) and a few more continuous controller assignments would be nice. And I don't understand why the last 100 presets aren't programmable. Since I could restore them if I wanted (I've never found a preset I liked, anywhere, not just in this unit), I don't need access to them at all times. Maybe marketing thought that 200 presets sounded better than 100, even though 100 is really all you get.

Editing couldn't be easier. I found 90% of the functionality before I even cracked the user's manual. The manual is quite good, concise and to the point.

I've heard better sounding units, but never with the flexibility of this one. And it's not that it sounds so-so, either. The sounds I get out of this unit are quite good and comparable to the best of the mid-grade effects processors ($500 - $1000).

Some of the effects are a little noisy, but no more than to be expected (analog distortion effects are always noisy). The noise gate works wonderfully, taking it's trigger signal from the guitar input and applying it after all the analog effects (or wherever I choose to place it in the effect order). This lets my guitar retain complete sensitivity, while removing all the noisy generated by my pre-amp, etc. The sound is extremely sensitive to any noises I make with my guitar, doesn't inhibit the sustain of the instrument, and keeps everything nice and tight sounding without any noise.

I've been using the GX-700 both live and in the studio for over 4 years now and have never had a problem with it.

Without paying several thousand dollars for several different processors, I'd be hard pressed to find another single processor that would sound as good, give me the flexibility that I need, and be so easy to use. Too bad they don't make them any more...

This unit is very easy to use and program. The presets kinda suck. Start with a blank patch and work from there. I have seen other users recommend this approach as well. It's what I did and I have been pleased with the results. Its features like amp and speaker simulations are cool for direct recording and headphone practice, but I wouldn't use this as a stand alone preamp unless I was in a cover band. The tuner is cool. The thing I like best about this unit over say Digitech products is that it doesn't glitch between presets. The very pricey Lexicon guitar unit sounds better, but there's a one second glitch between presets. If you do a lot of abrupt changes like I do that simply won't do. There's no way I would spend over $1300 on a unit that glitches like that.

If you like the sound of Boss pedals you will like this unit. This is the first Boss rack that actually sounds like their pedals just less noisey. The distortions, compressions, wah, EQ are all analog just like the pedals. The digital effects like chorus and delay sound like the pedals (I don't use the digital preamp models live as I prefer analog distortion/overdrive for live sound)That being said, I'm not going to bother mentioning what styles I play or what kind of gear I have because if YOU wouldn't use Boss pedals for what you do musically or with the equipment you have, you wouldn't be using this unit anyway. Since just about every pedal Boss ever made is in this unit, it will suit most any style to various degrees. I have 2 of these units. One for my studio rack and one for live use. As of this posting I mostly use Fulltone pedals in a switching system, but I still find the GX700 to be useful. As far as sound quality goes It's really what you would expect from a bunch of Boss pedals no more, no less. It's the best glitch-free PRE preamp multi effects unit for the money. If Lexicon ever comes out with a guitar unit that doesn't glitch between presets, I'd probably buy that one. If Fulltone came out with a box that was programable, my GX700's would go in the trash.

I haven't had the nightmareish problems that some users have had, but I used to work in a music store and I saw a couple of defective units get shipped to us so I'm not suprised to see that others have had problems. I've used them live and in the studio without any problems, but I'm glad that I have two of them just in case.

About what you would expect from a faceless multi-million dollar corporation.

Overall you can't go wrong with this unit if you use or plan to use a tuner and 3 or more Boss effects pedals or units of similar quality in your line up. With a used street price of $200 to $300 (this unit is no longer in production)It doesn't make that much sense to buy the individual pedals especially when you can set the unit up to respond like a pedal board via continuous control messages. Feel free to e-mail me if you would like some suggestions on how to use this unit in your rig.

To operate this unit is easy.
To get REALLY good sounds out of it is not.
I have a few damn descent sounds, and they took hours of tweaking to get right.
Controls are easy, and the menu system is very good.

I use an Ibanez JEM 7, an Ibanez RG 470 and a Epiphone G-400 through this orange box and into a Marshall 9100 dual monoblock 2x50 watt to a Marshall 1936 2x12 cab. Used to have a JCM900 instead of the 9100, but a poweramp does this unit MUCH more justice than an intergrated amp.
Some effects (Pre-amp, OD/DIST, Comp.) tends to be noisy, but the NS will fix this. The HARD thing is finding the balance between good sustain and quiet sound.
As for sounds, they are what you make them.
Compression is useful for adding sustain to noise-reducted sounds, while it can also "Spank" up clean sounds (like a compressor should...)
However, compared to Marshall's little chrome box compressor, it's pretty daft.
The distortions are useless at high gain ALONE, as are the preamps. BUT, the COMBINATION of a preamp and a distorion is where it's at, although you'll have to use some heavy EQ'ing and the Speaker sim to get it right.
For instance my favourite lead sound is something like this:

Metal distortion with drive at 40
Ms 1969 preamp with Gain on Medium or High, and Volume on 60
The MS STACK 2 with the closest mic placement and NO direct signal
EQ: Low +7 Mid 100hz +13 High: +5
This is the basis of my lead sound, and sounds a bit Vai/Petrrucci like. Still, the classic Vai sound is a boss DS1 through Marshalls and Bogners (The Legacy is to new for the "classic" sound), yet the Distortion sound (DS1 circuit I persume) didn't cut it, and the EQ was nescessairy to get the sound. Petrucci uses MESA/BOOGIE stuff, but the BG-LEAD didn't do anything but mud...

So the point is, use your ears instead of your eyes. If you look to cop an artists sound, don't think "What amp does he/she use?", and go for that simulator. This is part of why it's hard to find good sounds. They are all in there, but they take hours to find.
The chorus, Delay, Phaser and Flanger are all excellent. It's a bit easier to find good sounds in this departement than in the OD/DIST/PREAMP.
Reverb is not good. You can find very useable sounds, but it's not the same sound quality as in the other digital effects here.
The Pitch shifter and Harmoniser are presice, but the harmony-tones sound very synth like. You WONT get this to sound like 4 guitars, but you may get it to sound like 1 guitar and 3 synth pads.
The Ring modulator IS GOOD, people! Seriously; BUT: HOW OFTEN DO YOU NEED ONE?!? They should have dropped this, and used the space for better reverb circuits.
Humanizer is just Wah Wah with different vowels, so that can be a useful way to be creative with old concepts... (NO, I am NOT advising you to play Voodo Child (Slight Retusn) with a "YeeYee" instead of a "WahWah", although this is one rather blasfemous example of how it can be used!)

Finally, I can say one thing: The more gain, the more Time.
The High Gain Vai/pettrucci-sound took several hours to tweak!
The spanky half overdriven rythm sound Steve Howe used on Roundabout by Yes took 10 minutes, and sounded pretty good.
Yet, this will never sound as good as a Tube amp!
The SANSAMP PSA-1 does this, however this unit has no other effects than being a preamp!
I'd rather suggest going for the BOSS and later addind a tube preamp, such as a MESA/BOOGIE Triaxis or a Soldano. I intend to buy such a preamp in the near future myself, in addition to my Boss.

I've had mine for about 4 years, dropped it a thousand times, and had it repaired once. This repair was a blown input after I misplaced a Jack that SHOULD have gone from an output....

Can't say. It was way out of warranty the ONE time it needed repair, so I took it to a local music shop.

I play mostly Progressive Rock, and since this requires a great array of sounds, it's just the unit I need.
Ive been playing for 8 years, and have owned several amps/distortion units/FX processors and this is the best of them. My gear is allready listed, and it works well together. The fun part is using the same sound with my three guitars... They all sound different, yet all sound good with my sounds.
If someone knicked my GX, I'd HAVE to get another one!
My favourite feature about this unit is the MIDI compatability. It's possible to use with a MIDI preamp, and connect the two in such a matter that one press of a footswitch will change the patch in both.
I compared this in store with top models from Zoom and Digitech, and the choise was easy. This unit is great, and the few minuses are nothing you can't get around in some ways...

A very easy unit to use. Plug it in, and play. Editing patches is not a problem. The manual is good, no problems really. My unit was purchased in 1995, about the first week it was released to the public. I have firmware 1.08. A big volume knob wouldn't hurt, in fact, there should be one. Therefore 8.

Excellent, sounds are very usable. Its very versatile. I use it with my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. Its a good choice. I run the amp with a extension cabinet and the sounds are amazing. No noise, no trouble, no complaints. I can duplicate the sounds of any artist. There is a wesite (many of them) where you can download MIDI patches of your favorite artists. I nail the Boston sound, ZZ Top, Van Halen, Van Hagar, Rush, SRV, Hendrix. Of course, a good guitar doesn't hurt. The unit can be hooked up in 3 different ways.

1.) GX700 into the amp's input
2.) GX700 into the amp's Effect's loop (Return) this bypasses the Pre-amp and uses the amps Power amp.
3.) Guitar into the amp's input, Then the Send from the amp into the input of the GX700, then the output of the GX700 into the amp's Return. Use this for chorus, delay. Works well.

No problems.

They can't mail a product video to Canada? Why not. They told me to call Roland UK. Roland's Head Office is down my street but they wouldn't get one for me, and I was willing to pay for it!! I hope this thing doesn't break down.

You can use it for any style. I use it for Rock, Blues, Jazz, Hard Rock. I've been playing for 20 years, this thing is for real. I control it with the Roland FC 200. Good combination. There wasn't too much on the market that could compete with this when I bought this unit. Today, I'd buy the GE-3. Same thing, less price.

this is a very easy rack mount. if you can get a good sound out of boss pedals you should be able to get some great sounds with this. the only real downside is scrolling through all the screens

great sounds, the amp models may not sound just like what they say, but they sound great. i play it through a semi hollow tele w/ humbuckers into a fender dual showman head and marshall 4x12. i especially like the matchless cosm model and the step phaser

every gig its used with out any more backup than a distortion pedal and it's never let me down but i've only had it for three months

probably the best bang for the buck that i've found so far. i love it

As far as simplicity goes, take it home, plug it in, begin to jam...some of the presets I found to be over the top as far as processing. But that aside it's a simple one to start using. As far as editing goes you must read the manual or you're not going to get very far. The writers of the manual could have taken a little time to translate to all the non-engineers that may purchase this product how to simply get different tones from this processor.. more realistic headroom from the reverbs, room depth from the speaker emulator, just stuff like that.

My set up consist of my Gibson Les Paul Custom Shop Classic, GX-700 thru my computer for recording onto Calkwalk software. As for live , any clean loud amp will do just fine. I do have concerns with the sheilding of the electronics do to the AC noise that you get when not playing, but that's not as big an issue to not give it a try. As for simulations, only the real thing will get you off when standing in front of the speakers as you play. Again for recording, it gets the job done better than most rack units I've played. My greatest advice to tweaking effects or settings is to start with nothing turned on and build your sound from listening in your head what you want to produce. Play with distortion, add some reverb,listening to the changes in characters as you adjust settings and don't over do it with the effects.

I've had mine for over two years and though I may sometimes get tired of it's processed tone, I still rely on it for alot of my recording tone. It's nice to be able to record without blowing your ears out.

Never had a days problem with it.

Overall I'd have to say if it broke, got stolen, or lost I would replace it with one of those new modeling amps from Johnson. This area has advance leaps and bounds since my purchase two years ago and though I rely on my GX-700 daily I would still have to consider the MT-50 amp by Johnson. My playing style ranges from Metal to Jazz/fusion. So I guess it's just what mood I'm in as to what style I want to play.

Relatively simple and straight forward, unfortunately I did not get a manual with mine. This is the second one I have owned.

Sound quality is realitive too each own's past exposure. Some of the preamp modeling is superb, that is if this unit is matched to the right support tools. I have been playing now for twenty six years, so I have fortunately been exposed to some of the real amps they are trying to model. I use mine with a early sixty's S.G. standard, to the GX700, to a BBE sonix maximizer, too a 1973 Hiwatt DR103, too a Marshall 1960AV with vintage thirties. The blending of this whole outfit brings out some very rewarding tones. I also sometoimes use a second process by another make through an early Marshall MK II and this is even better. I never really try and sound like someone else so
that has never been my pursuit.

Dependability is questionable, The first one crapped out within three months of the original purchase. By the time I had purchased it,it was already out of production so I got the stores demo. So I can not rightfully say it was Boss's doing.

Tech support was awlful, again through the store in Portland I could not put blame on Roland, the store chose to try and repair it themself. Not cool.

My styles vary drastically because of my interest. My main tones are toward Shred, Metal, Fusion, clear to open tunings and mandolin which I also use the reverb / chorusing / amp modeling. Besides the all above I tote along a lot of gear including Lexicon, Marshall, Hiwatt, Orange, T.C. Eletronics. I still find myself using this as a part of blending or defining some of my tones. So much I have two, one as a back up. So I guess one every crapped out again I would be out looking for another.

It's definitely easy to use and every sound u want is achieveable.
Editing patches is easy too blablabla!

Distortions are great, especially the METAL Distortion, which is exactly the METALZONE stompbox! Cool to imitate Death, Slayer,Kreator Sepultura, Dissection or Dimmu Borgir. Effects are cool to, clean sounds are terrific! I use a JMP-1 too, but this damned thing beats it all!

I mostly use it in studio, with hellish sounds!

Don't know it dudes!

I play Metal for about 7 years now and it's the only thing u need for it.

UPDATE !!!
As I wrote earlier for some months ago I planned to go and buy an second gx-700... and now there's two orange possible-to-give-weird-sounds-rackprocessors in my rackcase !

these fxs are really easy to use... 'cause you "see" all the time what happening on the frontpanel when switching sounds...

As soon as I got my second one to the rackcase I started to copy all files from the first one to the new one... ( which is "easy" done... )
now here is a another strange thing about gx-700...
when you "download" the information it'll show you that it's working/receiving...
but for some reason it doesn't show you when it have finish the copy-process... in the manual it reads that this is correct...
but the "thing" is that YOU have to end it by pushing the PLAY-button
so far everything seems OK... BUT ( as the manual says ) you have to remember that when you're pushing the button it's POSSIBLE that the gx-700 still receiving information... which you may "cut-off"
( which in other words could mean that the gx-700 will not work properly all the time... )

In my experience... it doesn't work properly all the time... 'cause when I tested them... the second one could suddenly switch to bypass or to the tuner...
SO... I had to redo this process a couple of times ( download ) and try to wait a little longer...

I think it worked... 'cause I haven't had any problem since then...
but I have become a little bit more chicken... that this problem will occur at stage... suddenly one gx-700 go bypass... ( NIGHTMARE !!! )

Sounds... mmh... how sweet they can become...
Here's ( a part of ) my rig:

Gibson les paul/Squire supersonic goes into an old dist-box which is not in use for more than the fact it got stereo outputs...
( I use it as an split in other words )

from there each of both signals goes to each of the gx-700s...
NOW HERE we're talking independent stereo processing as you've got the ability to make an stereo field ( exactly the same program on both )
or make to an double mono field ( totally different program on both )

from these two units I send one of the stereo outputs from both processors to two Laney VC50 ( each amp gets it own gx-700... )

You should believe me when I'm talking 'bout that you can almost dial in ANY sound you want... from super-clean to mega-super-monster distorsion and everything in between...
OR why not both at the same time... you hear a huge dist but you're still able to hear all the notes in the chords ( 'cause the other amp goes on a clean sound ) this method is very much in use on pop records
I think it will be very much in use by me too !!!
WELL... now there is only three limits of the sounds you can develop !
1. the FX:s ( there's always something you want which isn't in your processor... )
2. the store slots ( you've only got a hundred of them in each gx-700... which means that you can't make more sounds than these... )
3. YOUR imagination of what sound you want to create...

Reliability... ?

I'm not sure anymore... 'cause of the problem I've told you before with one of the processors going bypass suddenly...
but you could say that one of them would be possible to backup the other one... ( if they don't fail at the same time of course... )

I put an 7 in this category 'cause the first one have worked just fine for a couple of years now... ( hopefully the other will too )

I have never been in touch with Roland or Boss...

but they still haven't put out the manuals ( of any product they have )on internet... or even an email-adress... so you at least could mail any questions...

I think this is really stupid... but it isn't my problem if they loose customers...

actually I haven't got the need for any support... so I don't know !

I'm playing modern pop/rock music which is also include some
"dance beats"... I've been playing guitar for 8 years now and these units fit me well in playing/making music...

As I said before... it's always something you haven't got in you rackprocessor... which you have to add with other models...
but the GX-700 gives you 21 stompbox effects at the same price as three/four new real stompboxes... ( I know which way I go... )

And you can actually use it to more than just only guitars...

I have even used one of the gx-700 to process drums in recording
it gave some interesting Smashing Pumpkins sound-alike drums
e g the drums on some of the songs on the album Adore...
So these strange fxs in gx-700 can get usable after all...

-perfect... strangers when we meet...

Quite easy to use...For each effect there is a LED and it contains tons of parameters for each effect. The turning knob has become a standard on rack units, and the display is very clear. However changing the internal effects chain can seem complicated. I didn't try the MIDI facilities yet.

Good overall perfomance here. On the high settings the noise gate is too eager to cut off sustained notes, and the lower settings let too much hissing and purring pass. Distortions are OK, chorus are better, and the harmonist may need some work. The unit works best in a full-blown band, and not alone in your room. It really sounds better when a drummer is kicking out his bass drum. In these cases the little negative points are blown away.

The best...I used some Boss stomp boxes too...
You could throw it from a 10' building and it would still work...

Didn't find anything yet of patches ...

For a wide array of genres (Jazz to Trash), this thingie can handle it all...

There are many knobs, so it 's easy but it's boring the scrolling screens. Good manual.

It follows my previous submit in french. First we are in 2000, so GX 700 was the best at his start (1996) but I think POD is a little bit better.The preamp is quite good . It modelling an real amp but not simulate ! Twin & Matchless is the best. 5150 is good and marshall too. I use only reverb effect: not bad at all. In a word don't listen to preset, just tweak it and you will be amazed. In fact in 2000 I don't know if GX 700 is still the best but try it. I discover every day a new subtil sound. There is very much parameters so you can refine every sound you dream. Very good cabinet simulator . It reminds me the Rocktron Chameleon one. The 7 distorsions (not Preamp !) are weak except metal and the OD s. IMPORTANT: For those who want to buy a BOSS GT 3 , you could'nt match a PREAMP with an another Cabinet Speaker in the GT 3 and for reverbs there are less parameters.
To sum up: Very Good sounds, I guess not very very closed to original amps but beatifull at listen.

Firmware 1.09 No problemo Man !!!

Bad Internet communication compare to LINE 6
No patch on the site.

Go on WEB and search patch editors and program , it'll be easy to tweak sounds ! I enjoy having Gx 700 but I will try the POD line 6.

Very easy to use with every thing laid out in a simple and logical way

I use the unit in my live rack going to a Rocktron power amp,Then into a 2+12 Marshall cab. My main guitars are an Epiphone Les Paul and fender strat both fitted with Kent Armstrong custon wound humbuckers.
I play in a covers band and the GX700 gives me all the sounds i want the chorus and reverb are very good but i had to work on the distorted sounds. I don't like the wha wha at all and find it very weak

The unit has never let me down

N/A

Apart from the wha wha the unit is great...If any one can get a good wha wha sound please let me know

The manual is ok..could be better....my firmware is 1.09...The only problem I have is that the input jack on the back of the unit died one day, and since then is is useless....the frount input works well...but the back is the one i regularly use, and it is a pain to route the cables to the frount of the unit...IF ANYBODY KNOWS WHY THE BACK INPUT DIES, OR HOW TO FIX IT WITHOUT A LOT OF MONEY...PLEASE MAIL ME AT "xander1369@yahoo.com"

reverb sucks...most of the effects are great...I'm betting the distortions would sound better if i had a tube amp...but right now they aren't that good...

BROKEN BACK INPUT.....

ROLAD SUCKS for support....There is no e-mail address...and they refuse to repair the REAR INPUT EVEN THOUGH IT WAS UNDER WARANTY....

Very happy with this until....see below

Good quality of sound until....see below

Can someebody help...have had this unit for 18 months, no problems, has been racked permanently in my studio for over 8 months when suddenly...no output! Sent for repair(no warrenty left, of course) came back, said it was a bad solder joint(?) funny that didn't show up for over a year in transportation, lots of shows, anyway, worked for about one week (back in the studio rack) last night, no output again!
Any tips I can pass along to the local (Montreal, Canada) Roland repair tech so I don't get another "bad solder joint" repaired?
Tried Roland, forget about it!

Can't seem to email anyone

Funny thing is, when this was working I liked the sound, don't really want to replace this, but have to seriously consider the pod pro or some other unit if this continues to break down for no apparent reason...I don't have time for down time!

This unit is very simple to understand since it is "built" like an stompbox fx chain and ( almost ) everything is visible.The chain is flexible 'cause you can put the fx:s in any order. It's little bit funny about the fx-parameters because they seem to have the same "setup" of parameters but that isn't correct. I don't know why but it doesn't have any volume parameter in the mod-section ( I think mainly on the flangers,phasers... )and therefore you need to compensate that volume in other ways ( which isn't easy all the time! ).
The fx-loop in it is a good idea but it's only mono and most processors are in stereo so you have to think once again when figuring out which external processors you may want to use in the loop...
I mean you don't want to use only 50% of that processor do you?
( Of course it's great if you'll only use a stompbox in it ! )

I think the digital fx ( chorus, flanger, delay...) sounds very good but the distorsions are a little bit "muddy"... if you put the gain too high you risk to loose the chance to hear all the tones when takin' your chords. Since I use my box with a gibson les paul/squire supersonic into a double amp section with valves, I have got the possibility to get the warm character to my sounds so I don't really know how the gx-700 sounds straigth into the board but it's ok when using headphones ( yep... even those small earplugs !)
My main influence when it comes to the space-fx sounds is the edge
( U2 )and it's possible to get some similar sounds of those he have put out but I always try not to imitate his sounds but getting my own spacious sounds ( and some can get really weird ! )

I have mostly used this rackprocessor at home so I don't really know if it can handle the hard knocks from being on the road.I don't have any backup either but that 'cause I'm not rich... but I'm planning to buy an another gx-700 too... so that must mean I depend on it in some kind of way...

I've never dealed with them... but I think it's poor to not put out the manuals on internet... ( not because I lost mine... )
I think that if you really want to know what you get before you buy...
you need to carefully read the manual of that product.

I'll put an eight in overall rating because it's simple to use and it have good sound ( the dist is a very heavy quest of what taste you've got.. )for not TOO much cost... think about it... if you think about buying any of those boss-stompboxes you'll get four maybe five
( new ones ) for the same price as the gx-700 ( in which you've got 21 fx and you can use 13 at once... in any order...)and in that case I would buy the gx-700 ( since you got 100 store slots in it... no need to tweak the knobs for every song ! )

This unit is very simple to understand since it is "built" like an stompbox fx chain and ( almost ) everything is visible.The chain is flexible 'cause you can put the fx:s in any order. It's little bit funny about the fx-parameters because they seem to have the same "setup" of parameters but that isn't correct. I don't know why but it doesn't have any volume parameter in the mod-section ( I think mainly on the flangers,phasers... )and therefore you need to compensate that volume in other ways ( which isn't easy all the time! ).
The fx-loop in it is a good idea but it's only mono and most processors are in stereo so you have to think once again when figuring out which external processors you may want to use in the loop...
I mean you don't want to use only 50% of that processor do you?
( Of course it's great if you'll only use a stompbox in it ! )

I think the digital fx ( chorus, flanger, delay...) sounds very good but the distorsions are a little bit "muddy"... if you put the gain too high you risk to loose the chance to hear all the tones when takin' your chords. Since I use my box with a gibson les paul/squire supersonic into a double amp section with valves, I have got the possibility to get the warm character to my sounds so I don't really know how the gx-700 sounds straigth into the board but it's ok when using headphones ( yep... even those small earplugs !)
My main influence when it comes to the space-fx sounds is the edge
( U2 )and it's possible to get some similar sounds of those he have put out but I always try not to imitate his sounds but getting my own spacious sounds ( and some can get really weird ! )

I have mostly used this rackprocessor at home so I don't really know if it can handle the hard knocks from being on the road.I don't have any backup either but that 'cause I'm not rich... but I'm planning to buy an another gx-700 too... so that must mean I depend on it in some kind of way...

I've never dealed with them... but I think it's poor to not put out the manuals on internet... ( not because I lost mine... )
I think that if you really want to know what you get before you buy...
you need to carefully read the manual of that product.

I'll put an eight in overall rating because it's simple to use and it have good sound ( the dist is a very heavy quest of what taste you've got.. )for not TOO much cost... think about it... if you think about buying any of those boss-stompboxes you'll get four maybe five
( new ones ) for the same price as the gx-700 ( in which you've got 21 fx and you can use 13 at once... in any order...)and in that case I would buy the gx-700 ( since you got 100 store slots in it... no need to tweak the knobs for every song ! )

This thing is pretty easy to use, if you're used to FX processors. You basically punch a button for each effect module in the chain, and then use the cursor keys and the Value knob to set the effect up. When you're done, press "Write" twice. There are some nice touches that make things even easier, like the Value knob being a pushable pot that makes scrolling through values faster. Also, when editing the name of a patch, pressing the Value knob toggles you between the upper-case and lower-case version of the letter you're on. Also, you can copy one effect's settings to another patch, which is COOL. Other manufacturers should do this.

I'm recording direct with this unit, direct into a Roland VS-880. It's not the quietest beast in the world, but the noise gate serves to keep the noise at sane levels. I'd say it's no worse than an amp with a bunch of effects on it. As far as the sounds themselves are concerned, there's gold in this box, baby. There is apparently a law in effect that says that all stock patches must be dumb-sounding, so ignore the stock patches. Of the amp sims, the Twin sim is the best, followed by the Matchless and JC-120 sims. The Marshall sim is okay, but sounds a little buzzy. The Soldano sim is nice and fat, but a little buzzy as well. I haven't played much with the Boogie sim, but have had ample time to, which is probably enough of a rating. The 5150 sim, same story. If I were a teen, I'd probably like it more than I do now. If 5150's really sound like this, I'm not interested. Something about a BOSS device that contains a digital model of a Peavey device is just wrong! The clean sounds are definitely the better sounds. They're really clean. The chorus, delay, and other effects are really nice. The distortion sounds aren't thick enough to suit me, and I think they're a little "Buzzy".

I used to try and emulate my favorite artists, but that has proven to be pointless. I can get a decent simulation of my favorite artists, but when I do that, I end up just sitting there playing songs by my favorite artists whenever I switch to the patch, and that's not what I want to do. I did that with my Chameleon, and didn't get much writing done. With this box, I'm basically throwing patches together that sound good, and moving on. Then when I stumble across them later, I just play like me.

To sum up:
Clean sounds=really good.
Distortion sounds=pretty good. Kind of buzzy.

I give it an 8, because to be a 10, it would have to be a real amp making my pantlegs flap, and it can't do that unless I wrap my headphones around my leg.

I'd say I can depend on it. It's a BOSS. It seems a little less sturdy than my Chameleon, with plastic jacks and stuff, but is reasonably well-built. I'd use it on a gig without a backup, but mainly because I'm adventurous in that way.

I've never dealt with BOSS. I've never had to have anything by them or Roland repaired, and never upgraded anything. It always just works!

I like this box. I used a friend's on a CD once, and I really liked it. (You know Bruce Springsteen? That's not who I'm talking about. Not even close.) If it were lost or stolen, it would probably mean that a bunch of other stuff got lost or stolen at the same time, so I'd be really upset. I probably wouldn't care too much about a missing FX unit. When I calmed down, I'd probably seek out another one. Or not. I don't know. It's just an FX unit, and I might want to try something else.

Some words in french:
Tres facile a utiliser car la notice est bien faite. Le debutant aura interet a s'y connaitre en acoustique( pour le reglage fin des reverbes) et en ampli pour le vaste choix.

Ma guitare Fender Strat Standard USA avec un SANS AMP Tech 21 GT2
Les disto sont bruyantes si vous les faites marcher pres de l'electronique (TV, moniteur,ordinateur) autrement ca va.
Bon reducteur de bruit. Pour le preampli, les son clairs TWIN et Roland JC 120 sont tres tres tres beaux. Il y a 3 types de Marshall. Le premier est pas mal du tout et riche en harmoniques. Splendides Matchless crunchy (comme les Stones ou Brian Adams). MEsa Boogie parfait pour des solos tout comme le 5150. Soldano permet de se croire Dire Straits dans Brother in Arms. Globalement la modelisation du comportement des lampes est tres bien faites et le son est modulable grace au coup de mediator. Les reglages sont important (3 niveau de gain et un bright) permettant de tirer par exemple de beaux sons clairs d'un Marshall. Bravo Boss
Tres bon: Chorus ,pitch
Bon :les 7 distos sont de qualite inegale et certaines sont interessantes a utiliser. Dans ces colonnes , beaucoup ont critique la reverbe (trop discrete) mais pas sa qualite. Elle peut etre superbe en reglant le subtil dosage DRY/EFFECT
J'allais oublier le simulateur de haut parleur .IL est vraiment super efficace. Les 12 types de HP me permettent de jouer au casque avec un son incroyable . Il me rappelle l'excellent simulateur du Rocktron Chameleon.

Firmware 1.09 No problem man !
De plus je l'ai achete d'occase.

Pour le prix c'est incroyable. Toutes ces simulations d'ampli et de haut parleur. Bien sur les vrias amplis sonnent encore mieux mais au total c'est 30 fois plus cher !!
CONSEIL: J'ai failli acheter le GT 3 Boss. La grande qualite sonore est identique mais attention , les possibilites de reglages sont inferieures sur le GT 3 (pas de choix de type d'enceinte pour le simul. , reglages reverb plus rustiques)
Autre conseil: Achetez un PC et relier le cable MIDI au GX 700. Puis telecharger des editeurs de patch sur le net , cela facilitera grandement la programmation des sons et leur sauvegarde. Il y a pas mal de patch GX 700 sur le net.

Just a short note, the GX-700 is a wonderful box, but please folks, do a hardcore comparo in a local store trying out the Digitech 2120, 2112, 2101, and ValveFX before you go ahead and buy the GX-700.

I've spent countless hours with ALL of these units; I now have owned the 2112 for 2 years and nothing is as good. But I do also now own a GX-700 and Roland GP-100, because I got them used and cheap, and they are fun and good, but do not sound as close to a tube amp as the 2112 does.

Please read the 2112 reviews; I'm serious, I simply want buyers to be informed as possible before buying.

I love Roland.

Acceptably easy to use. Controls are laid out right up front with easy access to turning on/off the various components that make up the patch.

I use this direct into my console live or for the studio and with some tweaking to the patches I get great results. I use several acoustic guitars through this device and it's fantastic for that. I run a Martin J1 with the Baggs pick-up/mic combo, Gibson Hummingbird, and Cort with Fishman electronics and have designed some awesome patches that bring these instruments out in a mix or on stage. I also run my Fender Strat Plus with lace pickups through it and have come up with some very good patches for it. At first I tried hard to use the stock presets, but, as far as the distorted/preamp'd stuff, they were too buzzy and pretty much useless, however I did use one that fit into a mix fairly well. I don't use the reverb in the unit...it doesn't come close to my Rev 500. You really need to sit with the device for a couple days and design your own sounds. I start with a preset and go from there. Very easy to program a patch, name and store it. Also great feature when getting ready to store an edited patch; you can audition other locations first before writing to one so that you son't wipe out anything important. I just wish that MOTU would make a Unisyn profile for the unit so I can tweak and save stuff to my Mac. It can get noisy, but the built in NR works fine and with some tweaking you can get it quiet enough in the mix.

So far it's been rock solid

N/A

I like this device. I use it with the FC-200 foot controller and it works really well for all my guitars. Especially great for my acoustics which might be a weird thing, but I find it incredible for this. Someday I'll pop for a VG 8 or something big time, but this unit is a good buy. The one thing I think is tough, in terms of $$ output, is that the FC-200 is expensive and you really can't use the thing live without the foot controller...so your in for up over the $5oo mark and for that you might be able to get an all in one device like an ME-30 or GT-3. It all worked out for me in a unusual way...friend of mine said he had some sort of midi controller stuffed in a closet somewhere and it turned out to be the FC-200. I wouldn't want to trade this device for anything else at this point, mostly for the acoustic guitar application. I think there are probably better units out there that will get great lead sounds. I tried hard to come up with the sound that Vanhalen get during the credits music in the movie Twister, but I could only get so close.

The thing is pretty simple to to use, although getting the sound you want is another thing with so many parameters,the manual gives a good overview of the different FX, but since I consider this a "beginners-box" I must say they could have made some thing a bit more clear, I also miss the "suggested settings" overview you get with the Boss pedals, my software is 0.9, couldn't care much for that unless it gave me trouble

I use this box with a Ibanez RG620 with dimarzio PUs into a Marshall 8004 2x40 Watts poweramp with an FC200 pedalboard, when using the noise-gate this thing is quiet, but that does take away a bit of your natural signal. The FX: compressor: don't use it much since it feedbacks pretty fast, Wah: never touched it, Distortions: I like the sounds of the distortion and the metal distortion but i wish I could "Merge" those two together-->the gain of the metal-distortion and the clarity of the normal distortion, without having to use my EQ, the Pre-Amps: I guess the JC-120 is right on the money since this is a Roland box, the Fender twin is a little too glassy for my taste, the matchless is great(O.K. maybe not for a matchless but...)BG I don't use, the Soldano is O.K., the marshalls are too gainless (although at low settings they are pretty good) soldano is O.K., and last...Maybe it's me or did they give the 5150 too much gain??? next is the loop wich I don't use, the EQ: Well, everyone uses it differently, with me it's sometimes in use, sometimes not, The Speakersims: pretty good I guess, the Noisegate: As I said, it does it's job, but it degrades your signal a little, the Modulation: Nice flanger and phaser as well as pitch-shifter and harmonist, the ring modulator is something I wish I could rip out, vibrato is O.K., the Delay: very nice, use this box in stereo and you could give yourself the idea as if you were playing on top of the world, a real broad effect, the Chorus: another great effect, very versatile very "real", the Trem/Pan effect: I have a tremelo on my guitar wich I prefer, as for the pan-effect, this I might use in recording for a nice stereo solo or something, the Reverb: this is quite dissappointing, not full or wet or.... it realy is the bad side of this box, they make it sound like it was never meant to be there I prefer to call the sound a "Background effect" too thin really, they should have thrown that **** ring modulator outta there and put a little more effort in the reverb, I like the programmable FX-string...but tell me something: WHY is the output volume IN THE BACK???? The presets???: I guess the most useable are the direct Boss/Roland copies at least 90% wasn't worth the effort of programming.

.....uhm, it's a Boss, they don't die easily, and since I'm on a budget I do not have a backup, don't think I need one... But since this isn't a stompbox I guess there's a larger chance it might fail, so no 10 here

I have NO idea... Does Boss need customer support????? as far as I know the products might even survive WW III

I've been playing for ehh 2(?) years now and so far this is my best buy yet, I am playing Hardrock/Heavy metal (manowar, Iron maiden etc..) and this box -though basic- is pretty versatile for this and probably many other styles, it has many FX for your pleasure -some good, some bad- and if I compare this box with the pedals I had (almost learnt how to tap-dance) and the Zoom 9150 I had (What the hell is keeping the gain??? It should've been there when I dialed 100) this "Beginners box" rates Higer than those and probably at a similar pricetag, if it were stolen I'd be p****d, but my next buy would probably a more professional (and expensive) rig, My end-conclusion: Everyone should've used it in their guitar-life, you don't need to stick with it, or liked it much, but for some reason this box gives you another dimension that no other effect can give you...It might not be your dimension but you'll keep remembering it!!!
For an Budget/beginners box this thing gets a 10...perfect value,...compared to professional Signal processors I'll bet it'll still hold it's own and be better than average: a 6!

Ici pas de problemes, tous les parametres sont presents et les variation efficaces. Seule ombre au tableau, la notice d'explication est un peu legere vu les possibilites de l'engin. Question branchement tout est OK

J'utilise le rack celon 2 types de branchements : soit en direct sur un ampli fender bluesdeluxe, soit en ligne dans mon home studio. les deux sont interessant mais les sons sont bien entendus pas tout a fait les memes. La qualite des effets est identiques a celle que l'on peut attendre des pedales BOSS separement. Donc de ce cote la pas de probleme. La technologie COSM permet d'avoir a sa disposition plusieurs preamplis classiques dont le realisme est a coupe le souffle (M.B, Roland, Marshall, Soldano, fender). L'emulateur de HP est efficace, surtout en studio ou il se revele necessaire. Bref tous ce qu'il faut pour faire monter la mayo....

Ici encore vraiment super !

Depuis bientot 2 ans d'utilisation intensive aucun problemes n'est apparus.

Ben si vous etes un fana du son de la mort qui tue alors n'hesitez pas. c'est le meilleur investissement que j'ai fait en 20 ans de pratique guitaristique !

Prepare to spend a couple of hours with the manual with this beast. The manual is pretty good, but sketchy in places. Once you get to know it, you can really can get a lot of sounds out of it. My firmware is 1.09

Currently, I'm using a BC Rich Virgin with seymour duncan invader pick-ups. Your guitar and your pick-ups matter a lot with your sound quality. It does not color your guitar and let's its natural character shine through. I personnally think this is great. All of the sounds are great, but prepared to tweak the hell out of the distortions. The wah is alright and it is the hardest to get a good sound out of. Oh, did I mention that this mother was quiet? I've been to get anything from 80's metal to a reverbed 50's tone to a nasally 60's distortion tone to death metal. I can even get some of that wahed out funk tone from the 70s. Ive also gotten some downright weird sounds out of it too. Just plan to experiment with it a lot. Don't expect to sit down with it for 2 hours and get perfect tone. You got to work at it! I mainly use this for direct reocrding and the amp simulations are incredible....

Well, my knob sticks because it rubs against the casing, but I really don't see any problem with realibility. I mean, I take it out occassionally to play with friends, but this puppy mainly stays in my home studio.

Never had to deal with support yet, but I'm suspecting it might be lacking since this model is out of production and I simply do not understand why...

I like to play different styles of music, but I really enjoy heavy metal. But, I've been known to play a little surf, funk, country, industrial, and just all and all out weird stuff. This box can handle everything that I can throw out it. You just have to spend some time with it to get the sounds that are in your head. I've been playing for 8 years and this is simply a dream come true. I've tried other units and this is the first where I would go and hear a guitarist and go man, his distortion sucks, mine is better! This box has inspired me to no end. If this was stolen, I would buy it again in a heart beat! I simply love the flexibility that it gives me with a flick of a switch I can go from a pychedilic 60's tone to a tight 80's tone to something that sounds like it should come from space. The only thing I wish I could do was change more parameters and make more parameters modifieable through MIDI control change events. If they ever cross bred this thing with a synth, I think I would shoot myself. It scares me that roland has decided to go to the all floor model route (YUCK!). But, maybe they'll come to their senses and realize what a great box this was for the price. I mean this is almost identical to the GP-100.

I like the lighted buttons to see which effects are on. It is also easy to edit patches, although I now use a MIDI-Cable with my PC to program it and all I want is a better tool for saving my patches, uploading patches...it works awfully good. Only thing that could be improved is the display, it is a little small and hard to read from a certaim angle

I like the sounds a lot. I use a Marshall Power Amp and a 4x12 Marshall Box in a selfmade rack with them. The presets are as bad as any presets of the other effect units out there, but I think Boss wants to demonstrate the real power of this unit this way, which is not at all archieved. But if you sit down and program your own patches, it generates the sounds I want it to. The DS is okay, if used correctly with Preamp and Speaker Sim. Others who worry about it might not have the sparetime to experiment enough. I would be very interested in discussing and exchanging personal experience in creating patches and using the unit. Just mail me.

I've had it for about 2 months now and it works like it is supposed to everytime I flip the power switch. The AC Adaptor gets a little hot (my Mashall Power Amp does not get half as warm) after a time, I hope I won't experience a little firework out of it like some others did. I have not gigged with it for now, but I will use it (I have backups, but I don't think I will ever need them) and it WILL work, I'm sure.

After I experienced other customer support I don't expect Boss to be a lot different. But I never had ANY problem.

I an playing guitar for about 8 years now, with a band for 2 years now. As I replaced my Zoom 505 with this tiny baby and getting my very own 4x12 Mashall Box with a power amp, I really loved it. It does every job I want it to, from transparent clean Delay/Chorus/Flanging to the Ultrabrutal Killermegadeathshredding Metal Distortion everything is in this small wonder box. I would definitely buy a new one if it is lost or dies in my arms one day. It seems the best money can buy, in the store a Line6 Amp lost my interest after 5 minutes playing the GX-700!! I would be interested in exchanging tools, patches, tips and tricks with other interested users. Just mail me.

Well.. I will put 7 this time!

Good

I never had a problem. But I descouvered a bug in the OS that impides me to control a PS-Pitch parameter with an assign. I have firmware 1.09. Try it before your submision and tell us if this happens to you too and wich firmware you have!

As there is no chat (for what I know) for the GX-700 I put this here. I writed the MIDI implementation into a TXT file and is downloadable "http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Hub/4693/IMP.txt"

Yes, this is my second thing, as I know some users were not able to get the MIDI impl. from Roland I submited this, ok? If you have the same problem with the PS-Picth parameter controlled from an assign I would know it.

I know there are probably more review for the GX-700 than for any other effect but I had to weigh in. Ease of use? 6 for beginners. Now that I have had them (I own two) I would say 9. I don't ever use the presets. I turn everything off and go down the chain one effect at a time.

I use a Mex Strat with a Tom Anderson humbucker (HN2+). At home I use two Peavey Blazers in stereo. At church I use a Roland GC-408 combo. I always run the unit into the front of the amp. I like my clean clean and my gain supersaturated with searing harmonics.
While I think this processor is nothing short of amazing, it has very much to do with your amp/poweramp. The unit sounded bad through (or maybe I should say that the GX-700 couldn't save) a Sovtek MiG-60, Peavey Envoy, and Peavey Classic 50/50. Sounds excellent through the Roland, Peavey Blazer, Peavey Classic 30, and Mosvalve.
I have read others claim the distortion is poor. I don't agree. Here's what I do: choose an amp, set the preamp volume on 100, the gain switch on HIGH, the master wherever. Then I turn on the OD/DST making sure the drive is 0 but the volume is at 100 just like you would do with a Tube Screamer in front of, say, your Marshall. Then scroll through the pedal choices until you find the one that textures your amp setting to the sound you like. DON'T prejudge. The best lead sound for my current live situation uses the METAL distortion, no gain and all volume, into a totally gained out Clean Twin. (Go figure?) I mean this is searing, over the top, speaker crunching heaven.
HINT: Play around with your Output Type selection in the Tuner/Utility section. This can make ALL the difference in the world. On my Peaveys, "Guitar Stack" works best. On the GC-408, "Power Amp Stack" works best. Also, sometimes the speaker sim is better on and sometimes better off. If on, play with the mic setting.
I'll repeat what I said in my GC-408 review: the amps in the Boss sound like the real thing going through the right amp. In fact, I prefer my Boss + GC-408 over the Triple Rectifier. No joke.
As for the rest of the sounds? They're in there. In my opinion, the chorus sounds better than that found in the JC-120. I tried it the other day and really didn't notice the JC's chorus that much when playing clean. Yes there is alot of stuff in here I wouldn't use but alot that I do. For example, the Limiter is great for cleaning up a hot pickup, the Compressor added some needed sustain in my amp, the noise suppressor works very well, too. Reverb stinks but I am no fan of it anyway. Cool delay.
Honestly, I am extremely fond of this unit. That's why I bought two.

Never broke. As for firmware quirks. One of the two did destroy my presets upon powering up once. Never happened again. Never had a problem with the other.

Talked to Roland twice, once to find the GC-408 and once to discuss their TubeLogic. I guess I would say professional at least.

I play clean chorusy stuff to downright brutal. This unit does it all. I like this unit so much that I found myself finding amps to match it rather then the other way around. I figured if the GX-700 can't make it sound good, nothing can. My only complaint? I wish you could divide gain modifying stuff from the time-based effects. In other words, I would like to run my guitar into the unit and after the preamp back into the main in. Then I would like to run the rest of the effects through the amp's signal loop.

I know most users consider it easy to make patches with it, but I don't agree very much on this. That's why I built a little patch editor for it. It's a 16 bit Visual Basic APP (1993 compiler!) but it's usefull, little and fast to load. Download it at: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Hub/4693/

Sounds great if you waste enough time tunning it. Only the chorus disappoint me a little.

Good, they supplied me the MIDI implementation for free via mail in 4 days.

I think it is a good effects processor, I use it with synths too, I don't consider it just a guitar effects box.

Very easy to program. Would give a 9 but the display is a bit hard to read from a high angle. The manual is good.

Hard to fault. Very versatile. Good for D.I. recording or live use. The factory sounds were 'patchy' (sorry), but I made some of my own - it is very simple to edit. I also got a MIDI librarian called GXL700 which came with 600 patches - by the time I'd checked them all out I realised that there isn't much the box can't do. I happen to like prog rock lead sounds (I use a Strat) - although the factory presets don't cover that area very well, I have some great sounds now.
I use a foot controller - to be really picky I find the wah can be a bit 'notchy' on very fast pedal movement, but only noticeable if you listen very carefully - its still useable.
Others have criticised the distortion effect, but perhaps that is based on using mostly the presets - I think the combination of distortion, COSM amp simulation, EQ and speaker simulator is very flexible.

I have firmware 1.08 - no problems with it so far.

Definitely recommended - amazing VFM, wish I'd checked it out sooner.

Very easy to program. Only needed the manual for the more intricate details and that was very easy to read.

Superb. It gets a lot of critisism for it`s distortion sounds. But you don`t need them. Using the pre amp gain and the many different preamps you can make just about any diatorted sound. I use it straight into a desk and it has replaced a; sansamp psa1,gp8,and a virtualizer. It now sounds better than any sound I could ever get out off my Marshall. The only reason it dosn`t get a 10 is the reverb could be slightly better.

I`ve got vers 1.09. No problems yet and I use it live 2-3 nights a week.

Not needed yet.

Fantastic. And I would buy it again in a shot.

This unit is incredibly easy to use. You can just choose an effect & directly edit it's paramaters without going into a bunch of confusing sub-menus. Manual is typical - it gives basic instructions on how to make selections & edit patches. I have version 1.09 (finally!!!! - read below), and there hasn't been any problems with it.

Great delays & compressor. I really don't even use the distortion. I'm using the unit through the effects loop of my Carvin Quad X-Amp, into the Carvin 100 watt power amp, and into a Marshall 4x10.

Yes. Until it started crashing on me & I lost my presets. I then got firmware version 1.09 (more below!) and have had no software problems since. HOWEVER, I also just had a problem with the power supply. Seems it blew a couple of the resistors and other components internally. Still haven't gotten a new one. It's only been 3 months, what do you expect???

Let's get something straight - ROLAND tech support is USELESS!!! I brought my unit in to get the firmware upgrade. 4 months later, it finally came in. What the hell takes so long? Then, the power supply blew. I've read a couple of other accounts of this happening to other users too. Seems Roland has had a problem with these.
Well, I'm on my third month waiting for a power supply to be shipped from Japan. I find it impossible to believe that there isn't a goddamm power supply in all of the United States that can work with this thing. I got the unit back fine, and am using a friends power supply until mine comes in. So I finally got pissed off enough and called Roland. They said they're really sorry, but the power supply is on back order. It should be in soon. They're sending me a t-shirt though. That should tide me over. Sorry, but that t-shirt isn't going to help me out when I have shows.

The unit itself is great - when it works. But then again I really wouldn't know. I've had the unit for exactly 1 year, and it's been in the repair shop for about 7 months of that time. The effects are great, but if the thing never works what good is it?? I also own the Roland GR-30, and am wondering if something happens to that, what's going to happen??

really easy to use, no problems with sound programing and storage.

i use the gx-700 along with a sansamp psa-1 with the send/return jacks, you get great sound if you combine it thru the LOOP option, althoe there is a problem i havn't been able to mark out, when you use a preamp as a distortion you get a high volume *clinch* for less than a second before you get the actual sound, but i'm looking for an option to strike that problem out. overall sound is great if used properly.

i'd use the gx-700 on a gig (and i did) without backup any day of the week, it's dependable and reliable!!!.i've been carrying it it a hard 4U case and banging it from time to time (not on purpuse) and had no problems with it so far.

overall, it's a very good sound processor, works well with other sound racks, if you're into computer recordings, this here is the one for you, with it's speaker simulator you don't even need an amp. it's a good buy if i ever saw one!!!.

Quick and easy, with no secret pages or multiple button punching. The dedicated fx on/off buttons should be manditory on any multifx box. I have modified sounds in real time during performances, hitting the edit during (sometime very short) pauses, and saving the tweaks when the song finishes!

The presets suck, but this seems to be required of all gtr fx boxes. A few are salvagable with minor-to-major tweaking, but real joy comes from starting from scratch. It's easy to tell which patches I built/tweaked as they howl compared to the bland demo patches. I run Fender (Strats), Hamer (Diablo), Carvin (DC200), and Yamaha (APX-10) guitars thru the GX-700 and direct to the board (for recording) or to a JC-120 (set to clean; let the GX do it's job!) for live. Noise is not an issue. This beauty is no more noisy than most amps if you tweak carefully. I can get Steve Howe sweet & clean tones to Bill Nelson gorgeous tone to John Petrucci metalloid mutations easily, and can switch between them with a simple patch change. Amazing! I have to agree the Humanizer is pointless and the Ring Mod is mostly useless (but it appears no more useless than any ring mod for guitar). I have had good luck with the Harmonizer: While certainly not an Eventide, it does a passable octavizer and I use a couple of one-note chord patches live doing a grand synth-like (orchestral?) pad. The reverb is adequate for non-critical live or in-the-mix studio playing, but I have used outboard or SW reverbs for more critical settings, bypassing the GX-700 reverbs. I agree with others here that the EQ section is weak - needs more bands, more control - but have had fun with real-time midi control (semi-wah & synth filter fx). The distortions are somewhat lacking, and the EQ was too broad to tweak them adequately. I have gotten passable distortions, but have had to patch a few units (some custom) into the FX Loop to get the right crunch/howl/scream (no tube bias here!).This may be due to the distortions are all Boss/Roland types, and, like-'em-or-hate-'em, can be rather samey sounding. Patching in even a lowley Rat or Memphis distortion pedal can breathe new life into a patch! (I'm using an old Ibanez EPP midi-controllable analog patch bay to switch various commercial and home-made distorto boxes & pedals in and out.)
One key trick here for all users is to be very judicious with the various fx level - sometimes cutting back (sometimes significantly) on an fx level can clean, define, or open up the sound beautifully!

It pulled the write-over-all-user-patches-upon-power-up routine on me (thank god for sysex backups), and I learned from others comments on this page about the OS version issue. Roland upgraded me from 1.06 to 1.09 (for free!), and it has been rock solid since. I'll give it a 7 for even pulling this once. Roland should know better than to release a product with this immature an OS (not to mention the even earlier version!), but have established a solid reputation/history of doing just that.

I've butted heads with Roland's customer (non-)support group before over synths, so I was expecting the worst. However, the quick, free, and apparently reliable OS upgrade was most excellent and surprising. Their keyboard division should take a few cues from their cousins over in gtr fx!

I play everything from prog rock to techno to acoustic to pop, and this golden box has been able to replace a rack of other gear & a floorful of pedals! The sounds have been inspirational, particularly as I build a patch and a riff or line organically develops with the patch! If it vanished, I would probably go for the floor unit version (GP-5) rather than the rack as this would remove the need for a separate midi foot board. Except for the premature OS screw-up, Roland hit a home run here!

Quite easy and intuitive. There's always room for improvement, but hey what do you expect for that price? (Anyhow, what would you rather spend your $$ on: An extra knob that makes it slightly easier to program, or better sound quality?)

I won't go into details here, as there are already many elaborate reports given by others. Generlly speaking this is a great sounding box! Yet, there are two points that, I feel, should be mentioned: 1. Be prepared to do some heavy tweaking. The presets are pretty much worthless, so one cannot judge the box based on these. (IMHO thd best way to go is to start from scratch and build up. Once you get the hang of it, this box starts singing!) 2. This unit really preservs the characteristics of your axe, a trait that I consider a GREAT advantage. Consequently, if what you have in mind is to precisely replicate a specific sound (of some gear very remote from what you have, e.g. expecting your 25W solid-state to sound like a Triple-Recto) and considered relying on this box to do the job, you might be disappointed. The only way to FULLY replicate a specific sound is by using the same gear used to create it. Nevertheless, if you're looking for a great fx box, probably the best value for money on the market, then go ahead and get one!

Don't have it long enough to be able to tell. I heard that there were some lockout problems with earlier firmware versions (that effectively result in a loss of all stored patches), but so far what I have(ver 1.09) behaves. The moral of the story is: Play it safe, take advantage of the MIDI capabilities of the GX700 and backup your patches. (To those of you who think that this is both expensive and messy, please note: You'd probably spend less on a used computer w/ a MIDI capable sound card, wiring, and a user-friendly program that will let you do MIDI transfers, than on the box.)

This box is no longer manufactured. Still, IMHO it's the best bang for the buck on the mkt, for under $500! So, if you're looking for a versatile, great sounding, multi-fx box and willing to put in the required "tweak effort" go and get one! Some shops may still stock them, or get a 2nd hand unit (Make shure that you get firmware 1.08 or 1.09)

This has got to be the easiest unit to use and program. The owners manual was simple to understand (exact opposite from Digitech manuals which you need a PHD to understand them!) but I didn't even read it for a couple of days after plugging it in and using it. The majority of the presets are good, some are really good, some are a waste (like with any processor, no matter what the price). The ability to edit the presets or make up your own are simple. Let's say you wanted a preset with distortion, chorus, and delay. You just press the OD button, Chorus button and Delay button and you are there. Of course, each separate effect is completely tweakable, as if you had that particular Boss pedal in your hand. The nice thing about this unit which many others don't offer is the ability to put the effects in any order in the chain that you choose. It is very simple to do this as well On firmware, I have Version 1.06. The latest version is 1.09. Read below for more.

I am currently using the GX-700 with my Epiphone Les Paul Standard, Fender U.S Strat Plus, Marshall VS65R combo amp (Valvestate, 65W, 12" spkr) and Dunlop Original Crybaby. Since it has noise suppressor as one of the effects, noise can be easily eliminated. Some of the presets are a little buzzy, even with my Strat which was gold lace sensor pickups (very quiet single coil pickups) but sometimes buzz is good, and when it isn't, kick in the noise suppressor feature. I think all of the main effects are very strong and very good. It's like having 20+ Boss stomp boxes without the mess of pedals or the need for power for each one. As I said before, each main effect can be turned on and off separately and are fully programmable. For example, when you press the OD/DIST button, you can choose from Vintage OD, Turbo OD, Blues, Distortion, Turbo Distortion, Metal and Fuzz and each one can be tweaked as if you had the pedal in front of you. The amp simulators are kind of wild, give a little different sound to my Marshall. The Soldano and 5150 amp simulators are nice. The humanizer effect really isn't my cup of tea and the auto wah is weak (as with all processors but who cares, I have a wah anyway). The speaker cabinet simulations are great when playing in conjunction with the amp simulators on my headphones (yes there is a headphone jack). Also has Compressor/Sustainer, Flanger, Phaser, PitchShifter, Chorus, Delays, Panning, Tremolo, Harmonizer, Humanizer, Ring Modulator and Reverb. It also has an FX loop which is what I run my Crybay through. As I said above, the effects can be put anywhere in the chain, including the loop. I can have my wah before distortion, after distortion, etc. The possibilities for sounds is endless. I give this a nine only because there is always something a little better out there, depends on your ear (not to my ear, but I'm sure others hold a different opinion).

It looks like it could survive a nuclear fallout but the most gigging I do with it is in my den so...I can thoroughly depend on it for what I use it for, as far as gigging without a backup, again I don't play out (yet) but it appears it would be a safe move.

So far I've dealt with Roland once. Since I knew when I bought the unit that it didn't have the latest version in firmware (1.06 vs. 1.09), I decided to call Roland and ask about upgradeability. When I called, I told them what I had and what I wanted and they told me that the upgrade was free, here's the list of authorized Boss service centers in your area. Quick and friendly, that's what I like. I then called the service center, they verified what Roland had told me, they ordered the upgrade, and have it sitting in their shop waiting to be installed in my GX-700, all in a week!! Can't wait to bring it. I give Roland only a 9 because I haven't had to deal with them yet on warranty work (hope I never have to).

I've been playing for almost a year now and have come a long way. I play (try to play!!) a wide variety of music from classic rock to alternative to heavy metal and this unit more than suits my needs. I've played with almost every Boss pedal on the market now and again in various guitar stores and feel that this unit incorporates them very nicely. I've also owned four Boss pedals (Compressor/Sustainer, Flanger, Super Chorus and Heavy Metal) and it's like I have them back without the 9V battery power struggle! I compared the GX-700 with the Boss ME-30 and the Digitech RP-7. It really wasn't a fair fight due to the price. The ME-30 was $259 and the RP-7 was $339. The ME-30 was okay, the presets were pretty good and was easy to use but did not compare to the GX-700. The RP-7 had to some good sounds, since it incorporated a 12AX7 tube but it's ease of use was out the window, eve n with the owners manual so the choice was clear. It would've been a real struggle in the decision making if the GX-700 was $500 like I've normally seen it. I probably wouldn't even had tried it at that price and I didn't as I tell a little story (this will incorporate my other items I own). When I first started out, I felt that the only distortion I need was what my Marshall had to offer. It was tweakable and sounded really great and was the main reason I bought it. So naturally, I wanted an effects processor with everything BUT distortion. Chorus, delay, flanger etc but I wanted one unit, not a bunch of pedals. Enter the Alesis Midiverb IV. I got the Alesis and used it for quite a while but was beginning to slowly learn from my own findings and other people's opinions that this unit was not exactly the best choice for guitar use. Recording studio for synthesized music, yes, but for guitar, effects were unrealistic, so I rarely even used it. I still had my Marshall overdrive though. Until one day a friend had brought over his little Fender Frontman with an 8" speaker and distortion channel (it cost $80) and his amp produced this dirty, metally sound that my amp could just not produce. Ahhh, the eternal quest for tone begins. Enter the Zoom 510 Power Driver. Had a multitude of distortions, was small and cost $90. The distortions were good and it had an amplified headphone jack for portable private practice. I decided to give my Alesis another shot with programming in conjunction with the Zoom and my Marshall. Well, as you can see, the chance I gave it didn't last for long. I'm selling the Midiverb IV. I'm keeping the Zoom for its portability characterisitics. And I couldn't be happier with my GX-700. If it were lost or stolen, I would definetely buy it again. The only sad and ironic thing is since I got the GX-700 at an unbelievably low price, if I ever wanted the Roland Midi foot controller for it, it would cost as much if not more than what I paid for the GX-700!! I guess I'll just stick with my Boss momentary footswitch for now!!!

The first thing I noticed right off was the ease of programming the GX700. I have owned a few programmable units in recent years, and in the last few months tried out several more models. The Boss GX700 was extremely easy to maneuver through and make changes to. I really liked the sounds coming straight out of the unit from the factory, and it did not take more than a half an hour before I was comfortable with tailoring patches to suit my tastes, and making sounds I only wished my Peavey TransFex would make. When I got my unit home, the manual made the simple process of programming even more user-friendly. This is one manual that is actually informative and easy to read. My GX700 is a v1.9, the latest firmware version.

I play in a hard rock/heavy metal band, so good distortion is my first concern. I gave it a nine due to the fact that the distortions are not 'pristine' like from a Mesa Dual Recto Solo head or a VHT Ultra Lead, but unlike most distortion units, the Metal Distortion effect is actually quite warm, tone-wise, and did not produce annoying screechy-ness on the higher frets. I am using the GX700 in to a mid-80's Randall RG100 head in to a Sheffield loaded Peavey 4X12 cab. Guitars used are two Jackson Professional series Dinky Reverse 5's. The sound live has been most satisfactory, especially needing about 8 different sounds overall. (I am controlling the unit with an ART X-15 midi board) I have never really been in to copping someone else's sound, so I don't know about cloning other artists' sounds, but I find I am getting pretty darned close to the sounds I want. I also like the Soldano pre amp COSM model besides the Metal Dist., and the Vintage Twin is a great warm sound. If you want modern sequencer-like effects, the square wave tremolo effect will give you pretty much what you want. I don't use a whole lot of effects with distortion, but the Vintage twin pre amp with a nice medium chorus sounds REALLY good. As with most effects processors, there are some patches that just seem plain useless, but there are an awful lot that lay the groundwork for sounds I want. You like the Chorus, Reverb, and Delay of patch 14, but the distortion from patch 6? Fine. Scroll through the appropriate menu, and you can copy THAT distortion from patch 6 TO patch 14. Extremely useful. No more lost settings due to a bad memory while tweaking. The versatility of the GX700 is a definite strong suit.

So far no problems. Several practices with the GX700, and one gig to date. I have always had great reliability from previous Boss products while gigging, so I am expecting similar results. But, I will not rate this category thus far.

NEVER had to deal with Boss' customer support.

The GX700 makes great Metal sounds, period. The clean amp models are great as well. I have been playing for 14 years, but with a major gap in the middle of no gigging. I got rid of my TransFex not long after getting the GX700, and its only back up I have are a Boss Metal Zone, Super Chorus, and GE-7 that can be used with the Randall in case of emergency. If it were stolen, I would definitely get another one. I considered the DigiTech RP series, the GSP2112, the ART SGX, and the Zoom 3030. The GX700 was the winner hands down for its combination of sound quality, price, versatility, and ease of use.

takes all of about 5 minutes to figure out how to use... if you have any experience with any other effects processors & you're familiar with the parameters of the effects it couldnt be easier... my only gripe is if you dont have a foot controller it takes forever turning that dial to get to the next desired effect

plain and simple... the tone is awesome... to be totally honest though... unlike allot of the other entries... im not impressed with allot of the distortions that this unit has... im running it through a carvin sx200d and 99.9% of the time im using the overdrive/distortion on the amp... one note... the ring modulator seems useless... it sounds downright bad

this is kind of a touchy area... i got a good deal considering i bought the floor model... since the day i bought the unit i think its moved once... never been banged or dropped... every so often the unit will cut out on me... it has something to do with the input & outputs on the back of the unit.. im running it through the effects loop in my carvin... you have to play with the cords a little to get it going again... a major downer... i couldnt say if i'd gig with it considering it was a floor model & i cant tell if its a factory defect

havent called

i considered both the gx700 and the digitech gsp 2101... in my opinion the effect on the boss are a hell of allot cleaner & have a much brighter tone... my only gripes are the problems ive had & the fact that the roland foot controller costs about as much as the gx700 itself!!! ... all in all i definitely recommend it... but learn from my mistakes... spend a few xtra bucks... get it new in the box

Very simple to use. I read the manual, which is short and explicit, for 15 minutes and the rest was easy. Sometimes I use the MIDI interface and SYSEX to make backups and dump patches in it. The display is mounted too deep, you can see it only in limited angles. Where did they forgot the volume knob of the headphones? The unit has a firmware of 1.09.

It sounds very good with my JEM. I use it mainly connected direct on board. My MusicMan 212 sixtyfive is collecting dust in the corner. I've also done some "hard disk" recordings with Cakewalk software. The GX-700 really serves it's purpose in this area. The presets aren't very convincing so have you spare some time to adjust the thing. The usual overdrive lead/rhytm sounds were easy to find but for example the SRV and Deep Puple "Lazy" tones needed time and nerves. Fortunately the unit has a great amount of options. It can get a bit noisy if you use strong compression and overdrive simultaniously. Most of the effects are good enough but I haven't found any use for the ring modulator or humanizer. The best parts of this unit are the preamp section and the cabinet simulations.

No serious problems. Loose knob once in a while.

I play mainly rhytm'n blues, hardrock etc. The unit has more characteristics I'll ever need, but the patches I've been able to create are great. Before I bought it, I tried out some other effect processors, but after reading an article of some guitar magazine which stated that GX-700 sounded as good as the top line models of Digitech and Rocktron (despite the lack of tubes and ridiculously low price), I decided to buy one. Also the user comments I read about the Boss GX-700, GT-5 and Roland GP-100 convinced me. I've been using the unit for six months now and, comparing the sound and the price payed, it's a bargain.

The reason I originally bought this unit is because I refused to use my ADA MP-1 for rhythm tracks in the studio, I used a Boss MetalZone and I had heard that this had one in a rack, so after comparing it to my ADA, a Rocktron Chamelon, and a rocktron Voodoo Valve, I decided to go with this because basically THE DISTORTION CRUSHES. Editing patches was a breeze and I had been making up my own way before I took the unit home. The manual is pretty cool, and while I kinda wished it had a bit more detail (i.e. what is resonance), it's a million times easier than say the Roland xp-50 (which I also own). My unit's still kinda new so it's yet to be upgraded.

I'm running my gx-700 through a peavey power amp straight into a bass cabinet (love the speaker sims). The onboard pedals are noisy but that what the noise suppressors for isn't. The only major complaint I have is with the reverb(it's not very bright,maybe it's the speaker sims), and I find hard to get a good clean sound but that may be more my fault than the unit's. I bought the unit for it's distortion and it doesn't disappoint, if you need a MetalZone w/midi this is the answer.

As of this writing I have only gigged with it once, and while I haven't experienced any my friend Kirk owns one, and is currrently experiencing intermittent problems w/ his phone jack. I loop mine to something solid before inputting (loop my cable around the handle of my power amp) so hopefully I can avoiod this. I'd feel a lot safer though if it was reinforced with a nut though.

Never dealt with them.

I play in a Damnedbient metal band called Chapelblaque(gothic thrash). This piece is perfect for what I do, it's just me so the harmonizer really comes in handy. I've been playing for 12 years, I've owned a Carvin x100b, an ADA MP-1, an Ibanez rg-550, and an Alesis quadverb, this one rack has replaced like a lot of the gear I used to run though (I don't even use the Quad any more). I would probably buy it again if I lost it, or maybe upgrade to a GT-5. I love the distortion sounds and ease of programming, I just wish it had a 7-pin midi out so I could phantom power my MIDI controlller (a MAJOR selling point with the ADA mp-X). Definitely compares to the Rocktron preamps. Reverb could be better, the chorus it the weakest part about the unit (although it still good, just not to par with the other features). The input jack worries me, I find myself babying it (although no pronblems yet) . Can you rearrange the order of effects? (example LOOP before COMPRESSION, or, EQ before PREAMP?

I must agree with everyone here, that yes, this unit is extrememly easy to program. Just choose the effect, arrow through the parameters, adjusting as you go. Nice layout.

I used to use this unit through a very clean power amp into 2 4x12s. The reverbs were terrible. The noise gate was terrible. The flanger lacks good control. My ultimate displeasure arrived Satruday after purchasing a Mesa/Boogie Triaxis. The GX-700 simply cannot be used with this unit. Even on *standby*, the tone is really effected for the worse. It may have to do with the fact that the GX-700 cannot handle any signal above -10db.

I am not searching to replace the GX-700 in my rig. So is the other guitarist in my band. Last year, in the middle of a showcase, this GX-700 started howling and screaming the loudest feedback you've ever heard at full gain. The unit simply started throwing the worst tantrum I've ever heard an effect unit have. It turned out that the front input jack (which is soldered directly to the circuit board... lame) had malfunctioned causing the unit to wildly flail in agony. The solution was to use the rear input jack (until that started to go). I began experiencing the same type of problems. After a costly repair bill for the two of us, we are not beginning to experience many of the same symptoms... including powering up just to have your GX-700 scream uncontrollable rage right back at you. This unit is poorly made. We housed them in Mesa Shock Racks, and (especially after their costly repair) treated them with care. The are obviously meant for the "home" or "bedroom" user. Not to be used on the big stage.

The people at Roland in The City of Commerce, were the poorest excuses for tech support I've ever seen, anywhere. "Bill", if your out there.. yes, I'm talking about you. Rude, Incompetent, Arrogant, Obnoxious are words that come to mind. These units were within the standard warranty. We received a call from "Bill", stating that since there were traces of loose solder around the input jacks, that we had severely "abused" the units, and that under any circumstances we should not have "abused" the units in that fashion, and would charge us $60 to repair each unit, and that we'd have to wait three weeks. What a joke! Three weeks?

Our band is an alternative, post-gothic mix of music. Effects are important. This unit is unable to "behave" with other pieces of professional gear in my rack. If it were lost or stolen, I would claim the full insurance value and buy something else. Sorry for being so negative, as there are so many others here who are singing it's praises... I suppose it all depends on the application. It may be fine for the "bedroom" player, but not ready to play with the big boys.

After struggling with RP-1, SE-50, Quadraverb, Zoom and other processors it is great to be able to program this box without the many keypresses I was used to. Every effect has it's button and the tuner is the best, using the light in the effects buttons. I can tune from the other end of the stage now. Very logical front layout.

I really bought the GX-700 to do home recording. I quit the band, got another baby (!) and it was time to do some serious headphone rocking. The direct recording sound is the best I have heard ever. I can do brown half-overdriven rythm chords and smooth leads. Mind you though that you have to experiment a little. There are some awful, buzzy overdrive sounds too. The key to success is to use the many overdrives and preamps right. There are many overdrive/distortions, I think they put in the best of the stomp boxes, and there are many great preamps. I like the Twin for clarity, the Match Drive for crunch rhythm or blues, the Boogie for lead and the Soldano is great and real smooth for both soft and hard overdriven sounds. And imagine what you can do with combinations of effect and preamps! I'm just starting out now.
Well after playing with it for a week I played a gig with it. I played it through a MusicMan tube combo and it sounded real good. No digital overdrive sounds here, the overdrive was warm and great. I used to play with a Chandler Tube driver (real tube inside) and a Boss Blues driver. The GX-700 is as good as the Blues driver and close to the Tube driver in warmth.
I am not a great user of pitch shift, harmonizer and all those weird effects, and I don't like the pitch shifter. It tracks too slowly and sounds very artificial to my ears. I can't see why I should want to use it anyway.
The compressor does a good job (must be CS-3 circuit), the EQ is good and easy to use., the speaker simulator is just great, good delay, the chorus could be better (I like Ibanez CS-10 digital chorus better, they are wider and more spacious, more like a modulation delay), the tremolo/pan is very good, I have to find a song to put it in!, the reverb is good enough for guitar but not at all in the Quadraverb category. Dump all the pitch shift effects and give me a better reverb instead.

Works fine, I have to put it in a rack or I will destroy it! It will fall of the top of the amp one day

I bought it used and have never talked to Roland/Boss.

At last a processor with good overdrive sounds. I play blues and coverrock and I like to be able to switch sounds a lot faster and more radical than I could ever do with stomp boxes without compromising (too much) on the sound quality. One of the earlier reviews put it right: The audience would not notice the difference...
I believe Roland has done a really great job. Apart from the great sounds, they have really understood all the practical needs of the guitar player. You can attach two simple switches and program them to do anything (if you like me is too poor to buy the FC-200 controller. You can set the tuner to any pitch and even use Eb or D tuning. The input jack is on BOTH the front and the back. You have input volume and output volume to match both preamps and poweramps.

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.