Fulltone GT-500

Not the easiest pedal for dialing in a good tone. It has two channels (OD/boost and distortion), seperate EQs for both, and the ability to blend the two (OD/boost into distortion or distortion into OD/boost) - alot of variables, and frankly a lot of really bad tones. On the other hand, there are a lot of sweet spots as well. A tweekers delight, maybe, but not a pedal for those who like things simple.

I use it primarily with a MIJ strat and a Crate Palomino series V50 -not a stellar amp, like a classic fender, which Mike Fullertone favors and basically designs his pedals for, but a damn good one for the money. I get the best results plugging directly into the effects loop in jack and bypassing the amp's pre-amp section altogether, thereby making the pedal the preamp for EQ, effects, and volumn. I also have it plugged into a BBE Sonic Stomp, which lets me fine tune the treble and bass, and adds clarity and body to my tone.

Some might wonder why you would want to bypass the pre-amp tubes in a tube amp, but it works, and some of the players who gave this pedal bad review might find that would work well for them to, especially if you're like me and basically like clean to slightly crunchy tones. I'm not a fan of pre-amp distotion and like my crunch to come from overdriven output tubes.

Having said all that, the OD/boost side works great - lots of boost on tap, and a fair amount of gain for Rolling Stones type crunch. The distortion side doesn't work as well - sounds hollow somehow and difficult to dial in. Works great, however, blended with the OD/boost side.

Once you find your sweet spots, and that's no easy task, you'll probably like this pedal a lot, but its not for metal or other highly distorted tones.

I can't give it a 10 because there are too many bad tones and it takes a lot of work to find the good ones, but the good ones are sweet indeed.

Builty like a tank. A 10.

Don't know.

Good match for blues and classic rock. Don't know if I would replace it. I'd probably go with something simpler. All I need is a good OD/boost pedal, and this one has more options than I need and it takes to much tweeking to dial it in. Having said that, however, the good tones that I do manage to get are fuller and richer than than the Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive, which I liked a lot until I got the GT-500. The SD stil has its uses, but it sounds somewhat thin and hollw compared to the GT-500.

Lots of knobs, but easy to dial in once you get the hang of it. The manual is a double sided single page. Not much use and not really needed.

I've played with Strats and Teles into a Germino Classic 45 2x12, Reeves Custom 6 1x12 combo and a Peavey Delta Blues 1x15. Excellent tones throughout. The boost side gives nice low gain overdrive on higher settings and beefs up the tone considerably. The higher the drive, the more high end. The distortion side is more a crunchy style distoration in the British vein. There's some minor noise when settings are maxed, but this pedal sounds best to my ears at about 1/2 to 3/4, with the volume pushing a few db's above unity. The "order" switch adds compression when in one position and opens up the tone in the other.

With the two channels combined and the volume rolled down / off on my Strat, I was getting some serious Eric Johnson-style violin tones. I've not found a bad tone in this one yet. This pedal offers outstanding tone and versatility.

New, but I own lots of Fulltone pedals. With the exception of a mis-wired battery terminal on my Fat Boost version 1, which they promptly fixed, I've not had a single issue with any of my Fulltone pedals. I would never gig without a backup boost / overdrive pedal, but that's no reflection on the perceived reliability of this pedal. It is solid, well-finished, and the pots feel smooth with just the right amount of resistance. My rating is based on my past experience with Fulltone pedals.

As stated above, Fulltone was responsive to my problem with my Fat Boost and fixed it quickly. Email's to them pre-purchase have been hit or miss. But I think they stand behind their product, which is the most important part.

I play mostly rock and blues and have been playing for over 25 years. It's only in the last 6 years or so that I've become a gear whore. For overdrives/distortion/fuzz, I own mostly Fulltones: 69, 70, Soul Bender, Distortion Pro, OCD version 3, Fat Boost version 1, Fulldrive II, Fulldrive II MOSFET. I also own Boss SD1, DS1, Electro Harmonix Little Big Muff, D*A*M 1966. My guitars are Strats, Teles, Epiphone Elitist Les Paul. Amps are Germino Classic 45, Reeves Custom 6 and Custom 12 combo's, Ceriatone Lightening, Ceriatone 18-watt EF86 combo, Peavey Delta Blues, Fender Blues Junior, Mojotone VibroChamp, Mojotone Tweed Champ.

My favorite feature of the GT-500 is its excellent and articulate distortion tones and flexibility. Beautiful Red metal flake finish with cream knobs. It's a beauty. Compared to the Fulldrive, it has more of an open / British-voiced tone. It matches very well with my British style amps (Germino, Reeves) while I'd say the Fulldrive matches better with my American style amps (Delta Blues so far).

I was actually shopping for a Way Huge and was trying all three but none of them really appealed to me. I wasn't looking to buy this particular pedal, thinking it would be redundant for me, but I was wrong. This pedal gives me excellent distortion and singing lead tone. I would definitely replace it again if needed.

It's no longer the flavor of the month, but it is an oustanding pedal of impeccable build quality and superb flexibility. The price is a bargain for what it brings to the table and compared to what other boutique builders are charging nowadays.

Highly recommended.

Fulltone makes the best pedals. Thsi pedal is diverse and adjustable for all types of gain. I especially liked the separate switchable gain which can be set before or after the distortion circuit. I wish the Drive II had this option. This is not a plug in and play pedal, you do have to twist the knobs to find your tone for that reason I give it an 8, otherwise a 10 for those who understand the basics. A little adjusting and you can find your tone. The High pots are not 12:00 passive, leave them all the way up unless you want to cut some high end.

Fulltone sounds great, no matter what unit. True Bypass, and all that.

Nothing better built out there, the componenets are top shelf.

Fuller is not one to be bothered with hair-brained notions, I am sure if you have a problem they will make it right but they probably do not want to hear your latest idea schmatic for the "fizzle-fuzz-wah-rotarism".

The GT-500 is a good pedal. Depends on what you are looking for. I recently redid my entire board, trading in everything I had and my sound closet horde. I am very particular about my distortions and I am looking for some rather specific tones and a lot of versitility. I tried out the GT-500, a fine pedal, nice boost, switchable, versitile, good distortion. It really did not suit what I had in mind. I traded in my OCD and I wanted something to replace what it was doing for my Trower tones and I also like a really high gain controllable musical distortion. I traded the GT-500 for the FullDrive II which replaces my OCD and does a little more for my tastes than it could do with it's limiting three knob approach. For high gain I went for the Boss Metal Core which rpelaces my Keeley mod MT-2, again a good pedal no problems. I just find the Core produces what I liked from the Metal Zone without having to tweak so much to find the exact mid, high and low combination. I of course use my high gain tube channels but I also like the Core through a clean channel which I find very useful as well. Both sound great and I am after verstility. The GT-500 is a great pedal, I just happened to like the MOSFET Drive II for what I needed which is more a preamping OD sound, OCD Trower-like. Nothing outgains the Boss Metal Core for the ultimate musical distortion. It;s good to have all ranges of distortion and tube melt. The GT-500 is a good distortion it might be what you are looking for, my tastes ran a different direction. I detailed my new rig in the Drive II review.

As with most things if you do not read the manual and understand the controls and theory behind what the designer has done, you might go the rest of your life thinking all tone controls are created equal, they are not. After understanding how the controls work and what they do you might consider what it is you are trying to do. Also a bad amp and not so great guitar is not the judge of a pedal, no pedal can make crap sound good. Fulltone is made for tone mavens, the ones who will understand what they are doing who most often have decent high high end guitars and amps already. such is the case with the GT-500. All that said there are few controls here and if one realized what they were doing it makes life easier. Yes, you do have to tweak on this pedal to conform it to your gear. Although no matter what it was set on, one could get something musical out of it. Guitar player is pretty picky on pedal tryouts and they realized this is a very musical pedal. They gave it their users pick award.

I recently traded in all my gear for a new batch of pedals to update my board and reduce the number of boxes I was using and the loading they provide. Even true-bypass is not always the answer in the tone forest of problems. Sometimes a good buffer makes for a better tone in your line, the Morely Vai Wah's being the case. Anyway, I digress, the GT-500 was obtained to replace my OCD ver3 pedal, which worked well for the tones I was expecting to get from it (pushed tubes without too much fizz, Trower type distortion). It did this well, I think better than the OCD personally. Still, moving ever on-ward. I chose the GT-500 to replace my current OCD and my distortion pedal, a Keeley MT-2 that is highly tweaked for my tastes. I discovered my amp was really so good (Carvin V3) it could gain the distortion level of the MT-2 with tubes and a without the pedal clipping that I worked so hard to EQ out. On the GT-500, I found I can set the boost side of the pedal to mimic the OCD drive I had, as well as better cleaner options. My amp has two clean boost foot controlled switches so I do not need the clean boost, except, here is the option of running this boost into the distortion side of the GT-500 instead of after it thereby increasing the drive of the distortion side. So right there are four or more tonal options I have in one pedal. The High control is a high end rolloff not a flat at center knob. The mid has a special band pass filter design which drastically alters the tone to suit what sort of gain tone you want. The bass seems to boost above mid. My amp already had so much low end presence I do not need more. At any rate the unit produces tones which make tubes respond better and with more tonality and headroom. If you have a cheap or small amp this is not your pedal.

Fulltone makes the best, sometimes chips or electronics fail and sometimes they can last for decades, one never knows. It's always a matter of components not the unit itself. The only thing I have had fail in 30 years of playing is a power supply brick which was bad. twice, when I got them out of the box.

They will fix any problem you might have I am sure, but they have no time to talk crap on the phone or listen to people's ideas which are largely baseless most of the time. Fuller is a genius and his products are the best pedals out there, if you have a little amp or a budget guitar do not spend your money on them, improve your basic setup first. This stuff is for high end tonal players not for those who toss their gear around and plug bad cables into crap not concerned with adjusting knobs.

Fulltone is the best. I find the GT-500 to deliver what I need in terms of a useful overdrive on clean or dirty tube settings, the distortion is very musical and adjustable. It is not a fizz or fuss distortion it is a tube pushing gain enhancement. You can switch the boost before or after the distortion side for more options. I like it, and I like few things. I only use and keep the best. I would not hesitate to add any Fulltone pedal into my board.

Returned Z.Vex Box of Rock (BOR) and got this. Many more knobs than the BOR but all are easy things to understand so no problem. Currently I have all the EQ knobs set to mid (5) and the sound is fine.

One thing I like is that the pedal is not small like the BOR so I don't have to worry about hitting the knobs with my foot, the knobs are easy to adjust and it doesn't flop around when you step on it....... like the BOR. I also like that the jacks are on the back so it takes up less room on my board.

My set up is Strat or Tele to Boss TU2, Boss Auto Wah (AW2?), Boss OD3, GT500, Fender 65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue. At first I bought the BOR to use with my OD3. I wanted a pedal that I could add to my OD3 and have a clean boost and a distortion. This way I could have OD, Distortion, OD/Dist combo and Boost to any of the three sounds. (may amp has no distortion or boost channel).

The BOR was my first non-Boss pedal and Boss didn't make a 2 in 1 pedal like this so the BOR and the GT500 fit the need. As I said, I had the BOR at first but found that it wasn't giving me a different enough sound from the OD3, so I ended up returning the BOR and getting the GT500, but before I returned the BOR, I had the chance to test drive all three pedals (OD3, GT500, BOR) at home alone and in a rehearsal.

I found that the for OD sound I kept going back to the OD3. This pedal just sounds so transparent to my ears. The BOR made a really nice replacement for the OD3, but I was after a distortion not another OD. I just couldn't justify putting a perfectly good $100 on the shelf to replace it with a $250 pedal. The BOR was a little more warm and thicker than the OD3 which was nice.

OK, on to the GT500. The Boost section makes a really good OD pedal, a good replacement for the OD3, but I want to keep the OD3 in my chain and use the Boost as a clean boost. When playing alone the distortion sounded kind of harsh to me and I was leaning towards keeping the BOR. Then I tried the distortion in the band setting. It sounded perfect. Now I'm set up good. I hit the OD3 for an OD, classic Fender sound, which I can boost for solos using the GT 500. When I need distortion, I turn off the OD3 and turn on the GT500 distortion giving me a good rhythm crunch or distorted lead, using the boost to get that extra solo volume. And finally if I want to go over the top, I hit the OD3 and the distortion side of the GT500 to get heavier distortion.

Very happy with this setup now. The distortion is just right and the boost is pretty transparent. Plus, I can use the boost as an OD if I want to.

Don't forsee any problems. Seems well built.

No idea, site seems pretty good. I have no reason to give a lower rating.

In my current band, we play Blues, Funk and rock (not classic). This pedal suits my needs really well. Nothing bad to say about it. I would like to get the BOR again some day maybe but it's hard to justify.

I've tried the OCD, the Fulldrive2 (totally don't get that pedal), the BOR, Sparkle Drive, a few other boutique pedals and many Boss pedals. I was looking for distortion (not OD) and wanted a clean boost. This pedal was a perfect match.

This pedal has an intuitive layout. The ability to select which stage is first in the line is very useful, and the switch is right on top (yet out of the way). The tone controls are small, but that is a good thing. The volume knobs seem to maintain a unity when set to equal values. All of the cables plug into the same side (the back-- facing away from you).

I couldn't think of a way to make it anymore easy to use.

I play a PRS McCarty into a Fargen Custom Shop VOS.

The distortion stage is biting. I've seen alot of negative reviews about this, and that is too bad. It is a FET-based distortion, so it was not surprising to me when I plugged this pedal in at the store. This pedal is a bit noisy on this side, but that's also to be expected. I play some heavy parts, but nothing like deep-metal thuds, so the biting midrange in this pedal is ideal. Pinch harmonics really jump out.

The boost side does slightly color no matter what. You may as well assume that from the fact that there are tone controls (only treble and bass on this side). This is also an OD stage that is useable to get that barely breaking-up sound when you dig in. Cranking the gain in this stage will get you a nice amount of saturation that is appropriate for studio work (trust me, less-is-more when tracking saturated tones). This stages saturated tones are much more tube-amp like than the distortion stage.

Using the stages together is just awesome. There are so many combinations of tones.

My amp is a single-channel masterpiece. This pedal helps me exploit all of its greatness. I'm not sure I would like the pedal's tone as much without my amp. With the stages being used together I have a three channel amp.

For $140 I couldn't beat this pedal's sounds (there are more than one). It is not the best at any one sound, but it is very useful for getting multiple usable sounds.

I have dropped this thing while setting up for a gig. It produced such a loud thud that people in the crowd actually gasped. It worked fine after that.

I also had a cup of tea sitting on my speaker cabinet while tuning. I forgot about it and started playing through the amp. The tea shook off and spilled all over this pedal... I dried it off and let it sit until the next day. Plugged it in and had no problem.

Seems good.

Never dealt with them.

I play in an original band that is fairly progressive. I need to get a lot of sounds out of my single channel amp, and this provides that opportunity for me. I can tap without the distortion getting mushy or unclear. I can play 7th chords through the OD and not miss out on the complexity of the chords. I can use the boost to simply drive my amp into brown-sound-town.

I have been playing for 13 years. I don't own a lot of gear currently, as I have stripped down my rig. This pedal helps out a lot with that.

If it were stolen I would probably buy this again.

This is very useful for me, I laugh at the negative reviews.

The pedal is fairly simple to use. It has knobs to control distortion and volume level and some eq for both the overdrive and distortion sides of the unit. What can be a little tricky is dialing in the settings on your amp, overdrive, and distortion so that you have several good and distinct tones that compliment each other. The eq has such a wide range that this can take a long time to decide what you like. One feature that the pedal needs though is center detents on the eq pots so you can know where the middle of the eq is. You can definitely tell by ear, but that would be a nice feature nonetheless

The sound on this thing can be best described as being conceptually like a Mesa Boogie, it has several incredible mind numbingly good tones, but it takes a lot of effort working the eq to dial them in just right. People who give this pedal a bad rating probably are used to plug and play pedals. This pedal is definitely one that is a sonic chameleon that can cover a lot of grounds, but also requires you to be careful with the eq.There are several "wrong settings" that will result in squeeling or just unusable distortion that has terrible tracking. But if you take the time, you can dial in almost anything.

This pedal is built like a tank, I have dropped it couple times and not even a ding or little scratch in the paint. It has smooth feeling pots (don't worry about the crackle on drive pot, that is supposed to happen) and the mini pots for eq, though small and fragile looking, are actually remarkably durable and realy don't accidentally slip very easily

never had to deal with them for repairs, but they answer questions by email REALLY REALLY fast and seem to stand by their product. I also don't think I'll have to considering how well made the product is.

I have been playing for quite a while and have many many distortion pedals and this pedal is amazingly able to nearly take the place of many of them (boss ds-1, dod 250, big muff, and proco rat can all be emulated by this pedal) The only things it can't copy are fuzzface, tube screamer, and rangemaster tones (and it can't really do metal zone tones but it can do a metal tone that sounds much better than any metal zone)

One thing that you have to try with this pedal if you own a tube screamer is to try this pedal's booster going in to a tube screamer, or try having your tube screamer go in to this pedal's distortion and the distortion going in to the boost, these combinations yield great tones when eq'ed properly

Using the pedal is easy. Getting a good sound out of it is a whole different story. The controls, especially tone controls, are difficult to find good settings with. The gain on the distortion side, especially, seems to really be one sound that differs from more ear-piercing to more muddy/fuzzy.

Probably the only really cool thing about this pedal is the ability to put the boost before or after the distortion. Though it only works so well when the distortion isn't very good.

I really expected a lot more from this pedal.

The Overdrive/Boost channel sounds weak when it finally reaches overdrive on the gain control, and the boost is incapable of not coloring your tone. Wherever you set the tone controls, they impart some tone on your signal, which tends to work great when you are looking to use it as simply a clean boost. However, use the boost after distortion or overdrive for a solo and you'll notice it either makes the tone fatter and slightly duller or thinner.

The Distortion side is even more difficult to get a good sound from. The use of a wah inductor for a mid control was a good idea, and maybe someone could use it as a tone control, but not this pedal. It can make you sound like either you've left the wah pedal on or you cut the mids completely. The treble control seems to do its purpose the best of any control on this pedal. The bass control on this side does very little...even with it cranked and the mids and treble set low, this pedal is still horribly and painfully shrill. Friends and band mates have repeatedly referred to the pedal as "ear-piercing," "shrill" and "abrasive.

And now, before someone dismisses this review as being someone with a "crappy transistor amp" or "Squire guitar," I'll tell you that I'm using great gear that sounds excellent with everything else. I am using a Fender Princeton with a 12 inch Tone Tubby ceramic speaker and a 2x10 extension cab from South Vintage Valley Amps (using two Weber 10150F speakers (I think that's the right number), along with a 1965 Gibson ES-330 with Lollar P90s, a Fender American Deluxe Strat with Kinman Woodstocks, a Fender Tele with Seymour Duncan Antiquity bridge pickup and Lollar Special T neck pickup and a G&L ASAT Jr. None of these guitars sound good through this pedal. I also was using a Dr Z KT-45 through a Marshall 1960AX cab (with English-made Greenbacks) but, due to the massive volume required for this amp to really shine, have since sold it. Big surprise, the Fulltone sounded awful through that amp as well.

Short of wanting pure abrasive fizz or muddy fuzz, there is NO need for this pedal. Even when I find a good sound, I quickly am reminded by a band mate that it sounds shrill farther from the amp. There is no winning with this pedal. I've had it for 11 months now and have tried time and time again to like it and to find a great use for it. But I can't deal with it anymore.

So far I've never had problems with this pedal. However, I bought the Fulltone cables prior to this and the tip actually broke off of one of them. Both the Fulltone cables and GT-500, along with the vast majority of other Fulltone pedals seem to have won Guitar Player Editor's Pick Awards...amazing. That is, until you realize that Fulltone has advertised in every issue for years now. I work in advertising and marketing, I know how it works...you advertise regularly with a magazine and they show their appreciation with glowing reviews. Don't think this doesn't happen in real life.

I emailed Mike once. His response was rude and condescending. All I wanted to know was more about what pedal would match a certain amp/get a certain sound.

Overall, I have little use for this pedal and, even when it sounds good, I end up not being able to find the same sound again simply due to the smallest of tonal changes (say the amp volume increased from 4 to 4.5, etc.).

The best things about this amp are the od before or after dist switch and the size...now if only the sounds contained within this compact, space-efficient pedal were as good as it should be at such a price.

You can get usable tones pretty quick.

Here's the good first. The 2 channels cascade rather nice.
The Not so good! Channel 1 the OD channel would be killer if it didn't have so damn much low end. I play through a Bassman head & a Matchless Clubman. It doesn't matter which amp I play thru there's way to much low-end, even with the bass rolled off. If it had less bass this channel would rule.
The God Awful.. Channels 2 the Distortion/Gain channel is basically unusable. It squeals, it's over saturated even with the distortion rolled off. Worst of all, it Can not & will not cut through the mix at rehearsal or at shows....

I'm certain it will last forever....

They are cool to deal with..

I really wanted to like this pedal & ride out into the sunset using it. The idea is there, but the execution lacks. To have 2 separate channels that almost deliver is genius.. I really don't know why they didn't just put the OCD or something similar on the distortion side..

And why any OD pedal needs that much freakin low end is a mystery to me. Just because something sounds good in the bedroom, living room, test facility etc, doesn't mean it will ever sound worth a damn in a live band setting.
I run a channel amp rig, at low gain settings. You'd think the distortion side would eat it up with tons of volume separation from my normal amp setting.? NO!!!! It just gets buried & dies into a sound wave mess that is inaudible..

I'm not going to say this pedal is crap, because it is not. Maybe Fulltone can do some more research in the field before releasing a pedal to the masses.

After 4 months of fighting the tone of this thing it's going to a new home via Ebay.. Maybe someone else can dial it in....?

Newer model red version. Boost/OD on one side, Distortion on on the other. It is FET distortion, not Germanium diodes. Toggle switch in the center for putting boost before distortion or vice versa. Solidly constructed 16 gauge steel housing with bright red powder coat paint job, very sexy looking. Nice, smooth control knobs

Well, what can you say. Mike makes a great boost pedal in the Fat Boost, a great boost/od in the FullDrive 2 and a great litlle rock monster in the OCD. This, however, sounds bad. FET distortion just does not have the warmth of germanium diodes in the clipping stage. They are very harsh and edgy, too edgy, I couldn't smooth it out with the tone controls. Did not like

Mike's pedals are solidly built, inside and out. Good components and good qc. Every now and then you get a quirky one. But if it's under warranty, he'll fix it

Emails are a little slow. And I've heard he can be a jerk sometimes, but I've never dealt with him personally, but they did fix my Fat Boost in a timely manner, so no complaints there

If you like a hard, in your face, edgy kind of raspy distortion, this the box for you. I like my distortion a bit more on the creamy side, and this just don't do it

2 separate channels.
15 minutes to dial in.

Both Channels are near perfect for what they do.
The OD is a bit too Fat sounding. (still sounds great)
The Distortion is pretty amazing with more than enough gain.
I take the bass down to -0- on the OD channel & get great results.
The Distortion channel has ton of db separation & so does the OD.
I think the OD side may be the exact same as the Fat Boost 2??
The Distortion side sounds like nothing Fulltone has ever produced.
This pedal has simplified my guitar playing life big-time.
The tones are very vintage.

I don't understand the bad reviews. I guess, no one pedal will please the entire guitar playing world.

There's a lot of gain on the distortion side, don't be afraid to back it off a bit. Fet pedals operate different, they don't have to be cranked to deliver great tone.

I'm sure it will last the test of time.

Fulltone's pretty cool to deal with.

I play thru a 65 Bassman. SG Standard, Tele Deluxe, Les Paul Special.
Rock, Punk Rock, Hard Rock, Southern Rock etc.... It all Rocks!
This pedal makes a guitarist life much easier. I stay busy playing & recording. I own 2 of these GT-500's & I'm selling all of my other OD pedals. I've owned just about every OD pedal sold in the USA. There's no perfect pedal, but this thing does exactly what I want it to do. The fact that it operates as 2 separate pedals is why I like it so much. I'm not a huge fan of most Fulltone pedals. This one is killer. Take it from a guy that only uses OD pedals & nothing else. The GT-500 has great vintage tone. The fact that the Distortion side is called "distortion" does it a disservice.
This is an Overdrive pedal.
It's a 10. I'm just sorry it took me so long to try one out!!

hard to get to know all the features...worht it though

anything you want, it's in here.
Ignore the beginners who slam this pedal,because it sounds crappy with their transistor Peavey or Fender....LAUGH.
This is for a PRO, with real guitars and amps who wants to take them in all sorts of different directions.
Period. Perhaps HC should require clips from all reviewers to establish some , uh, "frame of reference?"
I'll happily comply, in fact you can here me with the GT500 on at least 3 current TV commercials. Yah I know, but it beats your bedroom ;)

it's Fulltone.

don't answer the phone, answer emails fast

the best , most diverse, and complex distortion pedal ever made.
Amazing! If you have been playing for 10 years or less, save your money, get some lessons please.

Features already listed, easy to use, you have to spend some time with it.

The pure sound quality of this pedal is very good IMO. The tone controls offer a very good range of sounds and I found most settings useable. The boost side of the pedal was ok, I prefer the OCD and the Fulldrive 2 Mosfet as boosters. The distortion side of the pedal offers some nice sounds. However, for high-gain distorted sounds I think the MI Audio Crunch Box wins hands down. I own the Crunch Box, and did some side-by-side comparisons. The distortion side of the GT-500 by itself doesn't even come close to the gain of the Crunch Box. I had to use the booster to get anywhere near the amount of gain the Crunch Box has. In addition, I found the GT-500 to be very "polite" and somewhat tame, even with the boost engaged. The Crunch Box screams with harmonics and can be pushed into feedback easily.

This pedal is marketed as a high-gain device. I would dispute that claim somewhat, I would call it more of a medium-gain device that can be pushed closer to the high-gain range with the boost engaged. I ran this pedal through a vintage Deluxe Reverb and a Mesa Boogie Mark IV head; the unit worked well with both. The only effect used was a Boss DD-3 for some delay. The unit is fairly quiet, even with the boost engaged. Again, nice sounds, but if you are looking for a true high-gain sound this may not be for you. In addition, I thought the lead tones in this pedal were much better than the rhythm tones. You can get some nice round lead tones, but the pedal is too polite for any nasty rhythm work. If the GT-500 were advertised as anything but a high-gain device I would have given it a ten.

Very sturdy, built like a Fulldrive 2.

I have been playing for over 13 years now and am very picky about my gear. I typically like Fulltone products and had high hopes for the GT-500. To be fair, it really is a nice pedal. However, I just do not have a place for it in my set-up. My high-gain tones are covered by a Crunch Box and a 70 Fuzz. My low-medium gain tones are covered by an OCD and a Fulldrive 2 Mosfet. As such, I do not really have a place for the GT-500. I was hoping it would give me a more tweakable alternative to the Crunch Box. A nice pedal, but not a good fit for me. I wish it had as much gain as the Crunch Box, then it would have been an easy 10.

This unit is simple and straightforward. Volume, drive, bass and treble on the OD side; volume, distortion, bass, middle and treble on the Distortion side.

I've been using this as part of a pedalboard with various tube amps: Fenders, a Marshall and an ancient Traynor (a '71). The pedal reacts very differently with the amps: the Fenders (6L6s) have more headroom and a much brighter tone; the Marshall and the Traynor (both small EL-84 models) compress much faster (not so much of an audible boost) and the treble frequencies aren't as biting. This unit throws a LOT of treble into the mix, and if you have the headroom, it'll kick up the volume alarmingly---you've been warned!

It seems to be built like a tank.

I've had no reason to contact them.

As stated previously, the GT-500 is treble-biased and will boost the volume of your amp (if the amp has the headroom) explosively. I have the OD side set with the bass on full and the treble dumped, and it's still plenty bright. The distortion side reminds me of a Big Muff pedal---a real thick, heavy fuzz tone. The pedal also has another trick: when both sides are activated at the same time, there's a switch that allows the OD to go into the Distortion, or the Distortion to go into the OD. My choice is definitely Distortion into OD. I would recommend anyone interested in this unit should give it a test-ride first. Tonally, it's an acquired taste.

With all the buttons, still pretty easy to use. All the controls work like they should.

Great OD sound, and horrible distortion sound. As someone said, Fulltone does overdrive very well, but distortion? Not so much. It sounds like a Boss DS-1. And, that's just an awful thing.

I own a few Fulltone pedals, and they're built well. I doubt I'll gig with tthis pedal though.

I use a Mesa amp, and I wanted a pedal that'll get me more of the british sounds. And, the boost was a plus. Well, it turns out the boost is actually useable while the distortion was junk. This is going on ebay, and I'm going to try the MI Audio Crunch Box.

Very easy to use. Separate eq for each channel, which is very nice (and unusual for dual channel pedals).

Mainly used this with an American Standard Telecaster with Kinman Broadcaster pickups through a Fender Blues Deluxe on the clean channel. Also played around with a Gibson SG.

First, the overdrive channel is very good (to my ears)--I can get a nice fat tubey sound--when the drive is almost maxed out, I get a nice fat sound of tubes breaking up, and it keeps the tone of the guitar pretty well (but not great). The eq is very useful, and this thing never gets muddy and always cuts through a loud mix. As a pure overdrive pedal, I'd give it an 8 or 89

The problem I had with this was the distortion side (I'd give it a 3 or 4 on this side). I just couldn't get any kind of ballsy sound out of it; everything I tried sounded fairly weak, with flabby bass and harsh highs. I could get some nice overdriven sounds with the drive on the distortion side down, and on the overdrive control all the way up, but I couldn't get seem to get great pounding distortion. The distortion pro or OCD seems to do distortion better (but neither are cranked high gain type pedals).

I think the distortion side is either something people are going to love or hate (as you can see by the mixed reviews). With any piece of gear, you should buy it from someplace that will let you return it--I did and bought a Blackstar Dual, which seems to be working better for me so far (have only had it a day though).

Took it back after 3 weeks, but it seemed like it was built like a tank.

Never used it.

Overdrive channel was good for the old-school telecaster garage rock I was playing, but as I said above, the distortion side didn't do it for me.

I've been playing for about 15 years.

Very easy to use, however the levels of the tone knobs can't be seen on stage.

Using with Genz benz Black Pearl, Fender Amps and Rivera combos.Strats and Cole Clark guitars, plus Ernie Ball Sillhouette Special.The Booster is great, the distortion is brittle and easily bettered by FoxRox ZIM.The ZIM is also configurable, with various cards that can be installed.The other issue with the distortion is that it cannot be wound back.When the Gain knob is a "zero", it still distorts.This is the ONLY pedal in 35 years of playing that does this and I ask "WHY?"...why would anyone design a pedal that does this.Guitar Players Oct 2007 review stated this is "Possibly the most musical two in one distortion box going". I hope all you guys out there test this for yourself.I think this is one of the reasons why there are so many available cheap on Ebay...in my view th MI Audio Tube Zone, MI Crunch Box & Neo Fuzz along with the FoxRox ZIM kill the distortion side of the GT500, which gets few variants and is just harsh,too harsh for Hard Rock and not enough grind for Metal.Mine is going on Ebay.I also prefer the ZVEX box of Rock, also a better unit.Fulltone should redefine this unit or get rid of it.Fulltone does not know how to do distortion, only overdrive.

Extremely reliable, but then why not?.Fulltones are always well built.But this only matters to people who will use it a lot.Not me.

I emailed Fulltone twice with a question about a GT500 mod he stated he had, I received no replys.So I would say zero for support, but given he has already sold this thing why give a toss about replying to some guy in Australia that has a question.Better to spend time on "growing the business of Fulltone"

Playing 35 years, not a good match, I wont be keeping it as it does not fulfil intended function.If stolen I would just let the turd have it.What do I wish it had?....tone buddy, tone.It gets a 4 because I paid too much for a booster.

It's simple to use, just not simple to get a sound I like.

The OD eq circuit rolls off way too much bass, so the resultant sound is pretty thin. The bass boost pushes the low mids, but still there's no real low end. The low strings tend to be flappy, lacking punch and clarity.

The dist. section tends to be on/off...no middle ground, and no dial-in with the guitar volume knob. The distortion is just plain buzzy.

On to Craig's List it goes.

I opened it up, and the construction is absolutely first rate.

Have to give it a 5. It's a beautifully built box. I just don't like the way it sounds.

This is a very simple unit to use. There isn't anything overly complicated about it.

I use an Ibanez H/S/H as my primary guitar, and a 1979 Korean made Strat with Jeff Beck hot fender replacement S/S/S for my secondary guitar. Both of these went straight to the GT 500 and from the GT 500 straight to my fender tube amp. The amp gives no real destortion even on the dirty channel with the gain cranked wide open.

My findings were that my Strat didn't have enough output to really drive this unit well. It sounded good, but both sides of the unit were lacking when used in conjunction with this guitar. On the other hand, my Ibanez sounded like a dream. I have to agree with some earlier posts that this unit doesn't give a large variation in the destortion sounds, but if you want a good tube amp sound and a very professional tone, this might be the unit for you.
My only real complaint with the sound would be that it needs more range. The overdrive could go a bit higher, and the destortion side too could deal with a boost. That being said, both have wonderful tone and great sound and offer a good range over-all.

I had always been looking for a good dynamic tone with a professional sound like a wide open cranked tube destortion. This unit provided that. I found my rig sounding like the Trans-Siberian Orchestra in minutes.

This is my first Fulltone product. I've not owned it long, but I wouldn't expect any problems. It does look to be well made.

I have been playing for 27 years. I don't play professionally, but I do play in my church band as well as giving lessons to others. I have owned many destortion units, and have never really cared for them much. I've always found an amp's built-in destortion to be better and gives a wider variation of sounds. I've owned most of the Boss overdrive/destortion pedals as well as many other brands.

This is the best destortion pedal I've ever found. I could wish it had a bit more variation or a wider range on its gain settings, but I love what it provides, and it seems to provide a lot.

I play anything I can get my hands on and trick my fingers into doing, but I tend more toward rock in its various forms. Metallica and Trans-Siberian Orchestra are two of my favorite bands, and this unit really works well for playing their songs.

My only real criticism of this pedal is when both sides are turned on. With the overdrive running into the destortion, the gain goes up, but it also takes on a fizzy sound. This could be due to my not having played with both sides enough to work this issue out, however.

I run a Fender Hod Rod Deluxe and just went from using my amp distorition to this pedal. I had the pedal sounding better than my amp in a matter of minutes. It does take some tweaking, but in my opinion, great tone came quickly. Other than that, it's a simple layout.

This is a tone machine. I had my Mexican tele doing things I didn't know it could do. Great chunky low end rhythm tones. Also running that distortion on top of the overdrive gives blistering, humbucker-esque tones. I haven't quite found the exact sound I want yet, but I know it's in there. Also, due to our venue, I have to run at lower volume quite a bit. This pedal gives me great volume control without losing tone.

After 3 days, no problem!

Haven't needed any after the sale. The Fulltone website gave me way more information than I needed to know about the pedal (I'm no sound engineer), but it was very helpful in helping me make my decision.

This is a great pedal. Great blend with my amp and other pedals. It gave me the control over my distortion sounds I'd been lacking. I may eventually get a Fulldrive 2 to get more of the bluesy single-coil distortion sound, but right now, I"m lovin the sounds I get out of this pedal. The overdrive also adds just the perfect amount of dirt to that clean Tele twang!

It is difficult to get a bad sound out of this pedal, but just as difficult to get a great sound. Let me explain. You can tweak and tweak and tweak till the cow's come home, but each night in a different room, strange power, acoustics, you will need to tweak.
It never seems to interact the same from night to night.

It's an overdrive/distortion pedal. Turn the knobs and go!

My rig changes every week almost. I have a serious G.A.S problem. But for the purposes of this review I will reconstruct the rig that has lived the longest with the GT500.
Gretsch Powerjet or Strat into Hendrix Wah>Rotovibe>Boss OC3>Octavia>Tuner>GT-500>Loopstation>Analogue Delay>Orange AD30TC>Orange 2x12.
I run the Orange as clean as i can on both channels and use the overdrive side of the GT500 for a bluesy break-up and the distortion side for the high gain thing. The pedal pushes the amp nicely and i can't say a bad word about it. Though depending on the volume of the amp, i have to make a few changes. As i said earlier....tweak..tweak.

The best thing about this pedal is the ability to stack the overdrive and distortion sides on top of one another. Not only that you can choose via mini switch whether to run the OD into the Dist or the Dist into the OD. Versitile personafied.....
I play covers 4 nights a week as well as originals and wouldn't leave the house without this pedal. Real midrange control!!!!

Why would you need a backup distortion. If it failed i would just crank the gain on my amp. I guess if you had a Fender 65 twin you couldn't do that. Fulltone build the highest quality pedals and would be confident that if i dragged this behind my car on the way to the gig, it would still work when i got there.

I have never had a problem with Fulltone but i hear they take a long time to reply to emails. (Sometimes never). But again i have never had a problem, fingers crossed, touch wood, all that.

This is a Pro pedal so you need to know what you want to get out of it. I tried many pedals before settling on this one. Most don't give you enough gain or enough flexability. This delivers in all areas for me. If it were stollen i would jump in the car and buy another one.
The footswitches are perfectly spaced unlike some other dual pedal designs.
I have been gigging solid for the past 14 years and for the past 3 years 3-4 times a week. I'm the type of person the loves amp distortion but it's not alwayspossible at the volumes we are forced to play at. This is the best tool to get your amp singing.
At the end of the day it's all about taste and you got to get out and try a bunch of pedals to see what suits, but if your looking for warm tubescreamer and endless gain I'd try this one first, a few others and then come back to this and listen again.....

You have to work with it a while because of its many possibilities. The Overdrive Section is pretty simple with treble and bass control. The Distortion section is more complicate with treble, middle and bass control. Furthermore it has a switch to change the order of the two sections, Boost/Overdrive before Distortion or Distortion before Overdrive Boost.

I use it with a Haar 60 modern Strat with H/S/S, a Fender Classic Player 60 and a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and a Fender Blues Junior. In combination with the two amps the pedal sounds great, not brittle or harsh if you don't want it to be. But it needs time to dial in the sound you want or it takes time to get used to the sound you get. It might not be at once the sound you expect but after a while you won't play any other pedal. The GT 500 is the most caracterfull pedal i ever played. I played Xotic BB and MI Audio Crunch Box before and they are great pedals but they sound a bit boaring like every other guitarist you like. The GT 500 is much different with its unique middle control and its amplike character. My advice: Give it time and may be you will love it. May be it is not the pedal for everybody, not the mainstream sound like a BB Preamp or the BB Plus, but it is a great pedal with lots of sound possibilities and high quality characterfull tone.

Built like a tank like every Fulltone Pedal

Don't know.

For me it is the best Distortion Pedal on the market and I tried nearly all of the 'boutique' stuff.

PRETTY EASY TO GET UP AND RUNNING BUT TRYING TO GET A GOOD SOUND FORGET ABOUT IT

BRITTLE AND HARSH , BAD BAD BAD SOUNDING DISTORTION COMES ON AT FULL STRENGTH AND CAN'T GET A WARM SOUND OUT OF IT AND MAN I TRIED I HAVE A FULLDRIVE II AND ITS GREAT I BOUGHT THIS FOR A HEAVY LEAD SOUND NOT IT

YEAH YEAH PROBABLY BUILT LIKE A TANK SOUNDS LIKE A TANK OH YEAH BOUGHT IT FROM TUNNELVISION LONG TIME CUSTOMER THEY TOLD ME SEND IT BACK TO FULLTONE THEY WOULD DO NOTHING FOR ME GOTTA LOVE THESE GUYS

THEY DON'T ANSWER E MAILS AND I THINK IF I EVER MEET THIS GUY I,M GONNA BEAT 202 DOLLARS OUT OF HIM CUSTOMER SUPPORT IS EVERYTHING I DON'T CARE IF YOU MAKE PEDALS FOR ROCK STARS I AM A WORKING CLUB MUSCIANS AND WE ARE YOU WILL SUPPORT YOUR BUSINNESS AMEN!

SOME OF HIS PRODUCTS ARE WORTH IT BUT I HAVE LOSS MY FAITH IN FULLTONE TRYING HOMEBREW AND CARL MARTIN

Ease of use eh? See, it's easy to turn the knobs and what not- and it's easy to switch from one channel to both- but, you have to be patient to get certain sounds, this pedal wants some attention, and once you give it to her, she'll rock your world!

I'm going to be writing to what a lot of people are saying: "The Overdrive is better than the Distortion"... I agree with the sentiments about overdrive, and I concur. This is one of the best overdrives I've played. The EQs allow you to cut the highs and give a little more bass response that my particular setup needs. I found that feature really lacking in the OCD and that is why I went with the gt-500, and I'm glad I did....

AND NOW, for the distortion side. I must say that I too was having a hard time getting the sound I wanted from the distortion. However, I spent a good afternoon after tweaking and tweaking for a month...and now? I'm so glad I did. I personally found the distortion side to be a tad muddy- however, the three EQs on the distortion side really allowed me to shape the sound I was looking for...albeit it took me awhile. I think this side of the pedal really needs a lot of attention and for me, I used my guitar's volume and tone knobs to further dial in the tone and sound. I have set the distortion at about 12 o'clock and the volume at 9 and I've really found the sound I've been craving- great clipping and great tone.

So, in summary to my fellow GTers out there- don't give up, keep tweaking and maybe you'll find what I have- a GREAT distortion and overdrive pedal in one!

I trust the Fulltone name- I think they make great pedals.

Never had to contact.

Like I said before- this baby needs a little loving and doting. My patience was rewarded, and now I have found a sound that I rely heavily upon. I play anything from jazz, country, rockabilly to driving rock. My guitars are all single coil and I play into a vintage tube amp- I think with the right setup and time this pedal blows a lot of the competition out of the water.

The two sides to this pedal are really Jeckle & Hyde. I really like the overdrive/boost side- but I find the distortion is really lacking. I have tried and tried to dial in the right sound, but have yet to do so. I figured having three eqs on the distortion side would help me shape my sound- but I have found that it hinders.

I have the sound is really different to me day-to-day on the distortion side. I really love the boost/OD side- in fact I was contemplating getting an OCD, when my local guitar guru- said to give the GT a ride. I wish I hadn't bit. As I mentioned earlier- the distortion side is what fails for me on this pedal. Even the toggle switch is a great idea- it allows you to switch which circuit comes first when both sides are engaged, but it really doesn't live up to the hype.

I think for me- I utilize the OD side much more- the distortion sounds very stale and sterile. I really wanted to like it- but it doesn't really inspire me. I would rate the OD side a 9 and the distortion side a 4- thus I have given the rating a 6

I don't know- it seems to me that the sound changes from day to day- I have no worries about the pedal itself- it's built like a tank.

Haven't dealt with them

Overall, I would again rate the OD side better than the distortion- I really think the sound is inferior to a lot of other pedals out there. I have really spent a lot of time tweaking and have finally settled on a sound that is just...okay.

The Boost side is easy to use of course but the Distortion side requires a LOT of tweaking to find a decent tone if there is one to be found.

I play Telecasters, Am Deluxe Ash and Classic Players Baja. Initially I used it with a good solid state amp and didn't think the pedal added much to the OD channel of my amp alone. OK, it's designed more for a tube amp. I plugged it into my tube amp and heard some improvement using the Boost/OD side but the Distortion side still didn't impress me with any quality tones no matter how much I worked with it. Also, either side of the pedal was always noisy (hissing) when used in conjunction with another pedal. Then the pedal got noisier and the distortion side would only provide gain but no distortion. All right, this thing is a lemon.

My experience with it has shown it to be very unreliable based upon the above detailed malfunctions.

After it developed the above described problems I attempted to contact Fulltone for warranty service. They require that you have a return authorization from them for warranty service. They do not provide a telephone number, just an e-mail address and a caution that they are real busy and etc., etc. Well excuse me for interupting your busy day but I dropped $200. for your P.O.S. pedal and it doesn't work. I took the time to purchase your hyped up product and I don't think it is too much to ask for some customer service. I sent them a detailed e-mail and requested warranty repair, replacement or refund. That was a week ago and I haven't heard from them yet.

I play blues, classic rock and some country and have been playing for 40 years or so. This particular pedal has been a big disappointment. If it were lost or stolen I certainly would not care and would replace it with something else (as I probably will anyway). I was seriously considering the purchase of additional Fulltone products but due to my experience with this product and Fulltone's lack of customer service to this point I don't think so now.

This is my first Fulltone product I had my eyes on OCD - but my local GC was out of it and they recommended me GT500. My OD/Distortion setup was Boss Metal Zone and Ibanez TS-9 (Analogman Mod). So I did have a OD/Distortion combination setup. Well when I decided to get it GC were out of stock on this too - now I really wanted. I saw some video on YouTube - was impressed. Pretty simple setup - actually video on YouTube got me good idea on how to use it - also some of the posting on HC.

I had it for 2 weeks. I had some issue with my Pedal Pad Board I was not able to officially put it in to my board until last week. I thought I needed to get rid of Metal Zone and Tube Screamer due to spacing on my board. My set up is Fender EJ - Boss Noise Suppressor - (EB Vol - Dunlop Wah - TS-9 - MZ - Digitech Delay) - Boss Chorus - Fender DRRI. ( ) Pedals are inside NS10's loop. I still had my hopes on TS. So I crammed in GT500 and TS which turned out to be great. Basically replaced MZ for GT500 It gave my TS extra gain that I always thought was lacking. I always had TS8's gain all the way up. Now I got it about it on 12 and level on 10 (clock hand position) tone 11-12 not too bright. I can use TS alone for rhythm crunch and then use GT500 Boost/OD to kick in more gain. This set up makes my EJ Strat sing.. even get a slight feedback on long sustain notes. smooth and really brings out the TS9's character out.

Distortion side - I am still stuggling. May be I need a Humbucker PU for this side but. I wanted different distortion than what MZ gave which was harsh - gain. Although MZ is very quiet and very responsive and does have wide rage. My personal taste had issue with it. with gain up high pass 2-3 - there is this fizz. boosting midrange and cutting treble helps a little bit but.. the fizz does not go way. I used to own a 1/2 stack marshall early 70's head with master vol - forget what model - but it had that fizz. So I am figuring distorion side is remenence of Marshal/Vox type over drive. Now I can back off on my volume and fizz calms down..actually I loved the tone with distorsion on with volume backed off a little. Is this a single coil thing. With distortion setting on 9 - it is better managed.

I am totally sold on the OD side.. a simple solution to problem that I had for years

Built like a horse

????

I still want to try OCD.. everyone say this is totally diferrnt so

Although I'm not sure where the cutoff was, I'm pretty sure mine has the modified tone circuit. It was easy to get a good sound...I started with everything flat and it didn't sound bad...I'm happy the distortion doesn't work like the Distortion Pro...I hated the controls on that one. This is simple.

I use a Tim OD in front of this. I removed Tim's boost circuit and connected a loop to the boost footswitch. Now, with the GT500 in the loop I can select Tim, GT500, both or neither very easily. I'm playing Les Pauls into JCM800s. The combinations of these guitars, amps and pedals work together really well. I've set the amp at early breakup, so dialing the guitar back just a hair gets clean sounds, Tim is set for a good rhythm crunch, Tim+GT500 boost is heavy crunch or solo, and then I can add the distortion (set really low) to make it feedback easily. This is one of the things I really enjoy with the GT500: the feedback is really musical. I didn't have that with the MI Crunch Box I was using before...it just squealed. The other thing is that the tone controls on the GT are unbelievably wide-ranging. The Boost channel is voiced wonderfully. The distortion is too compressy for me by itself, but in the above config, it works great. I'd give the distortion a 6 but the boost is certainly a 10. Still, don't let the former stop you from trying this pedal...the boost alone is worth the price for me.

I expect no problems

n/a

After 30 years, I've been through a huge graveyard of pedals. This is certainly one of the best. It would have floored me if it was two boost channels...maybe someday!

Controls for each channel are basic and aptly named. It's not that difficult to dial in great sounds.

I use this with my Gibson Les Paul Classic and a Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue. My main use for it is as a boost on the overdrive side of the pedal to drive my amp; however, there are myriad possibilities on both channels for some seriously great tones. In my opinion, this pedal works particularly well for humbucker-equipped guitars. The Fulltone Fulldrive 2 is better suited for single-coils.

Built like a tank.

I play most styles from classical to jazz to rock and everything in between. This pedal works very well between my guitar and amp and immediately fulfills my need for that cranked sound at lower volumes. I look forward to experimenting with it to get all sorts of tones, both beautiful and utterly horrible. This pedal is capable of producing any overdrive or distortion tone imaginable.

Very well designed but obviously more complex that your average booster/OD pedal given the two-in-one design and the ability to alter the sequence of effects. Very well made like all Fulltone product I have every seen/used.

1989 Strat Plus Deluxe with Van Zandt Blues pickups and reissue '52 Ash Telecaster >> Boss TU-2 tuner >> Thro-Bak Stonebender fuzz >> George Dennis wah >> MXR Phase 90 >> Lovepedal Karl fuzz >> Barber Direct Drive OD >> Fulltone Choralflange >> Boss reverb and delay pedals >> Victoria 5112 and Fender Pro Junior with 1x12 extension cab. I was disappointed. This pedal takes the sweetness out of your tone. Everything sounds compressed/flat and dense. It certainly offers up tons of gain/volume and you get a very aggressive, focused, "pushed-forward" tone. If you want what I guess may be described as a more "modern" tone, I'm guessing the GT-500 would work well. But for classic rock tones, I think this pedal misses the mark.

Built like a tank.

No need for it on this or any other Fulltone products I have owned.

I have been playing for 20 years and like mostly classic rock. I'm going to try a version 1.0 Fat Boost (the old gray box) and stick with my Barber Direct Drive -- it sounds much better for the sounds I am going for.

Very easy to get a good sound. Standard Volume, Gain, Bass , Middle , Treble. The manual will tell you everything you need to know. Yet if it came without it, you would not need one.

Im a metal player, thrash metal ala Exodus, testament, Kreator, Metallica etc..., I use ESP guitars with EMG pick ups. The GT 500 Gives me a high gain sound that is very similar to a cranked tube amp. Very natural and responsive, chunky without sounding thin, fizzy or digital. I run an MXR Micro Amp or Fulltone Fat Boost before it and a six band Eq after it and I get very convincing thrash metal tones.

Its wierd for a metal player to go into the boutique market for pedals, but after having plyed most metal pedals like the Metal Zones, Metal Masters, Uber metals etc....you realiza that the tones those pedals provide are utter crap. The only good mass produced matal pedal is the MXR DOuble Shot Distortion.

Havin both the GT 500 and the DoubleShot on my board lets have the best of both worlds in terms of metal tones. The GT 500 provides a very round and smooth cranked tube amp gain sound that reminds me of Dream Theater, Testament and Metallica (very boogie like), the DoubleShot provides the razor sharp in your face tones of pantera and megadeth.

I run it into a PEavey XXL solid state head. The volume and headroom of this pedal is insame, palm mutes just jump of the guitar strings with complex harmonics and the notes have incredible amounts of sustain.

The boost side is awsome to use for lead playing or add a liitle gain for solos.

The pedal is a little noisy but a use a Samrt gate and that takes care of the hisss. I also dont run the gain past half way. Dont see why anyone would need to play with so much gain. It just makes things unclear and undefined.

I own other fulltone pedals and they are built like tanks. Would gig without back up. They feel and look very tough.

Ive contacted them with questions and Ive always had reply. Very kind and friendly people. Fulltone is a great company.

I play thrash metal and Ive been playing for over 18 years. Ive played many brands of amps, guitars and pedals. Fulltone is very top of the line. I would buy it again. I compared the GT500 to a Dmage Control Demonizer, Mesa Boogie V Twin (excelent)and some other non boutique type pedal. The GT 500 came out on top.

Very easy to get a wide variety of useful boost, gain, and distortion sounds out of this unit. Not much of a manual, but the control layout is excellent and all controls are self-explanatory.

My signal path is:

Strat/SG/Tele/Les Paul/ES-135-->Dunlop 535Q Cry Baby-->Fulltone GT-500-->76 MXR Noise Gate/Line Driver-->Mesa Express 5:25

I have a Boss GT-8 going through the effects loop of the Mesa.

All the amp models OD-distortion settings on the GT-8 sounded like absolute trash (going through the loop) and I really spent some time trying to fix them up with EQ, but to no avail.

The Express has a WIDE variety of excellent sounds from very clean to everything else with the exception of mega-gain. BUT, there are only two channels. Like most in need of a third (gain) option in a song, I tried my old ???74 Script logo MXR Distortion +. It really sounded pretty poor going into the Mesa; always sounded much better with my Twin.

I have been using the GT-500 for only a couple of weeks. Overall, I am very impressed. Working in conjunction of a clean or overdriven channel on the Express, it allows me to play around with three different gain structures. For example, I might start with the Mesa switched to the crunch mode of Channel 1 with the Gain setting at 3:00 and the Master at 8:00. Then add the OD side of the GT-500, then add the Distortion side of the GT-500. Between the combinations that are possible on the GT-500 and the possible combinations on the Mesa, there are nearly and endless number of gain possibilities.

There is a BIG difference as a function of guitar pickups, especially on the gain knob on the Boost/OD side of the GT-500. I need the gain knob full up to get much crunch on the Vintage Noiseless on my Amer. Strat. The Burstbuckers on the Les Paul start to get noticeably dirty at about 12:00.

Sure looks solid inside and out. I have only had the unit one month.

Never dealt with them yet.

I play rock and blues. My cover band does mostly 70s, 80s, and 90s rock variety (female vocal) music.

The GT-500 provides a nearly endless set of options for boost/gain and distortion. It has filled the need I had for a third channel option with my Mesa Express. I have been playing for nearly 45 years and have a collected a variety of electric guitars '69 SG Standard, '91 American Standard Strat, 01' ES-135, 02' American Standard Tele, and a '05 Les Paul Standard. I have a '73 Twin Reverb in excellent condition. I alos have variety of vintage MXR pedals form the early-mid 70's, but have used a GX-700 and how a GT-8 for effects.

I would definitley have to replace this unit if lost or stolen.

Simple to use pretty straightfoward

I'm not sure about the bad ratings, I think this is the best pedal I've ever owned out of more than 50 over the years. The boost side is a clean boost till you turn up the drive but still is pretty transparent. The distortion side has everything you want - touch sensativity, nice distortion, gain (plenty!). Secondly the tone controls are very reactive - you can boost or cut with little effect on the other ranges. The pedal sounds best at stage volumes which is the opposite of many other brands. The only possible complaint is that is one type of distortion and cannot be changed too much even with EQ. But, it's probably the best I've heard - very organic - sounds like a great tube amp channel.

If you've owned any Fulltone product you know the score in this category!

Never used it - never had to!

I'll give it a 9 because of the one dimensional distortion. I happen to really like it but others may be looking for a different sound.

I am VERRRRRYY happy with this pedal. I waited forever and it was worth it. All the knobs and switches are easy to use but it does take time to get the tone just right. EQing this beast is not easy. I just found out today from Mike Fuller himself that there are three mods to the GT that will make the tone more managable and the distortion smoother, Yea!!!! Manual is straight forward and helpful.

What sold me in the beginning was that the boost side was independant of the distortion side. I needed to be able to boost my clean settings on both my Mesa's and a Marshall and boost the OD as well. The OD of this pedal is awesome. I don't know why some other user's were not pleased. I am not looking for some ambigious, in between sound. Get that from your main amp and set this one for balls to the walls and forget about it! The switch for boost/distortion is neet but I found what worked best for me and thats where it stays. It is very quiet and all my guitars sound great with it, LP, PRS, Strat and Tele.

Like everybody else has said, it is a tank. I like the design and the buttons are located to where they are easily engaged without bothering the knobs.Have only had it several months but I get the feeling that when I'm long gone from this earth some lucky guy will walk away from my estate sale and it will last his lifetime too!

Mike is extremely helpful and after I emailed him on how happy I was with my 500 he responded with some great tips on how to make some small mods. That will be a weekend project as soon as I can get to a electronic's shop. All hand built and hard wired so I am sure it will last long time.

I play a lot of rock and blues style Christian music. I go from very clean and chimmey to OD to the max. Been picking for about 30 years and am an extreme gear freak. This pedal put all my other OD pedals out to pasture. I don't feel the EQ is real responsive but I will have to wait and see what these mods will reveal. I also just got a RetroMan Kopy Kat delay. I am big on anything analog, so the two pedals along with my CryBaby is a great combo. I think a tube amp definitly makes this pedal sound better, but with the right EQing it would be great in a SS amp as well!

Easy to use, it's 2 pedals. the left is a clean Boost, damned great one BTW, and the right side is a smokin rich sounding OD to Screaming Distortion

I played an early GT-500, Fulltone's definitely changed it, because the early one was BRIGHT, bright bright, and mine is warm, phat, singing. Smooth as Holdsworth if I want it. With the magic Inductor Midrange, I have every sound I want, for every GUITAR I have...Tele, strat, to Les Paul.This is unbelievable, and it mates up with all other devices because Fulltone was smart enough to give it FET buffered IN's and OUT's when it's one, true bypass when it's offyou can see the circuit inside, no Goop !

There is never any question about that when it comes to Fulltone.

alway fast, helpful to me over the years, but then again, i don't ask for endorsements or try and steer 'em towards my myspace clips either.

I'd buy it for the right Hi-Gain side alone.
Don't let this fool you though, the right side does the best super low-mid gain "simulated tube amp OD" sounds I've ever heard, in fact, I never use the Distortion knob past 11 o'clock. there's so much gain available.

Pretty straight forward but offers lots of options and a plethora of tonal variations .

Wonderful rich tones available , with a sweeping highly detailed midrange control . It has 2 tone boxes built into 1 , everything from a nice boost to full on shred .

Fulltones are built like tanks , this should last forever .

Always helpful and there when you need it .

a truly amp-like pedal offering unlimited tonal control and gain , it seems to fit perfectly in many situations . Awesome stompbox !

Excellent - covers whole range of overdrive and distortion. Very musical EQ to tailor sound to almost anything.

I never post reviews on HC (too lazy - i'm bad) but I saw the bad reviews on here and simply had to post. I am simply astonished at these reviews - my best guess is most of these guys play classic rock and were after tube pushing overdrive rather than distortion?

In my opinion, with my gear (vintage tele and gibson) through a modded budda amp this pedal is quite simply the finest distortion pedal I have EVER PLAYED, and I've played most of the expensive stuff. In fact this is the first pedal to have a distortion as natural sounding as my budda amp - the first distortion I've found that's good enough to replace my amp's distortion.

The first boost half of the pedal has an incredibly organic breakup, if you hit a note and leave it ringing you can hear it break up in an irregular way - very amp like. It has a wonderful overdrive/crunch.

The second distortion half is the holy grail of distortion for me - the EQs can be used to attain many distortion sounds - I can get it to clone my DAM Ram's Head (the finest big muff replica around, no longer made actually) only with not quite as much sustain, but definitely as good sounding. It can do the budda amp distortion, and a bunch of other tones. It just sounds so full - it's amazing.

This pedal is so good I can sell my budda get a fender amp and just use pedal for distortion/overdrive - this coming from someone who bought a boutique amp with the best distortion he could possibly find.

Looks indestructable.

Never used them. I want to hug them though.

Best and most versatile distortion pedal I have ever used, by a *** damn mile. The only distortion pedal I feel is good enough to make me switch from amp distortion.

The GT is very easy to use, simply 2 stomp boxes in one with a switch to change cofiguration of distortion before or after.

I expected the ratings for this pedal to be higher but, as I can see what works for one person does not always work for another. Do you remember the old saying "try before you buy". With that said.. this pedal works fantastic for me and my set up. Unlike one of the reviewers below I will take this over my Xotic RC or my BB booster. The booster channel on the GT500 is really organic and huge sounding I also understand that every pedal is an aquired taste. The GT 500 sounds unlike any of my other pedals and to me this is a good thing. I also have the OCD which sounde nothing like the GT. The distortion channel on the GT sounds big, raw and nasty.. I like it. The pedal seems to be quiet and well made too. I am using the boost channel to boost my other drive pedals and it is sounding great, for me it is a keeper. My amp is a Genz Benz El'Diablo C60 combo (tube amp.) I have more effects than I can list here and have been playing for 40 years, my guitar is a modified strat wiith an EMG SA pick up system. I understand that everyones rig is different... this pedal sounds awesome with mine.

I have had my OCD since they first came out and it works like new. The GT 500 seems very sturdy and should hpld hold up well.

Never needed them... this is a good thing!

I bought this pedal based on outstanding reviews in magazines and I have not been dissapointed, It is a great beefy open raw and wild yet refined sound. You would have to hear my rig to understand.

Very easy to use.. 2 channels boost and distortion. distortion side has an eq volume and drive, boost/od has volume drive and bass n treble.

this is where it lost me. I've owned many amps and pedals. rack units etc.. i'm a professional guitar player.. i've been playing for 25 years and professionally for 17 years.. playing guitar is my job.. i play covers so i need a wide spectrum of sounds..
i've been using the carl martin plexitone for the past year.. it's amazing. not a bad tone to be had.. someone spilled a drink on it and it fried.. while it's getting fixed i figured i'd try a new pedal.. (like all of us even when we find what we're looking for we still look for something better. lol) well i'd been following this pedal for a year. when it finally hit the market i couldn't wait to try it.. it came last night i plugged it into my fender deluxe and it was horrible.. (I've had this happen w/some fenders before) but i gave it the benefit of the doubt. so i brought it to my gig put it in my pedal board and played it. i play through a marshall plexi head with a marshall cabinet from the 60's that has 2 30's and 2 greenbacks. ( as you know any od pedal sounds good through a plexi) i used my p.r.s. and it was horrible. plugged in my L.P. and still horrible.. i tried every setting every combination. i could not find a good sound.. everything sounded compressed and too much distortion. when u lower the drive you have no sustain. the od channel was horrible also. when used as a boost it would just saturate and as an od it sounded like ?? well ass.
DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY GO FOR THE CARL MARTIN PEDALS THEY'RE AMAZING AND IN THE SAME PRICE RANGE.. SORRY C.M. FOR LEAVING YOU...

don't know. i'm getting rid of it ASAP.
SEEMS TO BE BUILT WELL THOUGH

DON'T WAST YOUR MONEY.. THIS THING IS HORRIBLE..........

Very easy to use

I have no explanation here, this thing sounds terrible. The OCD and distortion Pro were pretty good. Go figure. Some people are going to have trouble accepting this because so many Fulltone products are great. This must be a case of "it looked good on paper it surely will sound great"

I've never had problems with any of my many fulltone products

no experience never had a failure (knock on wood)

Did not buy it---I wish it lived up to the hype--- but hype is 85% of the pedal market

Pretty straight forward. Very easy to get the sounds I was looking for. Manual covers basics well. TO me, the beauty of this pedal is in the stacking possibilities.

This is a very natural sounding pedal and you can maintain your amp tone with the EQ section throughout the different gain levels. Both sides were easy to dial in the sound I was looking for. I went back and tweaked the settings a little after stacking the two sides in both directions to get 4 very different and very usable tones. I never had a Fat Boost, but I did have the Distortion Plus, which I felt was very dark and not natural at all with my rig. However, I love the distortion side of the pedal as well as the booster side, although I prefer to dial up the gain to about 3 o'clock on the Booster side.

Most reliable stuff out there period!

I have emailed Fulltone on several occasions. Always got a very helpful and timely response.

This is a no brainer. $200 for this pedal seems like stealing. I have tried the Klon, Eternity, Tonebone, etc., but none of them sounded natural through my amps. They sounded very good, but had too much coloration to the basic tone of the amp. I think the EQ section helps alot in this respect. I love the stacking idea. It's like the ZIM(another great pedal) but higher gain. A great idea Mike. Now, how about a FD II/OCD combo pedal. You could call it the OCFD. I bet you couldn't make them fast enough.

Straightforward to use.

I have been searching for the perfect distortion unit for ages - now I've finally found one that suits my needs! Absolutely wonderful, and the Booster/OD adds to the versatility of the pedal. I also liked the booster into the distortion, but then one needs to lower the gain. Yummy!

I had some issues the first day or two, with some crakling, noises, and total disappearance of sound at times. However, that seems to be gone now, and I have no clue what happened. Maybe the circuit board mounted potentiometers makes the contact between the chassis and the print board problematic?

I have owned Fulltone in the past that I didn't like: the Distortion Pro is a total waste of money. On my way to find an acceptable distortion stomp box, I've owned a whole bunch of pedals, also some legendary stuff like the Keeley Modded DS-1, a Blackstone, and the overhyped Krank Distortus Maximus. All of these are inferior to the Fulltone GT-500, and I think my search is finally over.

It's simple for the most part , straight forward In/Out's , LED indicators , but it has many EQ options and is rather complex . it's designed that way . Giving unlimited control of tone , gain , and boosting functions .

Without a doubt the best boost / distortion pedal I have ever used ! Nearly endless tonal options and EQ'ing available , I found it worked well with all of my amps and guitars . It also works perfectly with other pedals , no loading at all . Just powerful , articulate tone , with complex overtones and a sweet beautiful chime that I have never experienced in a pedal before . Simply the best midrange control for a guitar that I have ever heard ! Well Done Fulltone ! Awesome !

It's a tank ! Or a Battleship ;) And the battery seems to still be as new after a few months use . It's U.S. built and has a great warranty . No worries here .

With so many good pedals available and many available from Fulltone , this pedal stands out . It has many useful and original design elements and is a welcome upgrade to todays sea of basic , limited and rehashed offerings . A recent magazine review said it best , If the sounds aren't in here , maybe they don't exist . I think it's the best Boost/drive machine to come out in years !

Not your average plug and play pedal but not rocket science either.
Once you get to know how the eq's work its easy.

Very amp like, thick and natural overdrive to blistering distortion. You can get so many sounds out of this. I'm running an ac-15 with a Tele with great results. I've found the best results were achieved by switching off the bass eq's as the gt-500 has a lot of bottom end. Lovely!

built like a tank

not needed

I play a lot of different styles of music and do the odd bit of session work. I've been at it for around 22 years and own al ot of gear. This is a pedal you really need to work with but once you get there it's a beautiful thing.

The Fulltone GT-500 is very straightforward, and on the surface has more than enough control capability. On the boost side there is volume and overdrive along with low and high EQ. On the Overdrive side there is volume and distortion along with low, mid and high EQ. The mid control contains a wah inductor that allows tonal shaping from totally scooped to honky midrange. This pedal has TONS of boost and gain capability. In my use of the pedal, I never had the volume over 9 o'clock. So if you like the overall tone of the pedal, the control capability is very good.

In a word, disappointed. I own a 10th anniversary Fulldrive and really love it. It is my go-to box. I bought the GT-500 based on the Guitar Player review thinking it would be nice to the combination of boost, and a heavier overdrive for certain songs. While the boost feature certainly has a lot of gain, you really have to crank the dial to get any grit. But the EQ is nice to take the edge off higher volumes. The distortion side is loose, fizzy, and covers the range from too much to useless distortion. Once again the EQ controls are very good but the basic tone is non-musical. Such a contrast to the Fulldrive. I am playing G&L guitars through a Seymour Duncan Convertible 2000. This amp has a pretty sensitive preamp and can also be coaxed into great natural overdrive. The GT-500 covered up the tone of the guitar and amp with a mushy, carbonated sound. In the end I pulled out my old Sparkle Drive cranked up gain a lot and added enough clean blend to retain some definition. Granted it does not have the tone shaping of the GT-500, but a heck of a lot more musical. Honestly I think Guitar Player won't give a Fulltone a bad review, much like they love anything with Mesa on the front. I will be more skeptical next time.

Great cosmetics and my Fulldrive has been solid. However my first GT-500 arrived with a dead boost channel and had to be returned.

No direct experience with the factory. I returned the defective pedal to Waterman Guitars (bought on eBay) and they sent me a new one right away. So Waterman is cool anyway

In the end I sold it. For the level of sound quality, I just could justify the space on my board. So I have a very simple rig: Fulldrive, Morley Bad Horsie Wah and the Sparkle Drive.

It's not the quickest pedal to get a hang of but it isn't rocket science either.
There are many things this pedal can do so you need to look for what you want out of it.

This is a loud dynamic pedal with lots clarity, lots of grunt if you want it but it can be subtle as well. There are so many things the GT-500 can do. I use Tele through an ac-15 with excellent results.
I have the od side set at a slight break up, the dist side a slightly heavier sound and I have both going for lead sounds.
Don't be scared to really mess with those eq knobs!!I've had it for a few weeks now and I've used at many gigs and I just love this thing. It's the only drive pedal I need.

built like a tank!!

not needed. don't know.

This pedal is very unconventional so I can see why some people haven't bonded with it. I love it! it does want I want.
I've been playing for over 20 years now, I play original power pop and also make a living in cool cover bands and some session work.
I love the small compact size. I sometimes wish is wasn't as loud as it is as the volume controls are really sensitive. Apart from that this is a succesfull, original product from Fulltone and great value!!

This thing is quite simple to use. I don't understand people on here giving it low reviews, if you can't figure out how to use this pedal, then maybe you should play piano.

Finally, a real DISTORTION pedal. I play in a band, and I play rock music. I don't play Jazz, Blues, Country, Twang, Bluegrass, or rock like Nickleback or Fallout Boy. I play straight forward rock, with a little pop influence (think Jimmy Eat World, Weezer, Saves The Day, Muse, etc.) I am not looking for a TS-808 sound to drive my amp over the edge. This pedal delivers flat out distortion, and that is a good thing. I use it with a Gibson Les Paul Classic and Fender Telecaster through a Fender Twin Reverb 65 Reissue, and it sounds soooo good! I tried it with a Keeley Compressor, and it actually sounded better uncompressed (and don't get me wrong, I love Keeley.) I noticed a lot of people on here give it low reviews, but then notice what they're playing through (Peavey solid state amp?) You get what you pay for.

If you are looking for a full, bassy, crunchy distortion, this is your pedal. Don't buy it and be disappointed that it doesn't sound like a tube screamer, cause this is a totally different pedal. The boost channel is great for solos and leads.

Fulltone is great. Fulldrive was a good overdrive, and this pedal takes it to the next level, and its a level I love!

Haven't had to deal with them yet.

This pedal compliments my sound perfectly. I understand its a different type of pedal, cause people aren't used to an actual distortion pedal. This pedal is easily the best distortion pedal I've ever used, and I plan on using it for quite a while.

Don't bash it cause its not just an overdrive. It's good to finally have a distortion pedal with balls.

Pretty straight forward dialing in sounds. It's a pedal with 4 knobs....cmon.

Here is my problem with this pedal. My thoughts are there are two camps of guys (gals)that buy distortion/boost pedals. The ones that play them all the time almost with every sitting at their amps and the ones that can live with putting em in a drawer and pulling the one pedal that they didn't quite think was super hot at the time, but felt it had "potential". I'm kinda inbetween. If I don't really get on with the vibe/sound but also feel it may have an application down the road (at least a few times a years worth) them I'll keep it as long as it doesn't break the bank.

Bottom line: This pedal does not make it even in my utility drawer. I returned it today for a Fulltone 2 MosFet. I'll review that one later. The best part of the GT-500 is the boost and even that was not that great. I like my Xotic effects RC booster much more. The distortion just did not get along with my Marshall JVM 410 combo or my Bogner Shiva. A lot of midrange harsh buzz if you ask me. I'm sure there's an application for that....somewhere...

Did not break in the few weeks I had it.

I play Blues, Rock and a little Country. This pedal is probably not going to make people jump up and go shit!! This thing is amazing! It is a little sterile and harsh IMO.

This is a much less muddy sounding pedal than the OCD. A little complicated because of all the tiny knobs, but if you're a tweaker that's a good thing. A little hard to zone in on a great sound because it is fairly unforgiving. The distortion is very much in the mode of the big Warren Haynes Soldano tone. A lot of clarity, a lot of available high end, and not much compression or sponginess.

There are loads of sounds. The boost channel is one of the bestter boosts I've seen, going from a mild clean volume boost to a crunchy AC/DC type OD when the drive is dimed. The overdrive side has plenty of gain (at live levels with a clean amp 9:00 gives me plenty of grunt) for just about anything you'd like to do. Not noisy at all.

Like most Fuller pedals, it's a brick. With Fuller's new method of the controls it might be good to wait a bit and see if any issues develop, but I doubt that any will.

Always a-ok. Never been unpleasant with me, but YMMV.

A versatile pedal, but not all that. I play Dr Z Maz 38s with G&L Comanche or Hamer Sunburst guitars, have used dozens of ODs. For about the same price the Jauernig Gristle King or Diamond J Drive are both very similar, a tad easier to dial in, and will give you a great variety of tones. This one is on my grab and go board for now while I continue to work with it.

Plug in and burn is easy, but with lots of EQ options , every knob and switch greatly affects the guitars tone . It's really two pedals in one , each having eq and gain controls . Now the 2 pedals can be combined , with a switchable signal chain . All of these options available and a killer sounding midrange control . This is a very sophisticated device .

This is a monster pedal , Clean spanky tele tones massive fat SRV tones , I have a perfect Holdsworth tone , Awesome ! Used with a Twin ri it seems to do it all and has allowed me to free up my pedal board of a few pedals . This pedal has a very amplike vibe to me , but all completely adjustable , vox-ish chime no problem , tele tweed bad ass , it's here , it's monster high gain lead tones are inspirational , wonderfully rich tone , with complex overtones with a ballsy low end and a rich and I mean perfect midrange with lots of control over shaping the body of the guitars voice , all of this combined . for me this is it .

so far several gigs , a few rehearsals , 1 session , going strong . Very sturdy box with a great shape that slips under the boots nicely . I have a octafuzz and that has been going strong for many years , this pedal seems equally sturdy .I like to jump right in and give a piece of gear a workout , and this pedal shines .

II emailed about a few dealers stocking the new pedal and they where very helpful in helping me locate one and giving some good info on trying it out.

This is without a doubt the finest pedal I have ever had the pleasure of kicking on . I was blow away when I read the Guitar player review with their bold statements like "This may be the finest pedal ever " and If you can't find it in this box , it doesn't exist " Well I think they could be right on with this one ! God Bless the GT-500 !

Very straightforward. As easy to use as Fulldrive, Box of Rock, Tube Screamer, Tube King, etc, and much easier to dial in than the Radial ToneBone Classic - Would have loved the same Midrange control for the boost side and maybe even a Fulldrive type switch to go 'Vintage' or 'Comp Cut', etc.

I have been building pedals for years and playing the guitar most of my life (I am 31 years old).

First off, I would like to say that I believe that people who truly LOVE Fulltone products as I do have a certain ear for tone, being a little darker and warmer.
Eric Johnson is a great example of this. He happens to be my favorite guitar player, so maybe my ears are tuned right into what Mike Fuller is doing. I front a band I don't write that style, My writing resembles Sigur Ros, U2, Doves, Jeff Buckley, etc.
I have owned close to 100 pedals and I have never bought into 'Analog' snobbery...BUT it just so happens that Analog usually wins my ear over. Ither Fulltone Pedals I have owned are:

Fulltone OCD
Fulltone FatBoost
Fulltone Fulldrive II
Fulltone Fulldrive II Mosfet
Fulltone Soul Bender
Fulltone Octafuzz
Fulltone ChoralFlange
Fulltone Mini Deja Vibe
Fullton Tube Tape Echo

And now the Fulltone GT-500

Certain people will not like this pedal, for better or worse, just what the individuals ear is tuned to (tone-wise). I do not like trebly tone, so Fulltones darker tone right out of the box is perfect for my ear.

The boost side is WAY more useful than the Fulltone FatBoost, which is another one of the many I have owned.
I can get just enough grit out of the boost side to add character to my playing.

The Distortion side makes an incredible OverDrive.
Sorry to say, but I disagree with most of the reviews posted here when it comes to this category.
I can really get an Eric Johnson or B.B. King style tone out of this pedal, Soft and Dark.

Do NOT buy this pedal and expect to play Metallica.
Do NOT buy this pedal and expect to play Creed.
Do NOT buy this pedal and expect to play Satriani.

This pedal has WAY too much character to mimic those sterile tones that the Radio feeds us.
Great pedal for BLUES, JAZZ, and especially U2 style playing (sounds phenomonal with Delay)

I am not a big fan of what I hear about Mike Fuller as a person, But I believe when it comes to tone, He is the best in the business.
My whole life I was searching for the perfect Overdrive pedals and I went through all of them (Various vintage Tubescreamers with the JRC4558D, T-rex, Radial tonebone, Ibanez Tube King, the list goes on)

I didn't find ANYTHING that matched driving an amp until I ran into FULLTONE (and Zvex)

Anyhow, Just get out there and try it. If you liked the Fulldrive Mosfet, this should at least 1up that.
You can mix the Drive and Boost and you can even switch the arrangement (Boost->Drive, Boost<-Drive)

Pedal is loud

I am playing it through an Epiphone Blues 30 (switches from 15w Class A to 30w Class A/B)
I am also Using a Zvex Box of Rock and a Pigtronix Echolution
Guitar is a butterscotch Tele Reissue (about 13 years old)

I have played other Fulltones through my former Vintage Marshall Super Lead, Orange AD30, and Orange AD30TC Combo

All Fulltone pedals are built very well. NEVER had any issues.

YES, I would use it at a gig without backup...actually, I plan to.

Never dealt with them, but they don't respond to my emails and I have heard so many nightmares about Mike Fullers head being the size of Jupiter...If his ego is huge because he makes the best stuff, then it makes sense.
They ignored a bunch of emails in reference to my Tube Tape Echo, then finally got one email that contained one sentance...My question WAS service related.

This may be the first Drive/Boost pedal to stay with me forever.

My music is here - www.myspace.com/thebusylights

This pedal is very intuitive as most distortions/ODs are. However, the GT-500 suffers from the same problem as the Distortion Pro: TOO much control. It's just as easy to get really bad sounds out of this pedal as it is to get good sounds, and that puts me off a little. The OCD, by contrast doesn't really have a bad sound unless the tine control is in an extreme position.

The OD/Boost side of the pedal sounds very good, but there are probably a couple dozen good boost pedals that sound just as good if not better. I was really hoping for more from the distortion side. I liked it at first, and it does sound good, but not nearly as natural as my OCD. It can get heavier, but to me that's not a good thing. The OCD has the ability to get even old-school metal tones, but you can still hear the wood of the guitar and the tone of your amp coming through. I know this is distorion and not overdrive, and maybe that should have been a red flag. It just doesn't sound as much like an amp as the OCD...but I'm sure a lot of players will like it anyway.

The Fulltone stuff is well made. Can't fault 'em there.

Never had to deal with it.

For the money, this pedal is a FANTASIC value, and it really is very versatile...so versatile that I sent it back. I just want a pedal that fattens up MY tone, and the OCD does just that. I was hoping the GT-500 would do all that but do it better, but I like the simplicity of my OCD into another boost pedal (RGW Bad Bob).

The pedal is user friendly, however the EQing takes a little tweaking to taste. The Distortion Midrange control is very powerful, tweak away!

I use this in a country rock band. The boost side works great to get a little more saturation for leads or thicken up a rhythm sound on my THD Flexi 50 amp. The distortion side took me a while to like, but I like it more every day I use it. This pedal has a natural harmonic sound, and it more than replaced my old HBE Powerscreamer. (a Nice Pedal).

No problems so far. Fulltone has a great reputation.

Never needed service.

This is a good (somewhat expensive) Distortion/Boost pedal. It is recommended highly for mid gain users like myself. It has a wide range of sounds and is very versatile. I like this unit.

Straightforward, easy to get a great sound instantly. My only criticism is that both sides of the pedal have a HUGE output. With most OD/distortion pedals, when the volume is set to 12:00 you have unity gain- in other words the level going to your amp is roughly the same with the pedal on or off. I found that unity gain was around the 9:00 position. Also, moving the output knobs just slightly created a huge jump in the sound level. I'd rather have a more gradual taper and more control.

Volume issues aside, this is the best sounding pedal I've owned. I was using two Fulltone OCDs (one for grit, one for full-on overdrive) but I like the GT-500 a lot better. (BTW, I'm not a Fulltone fanatic. I hate the Fulldrive and I thought the Distortion Pro was about the worst sounding thing I'd ever heard.) But the GT-500 really is transparent. The distortion side has that magical quality of sounding clear and hairy at the same time. You really CAN hear the sound of your amp, just with a LOT more gain. The OD/Boost is very clear but will also get into the vintage Marshall grinf zone with the gain maxed.

I used the pedal for two shows in a row last weekend, and most of the EQ controls were left flat (with a little bump on the distortion MID control). So, I have yet to really explore the GT-500's potential. Even so, right out of the box it blew everything else away. I can only imagine the other sounds this thing is capable of.

Don't know but I'm sure it's solid.

Never had to deal with him.

For $212 it's a steal. It really s two separate pedals, and each one is probably worth $200 by itself, if you look at the prices some other boutique manufacturers charge.

Well it's very easy to use pretty simple layout.

Oh well I can't tell you how psyched I was when I ordered this pedal - then how bummed I got once I plugged it in. 1st let me explain I am a Fulltone lover, I have a OCD, Choralflange, Soul-bender and a Clyde Deluxe. I was hoping I could use this pedal and sell my Klon which I use mainly as a clean boost and since they are going for $500+ now I figured I would use this and sell that. I consider the OCD the best OD/Distortion pedal in the world so I had high hopes for thes pedal. The Boost section is a joke - with the drive on 0 and the volume on 2-3 it creates distortion - who needs a boost that distorts with the drive on 0 - the tone is flat unresponsive with no dynamics. I play through a handwired JTM-45 clone and a 1963 Vibroverb clone and while the OCD is unreal this thing eats but !! Then we have the distortion side is very heavy and compressed sounding. After hearing the OCD which REALLY sounds like an amp - the GT-500 sounds identical to an MXR distortion + ala Rhandy Rhoads fizzy - dizzy distortion. Not my cup of tea and not the vintge vibe that Fulltone is known for. What a let down - I had such high hopes for this pedal and it really is so weak considering how well it's built and all the features it has.

Built like a tank light all his other stuff I have so far is great am sure it will last.

Don't know how to say it any better - such high hopes. With all the hype and guitar player editor pic awards - I am really bummed how poorly this pedal performed !!

This is a fairly simple unit to operate and as with all Fulltone products feels solid. The only problem which I will address in the next section is the claim that it is really four pedals that can be reversed.

Here is where I had some difficulties. First I have a Fulldrive 2 Mosfet that I love and it is the perfect complement for distortion when I want something else besides the Keely modified TS 808. Before getting the Fulldrive I tried the OCD which I found to be harsh and buzzy sounding. So if you like the OCD or at least version one (i think they are on version three now) then read no further. However if you are one of the few that did not take to the OCD then you might have the same experience that I had with the GT 500 in that it sounds harsh. In addition when you reverse the effect chain within the unit there is such a huge volume boost the sound becomes unusable. Put the GT 500 on my board for a couple of gigs and practices then moved it on Ebay. Luckily there is still a shortage so if you try it and do not like it like me you can get your money back less the fees! Put the Fulldrive back and singing the praises of Mike Fuller again

Have several other Fulltone pedals including a deja vibe and have never had any issues.

Never called. Wish they had samples of the GT 500 on their website.

I wanted to like this pedal. Did not hate it just like others better. If you have a chance try the Fulldrive 2 Mosfet and this one and decide which works best for you. Maybe when version two comes out I will give it another try. Loads of pedals out there and plenty of good choices. Fulltone makes quality gear with enough variety within their own products to suite every one

Easy to use but not much to it... a clean boost side that can get a touch of grit and a weak and anemic distorted side. Putting the distortion through the boost gives you... wait for it... yep more volume. Yay. To get any real gain at all you have to put the boost into the distorted side. Tone controls work like... standard tone controls. However backing down the mids really reduces the gain and there's not much to begin with. This is true on some other units as
well but not as pronounced as this.

Fulltone has never really had a "high-gain" pedal and unfortunately this one really doesn't change this. More gain
than their other pedals but despite the hype nowhere NEAR the amount of gain or sustain as pedals like the Radial Hot British, Tech
21's GT2 or even the Subdecay Blackstar. Disappointing.

To get any real exciting gain at ALL you have to kick the boost into the distortion side... unfortunately this shows the
worst problem the pedal has - completely flabby and farty bass response.

Dialing out all the bass in both channels won't fix this... I tried and tried hard. As you work your way down to the low A nd E strings the bottom falls apart and fizzles. Not even a usable and expected
flabby effect like from a Big Muff but an unusable incoherant fizzle. And this was with both humbuckers and
single-coils. Forget doing any rock that requires
tight rhythm... I didn't even find it acceptable for blues, etc...
no "chunky rhythm stuff" like the creator talks about. Even with
the gain set low you notice the problem but as you try to crank it
it up it's a deal-breaker. Doesn't help that backing off the mids also kills a lot of the gain.

I'm describing this as used with a completely clean amp BTW - a Mesa MK III set clean and my teaching amp... a
solid-state Peavy that has a nice neutral tone for pedals.

Seems VERY solid. Uninspiring cinder block color scheme but
well made indeed.

Never had the pleasure.

I need high gain not for metal but for smooth violin type lead work
over chord changes ala Holdsworth, Vai, etc... both the Tech 21 GT2 and the Radial offer tremendous sustain and yet keep a tight bottom
end for rhythmic parts. The Subdecay Blackstar also uses cascaded
multiple gain stages like the GT-500 yet gives far more sustain with a very tight bass response. The farty and fizzy
bass response on the GT-500 killed it for me. I really can't think of a type of music that wants or needs that. A shame
too as it has a nice clear uncolored tone that I liked.

Been playing for 30 years and teaching full-time for 20 after the "club days".
Can't get stolen as I have already eBay'ed the sucker :-P

Once i figured out that it is simply 2 different pedals split down the middle, a no brainer.

unbelievable! Easily the most natural, warm, harmonic-laden device I've plugged in to, and I am a 34 year vet with more-than-a few name studio and live gigs under my belt.
Hard to explain compared to other deistortions, which sound like CLAMP there goes all your touch, overtones,dynamics, etc.
I use the GT with everything from vintage Vox to Carr amps, and tweeds in between with the same results.
Infinite variations of sustain OD, Boost, with any frosting (EQ) you need on top. the Inductor Mid control is to die for.

Fulltone=Tank

Mike and Tech crew (Tsuguto) are minutes away at all times. None better.

I have sold more of these by merely showing up with it at all sessions. In every case, everyone there guitar-interested has run out and bought one, without exception.
Value? The world's most transparent Clean boost, sorry Klon mated with "anything you want distortion" for $200? Duh.
One downer: the wait, I waited 5 weeks to get mine, but it retired 4 pedals from my board, I swear.

It has a clear layout that makes it a breeze to work with. No cryptic writings like "Resonance", "Voicing" etc. like the Fulltone Distortion Pro. You can get the specs and its details on the Fulltone website.

There is always a catch when there are too many knobs in a pedal, though. You usually have too many options about shaping your sound, and this appeals to some players, but others are really looking for simplicity and just the basic knobs (provided that they are voiced correctly, of course).

The pedal is really versatile, since it allows for the creation of many different sounds, but I got the feeling that the versatility will be there just for finding your own preference, and not as a tool for further experimentations, since they will not sound so good. However, the rating for ease of use is a 10 from me.

I tested the pedal very thoroughly with an Epiphone Les Paul Goldtop with single coil P90s on a Mesa Express 2:50 combo set to warm clean. I compared it to the Fulltone Distortion Pro that it replaces as the company's current distortion pedal, the T Rex Swamp, the MI Audio Crunch Box, the Radial Tonebone and the Visual Sound Jekyll and Hyde.

For the record, I like my distortions to range from classic (Clapton, Led Zep, Ac Dc etc) to more modern ones (Guns 'n' Roses, Social Distortion and sometimes on darker more fierce Marshall territory).

The Dist. Pro and the GT-500 are NOT pedals to provide the well known Marshall sounds (as it happens with hundreds of other pedals), but to evolve upon them, and they should appeal to people looking for all kinds of dist. shades. My personal preference between those two would be the fuller sounding Dist. Pro. Get it on Ebay, because it seems Mr. Fuller got it right the first time...

It is basically a two-in-one pedal, although neither side was the masterpiece that many people (and magazines, probably) consider them to be. The Boost / Overdrive option is a good one, transparent and detailed. Not noisy at all. However, it is not as musical as I would like, and not particularly impressive, almost one sided. The gain almost reaches up to the point that the Distortion side begins. The Distortion side was impressive, and I could set it to various famous distortion sounds, however I was really disappointed with the behaviour of the equaliser knobs.

The highs were wide ranging but harsh, and I got the feeling that it couldn't handle the bass well, something that the Dist. Pro did wonderfully. The Dist. Pro had much more musical and warm sounds, although both pedals (especially the Dist. Pro) provided "hairy" distortion, especially the Dist. Pro which had a slight fuzz kind of "hair", a very nice touch that has a love-hate factor about it.

The middle freq. knob didn't provide at all the tone shaping versatility that a wah wah inductor promises, as stated in the site. Believe me, I know what such a thing can do because I have a Keeley Nova Wah (a static wah) for altering the sounds of my pedals, and although I didn't expect it to sound similar, the tone shaping of the mids knob was somewhat poor. I am really wondering if it was a just a defective pedal (which I doubt it).

Adding the Boost to the Distortion provided better results than the Distortion side by itself (!). There was a considerable difference when I did the opposite (turn the switch to add the Distortion to the Boost), although my preference was the setting mentioned earlier.

I finally ended up choosing the MI Audio Crunch Box, which turned out to be a terrific example of what just 3 knobs (Vol - Gain - Tone) can do when voiced to perfection. Extremely versatile in the rich Marshallesque sounds it provides in the FULL range of all its knobs, without needing so many adjustments like the two Fulltone pedals I mentioned.

All in all, it would be a truly great pedal if the Overdrive side was more musical and the Dist. side had better, bassier and less harsh eq adjustments, which were the reason this pedal gets a low rating from me. It was a real pity to listen to the potential it would have if those two points were different.

I would definitely depend on it, and I would gig with it without a backup. All of its parts (including the tiny eq knobs) seem well placed and sturdy. However, since it is such a new pedal, the true feedback about its reliability should come in a year or two.

I have three of their pedals (the Ultimate Octave, the Soul Bender and the 69), and I don't have any reliability complains from them, although these days I am a bit concerned about what will happen if the germanium transistors that the two of them have will need to be changed (the two latter ones have been discontinued due to the lack of "decent sounding transistors").

Too early for that, and I don't have any experience from the customer support at Fulltone (except from an old email about waiting for ONE YEAR AND A HALF for my Ultimate Octave in Belgium, which was answered promptly but without any improvement on the time I had to wait).

I play different styles of rock, ranging from old stuff (Zeppelin etc) to modern (Queens Of The Stone Age, Fu Manchu, a bit of Gathering, Nightwish, Anathema, Guns 'n' Roses, White Stripes and a huge list of other bands, some known and some not so well known). I also play anything that I generally like listening to, from modern ballads to old jazz to metal to celtic songs to classic music (ok, the last one on my flute!).

I have been playing music since I first started going to music school, which was at the age of 8 (and I am now 29). I have been into guitar playing for about 10 years. To sum up, I found this pedal not living up to the hype, although in my poor opinion it would be a great pedal if the adjustments I described in the Sound Quality part could be made. The funny thing is, though, that I get a feeling that even if these adjustments were to be made, it would not in any way be a part of guitar history to remember.

Apart from my view, it may be the holy grail of dist. pedals for you - just DON'T buy it without playing with it yourself, and not just listening samples on You Tube or on the internet. Don't make the huge mistake of ordering it just for the sake of getting your hands on the hottest new pedal on the block. You may live to regret it, and that's something that Mr. Fuller would also say (he strongly advises everyone to try his products themselves first, which makes perfect sense).

I just received mine (low serial number) and did a gig with it. Had no time to get familiar with it and really was a bit anxious. However, I reached down on my pedal board, moved the knobs for a few seconds and got quick levels, then adjusted the gains and finally EQ on each side (Boost and Distortion). Stood up, played a few notes and the band snapped looks over to see what I was playing! More on the sound later . . . The pedal came in a box with a simple manual printed on a single sheet of paper. There was a decal (Nice) and a warning label regarding the DC Power Options "You may run this pedal on any amount between 9 and 18 volts DC as long as the center Pin is Negative... You'll be amazed at the sonic differences!". This unit is so easy to use that it really requires no more than the single page owners manual.

I was playing a Les Paul with Burstbuckers and an Eric Johnson Strat through several other pedals with this pedal being the first in the chain eventually ending up in my 1966 "Blackface" Fender Twin Reverb. The moment I heard this pedal at volume I had a huge smile on my face. This pedal sounded absolutely amazing! Very touch responsive, ear pleasing and tonally rich with harmonics and a very professional sound. When I say professional . . . I mean that this pedal gave me tone like I have always heard the pros have and wondered how they got it, always trying to mimic their setups and never getting it. I know that tone is in the fingers, I have been playing for 26 years and have tried several different amps including Budda, Two-Rock, Bogner, 65 and Zinky. Not to mention the dozens of pedal I have tried including Keely Ultra DS-1, Klon, HAO Rumble, MI Audio Crunch Box, Modded Rats, Chandler Tube , etc, etc. Seriously this pedal with my setup is the tone I have always searched for! It can sound like Michael Landau, Larry Carlton on the OD side to Vai, Satch and EVH on the other side. When both buttons are engaged I can get a jaw dropping heavy distortion sound that gives me what I need to play modern music as well. Every song I played this on sounded incrediable. It makes you realize that you can get the sounds of your favorite artists by playing the guitar a little differently, as long as you have a good fundamental tone to start with. I have always wanted to be a Fulltone fan, I have the ChoralFlange and DejaVibe but never could get a distortion or OD sound that I liked. He has done it with this pedal, I will go on record to predict that this is the top selling pedal during the next 12 months, as you guys/gals start playing and hearing these, you will all want one. A grand slam for Fulltone! Amazing and well done!

Appears to be built very well. No personal signature from Mike Fuller on the bottom anymore, just screenprinted now. Have to remove 4 screws from bottom to change out the 9volt battery. Has four rubber feet that are not stuck on with adhesive, they are screwed on. The small EQ trimpots feel rock solid. The switches are super strong. Just got it so can't say much here yet. Have had and currently do own other Fulltone pedals and have never had a single problem with them. This pedal comes with a "5 YEAR WARRANTY" in the box!!

Have never dealt with Fulltone with any customer support issues.

Once again, I predict this pedal will saturate the market as other players experience it. I play everything for Steely Dan, Tower of Power to Oldies, Classic Rock and even Prog Rock such as Porcupine Tree, Yes, Rush, etc. I am a hard working, gigging musician who plays in several different bands and does a fair amount of session work. Now that I have this pedal, I will guard it with my life, however, if it were stolen I would replace it immediately. I still can't believe the price at $225.00 on these, this pedal would still sell amazingly well at $299.99 + but regards to Mike Fuller for giving the music community a fair price for this pedal. Do yourself a huge favor and find one of these to play ASAP! Absolutely Brilliant!

There's a bunch of knobs to twiddle, but nothing unusual. If you've ever dialed in an amp or a stompbox, then you'll get by just fine.

Every sound is useable. With everthing at noon, it's friggin' loud and bright. However, once you dial it in a bit, lower the highs, raise the mids, lower the volume, up the gain or lower the gain, up the volume, you start to hit a some sweet spots, and there are many to be had. I'm running the distortion first with gain at 11:00, Level 9:00 (unity with my amp), Bass 12:00, mids 2:00, Treble 11:00. Then on the boost side, Level and Gain 10:00, bass at 12:00 treble 10:00 used as a lead boost. My other effects are a vox wah, phase 90, meistersinger chorus, dd-20 delay, into a Deluxe Reverb. I play a fender strat and a gibson les paul. I've gone through many, many pedals from vintage to modern, cheap to boutique, and this is one of the few times I've felt compelled to write a review. It's great. Lot's of sustain. The only issue I have is the lack of compression on the distortion side. I play a maple neck strat as a my main guitar and usually favor a more compressed overdrive sound which the gt-500 seems to lack. However, it's still new to me, so maybe I haven't found it yet. Oh hell, it's still a 10!

Well, I've had fulltone stuff before and have only exchanged them to get new ones everytime fulltone decides to change the components until I finally gave up on losing money. Well, I can't imaging improving on this one. I think he got it right.

Somewhat helpful, rarely friendly.

I've been playing in a cover band for a couple of years, and have been playing guitar for twenty years. I've had tons of equipment and mostly go through various overdrives. My favorite feature is the boost feature being able to follow the distortion. We are two guitarists in my band, so I needed a volume boost. I like that with this pedal, I was able to consolidate some space on my board. The only thing I wish it had was a bit more compression and maybe not so transparent sounding. I love tube screamers, and this has nothing in common with one. It's like plugging into the high gain stage of whatever amp you're playing through, and that's not a bad thing.

Pedal Number 161 replaces my Fulldrive 2 Mosfet. It comes in a sturdy case with separate Boost and Distortion channels, each having their own tone controls. It will run on tip negative AC power from 9 to 18 volts, or a battery. The battery circuit is disabled with AC power, so you can leave it plugged in on a pedalboard. A one page description and suggestions for use is included that tells you everything you need to know. Priced fairly. It's very easy to get good tones from the unit, you just have to be careful with the volume, especially when running 18 volts.

My current set up is a Dr.Z Route 66 and a Soldano 50 watt Avenger routed thru a Radial headbone amp head switcher into a 2x12 closed back cab. I use the Z for clean and rhythm and the Soldano for leads. Being a one trick pony (and a VERY good one) the Soldano does not need any boost or overdrive. The GT-500 is used to vary the tone of the Dr. Z from clean overdrive to nasty. It does the job well. Interestingly, I can make the Z sound exactly like the Soldano using the GT-500...clean, articulate notes with harmonic sustain. I don't need to do that, but it's a nice way to make your rig sound like you have a high end amp head for 200 bucks. The unit is not any noisier than you would expect. It's a versatile nice souonding improvement on my Fulldrive 2...and I really like my Fulldrive 2.

The only Fulltone product I've ever had problems with is the Tape Echo, which was related to me being an idiot and taking a tape echo to gigs when it needs to stay on the shelf in the studio next to my noisy old Echoplex. All the pedals from Fulltone have been solidly made and I have never had to call Mike about them. It runs on tip negative power. I use 9 volts because it's safer and warmer sounding, but it sounds very nice with an 18 volt AC adapter. I don't think you could fry it if you plugged the wrong adapter in (I didn't try this) but you could easily crank this unit up to the point that you could overload your amp input.

I have dealt with them for another unit and they were quick, businesslike and helpful.

I've been playing gigs for about 40 years, 35 of which as lead guitarist. I can finally afford good equipment to partially compensate for my arthritis and high tone hearing loss. Our current group has been together a long time and we play primarily R&B, blues and rock. I won't bore you with my pedalboard details, but I try to own quality, sturdy equipment that will sound good enough to allow my playing to make heads turn. We frequently record our live gigs in 16 tracks and the guitar tracks rarely need any work. The GT-500 is a nice unit and it's a bit more versatile for my needs than the Fulldrive. It's a keeper.

I found it easy to get great tones right off. The boost side is incredible. It can be very transparent in terms of maintaining the sound of your guitar and amp while boosting output. It also does a great job of taming or boosting the highs and lows a bit while keeping the overall sound just as happenning. I've had many, many, many distortion pedals and virtually all of them sound way better with a good booster pedal in front of them. Fulltone is not the first to combine the pedals into one box (Demeter's FOD pedal is one and Pete Cornish and John Landraff build duplex boxes for big money). The two pedals linked together are very, very satisfying. The ability to change the order really changes the sound. The tricky part is that adjusting the volume, gain, treble and bass can be accomplished from either side with different results. It will take some time to learn how to get the sound you might want quickly. After using the pedal for about an hour and getting very good sounds in the range I was after, I found a better way to get it by radically changing the volume controls on each side.

I have found lots of great pedals and amps and each have their own character. The best ones I've found are the Landgraff DO and MO-D, Pete Cornish P2 and G2, Bogner Shiva, Toneczar Openhaus, Badcat xtreme tone and the best bargain I've found so far is the SIB Varidrive. I've tried so many and believe most fall short one or more of the following - harmonic range and depth (low end), clarity/note definition, a pleasing dynamic response, harmonic complexity. I've tried and owned a Custom Shop Fulldrive 2, Distortion Pro and 69. The GT is way better then the other Fulltone units in my opinion. The difference is the wide dynamic range and better note definition. Harmonic content is very good and playing dynamics and volume clean up is nice. Is it the ultimate distortion pedal? For some it will be. I think it is in the upper ecehlon. I don't think it is as complex and sweet as a Landgraff MO-D but it is surprising in the ballpark and will cost less than half what a new Landgraff will run. Considering it is a two for one proposition where the boost half is worth the asking price by itself (Fulltone should consider releasing the boost side as a stand alone pedal) and the two halves combined can produce so many outstanding tones, it is a steal. I highly recommend the GT for its boost side and for its higher gain tones. This pedal shines in both regards.

This pedal is heavy. Moreso than I expected. It is so well built and intelligently designed that I can't imagine having any trouble with it.

Mike Fuller will stand behind his products. I've found them very responsive and helpful in the past. They have gotten to be a pretty big company and hopefully are still as good in this regard.

The GT really is a fantastic value. The boost is awesome and the distortion tones are the best Mike Fuller has crafted. Great for rock, hard rock and lead playing. Easy to get great tone but it will take time, patience and experimentation to find all the pedal can do. You will need to tweak and try different volume and gain levels on each side to find the sweet spots (write them down!)

There are alot of sounds in this unit, not always easy to find them but at least it is marketed as a tweaker's delight.

Really great feel on this pedal. I won't say great tone because it doesn't have very much of its own tone. Instead, I find it serves up a helping of sustain, breakup/hair or fatness (with the boost). It really stays out of the way of your guitar & amp tone. Now alot of pedals have tried to do this before, but what impresses me is the feel with which all this is done. The dynamics are insane, just as good as the OCD and volume knob cleanup is ridiculously good. Dig into the strings and the breakup gets more intense, exactly like a tube amp. I'm not just saying this! I have owned many of the top pedals in the infamous search and this unit is really a very strong performer. You want high gain, singing sustain? It's a breeze with the GT-500. What it is NOT: it is not like other pedals. The crunch tones are not like what you get with traditional opamps or even tubes. Instead, this pedal really seems to have been designed to work with your existing setup and dial in hair or girth or sustain at will. If you have a Marshall style amp, the midrange signature stays the way it is, even with extreme settings. If your Fender style amp is super clean, this pedal will not make it sound like a Plexi! It will still sound like your Fender but with mysterious breakup or sustain coming out of nowhere. It definitely is voiced bright and I took issue with that until I tweaked it just right. Again I want to reiterate that this is not a very traditional pedal at all and I think it will have a dedicated following when word gets out that it is a very flexible high-quality tool for your music. Yeah it sounds a bit hi-fi, but that only matters if your rig sounds too sterile already. It will effectively work like an eq when your amp is cooking but an eq for breakup, sustain if that makes any sense. It seems as if you can control those parameters at will for the first time using this little guy. It also does not really compress, which is odd considering the sustain that leaps out like magic.

Looks very solid.

I'm not a Fuller fan but that's irrelevant. He's putting out some real good equipment.

I tried to explain my experience with this pedal after about 2 weeks with it, playing at every volume and with all my guitars. I do think it might be a somewhat misunderstood pedal at first, but it will surely find a following because of its range/depth. I sure didn't get what I expected, I just bought it when it first came out because I was really impressed with the OCD. It is NOT an OCD on steroids, in fact they're nothing alike except that the touch sensitivity on both is amazing, and the boost is not like the Fatboost. Also the price is very low for a boutique quality pedal that can do so much! Eat your heart out Lovepedal. There's no need to spend $330 anymore!

2 pedals in one, easy to use if you think about it this way:
left side is the best clean boost I've ever played, and I'm a Klon owner and a Zvex owner.

anything you want from clean to the Highest gain, but with an unbelievable clarity, and then there's that wah inductor Midrange control!
Then there's the middle toggle that allows you to switch the order of the 2 effects. Unreal.
I can dial in ANYTHING from jangly Vox to raging Marshall, forget the Box of rock baby, it's sold.
This has retired 3 pedals off my board.

it's a Fulltone

emailed with some q's and got a clear answer in 10 mminutes...beat that

$212 for the best clean boost and distortion pedal ever? =Duh.

Relatively easy to use...although the rangeof the tone controls are a little too much.

I cannot get this unit to sound good. The tones have an almost Hi-Fi sound to them...not very natural or organic at all. It does have tons of output, but if the tone is not there, who cares. This unit might work well for a very modern tone where a bright and clear distortion is what you are going for.

The unit seems very sturdy.

I really wanted to like this pedal, but it is not to be. I own and regularly use a number of this builders pedals...namely the FD2, the Soulbender and the Tape echo. The other units

Plug in and play. It won't take long to get a great sound with this thing. The problem will be which great sound to go to. This pedal really could be all that someone needs (with a good guitar and tube amp). Instructions are direct and to the point. Mr. Fuller wants you to play with this pedal, and find your own way. He does warn you that the pedal packs a lot of power, so be careful.

Out of the box this pedal was ready to go. The variety of sounds available is overwhelming. It's new, so I will likely play around with it for a while. The boost is warm and loud. It really fattens up single coil pickups (if you want it to). I used it along with my OCD to push the OD a little harder. On its own, it also works as a nice OD pedal. No need to compare to the OCD, they are very different. Truth is I love them both, and will use both. The distortion is very versatile. The control over the mids is fantastic. You really get such a variety of sounds, it's almost difficult to describe what this pedal can do. With both sides on, the tone is rich and full (no mud). Again, each person will get a different sound out of this pedal because there is a plethora of available settings. I'm running with the distortion before the boost. Over time I'll continue to explore the different tones when I play with the series select switch.

I have Keeley Comp, Analogman Sunface, HBE Germania44, Roger Mayer Page 1 and Boss Giga Delay. I also have a Fulltone 69, 70, Deja 2, and OCD. Notice all the Fulltone stuff? These things are built very well.

Emailed Mike once with a question (re: 70 Fuzz), and he got back to me with an answer. No problems.

I play rock, blues, jazz and some metal. I've been playing 26 years. I've owned a lot of high (and low) end gear. I have two Fender CS "Time Machine" Strats and a CS "Time Machine Tele at present. I wanted a higher gain distortion, and the GT-500 fit the bill. It is far from a one trick pony. It can help you boost and round out your clean tones. You can also get a very mild drive out of it. If you want more dirt, it delivers! Great response to picking dynamics and lots of sustain (cleans up well with your volume too). As I stated earlier, it produces a lot of variety in the clean-OD-distortion market. It's a little difficult to write a review for a pedal that will sound different in every players hands.

Two pedals in a row. Everything you know about a boost/distortion and swapping order applies here. Just as expected. Plus, I thought the mid control might be annoying based on what I know about wahs, but is isn't! That was a pleasant surprise!

Wow. Different than either of the two fulldrives I have. I can't believe how much the boost makes my '65 DR sound like it's cranked! This pedal could be the cure for living room recording. The distortion is great too... but, the overdrive is very realistic. Nice.

Never had a problem with Fulltone pedals. This seems the same... but let's let it get some miles.

Never needed customer support.

Aahhh... oh well... 10.. Why not? It's only $200. Try to do better than this. Wow... what a nice pedal... ok, have to play..