Tech 21 SansAmp GT2

Well, this stompbox-preamp is quite easy to use, it's very easy to get quite a good sound of it. Simulations are pretty understandable, no problem. Also, you can start with some settings from the manual, they are very useful to understand what does what.

I was using it in my pedalboard along with Crybaby Mister Wah/Volume or Morley Power Wah/Volume and Boss DD-20 echo/delay. GT-2 was a little noisy, it could be caused by a cheap AC adapter, but it didn't really changed when I tried a battery.
I used to plug it in the Laney VC-30 (i bought it for its superior clean sound) and with a single step on it, GT-2 made my amp really roar. Distortion can be very heavy, but with high clarity. It's also absolutely handy when you need to record something to your PC, because of the speaker simulator (it can't be switched off, but it doesn't mess up the tone in a real amp)
I think, that the biggestproblem of this preamp is big compression->its quite hard to get a clean sound of it with your guitar volume control

I personally would take it for a world tour without a backup. It is build like a tank :-)

I really didn't have to deal with Tech21's customer support

I personally play some kind of heavy/progressive rock. This unit is very good choice for music like that, it has a great rhytm and lead sound. I used to play with some kind of Mesa/Boogie simulation - very good sound, very inspiring

If I wouldn't recommended a little more dynamics, I absolutely wouldn't sold it. When it comes to PC recording, it is a very good work horse, but you know - dynamics. I bought a valve distortion pedal and now I am really happy

This is not so easy to tweek a good sound. However, it can be acheived. Hence, it comes with a manual with details on presets to assist. The control pots are very sensitive and covers a wide range of tone and drive unlike a full blown overdrive or distortion pedals.
It has the options for 3 amp models from CA to Britt to Tweed, and 3 typs of gain and speaker mic postions.

I use a dark sounding valve jr with Fender Strats. Used alone it is not noisy on the clean and tweed settings. As mentioned, the level and drive controls can go from mild to extream. I like the Tweed sound with high gain. Even with high gain it be controled to sound clean and "Tube Overdrive" with the adjustmenst of the volume control on the guitar. The manual gives you a foundation to start from and you can get real great guitar "Tone" from the Tweed settings. However, I give it a 9 because the high gain distortion does not work well with my set up, i.e., strat and tube amp. I also use a holy grail for reverb and the tone is most excellent. Also, ther is a hint of compression in the sound when played with the Tweed setting.

This model was bought used in the mid 1990s it has no battery cover and 5 digit SN 100XX. It is made in NYC with a cast box and 3pdt switch.

Unknown

For over 35 years I have played electric and acoustic guitar, and have owned all kinds of stuff. This was/is a keeper. I currently use it on a board with my Crybaby wah, TS-808, Dynacomp (for boost) stereo chours, and Holy Grail Reverb. This is all I need to get 70s rock and serious blues tone. The GT-2 stays on most of the time and I use the other effects to define the tone I seek. It is pricey, but better sounding than the digitech RP150. The RP150 did not work well with my other effects. But stand alone the RP150 can do alot, but head to head for a clean or fat Fender tone the GT2 sounds a lot better.

Easy to use. The tone controls are pretty sensitive so they must be used with care. Let your ears guide you.

This pedal has great sounds in it. I run it in front of my amp, and I get fender tones, and mesa tones that are pretty good. I don't like the marshall settings too much, but that is just me.

The poster below is clearly one of those old guys who likes to "control the grit with the volume knob..." just ignore him. If you are like him trying to play blues on your single coil strat and to regulate the gain with your volume knob while on the California setting then it is no wonder the pedal sounds bad. It isn't the pedal, but the intended use that should be reviewed here...

The pedal can sound a bit overly saturated and compressed if played in front of an all-tube amp. Again, govern yourself accordingly here, and spend the time to get the right sounds out of this pedal. They are there, you just have to find them. I also find that an EQ pedal is a must after this pedal since it has no mids control. I love metal, and love high gain, but while scooping mids might sound brutal at home, it will erase you from the mix if you play live. Do yourself a favor and invest in a good EQ such as the MXR 10 Band EQ.

So far so good. I bought this pedal used, and the user had it for 10 years!!! That says a lot to me about the quality of this pedal. I would say it is up there with Boss, MXR and Ibanez/Maxon pedals for reliability and durability.

Haven't had to talk to them, and hopefully never will.

Great pedal for what it does. I wish it had midi controls (while still retaining the all-analogue signal path) for more flexibility. That would make this pedal a true must-have.

Would I replace this pedal if I lost it? Maybe, but provably with their TRI-AC or something of the sort. I would recommend that anyone try this pedal, but if possible try it during band practice so that you figure out if how to cut through the mix. The California setting is great for that mesa sound, but then again, easy to over saturate and compress.

A noise gate may also be needed at high gain settings.

Pretty easy since you can't put the volume or drive above 12:00 or it's too noisy, so that limits your choices. Also, you can't use the british since you'll completely lose all the low end, even with the low turned all the way up, so that limits your choices.

Horrible. It simulates "amp tones" ok, but it takes away all touch sensitivity. If you're into the awful EVH sound, then you'll love this thing, but if you're an adult, looking to play adult music and not that Nu Metal crap or whatever it is, then you'll be disappointed. Buy an attenuator and a decent distortion/fuzz

Got it used to try it and see what the buzz was about. It was pretty beat up but still worked fine. I didn't have it for long, so I can't say if it would last with regular use.

Just plain bad. The tweed was he only setting that didn't produce too much noise, but that messed with the mids too much. Bad bad bad.

Juts 4 knobs with 3-way switches x 3 for Mod, Amp, and Mic. Not really hard tough, but you'll need a LITTLE bit times to get used to those controls' characters. If you already get used by it, then it's heavenly easy to get what you want!

I use my Washburn Mercury I series (I think it's already discontinued) and this "chameleonic" pedal since I was around 13 (7th Grade) until now I add Boss CH-1, Boss NS-2 (for elimetaning noise, of course), and Boss GE-7 (and more, next time) to add more wider sounds.

I got almost all DRIVE I need from this pedal, from bluesy drive to cruchy crisp to growling roar! Lately I play an Alternative Rock-kind of band and it help a lot! A little weakness is it difficult to tame when it goes WILD! lol

tank-built! Too bad I hate the on-off switch. It got troubled sometimes, like, it sometimes can't turn off! some other times, can't turn on! Maybe it just old, I hope. That's make an 8.

I buy this pedal second hand, so I didn't got any manual or even box (just a home-made box with Budweizer label, looks funny lol). When I E-mailed them for pdf version of the manual, they e-mail me back right away! Best costumer support! comparing those spoiled gear sellers in Surabaya

If I lost this pedal, maybe I'd quit playing music :'( many friends here ask if I want to sell it but my answers is : HELL NO!!! because I can't buy a new one for it's high price!

This thing is very user friendly. The manual gives a variety of ideas but using it with bass guitar I just set it and forget it.

I used it for a little distortion on bass. Although I do set it for one style, occasionally I will preset it for California or British depending on the venue. Regardless of what others may say, I personally like the speaker simulation for bass. It won't make a bad sounding instrument better but it will give you what you want with a good sounding one.

I have 2 of these. One for backup but have never needed it. As they say, it is built like a tank and never fails me.

Every time I've dealt with them they have been very accommidating but they won't give up their secrets.

I started playing bass in the 60's but I still like a lot of the new music especially Christian rock. I don;t use the GT2 all the time but I keep it in my pedalboard for particular songs and a bit of character. I love this little box because it beats the competition for that hint of distortion though it's capable of much more.

Easy. Knobs are obvious. Plug into mixer or into effects return of an amp. Do NOT plug into instrument input of amp.

First, let me say this: Tech21 absolutely NAILED the preamp section in this pedal. I am almost shocked. Beautiful dynamics like I've never heard in a solid-state pedal, very close to my beloved rare Crate tube amp, and you will hear them in any setup. Responds to picking beautifully, especially through the Brit setting. A MILLION times better than the digital Behringer V-Amp 2 and Line 6 AM4 in this regard. I am impressed. The power amp simulation is also not bad at all and much better than anything else I've heard.

Unfortunately, this thing has one huge gigantic pitfall: built-in speaker simulation.

Why? Two reasons:

1) The cab sim itself is complete crap. It produces fizz like plugging a ****** over-EQed distortion pedal directly into a Red Box Pro and cranking the 10Khz. It doesn't matter which of the 3 mike positions you choose, it's always there. Generally unusable for most recordings. It's IMPOSSIBLE to EQ the fizz out properly, enhancers help little but distort the flat EQ which comes out of the pedal which is actually well done and desirable but, again, plagued by fizzzzzzzzzz. You can hear it in the recordings on their site, but it's a lot worse in practice.

Some people have suggested plugging this into a separate speaker sim to tame the fizz. VERY, VERY BAD IDEA. You don't mike an amp twice; this is the effect pluggin the GT-2 into a cab sim will produce. I have Palmer, Behringer, and Red Box cab sims, and the GT-2 sounds like pure compressed **** through all of them. Instant presence-killer. Even with good EQ-ing and enhancing, a Sansamp into a second speaker sim sounds like tin compared to any decent recording. Believe me I have tried everything for months on end, because I cannot believe they ruined such a beautiful dynamic solid-state preamp with such a ****** cab simulation.

2) YOU CAN'T DISABLE THE SPEAKER SIM!!!!!! Why in the world would you want a speaker sim driving your tube power amp??? I have tried this into multiple amps' effect returns and the presence loss compared to their regular distortion is striking. I can't believe nobody else hears this. THE SANSAMP GT-2 CAN NOT BE USED IN PLACE OF A REAL PREAMP!!!!!!!! The only way you can get a GT-2 or any sansamp for that matter to sound right into an amp is if you're using a very or relatively clean power amp and cabinet, such as the ones Tech 21 themselves produce. Anything else = instant colored tin can sound, even with loads of equalization (which is what Tech 21 recommends to compensate for the simulation - yeah right).


This is really why I am writing this review. I am calling Tech 21 out on their ********. This pedal is really close to something great with its awesome preamp sim, that's true, but this "universal output" is a joke and an insult. Instead of providing separate options for the total TWO, maybe THREE possible scenarios this unit could be used in, they've created a horrible mesh of half-***** poor compromise "speaker simulation" which they're advertising as some magic solution for universal good tone. I am ashamed I have fallen for this.

Plastic, but fairly sturdy. Good enough.

I e-mailed Tech21 asking if they had a model without speaker simulation. They basically told me I was a dumbass. Either they don't know how an amp works at all, or their circuitry is one gigantic hack which happens to magically include some semblant of speaker simulation and this is why it's built into all their models and they're pretending they don't know how amps are actually supposed to be wired so they can sell it to dumbasses like me.

This pedal and the other sansamps have the potential to be the greatest, most versatile solid-state simulators ever produced. I'm serious, I have never heard a solid-state preamp section react as well as the GT-2's does. All it needs is a fourth "bypass" option on each of the sliders, to disable the speaker sim and power amp where necessary (for example, just disable the speaker sim and substitute it with my much better Palmer PDI-09, or disable the speaker sim and power amp to plug preamp-only into a tube amp's effects return, the way it's meant to be).

Instead, this pedal is remarkably limited, you're STUCK with a ****** speaker sim and power-amp simulation, making your better cab sims and tube amps sound like a joke and making it FAR from the versatile beast people claim it is. They've made the same mistake with their new 'character' series and most of their sansamps, too.

I am horribly disappointed with this pedal, simply because they came SO close to producing a great musical tool, but managed to turn into a toy for Metalzone-bashers. I give up.

easy to use, didnt have a manual as it was used but the best and hardest thing is every tiny move on the dials makes a unique sound...it really is deep, but simple to dial in...LOVE that about it. it seems a lot of the new zoom and other digital pedals takes aweek with the manual...NO FUN. basically like an old school pedal with old school sounds. blows so many past pedals away its silly.

i dont find this noisy, and i use it mostly on the tweed clean settings so...? I think i have an older version? you have to take out 4 screws to replace battery...when battery starts to die the noise appears...thats the sign folks.
After having multiple tube amps from princetons to champs to carvins to peaveys...I have found a winner...and it has no tubes! well, pretty much...heres what i mean. I love the tube sound, hate the solid state on most, but definitely not all amps. Sold all the tubers to raise funds, then found out i was out a good amp after trying the under $300 tube amp variety out there. Nothing really sounded that great and the starved=plate designs left me wanting...so I got a cheapass gx15 crate, ditched the speaker for a 12" vintage alnico and put it on clean...man it sucked. So i got this...kapow! For $150 total (crate was almost free it was used and so cheap) i got me a winner,,,,no wieners. In fact, i like the effects better than the roland microcube, which says a lot...plus you get the volume with this setup. If you get the roland, plus this setup you can pretty much cover any sound available for recording and live (mic'd for bigger venues)
effects are perfect...but i usually only use clean tweed and semi-clean california though the british does sound fine!

seems fine but i hate those type switches...though they supposedly last for a long time (russian mics usem so you know they are bombproof)
no backup needed

ahhhhh....NO....hopefully will never need to use them. Now, if you use bartolini pickups and need customer support...HAHAHAHAHA...good luck

After 25 years of hundreds of guitars, effects, amps, basses i am pared down to the essentials, and this is one of them. to give you an idea (and believe me, have owned, used, bought and sold more stuff than any used music store has at any given moment) of my setup I have (definitely not braggin here...just ended up with the best sounding basics) fender mim vintage reissue strat with duncan ssl pickups, danelectro reel echo fake tape loop box, meistersinger chorus, this box, boss extortion, roland microcube, crate gx15 POS with new speaker GREAT!, and cheapo bennet samick bass with really good pickups....cant ask for anything more or better unless a carey sound or mini-dr- tube amp comes around.
THis lil stomper fits the bill nicely, and can record direct! which i rarely do, but will prob. do more of as this sounds so GOOD direct. As good but not as deep as ampfarm...and you can hold it

Fairly easy to good a good sound out of this unit. You have to experiment to find what suits you best.

Well, the interesting thing is that I've begun to use it playing live.
I use a Fender tube amp so I don't really use Tweed settings and I also use a Tube Screamer. What this pedal now does for me is get the real high gain and crunch sounds that I've used other distortion pedals for. It is a little noisy, but for the high gain sounds I'm using it doesn't really matter.

The unit seems pretty reliable, doesn't eat batteries too quickly. The only problem I've had is the battery cover which I have had to tape.

N/A- no problems

I play I wide variety of styles and have been playing for 25 years.
I own a few amps of varying size and numerous effect. My main guitar
is a Strat also use a Tele and occasionally Les Paul Jr.

I bought this unit several years ago after it first came out. I purchased it for recording purposes and used it solely for recording.


Primarily when I use this live I'll got back and forth between the California and British settings with varying degrees of gain depending on what the song calls for.
I believe that this pedal is very underated as a distortion unit for live applications. It took me awhile to figure this out, but I certainly would recommend this to anyone seeking a pedal that will deliver a myriad of tones both vintage and modern.

Well, it's easy to work with, you quickly find out what all the knobs and switches do, but to get a good sound out of it that will take a little more dedication! the manual has all you need to know...

I'm using a Fender Telecaster and a Epiphone Black Beauty into a Crate Blue Voodoo and a Fender Twin Reverb.. The unit isn't noisy at all, I think it is the most silent I got.. But the sound quality.. I've cried rivers for the money I spent with this piece of s....t.. The only usable sound is in the California amp switch, clean setting.. the rest.. well, it costed me 250??? and my 45??? Boss DS-1 beats it in a blink!

It seems reliable, I'm even thinking of throwing it to the wall if I can't sell it real soon!

Never needed, I seldom used it..

I've been playing for 15 years now, some bands, local gigs and I own some cheap gear, except for the amps all is very cheap, and everything works real fine, this was the most expensive pedal i bought and the greatest disapointment.. if it got stolen, poor robber! couldn't use it and couldn't sell it!

slightly more complicated than the overage OD/dist. pedal, but not much. it just has more features. it is very, very easy to get good sound out of the GT-2, I don't think there's a bad sound in the box.

The sound quality on these pedals is great. Roaring. I never used the direct out, just used it as a pedal in front of my amp, even when recording. Settings have been reviewed to death, and I've played through this pedal on a Fender strat (single coils), Gibson blueshawk (p90s), Gibson SG special (humbs) Washburn WI66 Pro (duncan humbs), and the sound remains pretty consistent. That's something to consider about this pedal, it functions somewhat as a regulator of your sound. You pick the setting, adjust the parameter controls, and that's how you sound. In a sense, it's really limited in that way, but also not. You are free to select from several rich, detailed, high-quality sounds, but only those. There are advantages and disadvantages to pedals which function that way. But this pedal does what it does very well. I haven't heard many distortions which sound as good. I had one and ultimately replaced it with a Zoom Hyper-Lead (because I wanted more tonal variety), but I miss it and wish I hadn't needed to sell it to raise $$. It does add some noise, but a fairly low amount. Huge amounts of chunky gain, great for palm-muting. great for boosts and solos, great all around. If you don't mind there being a sort of same-ness to your sound, its all the OD/distortion you'll need.

solid

eh, no idea

I play many varieties of rock, and have done so for many years. As I said, I did sell this pedal eventually, but I do want people to know how good it is. I might get another one some day, when I have a surplus of money. It is really useful, as it becomes your portable backup amp in a pinch. I dissed many a distortion pedal in my search for a proper over-the-top high-gain pedal. I used this one happily for quite a while for rehearsals, live shows and recording. I had been using a keeley-modded Rat II, and then a Boss MZ-2 Digital Metalizer, but they were both too noisy in their own way. The Rat would feed back or muddy up when I needed it to cut through. The MZ-2 is a cool pedal, but limited in its own sonic capabilities. It is great for solos, and that's about it. After using those I kept this one for a long time once I had it. But as I said above, I eventually wanted something with more variety of sound and got the Hyper-Lead, which is a bit noisier, but has more gain on tap coupled with a massive EQ section. But that shouldn't discourage anyone from getting one of these. I used mine with both a solid state Sunn amp and a Carvin Tube amp, as well as smaller practice amps, it brings the sound pretty much no matter what. That's one of the great things about this pedal, as long as it's on, you sound good. Even if what you're playing is crap, the tone will be good!

Easy to use, easy to experiment with, but no ability to save and recall multiple settings / tones. Thus, limited for live use unless you either want to use it for one tone, an overdrive pedal, or don't mind bending over to change settings between songs.

For direct record and live direct into the board of clean to slightly dirty Fender-ish tones, it is exceptional. Use it with a custom Strat with Fender Fat 50's pickups. Middle and neck pickup position. In this tonal area, actually edges out the best tweaked out Boss-GT8 tones I can muster. For direct record I feel it is right there with any miked amp Fender setup, which is saying alot. Not as impressed with higher gain settings as I just cannot get the same pick attack, harmonics and overall dimension as my GT-8. My current setup is to use the SansAmp GT-2 in the GT-8 effects loop for clean fender tones and turn off the GT-8 preamp. Just use the fantastic GT-8 effects for these Fender tones. Switch it out and use the GT-8 for higher gain.

One big plus with SansAmp product are the dynamics. I have not used a digital modeler that has the same pick dynamics / sensitivity, which really adds to how much you expression you put into your playing.

Built like a grenade proof brick.

Have not had to use customer support and probably never will due to the quality of construction

I have owned the GT-2 for about 3 years and had been using it as a backup to my amp modeller for cover gigs where I needed to plug into the house PA. More recently, it has become a mainstay with my Boss GT-8 for classic clean Fender tones from surf to SRV to Hendrix. Highly recommended as a direct record tool, but don't expect this thing to blow your socks off on higher distortion settings. Have also used this very successfully as a bass DI for recording. Again, very dynamic box. I was a SansAmp PS-2A owner for awhile, and while the GT-2 supposedly has the same core circuitry, the PS-2A seemed better in terms of being able to dial up higher gain tones and not lose clarity or pick attack.

It's very easy to use. Just plug-in, set the switches, turn up/down the knobs... and go...

Solid state, but great tone... even when I use cheap amps...

I bought it about 8 years ago... and it still works great...

There so many set-up samples out there in the internet, including in the official site... however, I've never had to repair my pedal... so no comment...

If you play rock/metal style of music... buy it... you won't be regret... very useful when we have to play in a gig/stage and don't really happy with the internal preamps aof the guitar amps...

The unit is very easy to use, although you need to play with it to see what settings suit you best. With 3 modeling switches, level/gain and treble/bass knobs the number of possibilities is really enormous. The small instruction an on-line help may be a good inspiration for starters.

I have not found a match for the sound of this little stomp box. I have 2 guitars: les paul and a the evil (EVL) cort. I am using these to play different kinds of music, and with both this thing sounds great. It is very versatile - from warm bluesy/jazzy to really hot and screaming overdrives. I am not comparing it against the amps it tries to emulate - i think it has the tone of its own, and I like it. I like it very much.

I own the unit for several years (6) now, and unfortunately I had maintenance problems. First: 2 out of 4 O.A's burned :/ Probably because of my power supply that was connected the wrong way (mixed polarization). I think Sansamp should foresee such situation and provide some safety circuit. Then the knobs started to generate noise during adjustments. Then (maybe because of the repair) the unit seamed to be stuck when using the treble knob at more than 3/4. Finally the switch broke. Sometimes one could turn it on, but could not turn it off. Sometimes one couldn't turn on it at all. It was random. I was not using it during live performances so I would expect a better durability. I think I've reached the bottom line and decided to buy a replacement.

No customer support in Europe, although they (SansAmp) do respond to e-mails. Fortunately, I have found a person who made a copy of the device based on the circuit diagrams available on the net, and he was able to help me when it broke down for the first time.

All in all I love the sound of GT2, and even though it failed several times I've decided to buy a second one (I'll try to use it more gently). I've loved it, since the first time I've heard it, so maybe it's more sentimental than reasonable ;)

I just plugged it in and it sounds great. every setting is good.. I use a lot of Fender crunch.

no noise, all good

bought it used about five years ago, still in mint condition.

n/a

pop rock metal folk acoustic, american tele's les paul deluxe, mex strat heritage 555, guild x150 etc. taylor Gibson etc. playing 35+ years.

many amps. JTM 45, Fender Deluxe, etc... sold all vintage gear, prefer new. Recently got Vox Tonelab, interesting fun neat sounds, use it with headphones, stereo power amp and 1960a cab in stereo.

Lacks the punch of sans amp.

There are countless possibilities with this pedal, but it's still very easy to use.

The most important thing. This is the best distortion pedal I've ever owned and I must admit, I've owned at least fifteen different dist pedals including even some boutique pedals like EMMA ReezaFratZiz (or whatever it was). The problem with the dist/od pedals is the low end. Traditional pedals like Ibanez TS-9 don't have enough low end and then some, like EMMA, have low end, but are muddy and not suitable for palm muting etc. GT-2 is the best in this area and it's also sounds very good otherwise. I also have Tech 21 Tri A.C. which is an excellent pedal, too plus you can store three settings. The Tri A.C. is more traditional sounding (also very good overdrive sound) and the GT-2 is somewhat heavier in sound. I'm so glad I found these Tech 21 products, because they make me play better. Tech 21 also produces not-so-good pedals like the DD3x. You can't palm mute with that one, that's for sure.

Never a problem with a Tech 21 product.

No need to deal with them.

I play all kinds of rock from classic rock to progressive and heavy metal. I've been playing for twenty years, so I guess I know something about good sounds (and bad ones). I have two of these and I'd buy two new ones if they were stolen. I must have one for rehearsals and one for home use. I love its sound and versatility. Also very good for recording guitars. There is nothing I hate about it. Of course every pedal could be more silent, but noise isn't really a problem for me. If you want good sounds and if you use palm mutings, then buy this one. Now.

Extremely easy to use. if you don't know what the switches mean, just move them and you'll find out.

also, if you go to the website, there are complete instructions and sample settings.

www.tech21nyc.com

sound quality is very good, sounds much better than a distortion or overdrive stompbox. very versatile as well, although it is difficult when trying to achieve a sound that lies between the switches. low and high EQ slightly remedy this, although i don't mess with them very much. the direct out is unspeakably useful, especially when i can't bring my amp or need to record a quick riff without setting up an amp and mics.

probably the thing that amazes me most is its ability to create massive, controllable feedback. when used through a tube amp with moderate distortion (into the input, not the FX loop), the sansamp can generate massive amounts of gain without making the sound muddy or fuzzy. the direct out makes this possible, bringing new life to the gt2.

i can absolutely depend on the gt2, and would gig without a backup, providing that i change the battery before the gig. the gt2 doesn't eat batteries, and the light begins to dim long before the sound quality, but a lack of true bypass means that when the battery runs out, so does your tone; however, no bypass means a soft switch for noiseless switching, which is definitely a plus.

the outside is rugged and has no scratches, even after buying it used and using it extensively myself.

haven't dealt with customer support. i bought it on ebay without a manual, but i went to the manufacturer's website, and it had explanations for everything, sample settings for guitars as well as bass guitars through the gt2, and sound samples for each of the settings. i don't expect to talk to customer support anytime soon.

the sansamp gt2 is a great, versatile piece of equipment. the direct out is my favorite feature, and the switches and knobs make it very easy to operate and enjoy. i play a epiphone les paul with installed PRS HFS and Vintage Bass pickups. i play all kinds of music: hard rock that is almost, but not quite metal, some moderate-gain alternative rock, and some soft, quiet songs that have been rocked over-the-top using the gt2.

if it were stolen, i would not buy another one, simply because i have an amp to use now. when i purchased the gt2, i had a crappy boss ds-1 through a broken fender amp. the use of the gt2 as a feedback box means i can still use it after buying a tube amp.

i paid about half the price of the retail gt2, since i got it used, but the retail price isn't too bad anyway, considering what you get.
if you can find one on ebay, buy it.

a monkey could get a good aound out of this box in no time...
i can't believe how stupid you have to be to make this one sound like crap... well, or genius.
i have to admit that a little fiddling is needed to get the sound you want...
i have mine for more than a year now.

i play in a black metal band (as for our style think disiplin, mayhem, gehenna, satyricon). we don't have any clean parts anyway, so i plug the gt2 straight into the return of my marshall jcm900 mkIII model 2500 and unleash hell right away. i think plugging into the return of your amp is the only way to play live with it and get a reasonable sound. never tried it the direct way into the mixer. i got tired of my old distortion pedal (marshall jackhammer) and wanted a really basic preamp for some corpsecrushing high gain. there it was.
i use a customized ibanez rg 470 (emg-81 and some other stuff) and a marshall 1960 4x12" cab with it and get a fat and roaring but nevertheless defined sound.
try fucking around with the settings a bit to get your desired sound... using a tube power amp you have to be careful not to get an overly saturated sound. but if you know how to use it the right way you'll never want anything else again.
i especially like it when mic is set to "off axis", mod "high gain" and amp "british" or "california"... cuts through like a fucking chainsaw. ROOOAAAR :P

it always sits on top of my stack, so i never stomped it anyway. seems reliable though.

never dealt with them.

for my style, this including my amp and guitar setup sure is the perfect match for me. been playing for 12 years now. i also have a fender telecaster and a gibson sg which i don't use for the black metal stuff...
i was surprised how such a rather cheap unit could shape my sound that much and enjoyable. if it were lost or stolen i'd definitely buy another one. it's the easiest thing for me... i just plug in it and sound great.

Amazing sound!!!! With a little tweaking of EQ and your amp,your sounds will not only be tonally superior,natural and full,..but CONSISTENT!!!

All sounds are achieved as I desire. I am a session recording artist. My main guitars are MUSICMAN Luke, and Jap strats,USA Strats, Gibson, Tom Anderson. My amps are Mesa Single Rectifiers for live use but in the studio I have a plethero to choose from..Fenders,Marshall,Bogner, Matcless,...You get the Idea...The Sansamp is easy and Natural sounding...I have owned many distortion unitsie: Ibanez,Maxon,Tonebones,Keeley,Boss,mxr/cae....This is the most consistent pedal and offers the most sonic character..Superior in many ways ....

Built like a tank..Used in many road gigs /tours on my pedal board and in the studio!!

Excellent!!!!!

Dissapointed with some prior reviews...I feel this pedal is "Superior" and I would buy anoy=ther if it were stolen...Often these reviews are put out by novices who cant get there tone right because of many variables,...Ususlly crap equipment or the lack of musical creativity in how to use it...TONE comes from you,...not neccesarilly all your gear (however it does help)..

The manual has some great starter positions for presets. The character switches are fairly strait forward, and the 4 knobs; drive, high, low, level are as well.

All the knobs interact with each other as well as the character switches so expect to sit down and take part of a tweakers dream.

The universal output is nice, but its 1/4" so you'll need to go strait to a 1/4" on a mixer or get a DI of some kind to use it with XLR (mic cables) connectors.

There are ALOT of distortion sounds in this little box, and it does all of them well. It produces great amp like distortion for gigging direct or recording. The only thing it really lacks against a real tube amp would be the infamous tube sag/swell that a tube amp can do if setup properly.

The Input is very sensitive, so be sure to play with your guitar volume while carving tones out. Pickup selection is key as the box can easily be setup to be very transparent.

I have read other reviews complaining about noise, and while I have had noise come through the box it was only amplifying what it was given. Before you tag it noisy switch to a humbucker or dual singles on your pickup selector before you pass judgment on a noisy setting.

It seems to be built well, only time will tell. I'm not very hard on equipment. I'm sure it will be fine. The metal seems thinner and lighter than most, but I don't know what the quality of the metal is so it may be the strongest box out there for all I know.

Tech 21 Shines in this regard, I exchanged emails with them about this product and many others before I ever made a purchase. Friendly fast and informative.

I picked up this box to use direct in live applications, it does its job very well. The best direct sounds I have heard from any box, period. Whether it be from a emulated line out on an amp or a POD or whatever, top notch sound quality. Getting clean sounds out of it can be a bit tricky at times, but if one turns the drive all the way down and watches ones guitar volume its fairly easy to boost the signal to the mixer with the level control.

I like to play with power and an expansive range of expression from a single setting or channel with my rig. This box allows me to go from glistening harp like clean tones to mesa roar all done by me just changing my attack on the strings. Not to many amps can do it exactly how I like much less direct, the GT-2 has been the best at it so far.

Go here to check out other settings besides the ones in the manual:

http://milaa.tripod.com/SansAmpGT2/

I have had this stompbox for about 6 years now. When i first got it, i thought it was the most marvellous gain unit ever made but over the years, i've found it to be a temperamental bitch which fluctuates depending on the amp you use, even when you dial in different settings. It's a relatively good pedal but not very user-friendly if you want a consistent sound. The pedal came with a booklet suggesting various settings. Some are spot-on, some arent. Like i said, it really depends on the amp you use. The Gt-2 is generally quite good with solid state amps though, not so much tube.

I use it with a Fender 65 reissue twin reverb and it sounds okay. Not great, but just okay. Ive tried it with Marshall JCM 2000s, 900s and 800s and it sounds like a piece of crap. Try it with a class A amp like a voc ac-30 or 60 and it's even worse. The knobs are also very sensitive. A slight shift in the High or Low knobs and your sound dramatically changes. Not very easy to mould a good sound either.

Its reliable although I started having problems with the footswitch shortly after I bought it. I would step on it and it would come on and then i'd step on it again to switch it off and it wouldn't go off. Imagine the nightmare!
The reverse also happens quite often and can be very embarassing if you're playing a live gig although i suspect this is due to my particular unit.

never dealt with anyone before.

It's a good pedal for a newbie in search of a range of sounds. but for the gigging or touring musician who has to constantly play on a variety of amps, i wouldnt recommend it. I'd recommend the Crowther Audio Hot Cake instead. It's easy to use, consistent sounding with different amps, and kicks serious tone butt.

Pretty darn near perfect and straight forward pedal with excellent sounds. Only hiss noise is if level is up too high. Tweaking it is easy.

I would use this anywhere as vital piece of studio or stage set-up.

I play hard and psychedelic fusion trance rock like Ozric Tentacles meets Tommy Bolin at a Mahavishnu Orchestra reincarnation gig. I have been abusing axes since 1967. The gear I own . . . I haven't got the time right now. If it were stolen then most likely everything else in my studio got ripped off too so I would be too crazy bummed to worry about this pedal. I wish it had a "Suicide" or "Rainbow" setting where you could dial in %'s of Fender, Marshall and Mesa-Boogie mixed together for the chimeric beast of all amps. Maybe next model??? This puppy definitely helps. I may have to sel some other pedals of mine now . . .

It's pretty straightforward and intuitive. I haven't really used the manual other than a casual glance when I first opened it.

There are basically three amp styles, three tube/gain options, and three mic placement options with gain, high, and low knobs for fine tuning. The first time I used it I fiddled with it a lot, but every subsequent time, it's a quick setup.

My main guitar is an Epiphone Les Paul Deluxe. I use the GT2 in three settings: Practicing through my Peavy Transtube Studiopro 112 (a solid-state amp), playing live direct into the PA system, and recording direct into a Tascam 2488. All three of these applications sound amazing.

Typically, I use it with a more clean- or retro-sounding setup. The Tweed amp is great for that. The first time I used it at church (coupled with a Boss TR-2 Tremelo pedal), the sound guys and the other bandmembers kept asking me what I had done to make my guitar sound so good.

I've also used the British and California settings for a harder sound when recording. It's probably the best distortion I've ever had.

When I first plugged it in, I was a bit wary of the hum it generated when engaged in my amp (at any setting this was present). I noticed this to also be the case (though to a much lesser extent) in the monitors of the church's PA system. However, the sound guys said they didn't notice it, and when I recorded into my Tascam, I didn't notice it either.

Straight up and down, this pedal has given me the BEST sound I've ever had.

I've only owned it for a couple of months, but it seems very rugged. It's solid, metal, and reassuringly heavy. This pedal has replaced my amp completely for gigging. The only reason I'd have a backup would be if I wanted two different tones (e.g. one distorted and one clean). I guess the second one wouldn't really be a backup in that case, would it?

I've never dealt with the company, so I don't know.

I love this pedal! The only thing I would like to see improved would be a way to have two presets to switch between on the fly. Two chanels, so to speak.

My guitar sound is heavily influenced by retro (think Chris Isaac's stuff) and classic rock. I haven't really tried it for other sounds yet. I've never done anything that wasn't improved upon by adding the GT2.

I've been playing guitar for 12 years now. Other than the GT2, I typically use the Boss CE-5 Chorus, TR-2 Tremelo, and DS-1 Distortion pedals with the occational Crybaby mixed in. So far, the GT2 has just made all these sound better. Last week I ditched the chorus, wah, and distortion for a simple setup of Tremelo and GT2. It was great!

I'd been looking for a good way to ditch my amp in live settings for a while. Amps are simply a pain to deal with in my opinion. I tried out the POD, but it was too expensive for the overly digital sound. I used the Zoom 505 for a while, but it's sound is definitely sub par (and my sound men HATED it's noisiness). I wish I had listened when I was told to get a Sansamp years ago (couldn't afford it at the time).

When I picked the GT2 up at my local music store, no less than five employees of the store stopped what they were doing to tell me what a good choice I had made. I couldn't agree more. Don't procrastinate like I did. At a price under $200, you'll never miss the money compared to the sound improvement.

the GT2 is dead simple to use - if you use it for its intended purpose!

like the other sansamp products, the GT2 is *not* an overdrive/distortion pedal. it is designed to recreate the entire signal path that generates the overdriven tone. this means that sending signal from the GT2 to the front end of an amp is *not* ideal. it doesn't mean it *won't* work this way, and that you *won't* find a good sound that way, it's just not the intended purpose. you can use a screwdriver to put nails in a wall, but you'd rather use a hammer, right?

i cannot stress this enough! it bugs me to see this and other sansamps getting poor reviews because someone didn't actually think about what they were doing.

for best results, you should always send the signal directly to the PA, to a power amp w/speakers, or to a very clean and preferably solid state amp, like the roland JC120. i use the GT2 along with a Tri-AC in a direct system that 99% of the time gets sent directly to the house sound without an amp on stage.

my one beef with this product is the lack of a dedicated "mid" control.

i really enjoy the sound of this pedal. for me, it picks up where the Tri-ac leaves off. where the tri-ac sounds more "vintage" the GT2 sounds more "modern." depending on the rig it will sound buzzy long before the tri-ac, but not in a way that can't be dialed out without trashing your tone. there is a ridiculous amount of gain on tap in this pedal, but not in a metal zone way - it always sounds big.

i've also dialed back the gain and used the "tweed" setting for clean sounds when recording. it's too bad that they don't make a 3-preset of this pedal, like the Tri-ac and the new double-drive 3x.

again, the only thing missing here is a dedicated mid control.

i can absolutely depend on this pedal, and this is why i continue to use tech 21. consistent, reliable sound - all the time!

see my review of the tri-ac. no one has better customer support than tech 21.

if this were stolen or lost, i would absolutely buy another. this is an integral part of my rig, both live and in the studio.

you can be sure that if/when Tech 21 releases a version of the GT2 with 3 available presets and a dedicated midrange control i will be the first person at the store!

The stomp is easy to use. The various combinations of switches make themselves clear after a bit of playing. I did find that the "Tweed" amp coupled with the "Clean" Mod settings produced a weakened, subdued model that actually was fun to toy with, by boosting the on-board Drive and using my external EQ'ing and compression. I must admit, though, that the various types of OD/distortion effects through this thing were sub-par, to me. My current amp's are a Marshall Valvestate, and an old Gibson Lab Series solid state. Needless to say, it's a bit of a "challenge" to get really good "tube" sounds with this back-end configuration. Other than a Boss and Digitech stomp, the only single device in my current "arsenal" that consistently impresses me is my Vox ToneLab. People are amazed that so many diverse, quality tones can come out of a SS amp using this thing. (I also use external comperession and graphic EQ boxes in the chain and FX loop, which i find fundamental to good live sound.) So, i know that it's a bit "unfair" to hold up the ToneLab against the Sanamp GT2 .... BUT .... then again, the ToneLab cost me less than 2x the Sansamp, but delivers 20x the net results .... so, sorry to say, the GT2 losses. It went back to the dealer for a refund.

I pretty much summed-up my results, above. I bought the GT2 and took it for a "spin". It didn't measure up. Other than having some fun with the lower-powered "Tweed" and related setting's by boosting them up to get a nice smooth drive, i was un-impressed with the OD/distortion results. The sounds were, for the most part were the characteristic brittle, not "warm". In a SS rig, it's difficult to get "quality" (?!) sounds, as compared to the "tube" experience. I CAN do it, but it takes fiddling and experimentation. The bottom line is this: if i can use a $60 Boss or Digitech stomp and get equal or better results than something that costs $160, who's going to end up under my foot?

I wasn't impressed with the construction of the GT2. It's built of light, thin metal, not heavy and sturdy like your "typical" stomp. One of the 1/4" jacks, even after just a few insertions, was working its way loose. If one is to use this box in a gig, you'd better bring a backup of some sort. In short, the "value" here is questionable. Hell, you can go out and buy a modelling practice amp for less than this box. I think this device is totally over-priced and doesn't deliver the value that active players require.

No Opinion.

I said it all above. If you're in the market for a new OD stomp, there's a variety of better choices. (Take a serious look at the Carl Martin line....i think you'll be impressed.)

The pedal's pretty easy to operate. Has a level and gain control and acive bass and high knobs.

You have three amp models, three preamp settings (clean, high gain and hot-wired) and thre mic settings (classic, center and off-axis)

And that's that

This pedal sounds good. It sounds excellent actually, better than my Vox Valvetronix. A little trebly, but good nonetheless you just have to cut the active highs)

Really good marshall and mesa sounds. You too can get that nice smooth lead tone if you want. Or if you want to play metal, this pedal has it. Just flick the switches (it's all in the manual so I won't explain exact settings) and voila!
The Fender isn't so good to my ears. It sounds really processed and unnatural.

Now here comes the bad part: This pedal is noisy!
On the clean settings, you can manage, everything is fine. But when you put it into the high-gain mode the hiss really becomes noticeable. And this is when I have the gain turned to about 35%! And don't even think of turning the active controls to 12 o'clock.
Useless for recording. Would work in live applications, but for recording...no.

If the pedal was 80 Euros cheaper, I wouldn't mind it so much. But for 170 Euros, I'd expect it not to produce so much hum.

It looks sturdy, built from steel and stuff :)

Haven't contacted them

I'd give it an eight, if it was cheaper, but for that kind of money, I don't want to as much as think about noise, let alone hear it.

Too much easy!

I run this through the fx return, playing with a Les Paul and a SG, both Gibson. SOmetimes I play with a stratocaster I have made, and it's good also. I use a Meteoro (brazillian amp) 200 w.
Man! I've been searching for this sound for all my life! Heavy, sustained, amazing! I play something near to hard rock, sometimes with the 6th string tuned in D.
Sometimes people tell me that GT-2 doesn't work well with other normal effects, like wah and something. BULLS#*T!!!!It's a great sound, doesn't matter within what.
I used to play with british position, and off-axis microfone position. The other button, I used to play with hi-gain or hot-wired.

Now, I'm using a Mesa/Boogie V-1 Bottle Rocket Tube Overdrive Pedal. Great pedal. But CRAP, if compared to GT-2.

No problem at all to me. But a friend of mine had problems with the switch.

Never tried.

In my opinion: the perfection!!! The sound I always wanted! Thanx, Tech 21!!!

This is like the classical Sansamp simulator, but with eq and more.
These sopunds are in a lot of recordings.
Dynamic (POD is not dynamic), clean, nice.
Very easy to use.
Remember:
This is an emulator,(sounds dry) and it has not the real ambience in your room or your amp. If you add ambient reverb, you will have great sounds.

If you like the Fender sound, this is your amp for recording and performances.
The Marshall sounds are great, and the California (boogie) is very good.
This is a real stuff. This is not a tale-new generation-modeling stuff.
Sounds.
I use the Marshall sounds. A very little the boogie. But i have to say, this pedal has the best Fender sound that you can get.
The Marshall sound is great for tracking, and if you want ultra boogie gain, it has it.

Several yeras.
Never problems.

This is for all styles.

Very simple and easy to use. The manual is pretty straight forward and actually has good sample settings. I wish there was "no mic model" option, that can be sort of confusing. Hence the 9.

I use it with various guitars with humbuckers. For single coil sounds I use the humbuckers in split coil.

This little box is great. I play mostly metal and it definitely shines at getting a Mesa Recto sort of sound. It is also great to brighten up the cleans and get smooth distortion for other styles. The voicing is the same for all styles, but that voice can be very versatile.

I use it with many amps, mostly for practicing. It sounds very nice with solid state amps. Tube amps, it gets too muddy.

For direct recording, I didn't like the sound right out of the box that much. However, using with Behringer GDI (4x12 simulator, DI) direct into a mixing board, it sounds really nice. Sounds just like an amp, it is amazing. Through a PA or recording, it is very nice.

Initially I got it to do scratch tracks and run DI to record with drummers and such. But I have been keeping the tracks since they sound so good. Or re-record with the same setup. Then mix it with amp sound.

I have had it for a year now. I take it with me to gigs as a backup. It also goes with me when I record with bands. I have had no problems with it. It is all metal construction, it can probably take a good beating.

I haven't had to contact them.

I have been playing for 10 years and have lots of gear. This thing is a great little box. It makes for a great backup and simple recording rig (with the Behringer GDI). If it were stolen or lost I would pick up a new one right away.

I play mostly Metal of various types, but I also do jazz, funk, blues, country, pop, etc. It really does well for all of them. Often DI boxes do other styles well, but don't do Metal well. This one nails Metal as well as other styles.

But definitely get a Behringer GDI with it. It really opens this box up for some real high quality use.

Very easy to get a good sound out of it. Many good sounds to get out of it.

Great sound. I use a Hamer stratocaster copy with a solid state crate amp. I was looking for a Fender Tweed tube amp sound like the 59 Bassmaster for Rockabilly,It nails that sound well. I love this pedal, it makes a solid state amp sound warm and bright or overdriven like a tube amp. I can't wait to try it with my gibson sg. Iv'e heard that this pedal makes a tube amp sound better. I love the tones that I get from this pedal. I use this with a Boss DD-3 digital delay pedal to get twangy rockabilly chime sound.

It looks like it's built to last.

I play Rockabilly, AC/DC style RockandRoll and thrash metal. I love the mild distortion and the clean sound I can get from this pedal. This is the only pedal that I have been compelled to write a review on. I love it. Ive played for about 8 years. I can't wait to use this thing with my half stack with the Boss metal distortion pedal.

How easy is it to get a good sound of it? It's almost impossible to get a bad one. I bought this used, like new condition ebay. There is no manual. It's very self explanatory I think not having a manual really forces you to explore the pedal. To be honest though you don't need one.

I am using a USA peavey predator strat copy with flat pole pickups, 1958 Gibson 125 tdc semi hollow and a peavey solid state amp with reverb. Let me tell you what I have owned:

Amps: Fender Harvard and Deluxe Tweed amps, Fender 64 princeton reverb, 68 champ, 68 bronco, various silver face vibro champs, silver face deluxe reverb.

VOX JMI AC-10, regular and top boost with mullard tubes. AC-4

Supro Thunderbolt.

1980s marshall tube amp combo (studio something or other.)

Kustom k-150 2x10 combo made in Canute, KS

and a bunch other amps I can't even remember.

Distortion pedals: 85-86' Rat, 80s tube screamer

This little pedal does it all so amazingly well, I'd say it covers all those 99.9% I listed all of the above because I wanted you to know I know what everything sounds like it. This little pedal does not only duplicate them but sounds actually nails the "fender" "Vox" or marshall sounds better than the real amps. Not to mention you can just plug right into the board and flick some switches. No messing around with mic placement. This pedal is less noisey than any of those amps. I say get this pedal, check the shielding on your guitar and get short cables. You will have the ultimate recording tool. This is great for practice or playing out too. I love it. I would say this pedal covers more amp/distortion pedal territory than you could ever financially afford and easier than anything out there. I've played pods and none of there models sound like the amps or the effects they are modeling. I've owned them. Get this over a digitally modeling pod. It really does sound like the real thing-even more so than the actual amp

It looks pretty sturdy and Tech 21 is a great company. I worry a little bit about the jack being connected to the pcb. But I guess this is the way they do it now. I would play out with it if I could afford to buy another (can't right now.) I don't think I would risk it considering how awesome this sounds.

sure there great

I play originals, classic rock and instrumentals. This covers everything. I was getting ready to shuck out for Lindy Fralen pickups before I got this. Perfect guitar pedal and the best investment you can make. I've been playing since I was around 5. If this was stolen or lost I'd buy another in a heartbeat. What do I love about it? SOUNDS LIKE THE REAL THING. I wish it would have came with a power supply. My advice is just buy it

So many possible combinations with those knobs and switches. Just know what you're after, set the switches accordingly and fine tune with the knobs.

For bass my switches are set to Cali or Tweed amp with Classic or Center mic and Clean or High Gain mod.

I run it in front of all my effects now for the final EQ before the amp. While the tone controls and the switches provide a wide range of sound customization, the drive doesn't get buzzy enough for my taste.

I got mine used in E Bay. It looks like it has seen better days and is still going strong.

This is a good pedal if you like to experiment alot with your tone or if you gig @ different places every night and don't bring your own amps and cabs. Your tone is in that box.

With a little time spent I got some really great tones for recording. editing? What editing..just tweek some knobs and flip a swith or two. It's moron proof. Manual was good...simple..brief...but then what else is ther to say about it.

I used it for recording into a 16 track digital workstation. I used the interanl effect on the workstaion such as reverb and delay. A little chorus too. Cab simulation also. It's quiet as can be. It got really good tones...no kidding. I have a Recto that I record with as well as the Recto recording pre....which I totaly love. This Little GT2 can get a really good Recto sound about as good as the real recto for a couple sounds. It does not have the sonic range and depth as a real recto, but if you are recording at home and need to get that sound, you CAN"T GO WRONG WITH THE GT2! Not as costly as a POD or a GNX and simpler to use. I think it's great.

Seems to be built well. No problems.

I always got an email reply every time I contacted Tech21. That means alot.

I play mostly metal...some classic rock. This covered those styles well. I have been playing 20+ years and I have used Line6, Johnson and Digitech amp simulators for recording. I find the GT2 to be very authentic when listening to playback. I was even fooled once! Only once though... ;) Shame on me. It did inspire me to write a few tunes as well. I liked it so much I went out and got the RBI for bass and it's all I have used to record bass with since!

Seems intimidating at first but just dive in and try out all the settings and you will see how easy it is to dial in killer sounds. The treble and bass knobs are extremely powerful so you are able to take your sound in many directions. Same thing with the drive knob-from a slight hint of edge to over the top !! One note, don't expect sparkling clean sounds for an acoustic or jazz gig. That's not what this pedal is really designed for-if you need ultra-clean the Acoustic DI is the way to go and then some.

There are a ton of great sounds in this box, you just need to spend some time finding them. To me, setting the mic placement switch to 'off-axis' makes the biggest difference of all. If you happen to dial in a weak sound try the mic switch. Soemtimes that is the only change you need to make to suddenly get a great sound. I don't know how they do it, but the sounds are very warm and ambient. Not like most other solid-state sounding box units-Pods,Boss, Digitech,Alesis......Again, don't expect sparkling clean sounds out of this box, the Acoustic DI is designed for those.

Five years of great service and no problems at all.

These guys rock. They always answer your emails quickly and are very honest about what their products can and can't deliver. They are also very good about offering insider tips as to how to get that little bit extra out of the unit.

This unit is a great way to record direct, plu straight into a PA, can be used as an effect pedal, and can be kept as a 'spare amp' on a gig. There are loads of great sounds in this box, they are fairly easy to dial in with abit of experience, and they sound great. For the price this is a fantastic product.

I have owned alot of gear over the years and the GT2 is the best Preamp/Dist. pedal a player could have in his arsenal. The knobs are very sensitive and just a slight turn can change your sound and tone.
As far as using it just plug it in and go. This unit is designed for any music format, but it is best suited for Rock / Metal
I give it a 10

I use a Mesa-Boogie Stereo 100 tube amp, with GT2 Set in the Mesa Setting for a heavy chunk sound and followed by an MXR EQ,Holy Grail Reverb, Boss CE2 Chorus, Line 6 Delay. There is no sound or hiss at least that I have noticed and the GT2 always sounds the same, I can get pretty much any type of sound I want with a little tweeking.

I have had my GT2 since 1992 and it has always been a reliable part of my rig but I hate to say my GT2 is finally starting to give out, so I plan on buying a new one soon, I have never needed a backup pedal but I always keep one handy just in case there is always something that could go wrong during a gig.
In my opinion though after 13 yrs of pretty mauch playing everyday it served its purpose above and beyond what I would expect it to.

Never needed to!

I play a wide range of styles as far as music from Manowar to Madonna, and my sound at least to me has never been an issue.
I have been playing guitar for 25 yrs now and I'm a gear head I know my stuff and I will say that I always return to my GT2 nothing compares or comes close to the sound it offers. As I said earlier I would buy nothing else at this point, I have used rack equipment, every pedal in the world, and this is the best.
I wish that puchasing these units would be easier and I would like to see some other products like, EQ's, Delay, Flanger, Chorus, Wah, and Volume pedals from Tech 21.
I wish I was signed to a label so I could be endorsed by the company.

Relatively easy to use - no problems there.

I bought mine used, so maybe I got a bad one. But I was really disappointed with the sound of this box. After reading all the glowing reviews here on Harmony Central, I was prepared to be very impressed with it, but for the most part I wasn't.

The sound I liked the most was the Tweed/Fender clean tone. I won't say it perfectly nails the Fender sound, but it's close enough, and very useable. Although I sold my GT2 after about 6 months, I almost kept it for that one sound. I liked the California/Mesa Boogie high gain tone, but, damn, it sure was noisy, as was the Marshall. I know that it's to be expected, to some degree, when dealing high gain, but even keeping the settings at moderate levels, it produced way too much noise, especially for recording. Using it live, it might be more tolerable, but in the studio - no way (at least with unit I had).

I tried it direct into my Mackie VLZ mixing board and monitored on Yamaha NS10M nearfield monitors. I also played with it through my Mesa Boogie Studio 22+ and Fender Blues Jr. tube amps, as well as a solid state Marshall, using a variety of guitars including a Gibson Les Paul w/ Seymour Duncan humbuckers, Fender Strat w/ Lace Sensors, and a 72 Telecaster Custom w/ Duncan Little '59 in the bridge, so it was tested on a pretty good cross section of instruments. I'm glad so many people have had positive experiences with the GT2, but I was really disappointed.

Seems pretty solid. I didn't have any problems with it.

Here's one category I can give a high rating in. I was in contact a couple times with Tech 21 and they were extremely responsive and helpful.

Either, other guitarists are more tolerant of noise than I am, or maybe the unit I bought had some problems - although it seemed to work fine electronically. The Fender clean tone was excellent, but the Marshall and Mesa Boogie tones had too much noise and hiss, even at moderate levels. I also didn't find much to like in the clean settings of those two as well. I really spent a lot of time in the 6 months that I had it, trying to tweak some useable sounds, but in the end I gave up and traded it in.

I have no doubt that all the people who have rated it so highly have found some great sounds that work for them, so no disrespect, but this box definitely didn't work for my use, especially for lead tones - which for me lean towards soaring melodic Santana/David Gilmour sounds. The actual tones were decent, but, as I said, too much noise. I even had a conversation with someone at Tech 21 about it, and I just couldn't dial it in for the right tone without the noise. I've been playing guitar for over 30 years and have owned a lot of equipment. I was very impressed with Tech 21 as a company and would have no hesitation trying out some of their other products. I'd also be curious to try some other GT2's to see if they are any better than the one I owned. So, based on my experience, I can't recommend this box very highly, but with so many other guitarists raving about it, I'd advise someone to check it out and see if it's right for them.

Easy as can be: 4 knobs, 3 switches and of you go. It's all analog, no memory, no midi - just a one trick wonder. The manual is clear, with nice starting examples.

Guitar (strat, superstrat, les paul)to gt 2 to amp/mixing board. Easy as that. High gain settings ad some noise, but within limits. This is mainly for my home studio to track guitar without upsetting the neighbours - but it sounds very good for such a small stompbox. Of course will a/b ing with the originals reveal differences, but at this price I don't complain. In a mix the guitar sound will stand out, and prove itself with dynamics and fluidity compared to my POD mk2 which sounds compressed and a bit dull and fluffy.

It is dead easy to get good sounds of this little helper, and playing around for half an hour gets you from funk to ultra metal and all in between. I already had a Sansamp Bassdriver, which sounded so good I decided to give the GT 2 a try, and both my POD as my BassPOD are going to retire.

Compared to the digital stuff, the Sansamp gear sounds more open, and chords have more contend. The sound is more in contact with your playing than the Line 6 gear.

It's build rock solid, and I would gig without backup.

Never dealt with them, so I don't know

The unit is bought to track guitar parts in my homestudio, but ir seems handy to take it everywhere my guitars goes. In it's own right the sound is very good, and keeps me playing for hours. Normally I play bassguitar (yes through a Sansamp Bassdriver!!!), but for songwriting and fun, I play a bit guitar. I'm not in the top of guitar playing, but I enjoy it next to playing bass.

It would be nice if Tech21 made a unit that has the programmability of the TRi AC, and the flexibility of the GT 2.....but there must be wishes in life.

As stated before, my Line6 POD is going to retire. The GT 2 plugged into my silverface Fender Champ sounds real nice.

Pretty easy. 4 knobs, level, high, low and drive, 3-3 way switches. Mine didn't come with a manual because i bought it used. It was easy to get going with it and get some good sounds right at the start.

I run a fairly simple setup, Guitar -> GT2 -> GE-7 -> Clean channel. Sounds good on most settings - it can get noisy and buzzy, it really all depends on how you adjust the settings. It does a better job than most pedals at reproducing the amp sounds it is supposed to emulate. Higher notes sound real good and have a nice attack. Can sound crunchy or smooth, mellow or harsh.
After going through a few 9v's i decided to get a universal power supply with voltage select for it, that way it can be underpowered to get different character. I usually run it at 4.5v - 6v, it retains its sound at those voltages and doesn't get too barky or loud. I also grabbed a Boss ge-7 to enhance the pedals sound. If you're getting bored with the pedal at all a ge-7 might be what you're looking for.

The GT-2 has three switches with three positions each, mic position, modification (amp gain/character) and amp type. They can be flipped to create alot of different sounds. The 'Mic' switch simulates mic positioning with the first being an off angle setting (airy, less direct) center yields a very direct tone with focused highs and mids, and classic is a real midrangey tone. The mod switch lets you select the type of amp gain, hot wired, high gain and classic. And finally Amp lets you choose the amp type, California (mesa) British (Marshall) and Tweed (fender) The switches can also be set to 'in-between' each setting - although this wouldn't be easy to do while on stage, it is possible with some fiddling. Doing this results in even more sound possibilities. For instance if you set the mod switch in-between "high gain" and "classic" you get the loudness of the classic setting but with the smoother sound of the high gain setting, like a classic amp being overdriven. The in-between British and Tweed setting is the only one that sounds kind of strange, the others seem ok. Not sure if doing this can damage the pedal but it is interesting to try out.

Seems well built, doubt it would break under normal use.

Haven't talked to them. They seem like a pretty cool company though.

Pretty neat pedal. Does a good job at emulating the different amp types. Good tone, nice pick attack. Good build quality. The only thing i wish it had were more, more, more. They could load the thing up with switches and it would be alot of fun. Does a better job than alot of other pedals. Sounds good with a ge-7 after it too.

Very easy to use. The manual explains the basiscs and give you some decent default settings. The controls are pretty sensitive so it may take some time to get the sound you are looking for.

I don't give a 10 because nothing is perfect but wow, this thing is really nice. I had a Boss DS-1 which was fine but not very flexible; before that, crappy solid-state amp distortion. I am using this straight into a Yamaha MT4X casssette four-track, sometimes with chorus and reverb, OR in front of a early 60's Ampeg Jet. It pushes the hell out of that amp!! Also sounds good enough to run straigh into a board and out the PA. Like I said above, the controls are very sensitve, and if you are using an amp, that as well as your guitar and the pickup selected will affect the overall tone. It is quite and is such an improvement over any other distortion/overdrive unit I've ever dealt with (I'm 41, been playing since I was 13, the usual covers and original band experience). The setting in the owner's manual are pretty good - I like "Bluesbreaker" and "Van Halen Style", and "Metallica" for your standard Neanderthal Metal Chug .... this guy has some additional settings on a web page; I like "Pagey" and "Smashing Pumpkins":

http://members.tripod.com/Milaa/SansAmpGT2/indexGT2.html

Built like a tank ... ha-ha, a long ways from the Ibanez "Soundtank" series. The battery lasts a long time, I would use without a backup.

I have not, got a cherry deal on Ebay, but I hear they are very responsive ... It's a small company and the stuff is made right here in the USA!!

This is a very helpful tool. I chose the GT2 because most of my playing is into the four-track. If I played out more I would get the Tech 21 Tri-OD ... the exact same controls but you can program three distinct sounds so you have more options in a live setting. I think it's great for pushing a small class-a amp .... if I run this pedal hot into the Jet, I'm getting close to stack-a-licious sound (minus some of the breeze)! I play mainly different styles of rock, but getting more into what might pass for movie sountracks if I was more talented:)
Other gear: 90's Alvarez bass, Guyatone chorus, Boss RV-2 reverb, DOD Digital Delay, Shure microphones, 90's Washburn USA-Jackson Mercury guitar, 1973 Guild D-50 acoustic guitar, 60's Kay Classical Guitar, "Stradivarius" Violin from Romania (inherited from Aunt).

very easy to get a good sound out of this thing. i plugged it in put in what i thought was a good setting and went. only pedal in my life i liked from the 1st second.

to me it all kinda sounds the same, a one trick pony. you cant get a mean mean tight marshall sound that is very fun to play, very tight and spongy. still doesnt sound like a real tube amp but not bad at all.

ive found ligter distortion settings are fine, i was surprised at its hot gain.

looks pretty stable

im using this with a mesa 2:90 power amp. this is more than likely the real way to run this thing being that if it was used as a pedal and not a preamp im sure your amps EQ would mess with the tone.

Works for me ... I like what I get and it is really easy. You sacrifice some flexibility vs. the full Sans Amp but it cna get gounds sonds immediately.

Manual? We don't need no steenkin manual! You would have to have significant cognitive challenges to not be able to figure out the basics of operating it. Really getting what you want may require futzing with tone controls, levels, and your amp. I have no idea how it sounds direct because that is against my religion.

I feed Starts/Teles/PRS through it into a Twin and Hot Rod, sometimes with UniVibe Stereo Chorus. It works for me. The GT2 can be a full-on snot-metal crunch monster if that's your bag, or - when you spend some quality time with later in life - you can get very cool dark, dirty swamping inbred bluesy stuff.

The three amp types are realistics enough, but don't expect to fool anyone in a blind taste test. The names are, shall we say, "directionally correct." The "Tweed" (not called Fender, mind you, for obvious reasons) tone has ringing high end but in no way replaces the real thing. "American" gets the basic idea behind a Boogie, and "British" is kind of Brit-ish. If your goal is a live vz. "Memorex" duplication, get the real thing and practice. If ou ant a similar vibe this pedal might actually do it.

The extremes of tone, distortion don't work for me. Generally, though, i get very strong sounds from it. Cabinet / miking simulators could be accurate - I don't know. I use them as tone-ish controls.

Best part, to me, is it carries the guitar tone through very well. Strats sounds like, well, Strats. It also responds very very nicely to pick attack and articulation. Recently I started playing it with less drive, darker tone, and finder style and it works way cool.

Been totally rosk solid. Well built, simple. yadda yadda. Nice work.

No idea. A used pedal. Not really expecting on-site service and 24x7 call center. Plus it never ever acted up.

I've used to thrash away at catharic rock, but I generally play with more restraint. I also look more for amp distortion, but this pedal really adds it's own dimension.

The whole pedal thing is so personal and subjective, it's prett damn silly to rant about it. This device has some real value and sounds great for me.

This little box defies words, it's so good. I popped into the music store last week after work to pick up some picks and other small accessories, and saw they had this advertised on sale (used) an additional 25% off. I thought "what the heck, I'll try it out" so I plugged it in at the store, using a cheap Squire strat and a crappy Roland Cube amp.

Within 30 seconds, I knew I was going to buy it. It's SO EASY to get GREAT tone out of it. 3 switches, 4 knobs...what could be simpler? And so many variations!

So...I get it home...all I can say is "WOW!" - it's inspired me to play a LOT this past week. I use it with 2 guitars - Fender American Deluxe Strat (LSR nut, Fender Floyd, DiMarzio PAF Pro/Virt. Vintage/Dual Sound p/us), and a home-made "George Kirk" signature Strat - scalloped neck, DiMarzio HS3/HS2/HS3 pickups. These go into either a Behringer V-amp2 (for multi-effects, more on that in a moment), a Line6 Spider II, or whichever PA system I happen to be using on a given night.

This unit lets you get as close to AUTHENTIC tones from some of your favorite artists as possible, while allowing you to develop your own signature sound. Want Angus Young? Check! Van Halen? Check! John Petrucci (a la Images and Words...) Check! Iron Maiden? Check. Stevie Ray Vaughan...well let me tell you, the sky IS crying, because this thing does the classic Fender amp blues vibe better than ANYTHING I've ever heard. It's almost IMPOSSIBLE to get a bad sound out of it, although at higher gain settings I recommend backing off a bit on the volume if you are using high-powered pickups.

On another note, all you digital modelling gear-heads (of which I was one, until I bought this unit) - once you hear this, you will NEVER go back to digital amp modelling. This unit offers a much more pleasing sound, in any of it's virtually infinite combinations than ANY modelling amp I have played (and I have played them all). Harmonics are alive, you think you're playing through a REAL tube amp. It's that good!

It's so good, I went back to the store and bought another one...one for my live rig "hot" tones (which by the way clean up nicely in response to your picking and volume settings) and one for cool, clean bluesy tones.

Built like a tank.

N/A

I play everything from blues to jazz to progressive metal. This box literally can do it all, and do it WELL! I've been playing 16 years, have had many different amps, effects units, etc. This is the first time I've ever thought "this is indispensable". Sounds great live, sounds great recorded direct, and in such a small package. If it were stolen or lost, I'd buy another in a second! The tones are so "organic", they inspire you to play, play and play some more.

Bottom line: Stop reading, go find one of these babies and buy it. You will NOT be disappointed!

Just picked it up from my local Guitar Center today...for $39.99...in excellent condition...well cared for w/no scratches, dings, etc. Thank you Guitar Center...used ones are going for $90.00 and up on eBay!

Brought it home and played w/it for an hour or so and was getting some really great sounds out of it. I normally...for the last 6 years...have played a Boss Metal Zone into a 1979 Marshall JMP 50W 2x12 Combo equipped w/6550 tubes and Celestion 25W Greenbacks. My guitars are all Custom Assembled Modified 80's Super Strats...1986 Kramer Stagemaster Custom, 1985 & 1989 Kramer Elliot Easton Pacer Imperial, 1986 Kramer Baretta Kline Space Graphic w/Maple Board, Warmoth Stevie Ray Vaughan Tribute Strat w/Maple Board and Floyd Rose, 1988/91 B.C. Rich Gunslinger Graffiti Graphic w/Maple Board...you get the picture. Anyway...I pulled down about 40 Settings for this thing from a Sansamp GT2 Settings Site where people can add their settings...some sucked but a few were really cool similarities to GnR, EVH, Radiohead, AC/DC, etc. Literally...w/in a few minutes I had some cool tones cranking out of the Marshall!!!

No manual...as it was "used". Really don't need it since I've got the presets printed out as indicated above.

It's got 4 knobs...Level,High,Low,Drive...and a series of 3 Switches that can be set for different variations of "Miking"-Classic,Center,Offset, "Tones"-Clean,High Gain,Hot Wired, and, "Amp Models"-Tweed,British,California...honestly...how hard can it be to use???

I played it w/my B.C. Rich Gunslinger, which has a Dimarzio Tone Zone F-Spaced in the bridge and a Vintage "PAF" Stickered Dimarzio SDS1 in the neck, a Brass Sustain Block on the bridge and a Vol/3 Way P/U Selector/Coil Tap on TZ.

If you crank up all the knobs to max...yeah...it's noisy. The only "learning curve" I experienced was in understanding how the unit interacted w/my Amp, Guitar/Pickups...it was a little heavy on the treble...so once I rolled back the High knob and increased the Low knob a bit to compensate for my equipment variables...I was able to churn out some killer tones on the presets that I tested. Really it's a matter of finding the limits of the pedals knobs in relation to your gear. For me, it was a simple matter of defining the High/Low limits...Low had no limit...I could crank it all the way and the sound/tone never suffered. Highs on the other hand, depended upon the setting.

This unit didn't pack as much power as my Boss Metal Zone, but it gives a really nice range of tones from which to choose based upon the Variable Switches. Is it the only pedal you'll need...the "be all/end all" of pedals...probably not for most people...but it's a fun and useful box o' tones that'll take you in a lot of different directions/styles comfortably. I thought it gave an interesting interpretation of Tube Tones through my Tube Amp. I was impressed by it's flexibility and capabilities...as well as the sounds/tones that I was able to get so easily in such a short period of time with it. o

Seems tough enough to me. It was rattling when I got it, as it had a battery in it...which I quickly removed as I always use an AC Adapter.

Not a clue...hopefully I'll never need them.

This thing was a freakin' bargain! It's very usable for a number of different styles. I've been playing for about 16 years, strictly as a hobbyist, but I'll continue to play until I DIE. I love my guitars and I love playing. I've owned my share of gear over the years and finally settled on my amp about 6 years ago....my Marshall JMP Combo Amp is the HOLY GRAIL of amplifiers as far as I'm concerned.

I'm pretty picky about my tone...I've sold off an Ibanez Tube Screamer Turbo TS-10 recently, as it just didn't do the trick for me "tonewise". I definitely am more impressed w/the GT2 over the TS-10. I chose the GT2 over several other pedals in the same price range...Hughes & Ketner Warp Factor, Boss MT2 Digital Metalizer, etc and am quite happy w/this little mutha!

A amplifier emulation pedal is how I classify this thing. Very unique idea of using a a distortion circuit and some frequency responce curves to simulate miking of a speaker cone. There are others out there (better?), but Tech 21 was the first and on top of that- its ALL ANALOG!!! No digital bits anywhere to be found.

The setup is pretty easy to get you a basic tone- level, low, high, and drive controls. Amp, Mod, and Mike settings, each with a three position switch. You simply dial up the type of amp you want, the type of mod (read overdrive) and the miking of the speaker.

Here's where, like everything else on the planet, everyone has an opinion not only on the sound quality, but on how the things should be used!

Here's my opinion- I found that using the higher gain settings (like britsh or California), made an interesting tone in the lower register. My guitarist called it the "star wars tie fighter sound". its kinda like a growl that has one annoying frequency. I tried zeroing it out with parametric EQ, but my attitude is why bother putting a band-aid on something that should work right the first time?

Weirdly, on lower settings, or on the tweed settings with higher drive, the weird tone isn't there. Thas how I use it now. I find I get more tone out of the instrument and the amp simulation sounds rougher- like a smaller amp being pushed harder- more real!

Like Boss's reputation for buiding tanks disguised as pedals, the GT-2 is the same! I've broken one knob (not the shaft, the actual plastic), but it was my fault and I was able to find a replacement at a local electronic parts store!!! But if I were to base the reliability on sound and function alone, excellent!

I've spoken with a guy names Lloyd at Tech 21 about some other issues with other Sans Amp stuff I own, but I have never had problems and they have never been anything but helpful about it!

This thing is very warm and tubey sounding. Its amp models do not sound exactly like their expensive and heavy counterparts, but they capture alot of the signature characteristics of those amps. I have never actually owned or played a real tube-powered fender, marshall, or mesa; I do own a tube amp however. All models have got the the "tube sound." In my opinion, the closeness of these models rates as follows: fender-90%, mesa-85%, marshall-75%. At first, I was somewhat disappointed w/ this pedal. After a couple of days of owning it, I really like it. To me it seems like the GT2 sounds most tubey when cranked. I am using it for recording direct into my computer, and if it sounded any better, it might replace the amps it mimics. Keep in mind that there are no totally clean sounds in this pedal, just "gain turned down on your dirty channel" type of clean.

Lloyd is prompt, knowledgable, and friendly. Best answers i've gotten through an e-mail.

This pedal is very easy to work with. There is no need to use the manual, even if you aren't a techie geekazoid. Flip a few switches and adjust the knobs to your liking.

This is my current setup. LTD MC-200guitar loaded with an EMG 81 into a Digitech Genesis 3 preamp on rectified setting into the GT2 on the clean tweed selection into a Digidesign Mbox for recording into Pro Tools LE where I untraditionally monitor through PA speakers(sounds like there is a band in the room!). The reason I use the Genesis is because the GT2 doesn't have as much gain as I would like on the heavy settings even with my EMG. The Genesis also offers compression for more gain, and a noise gate which is pretty useful if you are getting radio interference through your guitar from sitting in front of your computer. If you are into heavy guitar styles and you don't have a separate distortion to feed into the tweed sound, I would definitely suggest inserting a compressor before the GT2 to beef up the distortion sounds. Also I don't reccomend using the GT2 in a guitar amp setup. If you take my advice with the properly used compressor this pedal can definitely score a 10.

This pedal is pretty solid. I don't ever step on it so it will definitely will last for a while. If I ever gig with it in the future it still won't get stepped on. However it has sustained a couple drops and the worse that has come of it is chipped paint which gives it a little more character.

I don't ever see needing support with this box

I have been playing various heavy styles for around 9 years. Definitely a good tool for a recording arsenal. Definitely would replace if stolen. Best amp/cab emulator I've ever heard.

Not soo ez but still manageable with some experience.
Please understand this is a preamp, won't give its best in front of an amp but in the return jack.
Or on a pa, recorder, hifi etc.
Knobs very very effective, a small turn is a new world here so be careful.

The best all-in-one you can find: 5ma 9volt battery consumption, buffered output so you can run long cables without treble-loss, guitar-to-pa(or bass amp, anything) interface...
It is a very clever box, maybe the cleverest analog thing available(along with its brother the classic).
I 've used it intensively since 1995, for all applications. As a clean amp with pedals in front, as a crunch amp with a booster in front, as a distortion pedal in front of a jc120 amp(you cannot believe how good it sounds without trying for yourself!), everything.
But it won't work good with bass or vocals, whatever is stated on the manual...
Having also the classic, I can state this: the grain is finest on the classic. If you take sandpaper as an example, the gt-2 is like 240 while the classic is like 600.
Useless to say that in real-life situations, live, nobody cares nor gives a shit, if you play good people know it.

Absolutely, it's the backup. I tore it apart, modified it, reput it to origin, no problems. It's not only bullet-proof, but also idiot-proof(lucky me!).
It is also a real pain in the ass to spray some wd40 in the pots when the unit starts(after 7 years) to makes strange sounds because you have to desolder jacks and so on, very unpleasant to do. See the review on someone unhappy with the tri-ac on this very point, the gt-2 is made alike). 9 for this.

Here in europe you ain't got no support, I don't care since it won't break...

Whatever your style this thing delivers. Crap in equals not-so-crap out but still no magic...
It is absolutely not noisy, the only problem you will have is an upcoming depression when you realize how bad your sound was before having this unit...
Keep in mind that less is more, the tonal variations are amazing here, and I keep discovering interesting settings after 9years of use.
Of course I will buy one again, I'm no fool.

Very easy! Good sound if matched with the right stuff but it can sound nasty with other things to, more on this later.
Manual is great with some great settings included.

OK, I use this for professional direct recording but already knew when I got it that the CAB SIM isn't the best, but I tried it anyway right into my Mackie VLZ mixer into a pair of monitors and as I knew, the tone is there but the Cab Sim sucks, but keep on reading and I'll tell you why this thing is still awesome! I'll get the bad stuff out of the ways first and then tell you why all this stuff isn't bad at all.
Like any amp or modeller, the higher the gain, the higher the noise, it's not too bad but I believe that a Guitar player without a Noise Gate pedal or unit is like Beer with no alcohol!

Now to the good news. I wasn't happy with the Cab Sim so I shopped around for a Cab sim that would work well and sound great. Before I continue, I have been a studio producer for 10 years working for some major TV networks so I have used a TON of gear and know something about sound.
Well, I tried a $30 Behringer ULTRA G Cab Sim DI BOX and HOLY COW!
The best guitar sound I have ever had BAR NONE in 17 years of guitar playing going through the tubes of Marshalls, Soldanos, Mesas and trying all the digital modelling units available. The GT-2 is an awesome pre and sounds great in front of an amp and with an extra $30 you won't even need the amp anymore, in fact, on live gigs I now go direct and always get compliments from other guitarists and audience on how clear, yet warm and aggressive my sound is (While I'm laughing at our other guitar player with back probelms whom's girlfriend always complaints she can't hear him with his 4X12 300 watt Marshall Mode four THAT SUCKS BY THE WAY!....he knows this and just got himself a....err..GT2 wiht Ultra G!).

Anyhow, Thhe GT-2 can sound unbelievable and can sound like a piece of crap. It just depends how you use it and what with like anythign else.
8 because of the Poor cab sim, otherwise AWESOME! Great sounds, Versatile and a guitarists/Producer dream!
I also reviewed the Behringer Ultra G mentioning that I have the best guitar sound I have ever had in 17 years with less than $200.

Its a tank! Period.

I once owend a trademark 120 that would overheat and switch itself off. I contacted TECH 21 and within 48hrs they shipped me a brand new, no qiestions asked. They knew of this problem and fixed it on certain models and fixed it.
Thier website is really cool and they reply to emails really quickly too.

I believe TECH 21 are the best at modelling other amps. You can get the sounds of certaing amps or create ones of your own with no problem. No more digital for me or tubes blowing up pr the need of an Isolated room with Microphones, pre's and tons of noise.
I spent less than $200 ($150 GT-2 + $30 Ultra G) and sound like $3000.
Thanks TECH 21!!!!!
Hear this pedal soon on the upcoming EARTHCUBED album at
http://www.andrewbordoni.com

This little box is super easy to use. Flip a few switches, turn a few knobs, you're set.

I'll give you a little different perspective. I play bass, but I'm mostly a synth/sampler guy. I've used this with my Aria Pro II bass (plugged into my mixer and monitors, I don't have a bass amp these days), Access Virus KB, Novation Bass Station, Waldorf Pulse, and Ensoniq ESQ-1 synths.

The bass sounds awesome through it. There is a huge range of sounds I can coax, all of which react well to playing.

Synths are a little bit of a mixed bad. Resonant sounds that sound (for lack of a better word) synthetic loose a great deal of their character in this box. It isn't like overdriving a mixer channel, it really alters your sound, sometimes in a good way and sometimes in a bad way. I've found that (get ready) it helps me synthesize awesome guitar sounds. Who would have guessed? Anyway, I set up a patch on the Virus with a bandpass filter that tracks the keyboard, and ran it through the Sansamp. It doesn't sound like a synthesized guitar, it just sounds like a guitar. Awesome. It's also great for noisey industrial chaos. Any synth playing octaves --> delay --> GT-2 = instant madness.

in short, I like this thing a lot. I wouldn't want to use it on every synth sound, but I would use it on my bass whenever I wanted to record.

It seems reliable enough. I bought mine used, and the LED that indicates on/off doesn't work. I would gig without a backup, but then it isn't quite indispensable to me, either.

I haven't dealt with them.

I play industrial/ebm/synthpop, and this is great for the more angry side of electronic music. I've been playing bass for 6 years, and keys for 5. I own a cheap bass, as well as a fair amount of synths, effects, and outboard. I like the GT-2 a lot. I was considering learning a little guitar, bt since I can fake it so well with my synths and this pedal, I'll save the hundreds of dollars I would have spent on guitar gear and use it on bass and synth gear instead. :) Ultimately, this pedal opens up a range of sounds that were previously beyond my reach. It was cheap and it sounds great! What more could you want?

Easy as pie...Level knob, high-low knobs, and drive knob. along with switches for the mic placement, and amp types. EXCELLENT foot switch, turns on very easily without delay or hassle.

You can crank out any awsome vintage amp sound. high and low eq's prove usefull, and the drive is kickin'. Can be noisy though.. hopefully if i get an ebtech hum eliminator and a noise gate it shouldnt be too bad. I can get an amazing Hendrix "highway chile'" sound. good sustain. add a little delay and you'll have an awsome solo sound. I put this thing through my crappy eighties crate amp and it really kicks.

Pretty rugged. my dog chews everything and this thing hasnt got a dent! I will definatly gig with it.

Havnt dealt with them , hopefully will not have to. their homepage is pretty good with alot of samples.

I play all the good stuff, hendrix, nirvana, clapton, zep, pink floyd, this thing really delivers. The tone is second to none. I also have a digitech hot rod distortion and it's nothing compared to this. maybe if i use my big muff for a boot it will sound even better. I almost forgot about recording with this thing. I had a school project with some buddy's, and as kind of a joke we recorded "Rockin' in the Free world", but this thing delivered. it cut right through the mix. i just added some reverb and delay and it sounded incredible. Id give it a ten so far in every catagory cause its amazing, but i havnt had it long enough.

easy enough to use

ok, here's where I have to set the record straight as far as using this in a live situation. Like all sansamp preamps, you need to make sure you use FULL RANGE SPEAKERS!!!! Example: I would use this as a distortion pedal through a marshall or a fender, and it was always a battle to get a good sound. I used it with a roland JC 120, and it sounded BRILLIANT! Full range speakers!!!

sansamp products are kinda funny, in that they act up sometimes. This particular pedal, I used to have to whack it on the floor somerimes to get it to co operate, then other times, it was fine. The footswitch on my trademark 60 is tempermental too?

these guys r the BEST!

For direct recoding, I always use a POD, but this thing works well too. However, the POD blows live, and this thing works well.

Easy to get a good sound of. The way it works is fairly simple. Switches and knobs to be tweaked as you see fit. 3 types of amp, 3 types of speaker and - get this: 3 different mic positions can be simulated - and that is the key to getting some fantastic tones. There's also the obligatory Volume, Bass, Treble and Drive dials which give a fairly big tonal pallette - I've only scratched the surface of this pedal's capabilities and I've got more than enough sounds to be working with.

I use it with a solid state Trace Elliot amp and either my Strat or Les Paul. It's pretty much noiseless in terms of buzzing and the like. A little buzzing if you're too close to your rig, but that's the deal with pretty much anything.

This can be manipulated to get the rhythm sound of just about any rock guitarist you want. Lead tones are a bit more down to pickups and of course your magical fingers, but I have to say you can ape anyone who plays a Les Paul into a Marshall with the greatest of ease and accuracy.

Solid pedal, well constructed, never so much as a fizzle or a squeak out of it. You drive a tank over this and it won't even blink.

Never had to deal with TECH 21.

Well, I've tried a lot of stomp boxes, and for me, the Tech 21 Sansamp GT2 is the absolute cherries!!!

I got one on eBay for a song and it if I lost all my gear to a gang of raiding dwarves I would replace it in a minute!

It allows you to tweak amp type, speaker type and mic position!

It's also very responsive. The 3 types of amp are Fender-esque clean, Marshall-esque rawk and Boogie-esque crunch.

It goes through your amp without stealing the character of your guitar's tone, rather colouring it with the degree of saturation of your choosing instead. You can run the whole gamut from a very slight overdrive to a window-breaking, boot in the arse thumping crunch. Beeeatch. I should get money from Tech 21 for this kind of praise.......

NB - With a bit of tweakery, I've managed to add tube warmth to the clean channel of my solid state amp. This pedal has literally save me a few hundred quid and I will at some point dress it in a skirt and a wig and marry it

Quite easy to get a good sound out of it. It is harder to get the sound you have in mind coz this thing covers such a wide range.

I used it mainly for direct recording. I gave it a try from my Telecaster to a Soldano 50 watts. The distortion is a killer. I didn`t had to go above the high gain setting (on the marshall) with the drive halfway to get a very decent heavy rock sound. There`s plenty of drive with this and the clean Fender sound is good too. But after all, i can't use this for recording. It lacks the a good overdriven sound, before it distort. I can`t get rid of this scratchy higher gain buzz. This thing sounds the same as my Twin preamp plugged direct. I don`t hear the speaker simulation. The mic switch seems to curve the wrong freq. Maybe this is now a different era now. Please Tech 21, blow our mind with a new era of amp simulation, improve your technologies; its getting there

I was looking for an analog amp simulation to replace my (oh! too noisy) VF-1. That wasn`t it. This pedal seems to have a purpose but it isn`t mine. I'm gonna get a Vox Tonelab and that`ll be it(I wish!!!!).

It's pretty easy to use while offering some options for amp and speaker simulations

I bought it as a direct recording device and I am disappointed. while it excels in producing distorted sounds it lacks quality for clean or in between sounds (which I prefer). maybe i am picky, owning two tube amps, but it just does not give me a good feeling and flow while playing. but even the overdriven settings are only good for one sound - a real marshall is way more versatile.
The eq is not very useable in my opinion, with the highs to harsh and producing noise and the lows too broad so you get either muddy or thin sound.

I just have it for a few days, it looks solid.

while it may be pretty good for some heavy metal sounds it lacks quality in other disciplines. it does not at all feel real like some other reviewers stated (which made me look for one on ebay), lacks the dynamics and in betwenn sounds of a good tube amp. I'll put mine out for sale...

Although there are quite a few paramenters on the GT2 to play with, the manual offers up lots of suggested settings that would allow anyone to plug in & get some good sounds in minutes. You don't have to be a genius to work out what 'SRV style' means, for example. The fun starts when you get into tweaking the sounds yourself. I think the only problem with the GT2 would be if you were gigging & tried to switch settings between songs (in the dark!) - it's pretty fiddly.

I've had the GT2 for 6 months. I use a 1977 American strat into a 1980s British (solid state) Sessionette amp. The amp's own overdrive is pretty poor & I was ready to change it for a tube amp - but now I won't bother, at least for a while. As a fan of players like SRV & Kenny W Shepherd I was looking for something that would allow me to get close to their tone and still keep the natural tone of my Strat coming through. I tend to use the GT2 set up most of the time to get this mild overdrive & it really works. It is a very 'musical' sounding pedal and very responsive to the way in which you play - it resonds very well to the amount of attack you put into the strings. I'd contrast this with digital modellers like the V - Amp & Pod, which I found very harsh & frankly, artificial. I owm a Boss BR64 digital portastudio & the myriad of on board guitar sounds are really poor in comparison with the GT2. I also own a Rat, but I find that too harsh for my tastes. The acid test for the GT2- does it make you want to sit down & play? Answer is always yes. Finally - it does hiss a bit on some settings, but I can live with that.

so far so good. seems well built & the footswitch is robust

I've been playing for 25 years, but I've only recently started to get back into the guitar seriously. Started taking lessons last year, after years of just fooling around. other gear owned - Rat, Tokai Flanger (old) Ibanez Sonic Distortion (older).I listen to most types of music, but for guitar I go for SRV, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Johnny Winter, Paul Kossoff thro to Chilli Peppers, Mars Volta. If I lost it, I'd buy another - or check out some of the other similar Sansamp products. I compared the GT2 to Pod, V- Amp & some Boss multi-effects unit the guy in the shop suggested (interestingly he didn't suggest the GT2, I found it on the shelf & asked to try it). Does this pedal encourage me to make music? Yes. Would I recommend it? Yes - I like to play blues oriented stuff, but it is also great fun to set up some of the more extreme rock & metal patches & have fun. Check one out.

Kind of a honeymoon review, I've had it for a couple of weeks now, so still getting to know it some. But I found a tone I'm groovin with, so I really haven't been touching the knobs.

Anyway, 4 knobs - Level, High, Low, and Drive. Three small sliders - "Mic", which is supposed to emulate mic placement, another for gain level, and one for amp type.

I think the switches could stand to be a bit bigger.. what I think would be super cool is if you could switch the gain level switch with a add-on footswitch, it leaves the basic character of the tone the same but steps up levels, so I could see this being useful on stage if you could switch it without bending over.

Not very noisy, as others have said, there is some noise on the super high gain settings, but no more than you'd get out of a real amp.

I'm using it in the effects loop of a Behringer AC112 to compensate for the amps so-so distortion. The GT2 is a bit thin in the mids, I follow it with an Danelectro EQ pedal to compensate. The GT2 sounds very good, though, a good foundation for a good tone. Strangely enough, the best tone I get is when it's set for classic/clean/california and run it with the amps drive channel, they complement each other with added girth.

Good dynamics, the tweed setting especially shows how it distorts gradually with picking strength, unlike many SS products that are either on or off when it comes to this.

Gobs of sustain to be had too.. if you want it. Somedays I don't because I'm playing too sloppy!

Seems strong enough..

Muy exellente!
I emailed them asking for a manual since I bought it used, they emailed me back within an hour! Almost unheard of these days..

Play blues, Trey, Santana-ish stuff. I've only been playing electric for a year, but did acoustic, keys before.

I got this becuse I had the Behringer (starter amp I know), didn't have the $$ for a good tube amp, and had been wholly unimpressed with all the mainstream distortion and overdrive pedals. So I was looking for something to fundamentally alter the tone of my amp, and was looking at the usual Line6 and Digitech culprits, and someone suggested I check out Tech21. Glad I did. The thing is technically an 'Analog amp modelling pre-amp' or something or other, so it has a lot of applications. But in my case, it's a distortion pedal that only cost $100(used) and completely blows away anything else I've tried, and got me closer to the tone I was looking for than anything else for that paltry sum.
I'd replace if lost in a heartbeat.. I may start hoarding these.

Very easy. There are a couple of web sites with sounds for it, in addition to the Tech 21 site. Flip some switches, twiddle some knobs, it sounds pretty good. No manual with mine, but I bought it used.

Pretty quiet. Most often run it into a Yamaha DG-Stomp then into my computer. Not noisy, although the distortion sounds seem to have too much high-end for me. I'd roll off anything over 6-7Khz or so. Personally, I just run it into a clean setting in the DG-Stomp and make sure the Speaker Simulation is on the DG, and it rips.

I have used it live with my Fender Jazz bass and Eden amp & 410 cabinet, and on the "SVT" sound setting it had a very nice growl.

Seems solid, metal case. Flimsy battery cover, nothing that duct tape wouldn't fix, though. Would imagine it will last a while with reasonable care.

Never dealt w/ Tech 21, website is somewhat informative, I guess...

I play mostly rock (indie, hard, and/or metal), been playing for many years. Mostly recording now, thru a Gretsch Nashville JR or 73 Les Paul Standard, into DG-Stomp and into the computer. I wanted another "amp simulation" type box for direct recording into the computer, and so far, this has got some nice tones. Pleasantly surprised with how well it worked for bass live; I wonder how it would sound live with one of my guitars. For $100, I probably would buy another one.

I actually tried the GT-2 out a few weeks ago in a guitar store but didn't buy it. Today I had a day off so I went to the local guitar store and picked up a used one. Unfortunately, the guitar store was flooded from water pipes breaking, so I had to trust that the sound of the GT-2 was going to be what I remembered.

I won't beat a dead horse, but the GT-2 is super easy to use. If you are someone who likes tweaking the hell out of knobs, then you might want to look elsewhere. TECH 21 has done such a great job with the tone, that you really get a great sound at every setting.

Mine is actually used so it didn't come with a manual, etc. To be honest though, you don't need one. You have your in and out jacks, four knobs and that is it. Considering those few options, it is amazing what this box can do!

There are a few things I would like to see on the GT-2 that are not existent. I don't know if they are planning on building a GT-3, but this is what I would like to see:

- Mid knob
- Reverb perhaps?
- Noise gate?

Other than that, this simple little box is easy to use and doesn't need alot of options.

I don't know how TECH 21 does it, but they continue to amaze me with the tone quality of their products. They capture the tube sound that other companies could only dream of capturing. I have owned the TM60 amp, a power amp and the original sansamp and the GT-2 impresses me as much as the others did.

If you are reading this, you obviously know that the GT-2 emulates a Fender, Marshall and Mesa Boogie amp with the use of three separate switches. I found that you could get a great early Eddie Van Halen tone by setting all of the switches in the middle position. Amazingly, with the flick of a few switches you can have a great Metallica "black album" sound or a Stevie Ray Vaughn type of tone. I know it sounds crazy, but this box can do it. Don't ask me how, but TECH 21 does it. The cool thing is that it is analog. There is no digital tones that sound distant, etc.

I have played the GT-2 through an amp, but I actually plan on using it for home recording. I used it to record a few clips tonight and was blown away at how the tones stand out in the recordings. I posted them online and had a few people listen to them without knowing what amp I was using. It sounds funny, but people guessed a Peavey 5150, a Mesa Dual Rectifer, a Bogner and several other amps. Nobody guessed that it was a digital emulator such as a VAMP, POD, etc. which I think really says alot about the GT-2.

The only negative about the sound quality is that you do get noise with the unit, but then again I am playing into a computer and there are all kinds of issues when a computer is involved. I play on buying a noise gate but really the noise is not so bad that you would hear it throughout the entire recording. It is only really noticable when you stop playing.

TECH 21 gear seems to be made pretty solid. Visually they don't pretty up their gear with fancy colors, goofy looking knobs, etc. and I think that gives them time to ensure their products meet reliability standards. Most of their products are flat black with yellow lettering, or a solid color, etc. They really don't need all of the fancy advertising trickery because the tones speak for themselves.

I doubt you will find a better customer support company involved in musical gear than TECH 21. Back when I owned a PSA-1, I had one of the technicians emailing me practically everyday to answer my questions about fuses, power handling issues, etc. I never get the run-around with the TECH 21 guys. They make great gear and their customer support is excellent.

I can't say anything else other than I think this is a great piece of gear and will stand up to many tube amps. TECH 21 has a great reputation and their products are a great alternative to the digital mania going on right now.

The sansamp gt2 distortion pedal is a very simple and easy pedal to use. Just two knobs to twist and turn for eq, level , amount of distortion you want. Plus , it "simulates" 3 amp models ( mesa boogie , marshall and fender) and mics.

The sansamp gt2 is a great sounding effects pedal and works great with both humbuckers and single coiled. I'm currently using it with a jackson sl3 or burns marquee series with a maxon compressor through a fender amp. It is pretty easy to tune to the sound you want by checking out websites or just figuring it out yourself. If you like to play a variety of music styles , this pedal is for you. Although the blues screamer + srv settings are not up to par , both van halen and metallica are great. This thing also can do Marhshall plexi style , Fender Funk , and variety of others. In fact , this thing has a tube sound!!! I would buy this effects pedal if you have a regular transitor amp and not a tube amp.(it will sound too compressed)

THis thing is pretty sturdy and just like a boss. It's made out of solid metal and not plastic. I would defiently use it w/o a backup

never dealt with them

As you mite know by now , this pedal is defiently worth the price. Although it is priced a bit high at 160$$!! , once you get the right sound , you will be a very happy guitar player. I play rock , metal and blues . Although the blues is not GREAT , the rock and metal are great. IF this were lost or stolen , i would deifeintly buy another one. In fact , when i was a young and brash guitar player , i played using a BOSS METAL ZONE. I LOVED IT ... until i got this. IF all u want is that death sound distortion and play power chords, go with the metal zone. If you want to play with variety of great sounds and playing blazing solo's ... buy this one.

Got mine setup with some good tones in a few minutes.

I am running a simple setup. Fender Tele --> Boss TU-2 --> SansAmp GT2 --> Roland JC-120. Not noisy at all, the tone is really focused and pulls off the tube emulation with ease.

I've only had it a week, so I really can't comment on the reliablity. Although it does look like it can take a beating.

I've conversed with the Lloyd @ Tech 21 who has been most helpful and has answered all of my questions with promptness.

I play tunes along the line of Helmet / Pumpkins / Failure. For the most part, I've always been against emulators as they are what they are, fake. I can pull off some pretty damn good tones with this unit. My JC-120 is an amazing clean amp, but I wanted the best of both worlds, great clean / great tube overdrive. I've tried a few units from the Keeley TS-9 and RAT MODs to the Hughes and Kettner Tube Factor. None of them really pulled off a good tube sound and I was worried that I would have to either ditch the JC-120 for an overdriven amp or get a new combo just for use as an OD. I am happy to say this unit adds a whole new dimension to my JC-120. With the right tweaking, the tones on this unit are really focused and pull off the tube amp emulation pretty damn well. It's really responsive and allows the subtle nuances of an actual tube amp to shine through.

About this part, it is completely plug and play. It may take a little time for you to get used to it, since you can find lots of very different tones from it, and the knob control is very sensible. I believe it's the esiest amp simulator available.

I'm using it in serial with various effects in serial. The sequence, in order from guitar to amp is: Crybaby Dunlop GCB 95, Compressor Marshall ED 1, Mesa/Boogie V1 preamp, Sansamp GT2,Digital Sampler Delay Boss DSD 2 and finally an Arion Stereo Chorus. I plug it all in a 95 Strato and a Trace Elliot amp. You can get almost any sound you want when you use V1 preamp with little gain. You instantly put valves into your great tone stomp box. Gotta be careful with the gain tough. It can get really loud. More than you will ever need. It would be perfect if it had some valves.

For this matter i will give it an 8 because i had a little problem with it. Once it started to fail on the gain control. It started to whistle a very high frequence, every time i stopped playing. I won't give it less than 8 because i just passed some lube oil on it and it stopped for never to happen again.

Never needed them.

This stomp box is useful for any kind of music and specially for a guy like me: I play in very different bands, a blues one and a 80's Hard Rock/Hair metal one. I don't need to have different effects for them, you can really play from Death Metal to Stevie Ray Vaughan on it and change these tones within seconds. The controls are very sensitive, you would not want to put em all in max. It will destroy your ears and give you a new concept about guitar noise.

There are a lot of options, so obviously, experimentation is the key. The sounds available in this little box are incredible. No lie. Everything from an out of control MESA Dual Rectifier to a ballsy 70's Marshall (my favorite) to a slightly overdriven Fender Tweed. And they sound REAL. It is remarkable.

The sound quality is second to none. The actual distortion itself is of VERY high quality. It REALLY REALLY sounds like a tube amp being overdriven. You can fine tune exactly what you like by changing the "mic" placement control. Basically that changes how much mids to bass/treble ratio there is.

I have used this pedal with a variety of amps (Fender Twin, Concert, Blues Jr, Dual Showman) as well as Marshalls (JCM 800, old Plexi). This pedal is great if you need ONE pedal that can span the gamut from bluesy Keith Richards to crunchy Angus Young, to over the top Dimebag. I am not exaggerating either. All the sounds in here sound real and not at ALL artificial. If you want the sound of REAL tubes without the hassle, this is one of the best pedals you can get. And they are affordable!!!

The one thing that may be of concern to many people (on both sides) is the flat midrange of this pedal. You can set it from natural (flat) to the most scooped sound I have heard from a pedal without sounding artificial. Although there is midrange on hand, it is not of the Tube Screamer, Super Overdrive variety. It is much flatter and less nasal. That is a quality that many people like. I personally LIKE that midrange at times, and set it to get as much of it as possible.

I personally set it like this mic="classic" (has the most mids), gain="clean" (there is still PLENTY of gain via the gain control), and style="British". I am going for that really big, natural 70's Marshall sound wiith NO fuzz. This pedal does it SO well. Very musical and authentic sounding. That is no surprise though because these Tech-21 guys INVENTED the SansAmp which is without a doubt the single best guitar amp modeler available anywhere. These guys REALLY understand what it takes to produce a real, authentic tube amp simulation.

And for the record, there is NO comparasin between a SansAmp and a Line6. The Line6 sounds like a cartoon of a guitar sound. That's why they throw in all those effects, to distract your ear. The SansAmp is the real deal. No frills. Just pure amp simulation. Do an A/B at your favorite music store one day......

As far as reliability, I have done COUNTLESS gigs with this pedal without a backup. It is in the same exact housing as the Voodoo Labs pedals, but with a little latch door to allow you to change the battery without removing the back screws. NIce! (Voodoo Labs - are you listening)?

The switch is quiet with no pops and is like the new Maxon swithes on their classic series stuff. All top notch. The pots are as smooth as a real amplifier, and much better than almost every mass produced pedal out there that I have tried, with the exception of Voodoo Labs which are the same (excellent). This is the best you get before making the jump to boutique effects and spending over $200. And I have not seen the "boutique effect" that has this much control except for the Radial Tonebone which sells for $220 and is too big for many pedal boards.

The guys at Tech 21 are great. I have never needed any service from them, but have talked to them on the phone asking them questions about different products. They are friendly and genuinely care about guitar tone and their customers.

This is the sleeper pedal that no one talks about. It is awesome and more flexible than 99% of the stuff out there. Seriously, you could gig or record with this doing any style from Blues to all out Metal and sound like the real deal. For the money, it is a no brainer if you are looking for REAL tube sound.

simple and intuitive. really easy to use. solid metal box, nice knobs, but switches are too small.

not so noisy and interresting sounds at most settings, quite impressive in wild settings, the sound is full and natural. better to find sounds with ears than following the settings recall sheets... also interesting with bass guitar ! nevertheless, unfortunately, the very last end of the tail of the distorsion is really CRAPPY and UNNATURAL !!... (mine was so, at least!)

the best would be to test it before buy it !

bought it at thomann.de. i sent it back and i was reimbursed.

i know several reconrding studio sound engineers use sansamp products instead of micing marshall etc. (well, that artistic choice depends on the music of course), i wanted to try myself for my little project studio and i was disappointed. maybe they use the rack version of the sansamp, well not necessarily i guess. or was it a defective product i had, as it often occurs with some brands with low quality control, i don't know... mystery of the electronical machines... next time i see a gt2 or any other sansamp in a physical shop, i'll try it to verify... now, continuing my research of my magic weapon, i'm gonna try zvex super hard on !...

The features include three switches each containing three options giving a total of 9 different amp models and 4 dials (level,high, low, drive). I was easily able to get a desired tone by tweaking it within the first 2 minutes I tried it.

This is hands down the best effects pedal I have ever used. I run it through a peavey Bandit or a Roland Cube 30 and this thing sounds great on both amps. The metallica or the mesa boogie patch pretty much comes as close as possible to nailing their tone without micing the amp. Im able to get an awesome palm mute crunch on that setting. I can Nail the Led Zep tone with The british, High gain, & classic setting, as well as the AC/DC tone by flipping the first switch up to center, or high wired. Overall this pedal does an outstanding job of achieving high distortion while not muddying up my notes.

It looks like its durable enough to handle high usage however, I havent used it long enough to know.

I've tried such pedals as the Big Muff, Boss Metal Zone, fulltone 69 & 70,and the Marshall Blues breaker and this one destroys all of them. The general sound of the Sansamp on all channels is a smooth tone that accentuates each note with sharp precision unlike all other pedals I tried which give a dominating destortion while losing the guitar tone. If I lost this pedal I would definantly get a new one. Other wise the only other option is to spend tens of thousands of dollars to get a marshall stack, or a mesa Boogie amp, mixers, preamps, and to rent out a bombshelter in order to play all that equipment without pissing off the neighbors. I think the first choice is better.

well i got mine 2nd hand without a manual and have got great sounds out of it so it's easy. the only thing i'd want to know is what the different mic positions are supposed to mimic. i mean it doesn't really matter cos i just set it to what sounds the best with the sound i have but i'd like to know all the same.

i thought i'd never say this but my keeley blues driver has it's work cut out for it to stay in the chain. maybe use it as a boost or just another flavour of overdrive but this little black box is orgasmic. i bought it 2nd hand #75. went home plugged it in zzzzzzzz i was like k wait till i make the dude that ripped me off eat this. then i tried another lead and bam.... there was THE tone. 5 minutes tinkering... darkness, ac/dc, bon jovi tones pretty much bang on. like them or not those bands have great guitar tone. the fact that this box can pretty much nail them speaks volumes. all the channels are really nice. the fender clean is unbelievable, i'll probably end up using this for acoustic gigs too, the marshall sounds pretty bang on and the mesa mode sounds great too. makes my marshall 2x12 combo sound tiny when a/b'd. testiment to the greatness of this. my bro has been asking where he can get one cos it sounds so good and the only other pece of gear i have that he's done that with has been my kleeley blues driver. usually it's that sounds crap or you need to eq it better. i can't actually wait to run my eq past this bad boy to get an even better grip on the sound.

built like a tank. dunno if it would win a fight with a boss but it wouldn't be far behind

not had to deal with them yet. doubt it'd do much good since its 2nd hand.

i play melodic rock like the calling, matchbox 20, u2, bon jovi etc... and this pedal has everything i need in it. i don't like to try and nail peoples tones bang on cos in the end all your doing is copying somethign someone else has done but although this can do nice soundalikes, it's also really easy to get a good sound of your own which is really what i'm after.

can't imagine much it wouldn't be good for. clean for jazz and blues, marshall for classic rock and the mesa for over the top stuff. top buy people. if anyone wants to exchange setting or ideas on the gt2 then feel free to email me.

the only thing i can take away from it is u only get one setting and since there's so many good sound in it it seems a bit of a shame for live situations. for this it gets a 9 though i'm considering buying another one so i can have them going clean and dirty onstage.

REAL EASY

I don't know if anyone still has one exept myself but the old gallien krueger 250 ml amps were made for the sansamp gt2. It sounds killer through the combos speakers for a real portable jamming rig, just unbelievable through a stereo 4-12 cab. The eq section of the 250 ml really fits this pedal. It tears me up to say this but it kicks my marshall jcm2000 dsl's ass. If you see a gk 250 ml cheap, use it with the sansamp gt2 and a stereo marshall cab. But be carefull not to scratch your guitar as you're BOWING DOWN TO THE MIGHTY GOD OF TONE!

Not very hard. The only thing that might confuse anybody is the mike position switch but it doesn't make too huge of a difference anyways.

I use this with a Fender Hot Rod Deville 2x12---->morley wah---->Boss ME-33--->50's reissue strat/ESP EC-1000/'71 Conrad see through. For the mesa settings it sounds AMAZING with the ESP with a set neck and EMG 81's it sustains forever and sounds extremely heavy, but not too noisy. The 'tweed' setting is a very pleasant surprise for me being that the OD on my amp sucks. It gives a very decent blues tone through my strat, especially using a JB Jr. p/up in the bridge. When I bought this my salesman friend said this pedal could make my fender sound like a marshall and i didn't believe him. But this thing definitely does the job. I could play in a metal band if i wanted to. seriously.

It's metal and the switch is metal everything on it seems pretty unbreakable. The knobs are very sturdy rubber. I haven't battle tested it yet but i've beat it up a little bit and it hasn't gotten a scratch.

I play all kinds of rock and roll/blues/metal. This is a great match for me. I have been playing 8 years and have owned or played a lot of distortion this one really takes the cake. I would buy it over and over until I find a better one. Its great.

I don't think it could be easier to use.You may be in trouble though wanting to change your sound on a dark stage,and unless you have a few bars break in your parts,you can't shift between sounds within one song.I think TriOd makes it possible.

Sound quality is superiour to any distortion pedal I've ever heard or owned.I don't consider it as an emulation of tube sound,but just a good stomper.I wouldn't connect it directly to a mixer in a studio either.So it does not do what it's designed for,but I don't mind it.Instead it has a great distortion sound on every equipment I've used(that includes some velvstate Marshalls,Leney and tube Fenders).It even sounds acceptable on my small mini Marshall Ms-2.Clean/blues sound is not that good though,and SRV setting really doesn't deserve its name.But Metallica does.Everyone knows how hard it is to find a decent distortion sound that would be cool for rythym and leads,and this little stomper really provides you with any hardrock sound you would like to get.It's especially useful on stage,where equipment sometimes is hardly one of your dreams. I'm giving 10 for distortion,5 for clean sound (well, is not that bad)

It's well made,really sturdy.Again,if it was a studio effect,it didn't need to be packed in a tank.The effect has met the mother earth a few times,falling from quite a considerable hight and it didn't even switched off.

Haven't dealt with them.

It's not very difficult to use, but you MUST understand HOW this unit works (which'll take no time at) before you can really get the most out of it. Also, theres the unofficial GT2 website http://milaa.tripod.com/SansAmpGT2/; that has a ton of cool settings.

I've been using this as a distortion pedal through various amps; whenever at a rehearsal studio where you have no choice but to use whats there. I find that this unit sounds GREAT with certain amps, then so so with others. I can get an amazing distortion sound using the GT2 with Fender amps, matchless amps, basically any decent amp that has a nice warm clean sound. I used the mesa setting, center miked, with the clean setting and the drive at approximately 2 o'clock, and I got a HUGE heavy, cool sound. Believe it or not, our drummer said it sounded like my tremoverb. Like almost all distortion pedals; depending on what amp you use, you'll get a sound that will depend on what gear you're using. If you play a Les Paul through the GT2, through a Fender Twin, you'll sound brilliant. If you play it through some lame guitar with shitty pickups and a Gorilla amp, yes, you may sound like shit. As for the clean sounds, I can only use the fender cleans on this. The mesa and marshall settings will only clean up if you roll off your volume control on your guitar(even with the gain on the GT2 set almost all the way down). Actually, if you have a non distortion amp that gets a really nice warm clean sound, the fender settings can layer it nicely to create a nice warm overdrive. Anyway, Direct recording is what this was designed for and it does it well. I recently recorded with this and it saved my ass! We went into a cheap studio to record some songs, and the amp they had there was NOT going to cut it. I just plugged into the GT2 and then directly into the board, and I got a great clean sound and an even better distortion sound. I use the gt2 all the time and it's become one of my favorite. It costs less then it's predecessor; the sansamp classic, but I think it sounds MUCH cooler, more modern sounding. So the bottom line is that this is a very useful pedal.

it's built like a tank, but it seems to eat 9 volt batteries for breakfast lunch and dinner

Tech 21 nyc are GREAT with customer support; anyone who's dealt with them knows this

I'm giving this an 8, because it does what it does very well. Tech21 are a really good company who make really good products. I also have a PSA-1 preamp which sounds incredible, but I've gotten away from the rackmount thing, so I haven't used it in a bit. I'd like to see them come out with a head and/or combo version of the PSA-1.

Pretty straight forward. Doesn't get much easier than flipping switches and turning knobs.

I really wanted to like this unit. But it's pretty hard to get an "open" sound out of this unit. It's also very hard to get a warm overdrive sound. The overdrive is rather crispy and crunchy-kind of a Peavey solid-state distortion. You can dial in that tube-like sound at low drive settings...but it quickly turns to crispy-crunch rather quickly.

The eq is rather primitive. Need more options (like MID and PRESENCE)...especially at this price.

Also, having some rotary knobs to where you can dial in variations of the different options would be good. Like being able to blend a Tweed amp with a Marshall, etc.

If you like a thick/mid-rangey crunchy sound...this unit might be up your alley. But it's rather limited in tweakability, IMHO.

It still sounds like you're recording direct...as it doesn't really sound like a mic'd amp speaker.

It's also a bit too compressed sounding. Looking at the wave forms in Logic, it looks like a solid block as if heavy compression was applied.

Hooking up a Jazz bass...now that's a whole different matter. It ROCKS. Great direct sound for bass.

Seems pretty solid.

I play everything from rock, hard rock, metal, thrash, classical, country and blues. I have been playing for 18 years.

It's a nice, portable unit to get some basic tones.
I'm gonna return the unit as it's a little too thick and cripy for my taste. If I can find a used one on eBay for around $50-80, I'd snag it in a second for my bass. But for guitar, I'd look into mic'ing a Trademark 10 or consider another unit.

Tech 21's Trademark 10 amp looks to be alot more versatile than this unit. Too bad there aren't any dealers aroud here where I can check it out...as it has a more straight forward/traditional eq section.

I do like the aspect that it is analog. Better sounding/playing than my digital amp modeller. But the modeller gets the nod for better tweakability of sound.

This unit so easy to use that if you can't figure it out, you shouldn't be playing. The examples for different amp settings are good and are also a great place to start experimenting.

Sound quality was clean with nothing added to the signal. Putting this unit direct in gives you just the sound you want without any hiss or other nasty things.

Built like a tank. All metal construction and the switches and pots feel like they will last forever. Smooth controls and it stays where you put it due to the rubber backing. I wouldn't hestitate to gig without a backup. Maybe a extra battery or two, just in case.

I haven't needed any customer support. I did write them and tell them how much I liked it and they wrote back. So, I guess IF I ever needed help, they would respond the same way.

This is a piece of equipment I've thought of buying for long time, but never got around to it. I bought this unit that had been a demo in the store. For $99 I figured I'd give it a try. I should have bought one years ago. This thing ROCKS. It's worth every penny of the retail price and at half that, I feel like a stole it.

Very simple to use; you just set some switches and turn some knobs. Simple, but not necessarily easy. The knobs make fairly large changes in sound when tweaked, so dialing back to that sound you discovered "the other day" will take a bit longer than with a device that lets you store presets. There are no patches to store - all you can do is push the footswitch to bypass the simulation altogether.

Some devices seem to sound good with just about any guitar and others, like this one, need to be tweaked. This is a good thing. It means that the processor is fairly transparent to your guitar's individuality and needs to be adjusted for each instrument, much like a real amp. A strat plugged into it shouldn't sound the same as a Les Paul plugged into it.

The Sansamp devices supposedly "SIMULATE" real amps as opposed to digital devices like the POD which "model" them. When they first came out, these Sansamps were pretty cool. Yes, when you set it up right, the simulations are very good approximations of the real amps' sounds at certain levels and certain settings. You can even dial down from distortion to clean or nearly clean using just your volume control.

But that's where it ends.

The GT-2 is more of a pre-amp simulaiton than the whole amp - even considering the cabinet and mic simulation built in. On a real tube amp, even a small cheesy one like the Crate VC508, you can dial in some pre-amp saturation with the gain knob then jack up the master volume until the power section begins to saturate and get just a bit farty. At that point, you can use the guitar's volume control and your picking style to create tons of wonderful tones. By picking lightly and lowering your guitar volume, you can play with just pre-amp distortion. Dialing up and digging in engages the power section of the amp and elicits soft compression and a natural brilliance, sort of an aural exciter effect, that comes from the power tube(s) breaking up a bit. Dialing back on the guitar doesn't reduce the volume much, so you can go from clean to dirty without a change in levels. The GT-2 lacks this; the level control just adjusts the loudness of the whole signal. In this sense, it's not a very good simulation. One would think that it would be easy for Tech 21 to improve this a bit by having the Level control also progressively add slight compression and aural exciting while being adjusted upward.

Another problem is the EQ. I have owned a Tech 21 Trademark 10 amplifier which has circuitry based on the GT-2. It's 3-band EQ is much better than the 2-band version found here. It's more versatile and makes it easier to find good tones, especially for the Marshall and Mesa simulations which, ostensibly, you'll want to use more for hard rock and metal.

Speaking of the Marshall and Mesa simulations, they sound too similar in the GT-2. The Trademark 10 has better versions of each. Also, there are no usable clean sounds with these settings, thought the clean sounds with the Tweed setting are very very nice. The Sansamps have been around a while and while Line6, Digitech, Behringer and Yamaha have begun modelling many amps (including some boutique amplifiers), 3 basic simulations is all you get with this one. Tech 21, it's time to expand and stop resting on your older technology.

I found the cabinet and mic simulation only so-so and a tad harsh when recording direct. Running the output to another cab simulator provided a more rounded, smoother tone. The character of the distorions themselves was okay; going from cleaned-up to dirty pretty smoothly.

However, when going into the effects return or power amp input of my tube amp, this thing sounded much better! This is a great way to use this thing and you get to use the real amp's power tube saturation. Not too good going into the instrument input of that same amp; the sound was way too colored and it was very difficult finding tones I could live with. If you intend to use it this way, try to find as flat a setting as possible.

Soundwise, this needs help as a standalone recording device. As a pre-amp to a tube amplifier, it's better.

My unit was bought used and allthe pots were scratchy. A commercial contact cleaning spray helped things a bit, but the pot need to be replaced. It really isn't that old, so I have my doubts about reliability.

I did email them for a manual and they were not able to get me anything other than a jpeg with recommended settings. Yikes!

For the price, there are lower-cost digital modelling alternatives like the Digitech RP-100 (so-so sound but great features for the money), Behringer V-Amp and Line6 Guitar Port. It's great into a real tube amp's power section, but its lack of presets/memory locations limits it usefulness on stage. Also, remember that it has no effects like reverb, delay, etc. Newer digital modellers like the POD XT have come a long, long way since the GT-2 first debuted and though they are more expensive, you do get pretty much everything you need in one box.

If you can find a used one real cheap, it might make a good addition to your arsenal in some situations.

This thing rocks...re blues. It does a clean fender sound, and matches my marshall half stack while playing through my fender amp without breaking my back.
One draw back, you can't save your setting and stomp from one to the other. No biggie in your living room but on a dark stage,,,,,

73strat, bullet 10s, texas special pu's, 65 deluxe, or 900 jcm or 3x10 blues land Bluestone, even sometimes a fender champ or for really little places a battery powered crate limo or pig nose brand 30 watt hognose.

2 months and no problems, remember to take along an extra 9 volt

the only contact I had with tech 21 was to write them a note on line to thank them for such a good product. They actually wrote back. These people will be around after alot of others are gone.

I am a blues aholic, tone, tone, tone playing in a christian blues band in different venues such as prison, biker venues and the occasional church. I have played for over 25 years and had all the usual gizmos and stomp boxes. It is the best pedal I have ever owned and would buy it again in a minute. I like it so much I just ordered its big brother the tech 21 trademark 60 amp with the same circuitry. One other drawback is that it has no verb. but i use another pedal for that.

If you cannot figure this out, then you really don't need to be playing guitar.

Im using this with a Peavey 112 Bandit, a Dean Avalanche (2 stock single coils, and 1 stock humbucker), and a Boss CE-5 Chorus Ensemble. I play hard rock ranging from Creed to Metallica to Pantera. This pedal covers them all. If you have really good pickups, I really suggest you buy this. It will give you great tone. Before this I used the Boss MT-2 Metal Zone. The Metal Zone would muddy up the tone. This pedal does not!

This seems pretty strong a sturdy. The only thing that I would want better are the knobs. They are plastic, metal would've been better, but hey, its a great sounding pedal, I can't complain... By the way, I never gig without a backup.

I've never had to deal with them because of the pedal. When I e-mailed them with questions about the pedal, they were very fast and responsive though...

Like I said, I play rock ranging from Creed to Pantera. This pedal can cover a lot of really great tones. If you have a solidstate amp and you wanna beef it up with some "tube goodness", then buy this pedal right away!

It does not get any easier than this.

I use this with a 73 strat and texas special pickups. I have played this with a 65 fender deluxe, 73 fender champ and 94 Blues Tone. This will make the sound of the above amps by itself into a solid state amp and comes very close to my Marshall jcm 900. This is the single most usefull pedal I have used in over 25 years of playing.

so far.

Never had to deal with them. If the rest of their products are this good I am a customer.

For blues, this is it. The ac offers easier switching. I set this up in a series of Zoom 505 II, sans amp, dan electro tube screamer. With any of my amps it allows me pretty close to any tone I want.

This wonderful little gem is easy to understand and a pleasure to use. No guessing. No staring and trying to figure anything out. The controls are wonderfully simple. The manual is very informative and contains preset ideas to give you a quick start in using the GT2. Or you can just plug in and GO! It's that simple.

I use a very nice Carvin DC400 guitar. All stock. Tech 21 Sansamp GT2. Soldano Hot Rod 50 tube head. Some old A.R.T. effects (Multiverb 3 and SGE)hey, they weren't bad in their day, and a Peavey Butcher 4x12 cabinet with Celestion G12's. The GT2 is the icing on the cake. I can switch off and get straight Soldano tone, or I can apply the GT2 and get SO MUCH more wonderfully "rich" tones. None of that dime a dozen rasp that most other pedals produce. Pure quality. Like a fine wine! THE BEST pedal I've ever heard. Ever! I wish the rating went to 100!!!!

I bought it used so there's a good chance that it's been through Hell and gone. Anyway I've had it a couple weeks and it is starting to show signs of....I don't know.........fatigue I guess. But I suppose you would too if you were 8 or 10 years old and have been stomped on your whole life. The unit is built solid and heavy. I wish I had 2 or 3 more just to keep. I do plan to get at least one more. In this case you CAN"T have too much of a good thing! I give this category a 10 because this unit is showing it's age and wear and it's perfectly understandable to start having little problems after years of faithful service. Nothing major. Just needs a little TLC.

I doubt you will ever find a company who is as nice, polite, and as eager to satisfy a customer as Tech 21. They have proven themselves and I'm so grateful for their outstanding service. Two BIG thumbs up for Tech 21. Thanks guys. "You da bomb"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will most definately always use a Tech 21 product(s)! I think they know what musicians want and they bust their humps to supply it.
I play a fairly wide range of music and the GT2 covers them all. I've heard some of their other gear as well and was blown away each time. Check these guys out, You won't be sorry!

Unlike most other distortion pedals this beast bears more than standard Level, Drive, and EQ (in this case a Low and High) knobs (which are self explanitory), she also has three switches for mic placement, amp tone, and style of drive. These switches allow one to effect the overall way the pedal will work. MIC-basically effects the signal to noise ratio, MOD-effects the amount of fuzz in the drive. AMP- effects the tone of the fuzz. It is easy to hear, and no manual can explain it better than sitting down and playing with her. Get fruity, and paly with the switches unitl you find the tone you are looking for.

Unsurpassed sound quality for a pedal. Tube or otherwise this bad baby ROCKS! she can be full endless sustain with clean harmonics or a dirty fuzz that accentuates natural tone (as in tube distortion) I have been searching for that right distortion sound, even had the more expensive Sansamp Kurt used on nevermind. This one beats them all to hell and back. I at one point had somwhere in the neighboorhood of 30 distorition pedals, not to mention 8 different amps, vintage and new. This one is in my line up, usually the only one I use.

Normally this would also have been a ten. Built out of solid metal, nice lubed pots for a smooth life of tweaking. But out of the blue mine started squealing this awful screetch, Does so at random, and no damage to any circuitry or pots. A total freakin' mystery. Thouhgt it was an anomally but it has happened to others I know have the pedal. I wil replace mine, hope it is indeed a fluke, for I love this baby. ohter than that no problems of any kind.

I am unsure, I called tech 12, and they had nothing to say. But they were accessible which today is rare for a corproation we will go with seven. they lose points for not knowing anyhting.

If yours works and doesn't have the cogential squelching problem then you know as I do that this pedal is the fucking bomb. It offers more styles of distorion, and really crosses the range. Smooth. Clean. Often makes your amp sound like it belongs to Butch Vig. Selling yours, dumb move. The only drawback to Sansamp Tech 12 products, they are really pricy new. Guess they know what they make

Ok, I made a review before and I'm gonna have to alter this to fit my opinions of the pedal now.

Simply put, this pedal is EXTREMELY sensitive and can go through a huge range of sounds. I was having problems with it sounding all harsh but that was obviously because I was just using it as a distortion pedal instead of an actual preamp.

It's not a pedal to sit down with and get the PERFECT sound, it's something that you need to keep tweaking to get great sounds out of.

I'm using an Explorer with an EMG 85/60 pickup combo. I run it into the front end of a Peavey Bandit(yeah, I know) and I've used it a bunch for direct recording on my computer. Basically what I do is have it for my distortion and have the amp just set for clean. The problems are that Peavey Bandits obviously aren't that great and when you put the GT2 before another preamp, the sounds are boosted in mostly the wrong frequencies so that it can become really harsh. Run straight into the power amp, it sounds completely different. I always have to boost the treble when recording direct or going into the power amp, so obviously it's the amp's fault and not the pedal's, seeing as how the pedal sounds great on it's own.

The stuff I play is a cross between Further Seems Forever and Hopesfall, the distortion I want is just crunchy enough for occasional muted parts and heaviness, but articulate enough for arpeggios and alot of open strings and "big" chords. It's obviously a REALLY hard sound to get and considering that I can get it out of this setup in a decent degree says alot. What I really need is a Tri-AC so I can have all my sound coming from that rather than the amp.

I rated this a 6 before when it should be about an 8, so I'm averaging with this rating.

It's a tank, I'd only be worried about the adapter. After alot of use the nut on the back of the footswitch gets a bit loose and I have to tighten it up with pliers, but that's like once or twice in the past two years, not a big deal.

Never had to.

Again, my style is a mix between light and heavy with alot of melodic playing. I've been playing for about 6 years. I think I'm selling it to pick up a Tri-AC(hey, I'd rather get a JCM 800 half stack but I can't justify having something that drastic for local shows and small tours) simply because I want to have three sounds right there that I can run right into the power amp of my Peavey amp so that I can avoid the Bandit's natural sound.

Basically this pedal is great and very usable, but it's just one sound and that's about it. For direct recording, I couldn't recommend it more. For live use, I guess the Tri-AC would be the better choice.

I'm a huge fan of Tech 21 stuff just because of my experience with this pedal and the sounds other people have gotten from them(the bassist from Bane uses their higher end bass amp and he has by far the greatest bass sound I've ever heard). Oh yeah, this thing IS absolutely amazing for bass players as well, run a bass direct with this and you'll be pretty stoked.

Great pedal.

Turn Knobs, Flick switeces... Easy as that...

The Quality is superb. I use two Marshall Jackhammers for my metal tone, whihc I thought nothing would ever be able o compare. The GT@ does, with so much more depth. Also, I could never find a heavy enough pedal for my Jap Strat, so I was using a Danelectro Fab Tone. But this, I coudl find a heavy enough tone... At any rate...
I only got it yesterday, and I've alraedy fodun settings I like that emmulate tones like John Petrucci, Steve Vai, and James Hetfeild.
Unfortunetly, I'm having a trouble finding a nice U2/'The Edge' tone I like with my Line 6 DL4. Here's my setup.

Fender Deluxe--Line 6 DL4--Boss EQ--Boss Tremolo--Boss Phase Shifter--Boss TU2---Marshall Jackhammer--Marshall Jackhammer-- GT2 -- Electro Harmonix electric Mistress-- Electro Harmonix Mini Q-Tron-- Crybaby -- Ernie Ball Volume Pedal -- Fernandes Tele/Fender Jap Strat

I tried to see if teh placement of teh GT2 would affect anything, but no matter where I put it in teh setup (other than before the DL4), the GT2 comes out crystal clear in any posisiton!

It seemed light at first, so I thought it may not be built well, but it seems so... Then again, I've only had it for 24 hours or so, so it's too soon to tell.

Give er'!

If anyone has found a decent 'Egde' (U2) tone, send it to me to the email, that'd be great.

if you can't use this, then perhaps you're too stupid to be alive

Ok, here's where I get to share my discovery with you... I use the GT2 for direct recording and for live situations as well. As far as getting a sound on DAT or anolog tape, this thing kicks! I can get as heavy or as light as I want. Mesa, Marshall, Fender(eh, so so) I can even use a super high gain marshall setting that sounds kinda like a soldano I used to have. Anyway, I almost always use this to record, because it's so damn easy; nothing big to mess with and u get a consistantly great sound. Now live.. well, I must honestly say that the super high gain settings sound great through the P.A or though a decent poweramp, so when I feel lazy, I'll plug in the GT2 instead of lugging around my tremoverb half stack. It ALWAYS sounds great. If u use a higher gain setting on the gt2 in front of a guitar amp, you'll have to adjust the amp for a nuetral setting, otherwise the whole point of amp emulation is lost in all the extra coloration that an amp's EQ section will add. Wanna know a secret? If you use the gt2 in the california, clean setting with the gain at at least 50%, this makes for an awesome distotion pedal. I used this setting with a matchless cheiftain; at a rehearsal studio, and it sounded amazing. The GT2 is like a magic box for me, I've got everything I need.

this box was worth whatever I paid for it. I use it all the time. But you formulate your own opinion.

as long as u understand the dynamics of this thing(it's more than just tweaking), u need to understand how the dip switch settings work with each other. Some settings don't sound so good live, but AWESOME direct to tape.

I use this for direct recording and live use. Live, I use it with my marshall 50watt plexi. I use the GT2 in the clean mesa setting with the gain at 60% and the tone controls at the neutral position. The gt2 combined with the plexi's crunch and a sonic maximizer, give me an AMAZING, ARTICULATE, THICK crunch sound that I LOVE! This is my main sound. People think I'm using some kind of mesa amp, but it's just the GT2 with the plexi's natural tube warmth. I LOVE this sound.

so far, so good

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very versatile pedal. The cleans are nice, the distortions are brutal, etc.... I'll use it for a LONG time to come.

very easy to use, not too many dials or switches. The manual is great, but you probobly won't need it.

I bought this because I collect gear and I heard it was a great pedal, so I got one. I have a mesa tremoverb head with a mesa 4x12, a nice rack system with a mesa 2:90 amp and a snasamp psa-1 preamp running into a marshall jcm900 4x12. I first started using the GT2 strictly for rehearsals; plugging it straight into the front of whatever amp was in the studio we happen to be in. I got so used to the simplicity of this that when we play out, I plug the gt2 directly into the P.A and get a consistantly great tone. Does it sound as good as my other two expensive pro setups? Yes it does, in my opinion. It doesn't sound better or worse, just different.

no problems yet

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I bought this, because Kurt Cobain used a sansamp pedal. He actually used the sansamp classic, not the gt2, but I like the sound of this better, it's sounds more contemporary. I get get some heavy as shit sounds from this and some nice clean sounds too. I really like sansamp stuff and I can't understand why line6 is so popular and not sansamp? They were there first, AND they do it better. This is a great sounding pedal and it can be used for all kinds of music.

Same as the other 116 reviews for this preamp pedal.

My main guitar is a very old, and extremly heavy Jackson with a single EMG 85 in the bridge. I mostly use this unit for recording into my computer hooked up to a set of Boston Acoustic speakers, the sound is amazing. I tried just about every digital modeling unit out there, and they dont compare to this. I use the British setting on hot wired and centre position for the mic, Level 1 o'clock, high 2 o'clock, low 1 o'clock, drive 2 o'clock. When i gig, I use one of these going to the A channel of my randall power amp, and another GT2 going to the B channel of the power amp. The power amp is hooked to a stereo Marshall 1960 cabinet. I use a Marshall setting on the A, and a Boogie setting on the B and mix the two channels going to the cab. The setup is pretty simple and sounds mind blowing. The only way to get a amazing sound out of this unit is to hook it up to an Amplifier/P.A./Board that wont color the sound at all. All of my friends that have tried out this pedal hooked to my PC or my rig for live shows was been blown away by the authenticity and character delivered by this pedal.

The pedal died on me after about 3 months, sent it back to the company, and they fixed it under warranty and I had back within a 2 weeks of shipping it out. Since then no problems.

Great to deal with.

This pre amp pedal is fu*$ing amazing, for the price you pay. I play nothing but hardcore old school punk rock, and a little bit of rock. I have been playing for 4 years, and I never plan on getting ride of this pedal.

Four knobs:- Level, Drive, High and Low. The high and low are cut/boost knobs. Three mini switches:- Mic placement, Mod and Amp style. Dead easy and straightforward. All the switches are labelled up so no probs there

As previous rewiews state, this is a direct recording pedal. I must admit i've never used it for this purpose. I use it with a Gibson GA15 valve amp into a marshall 1960A cab. I have a few other hybrid and class a/b amps but this pedal shines with the Gibbo. It really does sound like the Recto and Marshall models. The Fender setting isn't so accurate, but from my experience, the only way to get Fender twang is to play through a Fender. Not a bad clean though! I'll give it a 9 because cranked up with my Gibbo on the Recto setting, this thing sound awesome. It has a huge bottom end and really nails tight riffing.

I'd gig without a backup. Mine is a few years old, and bought 2nd hand off eBay. It's rock solid to be honest. The only way a pedal like this could break is through extreme abuse (or size 12 DM's!!!)

Great build quality and sound, and easy to use. Just make sure it's used in the right context! With my JCM2000 or AVT2000 it sounds crap. But with my Gibbo it sounds fantastic. Can't comment on direct recording. That in itself isn't my thing (although it is convenient, i've yet to hear a direct recorded sound that sounds anything like the real deal)

The SansAmp GT2 is one of the most overlooked products in guitar accesory-dom. Infact if Tech21 had line6's marketing techniques i believe it would be them on top of the world because their products are far far superior.

The GT2 is very simple to use. You flick 3 switches up and down to create the tone match that you want. Dial in the level treb, bass, and drive..hit the switch and you're off. Very simple. No, parameters, no pages, no double pressing.

I actually have two setups now depending on the application. For low volume levels or when its just best suited i use the GT2 otherwise i use the Mesa Boogie Nomad. Either way the nomad is used for power amp.

SETUP 1) Ibanez JEM/RG --> Bad Horsie Wah --> GT2(off) --> Mesa Boogie Nomad 45 1x12 -->FXLOOP Boss Chorus --> Boss Delay

SETUP 2)Ibanez JEM/RG --> Bad Horsie --> GT2 --> Boss Chorus --> Boss Delay --> Mesa Boogie Nomad.

I haven't noticed that it is particulary noisy.

This little pedal is a godsend. I cant believe why it isn't incredibly popular. The tone it gets through modelling is mind blowing. But when I say modelling its not in the synthetic fake nasty line6 digital vein. Its all analogue and I believe that makes a huge huge difference. When you play the GT2 it not only really sounsd like a fender twin, or a marshall plexi, or a boodie recto, but you can feel the sound coming out the amp, very similar and almost like a true tube amp. It responds to your atack your guitar tone, volume knobs.

Set to fender tween, high gain, centre mic placement, and about 10-11 oclock on the drive is a nail biting perfect SRV tone, that could only be enhanced by sticking a tube screamer before the GT2.

Set to california, modded, off axis, and about 12-2 ocliock on the drive, gives a bone shaking John Petrucci of Dream Theater sound!!

Its so real i've had people swear on recordings i've used the real amps.

You raelly have to listen and feel hard to hear the consistency in its clippings. And if you do that then you will hear that it is not the real thing. Also you dont get that glassy bite, and clarity that you ONLY get with a real tube amp. But as far as a low volume practise or multi-amp sim tool goes this thing is amazing. Live or Recording

Well I got it used off of EB. And it came in a rough condition but it worked perfect. About 6 months later i started having some squeely noises come from it and then the sound was intermitently cutting out. So i took it in for repair and it was just some dry joints. No Prob came back better than whjen I got it.

I cant rave about the reliability cause it has cut out on me but thats only cause I bought it used off the net. I'm 100% that If i had bought it from new this baby would have lasted me a lifetime. You sould treat your gear with respect!

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I play quite literaly every style. And this pedal holds all those styles in one box

I've ben playing 10 years now (half my life gosh!) and the other gear i own was listed above.

If it were lost or stolen I'd probably get the tri-ac which is exactly the same as the gt2 however it has 3 stomp buttons for sotring 3 memories presets.

Nothing else compares to this, well except maybe the other tech 21 high end products - but even then I think this is the best value tone that you can get.

Wish it had some preset memories but that can be fixed by getting the tri-ac!!!

It certinaly helps make music. Parts can be recorded very quickly and effectivley.

If u can figure this out, then play acoustic

Ok, let me say something here: THIS IS NOT A DISTORTION PEDAL, THIS IS A DIRECT RECORDING PREAMP! IT WAS DESIGNED FOR DIRECT RECORDING, SO IF U WANT TO GET THE BEST TONE FROM THIS IN A LIVE SETTING, USE IT WITH THE LEAST AMOUNT OF COLORATION, I.E A POWERMAP WITH NO TONE CONTROLS AND A GOOD SPEAKER CAB. When u use this as a distortion pedal with a guitar amp, the amp will add too much coloration and muddy up the sansamp. If u really want to see what this thing is capable of, listen to it through headphones...Amazing.

seems solid

If used properly, this thing is outstanding. If used incorrectly, it can sound not too good. Just use it correctly. Also, call the guys at Tech21NYC for advice, they're really knowledgable and helpful.

very simple, just flip switches and dial in what sounds good

this thing sounds awesome! I've always loved sansamp stuff. I bought this to use whenever I go to a rehearsal studio with my band. I'm usually not too happy with whatever amp happens to be in the room we get, so this was suppose to fix that, and it did. My main amp is a mesa tremoverb, and I can get an equally, yet different but still more than acceptable sound. This this is very cool.

so far so good

I emailed with a question and got a response within the half hour

I love this thing and can definitely see this becoming a major part of my sound.

Real easy. You do not need a PHD to use this sucker

No noise at all. And I use it both between my guitar and an amp or direct. This thing can make a pig nose sound like a Triple Rec (or dam close. If you roll off with your volume it rolls off. It is very sensitive to how you play. IF you dont have the bread for a Triple Rec this is it. My band made has one and we compaired the GT-2 into a Fender Twin to the Red and it was close.

IT is a Tank.

I do not know. I have never had to deal with them.

I use this for blues, Rock and death Meatal. It can go from Steve Rey to Van Halen to Metalica. The only draw back is that would would need three boxes live to swith between these sounds. I played this last night through a Pig Nose Using a guitar that I built(swamp ash charvel boddy and a duncan custom)the thing sounded like Van Halen 1. Look go to the store at find the worst amp you can find hook it up and see if I am shitting you. I have a Pod and I still have not had to use it.

Easy to use and modify tone. The manual is more than adequet ... how hard it is to understand how to use this box? Easy to get pretty damn good tone / sound with seemingly infinite variation. The cabinet sims are very useful and the minimalist control setup is fantastic for experimentation and zeroing on the tone you are looking for. The minuses are

a) you cannot save patches and the box does not have markings around the knobs so you can get back to your favorite patches exactly. However, it is an easy matter to just write down your setting for certain songs. In this regard, it falls way short for live use unless you just punch it in for certain songs (i.e. a Van Halen cover or something).

b) there is a fairly high level of sensitivity in the controls and some interaction. Getting to the tone you want is not 100% a linear tweeking process. Tech 21 makes note / warns you of this in the manual. This is really minor, but worth noting.

Use this box mostly as a direct record box into a Rockman Chorus delay, Behringer DSP1000 reverb on the aux bus of the board, BBE. I have also used it with startlingly good success plugged into my Yamaha QY100 (with pre-amp gain turned all the way down) and using a cascaded AMP sim where the QY100 amp sim is clean or mildly overdriven. I can get some fantastic clean and bluesy tone out of the combo for direct record that you cannot get out of the GT2, POD, etc.. It shocked me when I fiddled with it and I used this combo often. It actually resolves a mild shortcoming in the GT2 for clean tones (see below).

I also have used it with success live in the effects loop of my Marshall for higher overdrive. It just cannot be used successfully in front of a tube amp IMHO. It has also worked for me very well in a couple of impromtu jam sessions where I pulled it out of my guitar case plugged directly into a PA and pulled a little bit of magic to everyone's surprise. Surprisingly good in this regard, though not like playing through a Marshall, of course.

I have a Carvin SC90S, Fender Strat w/ Fat 50 pups, Ibanez 540S. The GT2 excells for fat hard rock and highly overdriven tone. The dynamics and feel of this box for this area of tone specture for the price is amazing. Think Judas Priest, EVH, etc.. Able to get great sustain, pinch harmonics, tonal dimensionality. Truely outrageous for the $$$!

Where it does fall short in the cleaner side or just slightly overdriven tone. For instance, if you want to play early Stones or Beatles you can get decent tone, but it's dynamics seem somewhat suppressed even with the level control up all the way. I am able to get a better clean tone from my Marshall DI output. I would rate it adequent in this respect (but plug it into the Yamaha QY100 and wow!).

Still, the overall tone / sound over all settings is unfatiguing natural analog-like with none of that buzz or lifelessness I hear with most of the patches on the POD 2, V-AMP2, and Digitech RP300 (thought this pedal was horrible). Lower priced digital still is not there IMHO. Does it replicate tubes, nothing really does. But can you get a wide range of awesome tone that drives you emotionally as a player, YES!

Seems to be built like a tank. Really happy with the construction and should last forever. Battery lasts a long time. Tone seems to IMPROVE very slightly as battery drains down. This is true for other pedals I have used.

Have not needed to use them, and don't expect to by the way it is built.

I would buy this again in a heartbeat. I compared it directly with the POD 2 and V-AMP 2 over several days and while the GT2 is just a distortion box, it is hard to live with the distortions in the digital competitors after you play with the GT2. The overall tone I get with the GT2 ($70) into the Rockman Chorus / Delay ($100), and some added reverb on my mixer via the Behringer DSP1000 ($90) BLOWS the POD2 away in all respects short of saving patches, at less than the price of the POD2 if you get everything used (which I did). This is not BS, it is reality. Truely a fantastic value for direct recording or into a PA setup in a pinch.

The only real minus is that you cannot save patches, but at the price, tone, construction quality, I do not care.

Can't rate it high enough. Download the sample mp3 files from their site. Enough said!

Just an update, their customer service is superb! They respond to emails within 24 hours, and are very helpful. Had a small problem with a pot, and they gave detailled solutions via email. All fixed, no cost, no worries! Other companies could learn a thing or two by observing how Tech 21 look after their customers!

Simple as. Pretty much a no brainer. To quote their instruction book: "Getting started is way entirely too easy". Choose your amp, your gain-type, and mic position. Then adjust the levels. Anyone can get a great sound out of this unit. Tech 21 even include sample settings in their manual.

Does what it says it would do! Sounds amazing! Not only does it sound like 3 real tube amps, you can change things like mic position, gain levels and eq. I have read that many people say that this is the best tube emulator on the market for direct-recording (eg: PC), but I say that this sounds damn good in front of my Peavey Studio Pro 112 Transtube (clean channel).

Emulates the phat saturated sound of the Fender amp (Tweed), raunchy Marshall stack (British), and meaty MesaBoogie (California). Most distortion/overdrive pedals sound good only in front of a tube amp. This is designed to make SolidState sound unreal! Add a slight chorus (eg: CE2) and delay (eg: DD5), and you sound even better! Incredible! Visit the GT2 sounds page at Tech 21's site, and listen to the mp3s. You too can sound like this!

I have played a Line 6 Flextone Plus modelling amp, and this wee unit is up there. Just remember that this unit is NOT a multi-effects unit like the Line6 (Flextone, POD, etc) products.

Rock solid aluminium case. Knobs/pots are standard (same as most other effects units). I don't like pots as even the best pots can go bad. Yadda yadda yadda. Apparently batteries last for ages, but who would gig with batteries anyway?

Fast response to emails. They will repair the units for you.....

The SansAmp GT2 is a tube-amp emulator. It is not intended to be a multi-effects unit (ie POD, V-Amp). Think of it as a the BEST distortion pedal ever, that is modelled closely on 3 famous tube amps. Product does everything that is claimed! Can be used for direct-recording or in front of a PA or SolidState clean amp.

Straight forward knobs and switches.

I just got this so i havent spent much time with it but the little time i did i was blown away!
Usually when i practice i have to fire up my whole rig (ADA MP1 > Digitech IPS-33B > ART Mulitverb II > BBE Sonic Maximizer > Mesa 20/20 power amp. But with this little baby, i just plug it into my Marshall Lead 12 mini stack and wham! Instant wall of sound. Amazing.
I'm also curious to see what it will sound like for home recording - the main reason i got it.
I've heard that you really should use this thru an amp, but for practice it kicks butt!

Seems built like a tank. I don't gig with it, hard to say

Havent had to yet

I like playing 70's hard rock (UFO, Thin Lizzy) on up to 80's and 90's metal. This little thing can duplicate all the sounds that I want.
If it were lost or stolen, I would definitely buy another!
I compared this to the Genesis II and Zoom modeler, which has more built in effects, but the bottom line is TONE, which this has.

very easy to use, just a few knobs and switches.

I was really disapionted when i got mine. I had bought it off ebay after hearing great things about its tone. In reality it wasnt very good. I thought all the channels sounded the same, just with less gain. I know its not designed to sound like other amps in the same way as a Pod, but when it only gives one tone its hardly versatile! Ive now bought a VAmp2 and let me tell you, it blows this thing away. If you are looking for direct recording like i was, that is defo the unit to get. Dont be taken in by the fact its analogue and thus better its just marketing hype.

Solid lump of tank like metal

bought off ebay so no idea really. Their site is well set out tho and has sound samples to download.

I spent ages looking for quiet amps i could use at home to practise and record with, and in the end i gave up and relised a direct recording unit was the way to go. And based on its ability to deliver a host of great tones direct...it sucked. At the moment the VAmp 2 is the way to go, its cheap, sounds better than Pod and comes with a host of freebies (carrybag, footswitch)and thats what ive now gone and bought. Alot is made of the fact this unit is analogue and not digital like all these others But we are getting to the stage now with 3rd generation digital amps that sound almost as good as the real thing but with loads more flexability and a hell of a lot cheaper. Anyway... bottom line is i wasnt impressed with this thing.

Only use one sound for bass live rig (Ampeg SVT Setting): Off axis/Tweed/Clean, Master 11 o'clock, Treble 1-3 o'clock, Bass 1-3 o'clock, gain 11-12 o'clock. Front load into input of an Acoustic 760 head into Peavey dual 118 BW speaker cab. I use the Acousti'cs head GEQ for "euqalizing to the venue."

Occasionally used for guitar in studio/session into solid state dual Randall RG75s with JBL 1x12 speakers. Signal into Carl Martin Compressor -35-40db, 3:1, Breather 1 o'clock, Master 12 o'clock into GT2 (4 Settings):

a. SRV Tweed: Off Axis/HiGain/Tweed, Master 11 o'clock, Treble 11 o'clock, Bass 1 o'clock, Gain 12 o'clock.

b. SRV JTM-45: Off Axis/HiGain/Tweed, Master 11 o'clock, Treble 12-1 o'clock, Bass maxed out, Gain maxed out.

c. Plexi: Center/HiGain/British, Master 11 o'clock, Treble 11 o'clock, Bass 1 o'clock, gain 12 o'clock.

d. EVH: Off axis/Modded/British, Master 11 o'clock, Treble 11 o'clock, Bass 1 o'clock, gain 12-3 o'clock.

The key to prevent squeal is to find the setting for combo unity gain on the amp and equalize it at the SAME unity gain volume level of the pedal and NOT LOUDER.

It squeals at high gain volume when slamming the input of a guitar or bass amp head without setting unity gain.

Never failed since 1995.

Never contacted.

It works

I opened the box, plugged it in....tweaked the knobs to Krazy Metal sample setting.........it rocked.....tweaked a little more my sound was found. It's that simple.

the sound of this little box is monstrous. Not only does this little bastard give the fattest low ends but it gives screaming fucking highs as well. I play a Ibanez 320GP out of a solid state Crate GX1200 head into a Blue Voodoo Celestion Cab.........I run this little baby through the clean channel turn up the mids to about 6 lows to 5 highs to 6....and this little baby wails. Best thrash, death metal distortion I've ever heard.

I've dropped it from at least 4 feet high and the little bastard is still alive, and that was onto concrete I say it's very reliable,

Never had to call.

The only distortion pedal I will ever need whether live or recording.

Tech 21... you are great!!! I want to first say that anyone who can't get a "just about... but not quite " Great tube amp sound, you are lying!
listen... any guitar snobs who claim this not being the best True "bang for your buck" out there, YOU"RE WRONG! period. I may have bad grammer but, I know a gem when I see one! Flat out ease of use and REAL tonal diversity.

Strat with hotrail in the bridge. a few small transistor combos modified with vintage speakers, (I miss my marshalls!!) Alesis midiverbs, auto wah. umm some more, oh!... a sansamp. put away the "pod" get a good fx processor and use a ... sansamp. Thank me later :)

well.. lets just say that If I dropped it, I would not be happy. But, It'll still probably work fine, It feels tough.. just those plastic knobs seem a bit flimsy. I've gigged with the Tech21 Bass compactor to very good results and They have the same metal case.

never dealt with them but, I don't forsee any problems.. The way they make their gear is a (to me) testiment to their overall quality as a company.. Plus I live a few miles away in SI so I can just show up :)

This pedal is the best thing since sliced bread for getting a great sound out of any amp or console ( however... did not sound good through my marshall tube combo, it's meant for solid state power).... There are a LOT of good and bad reviews but I know what I like, and This to me sounds I as good/BETTER than ANYTHING! Go get me a Boutique pedal or rackmount and you'll pay 5 to 10x as much and be no better off. As far as these plastic digital things.. ok good sound but not GREAT!! they sound.. well... digital. aren't your ears hurting yet?...I think those people either like digital better than analog or.... can't tell a difference. Ok.. it's a matter of taste?... taste a sansamp and sell your digitoy. I DO NOT WORK FOR TECH 21>>>>>>> THEY JUST MAKE GREAT GEAR!!!

Straight forward: a variety of USABLE tones in a matter of minutes.

Using variety of guitars with variety of pickups. Depended on it quite heavily when I had a solid state amp (Peavey Studio 112)- if anyone is using a solid state amp, I would say that this is a must have!!! Since I have switched to tubes, I use it to color the clean channel on my Marshall JCM 800 every once in a while. Mainly use it for DI recording- creates interesting textures when combined with a miked amp (clean and distorted).

Unit is not noisy at all. You name it, this box does it: classic rock, rockabilly, punk. Not into metal, so I couldn't tell you bout that sound. Tone controls are limited to HI and LO. But with the amount of gain this thing is capable of- you could use an EQ pedal to scoop the mids.

Unit is pretty reliable- would gig without a backup. I give it a 9 in this category just because I would not use it very much live. I love the tones you can get from it, but I would find myself bending over too much to change the pedal settings. Anyone interested in buying this pedal and gigging with it should look into the PSA-1. It has MIDI footswitch capabilities ( and a few more tone controls as I understand).

Never dealt with Tech 21.

I play mostly indie rock- this pedal goes quite well: sparkling cleans and buzzy distortion. If it were stolen, I would prob buy the PSA-1. But this unit costs considerably less.

Works great with tube amps (eventhough it is a tube amp emulator). Anyone seeking an OD/DIST pedal should seriously consider it.

Give it a 9 just because (as I said earlier) I don't gig with it.

As far as pedals go, this pedal is a piece of cake to get used to, and finding new settings is extremely simple. The manual has some decent suggestions but its better to just expirement

Im using a 70's strat with a little 59 in the neck and a jb junior in the bridge in to a 78 Marshall 100 watt and a 65 Fender deluxe reverb. But i dont use this pedal into amps. I'm a firm believer in true-bypass pedals into tube amps. I use this pedal as an insurance policy. If my amp breaks, or, if i need to play through the worst of amps(even a bass amp) this pedal can still allow me perform with a great backup sound in case of emergencies.That's where this pedal shines.

This pedal is Mr.Reliability, it doesn't eat up batteries, and i've never needed a backup. The light gets low when the batteries are running out, but the pedal will still work a substantial amount of time afterwards.

Never needed to ask questions or call.

I've been playing for a decent amount of years, and i play every style you can think of. I'm more than demanding of my rig, and can go from metal to country to jazz in minutes sometimes. If the pedal were stolen, I would either buy it again or replace it with the Tech 21 Tri-Ac,the difference being that the latter has the option of three settings for easier transitions for style. Other wise, this pedal is a lifesaver. This pedal is all the amp-back-up you'll need for a basic gig, and its easy enough to store in your gig back, with an extremely quick setup. It does color the tone a bit, but since it is a backup, i wont take off too many points. And lastly, The Tech 21 trademark 10watt practice amp is also an amazing product that i would recommend to always have around for practice.

Very easy to use, 4 knobs, 3 3-way swichtes. Go to www.tech21nyc.com if you want more info or check out the Unoficial GT2 Homepage. But it's not like one knob and it takes time to tweak.

This unit kicks so much ass because it is an analog solid state amp modeller. It sounds very good clean and dirty, but has a tad bit of buzz, fuzz, and fizz when dirty. Listen closely if you want to hear it. I play thrash/death/black metal and it works fine. However, THIS UNIT IS FOR DIRECT RECORDING ONLY. DON'T EVEN TRY TO USE IT WITH AN AMP, IT SOUNDS LIKE SHIT.

Bought it used, seems to have held up well. I have an AC adapter for it which oughta be fine.

Never dealt.

I play thrash/death/black metal and this is my mian recording distortion.

O found this thing really easy to use..I wish there were pre-set switch from amp to amp types..but you can't win them all!!!!Not for this price..Manual is well written..

I had this thing plugged into a Messa/Boogie Rectifier 50 watt head and 4X12 cab and It was really hard to tell the differance in the tone I was getting between the preamp of the Messa and the G2..so I took it over to a Fender 56 watt Ultamite Chorus..and there it was!..The sound I was looking for! Real nice with a wide chorus..set EQ on amp to flat..Great for the extra channel for you amp..but better..

Looks to be tuff...would like them to come out with a rack mount for this and an extrenal switch..Looks really prone to hot hands..Allot of sound in such a little box..You could loose this thing down deep in your duffle bag..I would protect it with my life!..

Neaver had to deal with them..great support from supplier..

I play every thing from Dance Rock to Hard Rock, Funck, Country Rock..This thing does it all!..

My influences are Eddie Van Halen and Eric Johnson..I would not even look at another product..Love the tone I get out of this thing with my
USA standard Tele and my 87 Kramer USA Pacer!..Would like to see this thing rack mount with pre-select switch at the floor for amp type selects with out bending down to do it...