JamesAJScott

Only just picked this up and haven't had time to shape my own sounds yet, but some of the presents are truly awesome. And some are way too subtle. Really hoping the in-built mics that listen to the music to decipher the key of the song for harmonies etc. works, and the harmonies don't sound too unnatural, but the main thing I bought this for is reverb and delay, and some megaphone/distortion effects. I'm quite taken with a flanger I've heard too!

Good robust board, providing "I've definitely clicked it" confidence. Not sure if it's really the fault of the floorboard itself, but every few months or so, the pedal will stop talking to the amp for a few hours... And then it's fine again. It's not the ethernet cable used to connect the two items together, so I'm not sure what makes the pedals unresponsive. Other than this mysterious issue, I can't fault it.

When this amp was released I thought that it was genius to bring together valve goodness with digital effects. And it was / is. However, whilst I've been able to shape some amazing tones that I'm really happy with (from sumptuous cleans to soaring leads), especially for recording, there are some issues that make the amp fall short of everything it could be. 1. Ease of use. Because you can access 9 user banks, each comprising 4 patches, from the FBV shortboard (sold separately), you'd expect the real value to be in the ability to switch between widely varying tones from song to song, set to set or band to band. However, because there is of course only one set of knobs on the front panel (the positions of which don't necessarily correspond to the parameters you've set - they're not like flying faders on a mixing desk), setting up patches is a bit of a ball ache. You can't really just tweak what you've got, you either have to build a patch from scratch - turn the knob all the way down to reset it and then up to wherever you think it should be - or you have to start with a preset and do the same thing. 2. Volume management... So, speaking of presets... By God they are loud. It's ridiculous. You can't feasibly be within arms reach when you move between presets without turning down the master volume every single time you're about to browse to the next patch. This serves to put yet another barrier in your way to creating sounds you're going to use. The volume issues don't stop there. The amp is either "off" or "a bit too loud" (even for a 5-piece). Yes, you could try and set the Channel volume lower and give yourself more headroom on the Master, but the original advice from several reliable sources was to set the Channel volumes high and tweak clean and dirty patches to manage drop-out, and control overall volume with the Master. I have tried swapping this over, but it didn't seem to work - none of the patches would sing, tone-wise if the Channel volume was reduced. So I have very mixed feelings about this amp. It's served me well for many many years, but of the 36 patches I could and should be making use of, I've got three in one bank that I rely on for everything, and have added to with other multi-effects units... The modulations on the amp just aren't that usable, because everything is so arbitrary, and - like the volume - they either seem to be too subtle or too over-the-top. In summary, for getting some fantastic core tones, it's amazing. But usability / interface issues (for someone like me, with limited time / patience) have prevented me from getting everything I hoped to out of the amp, and I've had to spend money on other equipment to really get there.

As a series of individual stomp boxes with some overall tone shaping and whammy effects, this is a great unit. However, if you use it as a true multi-effects rig with banks and patches, there is a disappointing level of latency when switching between patches, which is exaggerated further when switching between manual / stomp box mode and multi-mode. My one has been through the wars, with support bands spilling nasty liquids all over it, and dropping it from great heights... It was badly damaged and out of action for years until someone recently managed to repair it. I was amazed that it came back to life at all, so kudos to BOSS for that. I'm now removing this from my rig, along with Line 6 Spider Valve 212 amp effects and a Line 6 M13, in favour of a BOSS GT-100 to "do it all" and simplify switching processes and reduce set-up times.

The M13 presents a breadth and depth of sounds and opportunities to combine them that is frankly mindblowing. It's been a trusty and reliable steed for many years. However, I currently use it in combination with a BOSS ME-50 and a Line 6 Spider Valve 212 (which I use to switch between clean, crunch and distorted settings with and FBV Shortboard), and to simplify switching and set-up times, I'm planning to retire all three of those, in favour of a GT-100. As per my review for that item though, the GT-100 seems incapable of replicating some of the filter and synth effects that I rely on in the M13, so it may have to stay in the rig until a software update is released for the GT-100.

I recently acquired the GT-100 with a view to simplifying my live rig. To date, I've been using a BOSS ME-50 for tone shaping and occasional effects like a distortion, tremolo and octave/whammy function, into a Line 6 M13 for reverse delay, chorus, flanger, other tremolo effects and some really out there filters and synths. With the patch switching for my Line 6 Bogner Spider Valve 212 (clean with delay and reverb, crunch, lead), it was getting tricky to achieve all of the simultaneous changes I wanted to make without disrupting my performance, and it was also taking far too long to set up for rehearsals, recording sessions and shows alike. On paper, the GT-100 allows me to ditch the other three pedal boards (I'll still use a vocal effects pedal too), but whilst I'm getting close, I haven't quite replicated all of the sounds I need for the band's full repertoire yet. Part of the reason is the fact that there's so much choice, and it's very easy to lose oneself in fiddling with parameters (to that end, it's very much the "studio at your feet" that Johnny Marr refers to it as) with a view to bettering legacy sounds when it's proving difficult simply to reproduce them. The filter and synth aspects are also not at immediately usable as those on the M13, and at the time of writing I fear that I may in fact need to retain that unit (or swap it out for an M5 or something) to avoid disappointing fans (and indeed myself) wanting to hear something close to the sound of recorded versions of songs that have been released. Another practical element to consider when moving from separate stompboxes or something like the M13, is the lack of colours to tell you what you're using / what's switched on and what's switched off. There are LCD view options that kind of do the same thing, but it's all in a very functional burnt orange that makes it hard to distinguish between delays, modulations and so on. However, the unit is very easy to use, and I think once I also switch to a more responsive all-valve amp (having tried one, I'm 99% sure it will be the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe III), then I think the issues I've had maintaining the right balance within the overall band mix (sometimes was too trebly and sometimes way too muddy), things will settle down. The clean channel I'm using on the Spider Valve feels a little bit stiff, like it won't be driven by additional gain pumping through the GT-100 when distortions are engaged. Fundamentally, for practical reasons, I've done the right thing, but it's thrown the cat amongst the pigeons, and the transition is a little frustrating at times, especially for my bandmates who wait patiently for me to twiddle knobs for minutes that feel like hours in between short bursts of verses and choruses etc.! What's great, is that it will allow me to have different settings for each and every song (time-based effects can be set to a specific tempo), and whereas the settings I'd programmed for the Spider Valve often found my guitar overpowering the live mix (the amp is either "off" or "bloody loud"), the GT-100 gives me lots more control.