Boss GT-1000 Core vs Line 6 HX Stomp

guitargeek62

Can the GT-1000 handle two entirely distinct signal paths like the HX* can?

I.e. 1) L input down path A and into L output; 2) R input down path B and into R output?


@fnpt @thomasw88 @TheBigDipper @Slartibartfarst42 ;

TheBigDipper

guitargeek62 said:

Can the GT-1000 handle two entirely distinct signal paths like the HX* can?

I.e. 1) L input down path A and into L output; 2) R input down path B and into R output?


@fnpt @thomasw88 @TheBigDipper @Slartibartfarst42 ;;

I've never tried it - I'm a mono guitar in sort of guy, but I believe so. It's got stereo inputs  I think the L and R inputs can be split immediately and treated separately all the way to the main outputs and sub outputs. I've done mono in and fed that into stereo effects and stereo out. 

The thing to be aware of is that there is only one reverb block, so you couldn't have reverbs on both sides. Although there's a stereo reverb in it, so you could feed L&R back into it, I guess - but again, untried by me like that.

Heartfeltdawn

guitargeek62 said:

Can the GT-1000 handle two entirely distinct signal paths like the HX* can?

I.e. 1) L input down path A and into L output; 2) R input down path B and into R output?


@fnpt @thomasw88 @TheBigDipper @Slartibartfarst42 ;;;

As far as I can tell on my planned pedalboard featuring a Stomp and a GT-1000 Core, yes. It's taken a lot of planning and manual reading. Been a long time since I had a pedalboard spreadsheet plan on the go!

I'm going mono pedals into Core --> stereo sends to HX Stomp --> Stomp FX --> stereo returns back into CORE --> Stereo JC-120 sims going to main outs. 

A couple of Hotone momentary switches on the Core, another on the Stomp = Done. 

guitargeek62

Cheers, that’s reassuring - I’ve not looked at the Core much until recently but it’s a tempting proposition over the Stomp too. I’ll have a proper read-up when I get chance and see if there’s anywhere I can demo the Core/both

Winny_Pooh

I bought the core based on online demos, sounded better to me than the stomp and has lower latency too. Fun thing and incredibly versatile.

Wazmeister

So, I've got a HX Stomp XL, and have just purchased the GT1000 Core...

My findings are a lot different to some others ! The Core is being returned.
Here's why;

1.) The screen on the Boss is laughably bad, even not comparing it to the Line 6. So small, so 1980s, early Nokia like !

2.) This means you have to use the Boss software editor. No Bluetooth. Ok, I can live with that. Then, a faff to get it set up.

3.) Very difficult and cumbersome to edit via the Core itself - especially with the poor graphics.

4.) No blank template - amazing !

5.) Sounds were better on the HX Stomp, out of the box.

6.) So, the Line 6; bang on, easy to add a pedal; easy to assign; easy to change; colour coding etc etc

Maybe if you like editing (a la Johnny Marr !), the Core could work for you. 

Not for me.

Heartfeltdawn

Wazmeister said:

Maybe if you like editing (a la Johnny Marr !), the Core could work for you. 

Ah, so as an FX unit it's quirky, difficult, and perfect for anally retentive types. 

Boss, take my money now 

Trude

The Core is unbelievably powerful once you find your way around.
I run dual output guitars (electric and acoustic) with separate paths and an additional octave-down path for simulated bass guitar on the lower strings. The degree to which you can refine all this is pretty amazing.
The screen may not be pretty, but it's viewable in direct sunlight, and that's far more important to me than fancy full colour or touch UI (and I'm speaking as a UX designer in my day job!)

guitargeek62

Right, I'm probably buying a Core this today... so apart from fiddly editing and non-colour screens, what else should I be aware of as potential blockers?

I'm mostly a set-and-forget player, so I don't mind if it's not quite as easy to adjust on the fly. My main concern is the lack of ongoing support / updates from Boss - the last was more than 18mos ago, so that almost feels like a dead product in the digital world? The UI on the GX-100 suggests to me that updated hardware may be coming soon perhaps?



For my needs, the choice really does just seem to be the GT-Core or the HX Stomp. Other options out there don't seem to hit the right balance of capability, price, or performance - on paper at least!

Winny_Pooh

guitargeek62 said:

Right, I'm probably buying a Core this today... so apart from fiddly editing and non-colour screens, what else should I be aware of as potential blockers?

I'm mostly a set-and-forget player, so I don't mind if it's not quite as easy to adjust on the fly. My main concern is the lack of ongoing support / updates from Boss - the last was more than 18mos ago, so that almost feels like a dead product in the digital world? The UI on the GX-100 suggests to me that updated hardware may be coming soon perhaps?



For my needs, the choice really does just seem to be the GT-Core or the HX Stomp. Other options out there don't seem to hit the right balance of capability, price, or performance - on paper at least!

The only downsides for me are having one reverb block and one "fun" delay block. The 3 other delay blocks are straight digital delays.

Trude

Yeah, it would be nice if you could have different reverbs (eg one for a clean path, one for dirty).

It's not perfect by any means (though it's the best option I've found for my needs).  This is my own list of gripes:

- Sometimes the tuner keeps reverting to mono instead of poly mode (I suspect this has something to do with midi patch switching but haven't proved it yet)
- Knob assignments are global, rather than patch-specific
- The "stompbox" feature that allows an FX block to be shared by multiple presets (dymanically updating everywhere it's used) is a very useful feature, but it doesn't work with either cab/mic settings or the newer Mastering effects.  Both of these are the sort of effects you'd want to apply across multiple presets, so it's really frustrating they don't have the stompbox option
- The IR loader is really clunky
- There are a few places in the UI where you are only given number references to settings that also have names (choosing input level profiles within patches, some contexts where you're selecting stompboxes - can't quite remember the scenario but it always annoys me and makes me backpedal until I know for sure what setting corresponds to the number)
- The poly octave effect doesn't have the "lowest note" setting of the OC5
- If using pan L/R for stereo output, there's no option to set a pan position for each side other than hard-panned.  I'd love to have my electric sound just left of centre, with the acoustic sound panned harder to the right, but the only way to do that is at the desk, so it's out of my control in a stage situation.
- No way to disable the two-button press that toggles manual mode or the tuner.  I access tuner via an external ctrl pedal and do all my patch switching via MIDI so I have no need of those two-button actions, but I have occasionally hit them by mistake, which completely messes things up for me

Brio

For those who really want bluetooth on the Core so they can use the app on the go, the WIDI Jack from CME works perfectly with the BOSS app.

Heartfeltdawn

guitargeek62 said:

I'm mostly a set-and-forget player, so I don't mind if it's not quite as easy to adjust on the fly. My main concern is the lack of ongoing support / updates from Boss - the last was more than 18mos ago, so that almost feels like a dead product in the digital world? The UI on the GX-100 suggests to me that updated hardware may be coming soon perhaps?

I'm not worried about that for my needs. Partly that's because I'm hoping to use it to fill an 80s and 90s shoegaze rack-sized hole. I'm wanting it to do things that means I don't have to buy very very dead digital products

guitargeek62

Fair enough @Heartfeltdawn - I took the plunge and bought one this week, hopefully it’ll be here by the weekend so I can start giving it a whirl

guitargeek62

Well, I managed to spend an hour with the Core this morning… first impressions are pleasantly positive!

I’ve not done much with it at all yet; I simply plugged it into the return loop on my Orange, set the input level to my Paul’s Guitar, and then started playing through presets to get an idea of what it can do. Admittedly, I normally skip past presets altogether and go straight into building my own, but there were a couple of really great sounds in there straight away that caught my attention. I’ve done zero editing yet, but already found 8 or so presets that I’ll start working from as bases for my own ones and that seemingly won’t need much tweaking at all for my tastes. The Core I bought also came with some lovely extras, incl. an FS-6 and EV-30 expression pedal, so those’ll help the sonic explorations considerably.

guitargeek62

Right, I’ve had a couple of hours with this now and impressions are still very positive.

Weaknesses:
- Yes, the interface isn’t quite as simple as HX
- No, there aren’t as many models and variants of things

Strengths:
- No notable latency at all switching between presets; you could quite easily build an entire sequential playlist of patches for a whole gig and then some if you have the need, and then just increment through them as you go without any audible issues. Spillover / trails between patches is useful too.
- The amp tones are (mostly) really strong. There might be fewer of them than HX, but it seems to cover a lot of ground with easily achievable usable sounds.
- The fx, somewhat unsurprisingly, are brilliant - there’s more variety in here than I’d feared, and I really like the modulations and delays - probably more so than my last dalliance with HX about two years ago.
- The drives are pretty great, very usable indeed. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve still not done a lot of editing or any real deep-dives yet, but the weird thing is that I don’t feel I need to with this. The sounds out of the box are very usable for my rig and tastes, so I’m just playing the damn thing instead of building patches and tweaking to the nth degree… that’s a big win in my book. Yes, the rose-tinted glasses are still on for the honeymoon, but I’m pretty damn happy so far!

This weekend I’m hoping to get some clear time to properly integrate it with my other pedals and amp etc, as so far I’ve just been running straight into the Core and then into my FX return. I’ll also make more of a point of building patches from scratch too, and configuring the various loop and amp ch. switching options etc that I would want for general use.

To other GT-1000 users: What are your favourite patches or hidden gems in there?

paulcaye

The looper on the GT 1000 retains the loop between patches, which is quite neat or annoying if you forget to stop it when switching patches and the new patch doesnt have the looper enabled. 

guitargeek62

Oooh I’d not noticed that yet, that is handy!