Setting the effects chain was a breeze,
too. After pressing the EFFECT button,
the dual screens light up with the chain on
the left, and the selected effect’s settings on
the right. I normally like to put my EQ
pedal after the preamp, so all I had to do
was twirl the knob underneath the word
SELECT on the effects chain LCD until I
found the EQ effect and turn the MOVE
knob until the effect dropped itself to
where I wanted it in the chain. It’s simple,
efficient, and very little fuss.
Tone-wise, the GT- 100 has its strengths
and weaknesses. I found the mid-gain range
of amp models to be more natural and full
than the clean and blistering high-gain
tones—unusual given how many modelers emulate the more extreme ends of the
tonal spectrum best. Yet with the Ibanez
and the GT- 100, I had few issues dialing
in fat, rounded overdrive with great body
and definition—provided that I didn’t turn
the gain levels up too high. The flip side is
that nearly all of the amplifier modes and
distortion emulations exhibited some woofi-ness and congestion when pushed hard.
Thankfully there’s a workaround—setting
up a dual-amp rig with less amounts of gain
set for each one.
On the other end of the scale, I was able
to coax some pretty nice cleans from the
GT- 100’s array of amp models, especially
from the Vox AC30 and highly-accurate
Roland JC- 120 models. Each was fairly
This is, without a doubt, one of the
easiest-to-use floorboard processors
that I’ve come across in a long time.
sensitive to changes from the guitar’s volume knob and reacted accordingly by
smoothing out the highs and mids.
If you make extensive use of effects, the
GT- 100 is an absolute monster. Overdrives
and boosts reacted accurately to most of
the amp models—delivering more grit and
drive and a rounded midrange. Modulation
effects ranged from cool and conservative
choruses to stunning, synthetic soundscapes
(Seriously, try running a mix of the Slicer
and Pitch Shifter into a ton of reverb. It’s
amazingly ethereal). The heavier distortions
and fuzz models sounded good when set
more conservatively, but were rather difficult
to keep defined at more aggressive settings.
The Verdict
Boss’s GT- 100 is certainly a positive evolution of the GT- 10. It has limitations—most
notably if you’re a heavy player that uses
a lot of extremely distorted settings. That
limitation aside, it’s an immensely powerful tool for shaping your tone, has excellent mid-gain and clean tones and most
importantly, reacts to your playing style and
dynamic changes. And with the USB direct
recording port and a myriad of connection options, and the GT- 100 is one of the
best options out there for the player who’s
looking for everything-but-the-kitchen-sink
recording and performance multi-effector
without the mess and hassle of complicated
switching and routing.
RATINGS
Pros: Tons of connection options. Great modulation effects
and mid-gain tones. Reacts well to playing dynamics.
Boss GT- 100, $549 street, bossus.com
Cons: Extreme distortion settings sound congested and
one-dimensional.
Tones
Value
