How To Use The Boss GT-10 As An Audio Interface - Picking ...

All I needed was one simple thing… a USB cable! To be specific I needed the type of USB cable that normally attaches to a printer, like this one ... Skiptocontent IfyouhaveaDAWlikeGarageBand,ProTools,orReaperandare thinkingaboutbuyinganaudiointerfacelikethe FocusriteScarlettSolo ortheScarlett212 tosendyourBossGT-10(orotherguitareffectsprocessor)signalintoyourcomputeryoumightwanttoreadthisarticlefirst. IactuallyhadtheGT-10andGarageBandsittingunusedonmyMacBookProforacoupleyearsbeforeIrealizedthatIalreadyhadeverythingIneededtorecordmyguitar. AllIneededwasonesimplething…aUSBcable! TobespecificIneededthetypeofUSBcablethatnormallyattachestoaprinter,likethisone AmazonBasicsUSB2.0Cable–A-MaletoB-Male–6Feet(1.8Meters) thatcostsawhopping$4.99! But,Ididn’tneedtobuyonebecauseIhadoneattachedtomylaserprinterallalong.  So,Iunpluggeditfrommyprinter,pluggedoneendintomyGT-10… andtheotherintotheMacBookPro… andViola!!! Icouldrecordmyguitar. AndasabonusIwasabletostartrecordingforthelow,low,priceofzerodollarsinsteadofspending$99or$149onaninterface. Verynice! Fairwarning: therewereafewsnagsandfalsestartsbeforeIgotitworkingcorrectly.Makesuretoreadtherestoftheposttogetthedetailsifyou’restrugglingtogetthistoworkforyou. First,you’llwanttogetthespecialdriverfromBossandinstallitonyourcomputer.Yourcomputerwillrecognizeitwithoutthespecialdriverbutthespecialdriverhasadvancedfunctions.Youcanreadindepthaboutthisprocessstartingatpage90intheBossGT-10manualonRoland.comIfyoudon’tinstallthespecialdriveritwillsimplyruninstandardUSBmode. IfyoualreadyhaveGarageBandopenwhenyouplugintheGT-10,apop-upwillaskyouifyouwanttousetheGT-10. Clickyes. Inacouplesecondsanotherpop-upwilltellyouthereisnowonemidicontrolleravailable. Clickok. HerearethethingsIhadtodoasaresultofthe“snags”IranintowhenIfirsttriedusingtheGT-10asmyinterface.Someoftheseitems willapplytootherDAWsandsomewillbeGarageBand specificbecausethatiswhatIamusingatthetimeofthiswriting. YouwillwanttosettheoutputtoLine/Phonesbypressing“outputselect”andselectingitfromthemenu. ThiswillactivatethespeakersimulatorintheGT-10.Itdefinitelyaffectsthesoundthatisrecorded.TheGT-10changesthesignaldependingtheconnectiontype:Amp,JC-120,ComboAmp,SmallAmp,Line/Phones,etc. OnethingthatconfusesmanypeopleisthatoncetheGT-10isselectedbyGarageBandastheinputsourcetherecordinglevelslidergraysout. TheslidergraysoutbecauseoncetheGT-10becomestheinputsourceitalsotakesoverlevelcontrolforthetrackonwhichitrecords.Thisincludestheexpressionpedalwhenitissettobeavolumepedal.Theexpressionpedalinvolumepedalmodewilldirectlycontrolthetrackvolumelevelslideringarageband. Setthemonitorto“off” It’ssoquiet!Whatthe…??? WhenIfirstpluggedintheGT-10andtriedtorecordatrackthelevelswerewaytolowuntilIfiguredoutacoupleotheradjustmentsthatneededtobemade. One,turnuptheoutputlevelalltheway. Two,youwillwanttoturnup thepatchlevelfaderontheGT-10(farrightfaderinpicturesetat170). Allofthepresetpatchesreturnthelevelto100whenyouchangepatchesorpoweronandofftheunit.Alevelof200(allthewayup)workswellonheavydistortionpatches.Youwillwanttoexperimentwithlevelsoncleanpatches.I’vefoundIneedtorollthembackalittletoavoidclippingthesignal. (UPDATE:ThepatchlevelissueseemedtoresolvewhenIupdatedGarageband.IwasrunninganolderversionatthetimeIwrotethispost.Aftertheupdatethepatchesworkfineatthepresetlevelof100.Generallyspeakingitisthebasicissueofgettingastrongenoughsignalwithoutclipping.Youmayormaynothavetoadjustthepatchlevel.) AnothercoolthingabouttheGT-10isthatyoucancontrolthelow,mids,andhighsofeachpatchinadditiontothelevelwiththefaderknobsjustlikeanamp. Also,makesurethattheexpressionpedalisallthewaydown.Thenchecktomakesurethetrackyouarerecordingisat0db. Here’saquicksummary/checklistoftheprocesstousetheBossGT-10asanaudiointerface. USBAtoBcable USBspecialdriverfromBoss SelectUSBmodestandardoradvanced SetoutputtoLine/Phones Setexpressionpedalto100% Setpatchlevelto200(lesswithcleanpatchesifsignalclips) Turnoffmonitoring(GarageBand) Ifyoudon’thavetheGT-10buthavesomethingliketheGT-100orLine6HD500x oranotherfloorguitareffectsunitthiswillstillwork.It’sthesameprocess. Thereyouhaveit,howtousetheBossGT-10asanaudiointerface.   Withthemoneyyousaveyoucouldbuy EZDrummer2 orSuperiorDrummer2.0 (IactuallyboughtSuperiorDrummer2.0forwaylesswhentheyhadaridiculouslylowpricefortheholidays)andhaveavirtualdrummertojamandrecordwithinstead. Paul AdsBelow ClicktheimagebelowtoseetheguitarsforsaleinmyReverb.comshop. RecentPosts GibsonModCollectionSGStandardRoswellSilver SireLarryCarltonL7ElectricGuitarTobaccoSunburst IbanezPremiumAZ242PBGElectricGuitar–CharcoalBlackBurst FenderPlayerLeadIIIElectricGuitarOlympicWhite IbanezRG5121PrestigeDarkTideBlueFlat