Review: Boss GT-1000CORE - MusicTech

Boss GT-1000 but in compact form · Up to 24 simultaneous effects · Parallel amp and effect chains · Functions as a USB audio/MIDI interface · Stereo ... byMartinDelaneyEffectsGuitarsReview:BossGT-1000COREHasthekingofstompboxessuccessfullycondenseditsflagshipmulti-effectsunitintoaboxthatworksforguitaristsandtabletopelectronicmusicmakers? Price£615ContactBossYou’rejustaslikelytoseeBosspedalsunderthefeetofaguitarist,asyouareinatabletopelectronicaset-up.AndtheGT-1000COREisseeminglytailoredforbothaxefolkandknob-twiddlersalike,compressingthebrainsofthebrand’sflagshipGT-1000intoacompactstereounit.Backedbyanarrayofsilverknobs,thelargeliquidcrystaldisplaydominatestheinterface.Therearpanelincludesstereoandmonoinputs,effectssendsandreturns,outputsforstereoorheadphones,inputsforexpressiononeandcontroltwoandthree,andamainspowerinput.Theleft-handpanelfeaturesamicroUSBport,MIDI-inandMIDI-outmini-jacks,andaninputforexpressiontwoandcontrolfourandfive(forswitchingwithcompatibleamps).TheGT-1000COREfeatures140ampsimulationsandeffects,includingeverythingfromvintagepedalstosophisticatedstereoeffectsbasedonalgorithmsfromBoss’s500seriespedals:chorus,compression,overdrive,EQ,flanger,looper,pitcheffects,tremolo,delay,andreverb.GettingstartedwiththeGT-1000COREandaguitariseasy.Usethefootswitchestonavigatethe250lockedfactorypresetsand250customisableuserslots.TheCOREfeatures32-bitAD/DA,32-bitfloating-pointprocessinganda96kHzsamplingrate.Throughoutitsdocumentation,therearemanyreferencestoMultiDimensionalProcessing,atechnologythatallowsfordeeperandmoreresponsivesignalprocessingthroughampandeffectsmodelling.Techtalkornot,it’simmediatelyapparenthowgoodBoss’sAugmentedImpulseResponseDynamicsampsareintheirrepresentationofMarshall,FenderandMesa/Boogiesounds.Thetonesarelifelike,andplayingfeelsdynamicandresponsive.Thisisarewardingandhigh-endaudioexperienceaidedbyrapidpatchchanging.Infact,Bossclaimsithasthefastestswitchingonthemarket–andwecanbelieveit.TheUSBconnectionactsasanaudiointerface,soyoucansendinstrumentinputstoyourDAWandhearbeatsandarrangementscomingbackintheotherdirection.WehavenolatencyissuesatallusingAbletonLive10ona2019iMac.USBalsoallowsyoutosendMIDIfromyourDAWtoloadCOREpatchesorchangeeffectsparameters,andfacilitatestheBossToneStudioforGT-1000application,whichisanaccessiblewayofmanagingpresetsonabiggerscreen.Upto16userimpulseresponsescanbeuploadedtoo.There’sanimpressive24effectsblocksavailablebutsomeofthem,includingtheEQs,delaysandreverbs,arefixed-function.Buttherearethreegeneral-purposeblockstowhichanyeffectcanbeassigned.Inadditiontotheeffectsthemselves,thereareampswithmicrophoneandspeakeroptions,andmastereffects.Theicingonthecakeistheabilitytosplitthesignalchainatuptothreepoints.Thentherealfunstarts,asyoucancombinedifferentamptypesandrunparallelchains.There’salsoalevelofhardwarecustomisationhere–thefootswitchescanbereassignedtodifferentfunctions,andexternalexpressionpedalscanbeattached.Thetwosendandreturnjackscanbeusedindividuallyortogetherinstereo,andcanalsofunctionassuboutputs.TheycanbeusedasasecondpairofoutputsindependentoftheCORE’smastervolume,makingthemsuitableasdirectoutputstoamixerorfront-of-house.Bassplayersgetasmallernumberofampsandpresetstochoosefrom.ThesearebasedonanAmpegSVT,agenericcleanmodelandBoss’sMDPXDrive.Theyalsogetdedicatedbassversionsofeffectssuchascompressorandchorus.WeenjoyitmorewhenwedisabledtheonboardampsandplugintoaTraceElliotElfampandPhilJonesBasscabinet.Whateverinstrumentorsourceyou’reusing,it’svitaltochoosethecorrectoutputtype.TabletopperformanceHowdoestheGT-1000COREfarewithstereomusic-technologygear,suchassequencersandsamplers?TheAkaiForcehasfouroutputs,soweconnectoutputsoneandtwototheCORE’sfirstandsecondinputs,andtheForce’soutputsthreeandfourtotheCORE’sfirstandsecondreturns.Fromhere,it’spossibletocreatetwoindependentstereoeffectschains,usingtheCORE’ssendandreturnobjects,whichcansubsequentlybemergedbackintoastereomix.Thishasthemakingsofasuperbset-up,astheCOREbecomestheeffects-loaded,MIDI-friendlymixerthattabletopusersdreamof.AsfarasMIDIisconcerned,asequencersuchastheForcecansendprogramchangestoloadCOREpatchesandCCs,whichcanbeassignedtoeffectsparameters.Aswellasitsguitareffects,theCOREincludespresetssuchasEQs,compressors,slicers,pitch-shiftersandreverbs.Ifyoudon’twanttoconnectastereodevice,usetwomonodevicesinstead,andtheCore’smix-managementdeviceswillprovideoptionsforpanningandsoon.It’sevenpossibletogettheCoretotriggereachoftheparallelchannelsbyfrequencyrangeordynamics,ratherthansimplychoosingA,B,orAandB.UsingtheGT-1000COREisenjoyable.Welovethedisplay,evenifwestillfavourtheUSBcableanddesktopsoftwareforthoselongeditingsessions.Butifyou’reworriedaboutconnectivityandtheorganisationofswitches,youmightwanttolookatthefull-scaleGT-1000instead.We’dliketohaveseenajack-MIDIadaptorincludedwiththisunit–itmaynotbeessentialforinstrumentalists.Still,forelectronicsgeeks,it’sanotherextrainconveniencethatmustbebudgetedfor.TheflexibleGT-1000COREisfunctionallyviablewithorwithoutacomputer,andsonicallyit’sexcellent,witheffectsrangingfromclassicBosspedalstosophisticatedstereopatches.Whileusingit,youmightoccasionallylongforaspecialitypedalcapableofuniquefunctionsbut,intermsofcoveringalotofgroundinacompactform,theCOREdoesthejob.Overview1.ThislargeLCDmakestheGT-1000COREaconvenientstandaloneunit;it’seasytoeditandsavesettingsduringsoundchecksandrehearsalswhenyouhavenocomputertohand.UsetheEffectbuttontoviewandediteffectschainsandsettings.2.Physicalconnectionsincludestereoin/out,send/return,phones,andtwoexpression/footswitch/controljacks,aswellasaUSBportandMIDI-inand-outconnectionson1/8jacks(adaptersrequired)forintegrationintolargersetups.3.ThesethreefootswitchescoverthebasiccontrolsoftheGT-1000CORE,includingthetuner,preset-browsingandaccessinguser-definedfunctions.Thefiveknobsbelowthedisplayareforeditingpatches.4.TheAIRDlogoreferstoBoss’sAugmentedImpulseResponseDynamicstechnology,whichprovidesnaturalresponseandsonicintegrationnomattertheincomingsignal.Itisparticularlyrelevanttotheonboardampsims.5.TheGT-1000COREcontainsmorethan140ampsandeffects,somebasedonclassicBossstompboxesandothersreflectinghigh-techproductssuchasthebrand’sown500-strongrangeofstereoeffects,includingtheRV-500reverbpedal.6.Effectsandampparametersaredisplayedhere,alongsideinputandoutputlevels,andcompressoractivity.KeyfeaturesBossGT-1000butincompactformUpto24simultaneouseffectsParallelampandeffectchainsFunctionsasaUSBaudio/MIDIinterfaceStereoinandoutTrendingNowDJSwivelKnocktonalreview:ThebesttooltotuneyourdrumresonanceGenrePrimer:GrimeBestmusicappsin2021:12bestmusicremixingappsSonosArcsoundbarreview:sleek,powerfulandDolbyAtmos-compatible