I've got this, the GT3 and ME8, all with analog overdrive, distortion etc. It gives it that authentic feel and tone of real amps. But the fx - like you've perfectly demonstrated, is where this unit shines. A must however is an IR cab sim. Your original videos on these inspired me to go old school and I will never get rid of them.
Got a new Zoom G6 recently. Great pedal in its own right, but further proof that guitar effects really haven't changed in years. Amp models have improved a bit I guess.
Thanks for making this video.I have just re-purchased a GT5 when i listened to an old demo i made 10 years ago and realised how good it sounded.My pal Jerry Stevenson (chris Rea barbera dickson,be sharp and many others)recorded an entire album slaves to the rhythm on a GT5 .I have always maintained it was his best recorded sound ever..
Thanks so much for your reviews of this incredible unit. Based on your review I was lucky enough to score one just today, well used but in good condition (only missing the knob for the output control) and after just a quick blast, I can see why you rate it so highly. The huge range of astonishing presets is mind blowing, the number, range and quality of individual effects likewise. My very first multi fx box was an old Boss ME-5, great for what I needed at the time, and built like a tank. I've since upgraded to an ME-80, a great unit itself, but this one is a whole other level of amazing. Typical of Boss's intuitive control layout, I was into it and chugging through the banks of presets in no time. It'll take many hours to explore everything it can do but I'd already rate it pretty confidently as one of the best multi-effects units I've ever used and I'm dying to see what happens when I whack my new Behringer Poly D through some of these effects. Thanks again, your review totally sold me on this vintage classic and I'm thrilled with it.
I agree with all your comments here - it's pretty astounding for its vintage. And it's got depth that will give a player new discoveries for years. Thanks for watching my video, I'm glad it was helpful!
A hundred percent in agreement with you sir. There's not a day goes past that I regret selling it. It's also built like a tank I love them. Great stuff 8)
A friend of mine gifted me one of this little tanks. It's my first step into this world. I want a Boss GX 100 in the future but I think this unit is pretty good!
The ease of use and the versatility of this board is still in many ways unmatched by todays units, this board is absurdly easy to program and it's literally like having a large portion of all of the old BOSS stompboxes in one unit, I own a huge pedal board that I built myself that's almost 4ft wide by 3 deep, filled to the brim with analog stomp boxes all running in and out of a POD X3 Live front input and effects chain, I still find myself using the GT-5 often for anything from guitar work, bass and even synthesizers, it's still one of my favorite effects units that I own and I doubt I will ever get rid of it or my ADA-MP1 for that matter, this board is incredibly slept on imho and anyone can literally pick one up and fly through programming it the very first time they use it!
I had the GT-3 (the little brother to the GT-5) and I thought is sounded amazing. But it was too much for me to carry back and forth to church so I sold it. Ironically now am using a Roland VG-88 which is even bigger than the GT-3.
OD/DS is analog all others digital BUT it sounds far warmer than any digital unit i have heard.I think the amps in my AA12 are much better(boss cleans and fender twin excellent) but you can use any analog pedal in front of the unit which really increases vesatility.The final recorded sound is very analogue like...
I have a collection of these boss series gt pedals. GT3,GT5,GT6 and the GT8. I have some ME series ME 20, ME 50,ME 70 and ME80. And then the rack versions Roland GP8 and GP16
Which do you like best? I've got a boss br-864 that I just started exploring for it's more peculiar effects, and think it might compare to some ME models I've seen demos of, but curious which have a clear sound quality and which have strong variety and flexibility of sounds (synths and bass simulation and maybe chaining multiple modulations seem to be what I'm drawn to).
I haven't played many of the recent Helix or Boss models, but I think the GT-5 would still be strong competition for them, and I'd be even more confident that it'd beat them in the 'pure fun' stakes :)
Absolutely, I think it has a completely different personality to the GT-3. It's less acrobatic and more professional-sounding. It's also more deeply-programmable - almost too deep - and I think it's possibly Boss's best MFXs ever. The GT-5 probably wouldn't make the top 5, imho :)
I owned both currently just the GT3, I actually thought the GT3 was meant to be better, better converters, proper heavy duty screw secured metal jack lead sockets. I didn't think the GT5 sounded more professional or analogue than the GT3, absolutely NOT... Probably the other way around.
Hi, I'm wondering if anyone can tell me about the GT-5's Looper function? I want to get a loop pedal but I thought it could be more practical to get a multi-effects pedal that has a Looper built-in. However, I can't find details on this. For example, Loop pedals seem to often have 10+ minutes of recording capacity, sometimes multiple channels, etc. What can the GT-5 do? I want to be able to, for example, easily record a whole song and then play over it. Thanks!
I'm somewhat limited to use a few patches in the Manual mode only. There are very good patches on this video with the Pan effect and using the C footswitch to rise the pitch of ring mod or other effects, that's interesting. I remember years ago, i assigned the Pitch shifter and the wah at the same time on the expression pedal to make the sound of a cat, is not useful but very realistic.
I toured and did studio sessions with this same unit for years. It's a tank and took a beating on the road. I never had any issues with noise whether playing large venues or smaller clubs that tend to cause noise due to wiring issues, etc. The only reason I gave it up is because it became too heavy in my carry -on bag when packed with my belongings for overnight flights for gigs. It is absolutely silent!
I am new to the guitar world, been thinking about getting my first pedal. Was gonna just get a singular pedal but after seeing this video I feel like this would be more bang for my buck and there is one at my local pawn shop. Would you recommend this over a singular pedal? It is priced at 150 at the pawn shop is this a good deal?
It’s a good deal in my opinion, but just be aware it’s complicated to operate. Not saying you couldn’t do it, but for some people a complex machine can kind of kill the enjoyment of playing guitar. Personally I started with a cheap Zoom pedal. Simple, very cheap and a good appetizer for future purchases :) Final thought: if you didn’t like the Boss GT3 you have no trouble re-selling for that price :)
@@gearfacts thanks for the reply dude, I picked it up and am annoying my lady with synth squawking. I'll be figuring it out for awhile to come but the presets are fun enough to keep me going awhile. Keep on rockin!
You've got to open it up and do a bit of soldering. If you're not confident with that, a technician wouldn't charge too much (unless they're dishonest! It'd be a $5 part and 15 minutes of work for a tech.)
I've owned one of these for a long time. I use it every week. In manual mode, as individual stomp boxes. As such, I almost never go through the patches anymore. There are some shortcomings. The main one being how the volume isn't equal from patch to patch. That can be very annoying in a live setting. I was in a Boss Gt-3/GT-5 user group, years ago. Some members of the group came up with a more "usable" manual than that which came with the device. It helped quite a bit. Yeah, having tons of choices is fun, but you will find the volume drop from a 5150 patch to a Blues patch quite dramatic...and not so toneful. You can try to save your favorites to user banks, and then attempt to equalize the sounds. I never had much success with that. Maybe you will. It just sounds like you're completely swapping your rig, from moment to moment. I'm not sure if that's exactly how to describe it, but it feels that way to me. For setting up your own patches: The first thing to do is setup a bare patch, which is then saved and never deleted. This is your patch to create ALL your user patches from. That way, the bare essentials are all equal in all of your patches. From there, you add effects as desired. Keep in mind that each effect can also have a volume control, it can take some practice to get it together. Take it easy on the rotary knob. That's usually the first thing to go, because people DON'T take it easy on that knob. As I said: You can attempt to equalize volume on all your favorite patches, but it's just not as easy as it would seem to be. At this point, I just use flange, distortion, echo, wah, and chorus on it, on one patch, in manual mode, running through a Blues Jr. The B pedal brings up the tuner. I do have other setups, with different effects in them, but I usually just use that one. Oh, that reminds me of another thing. Your guitar volume must be full up to use the tuner. Obviously, not very handy to tune up during a gig - unless you unplug it from the amp, or place your amp in standby - if it has that feature. It does get some cool sounds, and has some wild effects. Are YOU going to use them in a gig? I don't. Maybe you will, lol
That's why you create your own patches and not use demo patches. The beauty of processors is that you can create the exact sound in your head, for each song you are playing. A lot of people just use the demo factory presets and then complain why the volume is jumping. Factory sounds' primary goal is to demonstrate all the bells an whistles, especially back then when these units were unheard-of.
I've got this, the GT3 and ME8, all with analog overdrive, distortion etc. It gives it that authentic feel and tone of real amps. But the fx - like you've perfectly demonstrated, is where this unit shines. A must however is an IR cab sim. Your original videos on these inspired me to go old school and I will never get rid of them.
Thanks Hummer, I'm "Hum"bled ;)
Still use mine to get the most out of my tube amps for almost daily gigging. It sounds so good. And very powerful.
An absolute classic. I have a couple of GT-3 aswell. The versatility of the GT-3 and GT-5 are severly slept on.
Got a new Zoom G6 recently. Great pedal in its own right, but further proof that guitar effects really haven't changed in years. Amp models have improved a bit I guess.
I was thinking about selling mine, and searches led me to this video. I think I might keep it now.
It's great for the creative guitarist who wants to be different :)
Thanks for making this video.I have just re-purchased a GT5 when i listened to an old demo i made 10 years ago and realised how good it sounded.My pal Jerry Stevenson (chris Rea barbera dickson,be sharp and many others)recorded an entire album slaves to the rhythm on a GT5 .I have always maintained it was his best recorded sound ever..
Wow that's some pretty high praise right there. What kind of guitar was he playing?
Wowsers TRIPPY MAN🎸☮️🎸Todays designer fun! And this I’d be lost for the weekend! Lol! Thanks buddy! Rock on!
Great comment, glad you enjoyed the vid!
Thanks so much for your reviews of this incredible unit. Based on your review I was lucky enough to score one just today, well used but in good condition (only missing the knob for the output control) and after just a quick blast, I can see why you rate it so highly. The huge range of astonishing presets is mind blowing, the number, range and quality of individual effects likewise. My very first multi fx box was an old Boss ME-5, great for what I needed at the time, and built like a tank. I've since upgraded to an ME-80, a great unit itself, but this one is a whole other level of amazing. Typical of Boss's intuitive control layout, I was into it and chugging through the banks of presets in no time. It'll take many hours to explore everything it can do but I'd already rate it pretty confidently as one of the best multi-effects units I've ever used and I'm dying to see what happens when I whack my new Behringer Poly D through some of these effects. Thanks again, your review totally sold me on this vintage classic and I'm thrilled with it.
I agree with all your comments here - it's pretty astounding for its vintage. And it's got depth that will give a player new discoveries for years. Thanks for watching my video, I'm glad it was helpful!
A hundred percent in agreement with you sir. There's not a day goes past that I regret selling it. It's also built like a tank I love them. Great stuff 8)
And no power adapter hanging off it!
Just got my gt5,thnx for this
A friend of mine gifted me one of this little tanks. It's my first step into this world. I want a Boss GX 100 in the future but I think this unit is pretty good!
same me too until now still use gt5.......cool sound....old school
The ease of use and the versatility of this board is still in many ways unmatched by todays units, this board is absurdly easy to program and it's literally like having a large portion of all of the old BOSS stompboxes in one unit, I own a huge pedal board that I built myself that's almost 4ft wide by 3 deep, filled to the brim with analog stomp boxes all running in and out of a POD X3 Live front input and effects chain, I still find myself using the GT-5 often for anything from guitar work, bass and even synthesizers, it's still one of my favorite effects units that I own and I doubt I will ever get rid of it or my ADA-MP1 for that matter, this board is incredibly slept on imho and anyone can literally pick one up and fly through programming it the very first time they use it!
I agree with all those statements :)
Im still use this effect guitar.....love sound analog from this effect
I had the GT-3 (the little brother to the GT-5) and I thought is sounded amazing. But it was too much for me to carry back and forth to church so I sold it. Ironically now am using a Roland VG-88 which is even bigger than the GT-3.
How much is analog in this units?
OD/DS ?
Or is it everything, apart from the digital interface of the unit?
OD/DS is analog all others digital BUT it sounds far warmer than any digital unit i have heard.I think the amps in my AA12 are much better(boss cleans and fender twin excellent) but you can use any analog pedal in front of the unit which really increases vesatility.The final recorded sound is very analogue like...
Just the drives as far as I know
I have a collection of these boss series gt pedals. GT3,GT5,GT6 and the GT8. I have some ME series ME 20, ME 50,ME 70 and ME80. And then the rack versions Roland GP8 and GP16
I used to collect multi effects units too :) Eventually had to sell them, it was getting out of control.
Which do you like best? I've got a boss br-864 that I just started exploring for it's more peculiar effects, and think it might compare to some ME models I've seen demos of, but curious which have a clear sound quality and which have strong variety and flexibility of sounds (synths and bass simulation and maybe chaining multiple modulations seem to be what I'm drawn to).
I bought a new GT5 back in about 1997 for $1500 Aussie dollars. I need to pull it out of the closet and revisit it, owing to your video. Thanks mate.
I haven't played many of the recent Helix or Boss models, but I think the GT-5 would still be strong competition for them, and I'd be even more confident that it'd beat them in the 'pure fun' stakes :)
That patch at 3mins in is amazing, do you still have the GT5? Do you know what patch that is?
Ooooh it's from way too long ago sorry! It was one of the presets though, I'm pretty sure of that.
Can you tell a difference vs GT3? Great video!
I was looking at this to get some of the 80's guitar synth sounds with great Boss pedal sounds
Absolutely, I think it has a completely different personality to the GT-3. It's less acrobatic and more professional-sounding. It's also more deeply-programmable - almost too deep - and I think it's possibly Boss's best MFXs ever. The GT-5 probably wouldn't make the top 5, imho :)
@@gearfactscool. I thought they were similar, just videos and reading. Thanks
@@johncecilia4517 And their appearance - you would think so, right!
I owned both currently just the GT3, I actually thought the GT3 was meant to be better, better converters, proper heavy duty screw secured metal jack lead sockets. I didn't think the GT5 sounded more professional or analogue than the GT3, absolutely NOT... Probably the other way around.
@@mikethebloodthirsty Does the GT3 have any effects that the 5 doesn't?
Hi, I'm wondering if anyone can tell me about the GT-5's Looper function? I want to get a loop pedal but I thought it could be more practical to get a multi-effects pedal that has a Looper built-in. However, I can't find details on this. For example, Loop pedals seem to often have 10+ minutes of recording capacity, sometimes multiple channels, etc. What can the GT-5 do? I want to be able to, for example, easily record a whole song and then play over it. Thanks!
I didn't think the GT-5 even had a looper. I could be wrong...?
@@gearfacts it has
Its actually a misnomer. The device just has a LOOP out and back in from an external effect device/ amp.
I use GT-5 and GT-3 since around ten years, but lately i've started to trying to give some glitch effects, and is very capable!
I'm somewhat limited to use a few patches in the Manual mode only. There are very good patches on this video with the Pan effect and using the C footswitch to rise the pitch of ring mod or other effects, that's interesting.
I remember years ago, i assigned the Pitch shifter and the wah at the same time on the expression pedal to make the sound of a cat, is not useful but very realistic.
I love sounds like that! Doesn't have to be usable to be great fun :)
purchased one for almost nothing, plugged in a tube amp it is really good
Bargain :)
I toured and did studio sessions with this same unit for years. It's a tank and took a beating on the road. I never had any issues with noise whether playing large venues or smaller clubs that tend to cause noise due to wiring issues, etc.
The only reason I gave it up is because it became too heavy in my carry -on bag when packed with my belongings for overnight flights for gigs.
It is absolutely silent!
Yep, the GT5 had genuine class in a market that rapidly became very over-saturated :)
Can you share which preset are you playing in minute 7:45 pm is it factory or did you make it ?
Hi there, this video is so old I doubt I'd remember to be honest. I'll have a listen though and if it sounds familiar I'll get back to you on that!
@@gearfacts that would be great thx
Have you tried connecting this to an IR Cab sim?
No sorry.
I am new to the guitar world, been thinking about getting my first pedal. Was gonna just get a singular pedal but after seeing this video I feel like this would be more bang for my buck and there is one at my local pawn shop. Would you recommend this over a singular pedal? It is priced at 150 at the pawn shop is this a good deal?
It’s a good deal in my
opinion, but just be aware it’s complicated to operate. Not saying you couldn’t do it, but for some people a complex machine can kind of kill the enjoyment of playing guitar. Personally I started with a cheap Zoom pedal. Simple, very cheap and a good appetizer for future purchases :) Final thought: if you didn’t like the Boss GT3 you have no trouble re-selling for that price :)
@@gearfacts thanks for the reply dude, I picked it up and am annoying my lady with synth squawking. I'll be figuring it out for awhile to come but the presets are fun enough to keep me going awhile. Keep on rockin!
@@steveburg3381 Great! You've got a timeless classic there :)
Anyone know how to fix a dodgy input on one of these?
You've got to open it up and do a bit of soldering. If you're not confident with that, a technician wouldn't charge too much (unless they're dishonest! It'd be a $5 part and 15 minutes of work for a tech.)
I've owned one of these for a long time. I use it every week. In manual mode, as individual stomp boxes. As such, I almost never go through the patches anymore.
There are some shortcomings. The main one being how the volume isn't equal from patch to patch. That can be very annoying in a live setting. I was in a Boss Gt-3/GT-5 user group, years ago. Some members of the group came up with a more "usable" manual than that which came with the device. It helped quite a bit.
Yeah, having tons of choices is fun, but you will find the volume drop from a 5150 patch to a Blues patch quite dramatic...and not so toneful. You can try to save your favorites to user banks, and then attempt to equalize the sounds. I never had much success with that. Maybe you will. It just sounds like you're completely swapping your rig, from moment to moment. I'm not sure if that's exactly how to describe it, but it feels that way to me.
For setting up your own patches:
The first thing to do is setup a bare patch, which is then saved and never deleted. This is your patch to create ALL your user patches from. That way, the bare essentials are all equal in all of your patches. From there, you add effects as desired. Keep in mind that each effect can also have a volume control, it can take some practice to get it together.
Take it easy on the rotary knob. That's usually the first thing to go, because people DON'T take it easy on that knob.
As I said: You can attempt to equalize volume on all your favorite patches, but it's just not as easy as it would seem to be.
At this point, I just use flange, distortion, echo, wah, and chorus on it, on one patch, in manual mode, running through a Blues Jr. The B pedal brings up the tuner.
I do have other setups, with different effects in them, but I usually just use that one.
Oh, that reminds me of another thing. Your guitar volume must be full up to use the tuner. Obviously, not very handy to tune up during a gig - unless you unplug it from the amp, or place your amp in standby - if it has that feature.
It does get some cool sounds, and has some wild effects. Are YOU going to use them in a gig? I don't. Maybe you will, lol
I love the crazy effects. They give me feels. But yes, they won't generally work in the context of a song!
That's why you create your own patches and not use demo patches. The beauty of processors is that you can create the exact sound in your head, for each song you are playing. A lot of people just use the demo factory presets and then complain why the volume is jumping. Factory sounds' primary goal is to demonstrate all the bells an whistles, especially back then when these units were unheard-of.
Downfall is _ have to have an effect on all the time / theres no clean or bypass _ so mines binned
Sold, I would hope!
The drive section sounds bad
No it doesn't :) Hope that helps!
1st.
You like it?
@@gearfacts BOSS has cool effects!