"Catastrophizing": When the G Force reverb is so hollow the anxiety it induces causes an existential crisis prompting you to work through your cognitive behavior therapy process. :)
@@LeonTodd So that is why there is a thing called a rack system in order to glean the best that technology has to offer. Slap a PCM 70 in there and call it a day for reverbs! Delays? 2290's are the go to for that! I know this review was for the G-Force. It's a great unit and does well but there's never going to be a box that does it all super well IMO. Thanks for the review though Todd. BTW I have the G-Force and G Major 2 as well as a PCM 70 & 2290. LOL They all have their place!
I used a G-Force for years. Sounds great and I still have it for that reason. Light weight, one rack space. Nice billboard display. Easy to see. Easy tuning and tempo.
This has been the secret to Mark Tremonti's clean tones from 1998-2008 or so when he used the pair of Fender Twins, it's all over Creed's Human Clay album and Alter Bridge's live releases.
Love my gforce. Even with the light broken on the screen and damn near impossible to see. Maybe coz its familiar to me. Who knows. I pretty much run the same 4 effects the same way as youve done leon in a wet dry wet config with my triaxis and 2:90. I can get the most ridiculously layered and produced tones this way. Virtually no need for double tracking or post effects and eq. Its f...ing unreal. It probably helps that im a huge fan of the mid to late 80s guitar tones.
...same set-up here, G-Force + TriAxis + Simul 2:Ninety (+ a pair of RoadReady 1 x 12" Theile cabs. and a Rocktron All-Access footcontroller), those were the days! I'm a Fractal Audio cat these days, I'll NEVER get rid of the above detailed rig though...NEVER!
i loved my g-force. went deep into that thing. very deep. doesn't sound the best, but the routing flexibility was kinda revolutionary at the time and lets you make some really original sounds. they did a great job with the UI as well. the pitch shifter does some pretty wacky things when the feedback is turned up high and it was one of my signature sounds for a while. you always do a great job breaking down these rack units....being able to see the front panel in a split screen is great. btw, if you see a lexicon MPX-1 for a decent price grab it, the reverbs are gorgeous.
Big time, it's so familiar after being used to the Axe. I ordered an MPX-1 from Reverb a while back and it never showed up, but in the meantime a friend hooked one up for me. Totally agree about the verbs, and being able to put effects on the delay feedback loop is really fun. An MPX-1 with the G-Force UI would have been awesome.
@@LeonTodd yeah, the mpx-1 is a total headache to edit, but it's lovely and sounds so different to the g-force, it's worth having both. i used mine purely for loop treatments.
I have an mpx, and honestly never go into the editing. Its so cumbersome but does sound lovely. Should i get a g force or something else? I have a quadraverb2 and its actually really nice, also got a boss sx700 which is also good. Less majestic though but i need a new unit for a new travel studio. Thought about lxp 15 but not sure??
I still have my G-Force. I've gigged with it for many years in the past, hooked up to a Triaxis and 2:90. The box was well ticked with the sounds I could get. Today though, things have moved on, particularly with convolution reverbs etc - especially in software format for home/studio recording.
Just scored a super mint one. Only need to change the battery. The reverb is absolutely usable for my needs. Haven't A/B'ed the conversion yet, people online are saying it isn't great. I've just used it straight through: ADA MP-1 -> G-Force -> Matrix Power amp. I love the interface and feature set on the G-Force, I can do pretty much whatever I want to do with it. It's staying!
@@LeonTodd If I get the right soft case for it, it's even small enough to be carry-on luggage on the plane! Edit: the weight is of course too much for carry on 😔
Certainly one of the most flexible effects ever: if it had had better quality converters and a program to connect it to the computer to edit programs it would have been one of the best-selling boxes ever. I really like chorus, filters (speaker filter can be used to simulate a closed back cabinet) and the noise gate. I have been using the same parallel preset for years along with my BBE. The reverb is not super high quality but it's OK. The parametric EQ and wha are a plus.
@@edb705 Yeah, unfortunately never owned a Gforce, would like to see the 2 contemporaries duke it out in a vid ...but from what I'm hearing, I don't need it Got an Intellifex Online, GSP1101, MPX-G2 (and a Marshall JFX somewhere, that needs a new bios battery) that can handle everything and more A Gforce would not add anything to that
Such a coincidence you posted this. I just pulled an EQ unit and a BBE422A out of my rack case because the were having issues. They were only used in my backup rig which is a 5150 block letter head and cab. I was contemplating between just using my main pedalboard, putting together a smaller second pedalboard or grabbing a moderately priced rack unit for some multi effects since I had the spaces open up. I was looking at the g major and g major 2 as I’ve heard they play well with the 5150. This video was very useful for me. Thanks for posting!
I was and still am obsessed with this unit....this replaced my Tubefex...The battery Leaked and I cant find anyone to repair it...still to this day.....waiting to revive this thing....But the Gforce is NIce@@@ .
I'd had a chat with Pete Melandrone, back in 2008.He confirmed that Brian May had a unit on stage for the Queen+ Paul Rodgers tour. Its most prominent use had been the "Chinese Torture(+Brighton Rock)" track from the aforementioned tour live DVD. I was thinking about the unit already. I bought it on next day...
I have the true OG, G Major 1, still love the quality of effects I would be using it for reverb alone if it wasn’t a full size rack and so inconvenient to use when trying to incorporate into a modeling rig
It’s awesome! This was the first thing Vai used when he ditched his big ass racks. I got mine when they were still $1000. I walked into Sam Ash and saw it in a rack, they had it listed as a G-Major and were selling it for $500. Best impulse purchase I’ve ever made. I’ll never sell that thing!
I remember I still bought this before the Euro currency was introduced, I believe in 96, for around 2600 $ 😂 Still using it today, with the ART X15 Ultrafoot I got back then. No planned obsolescence, no Chinese junk
I got a G Force with the Steve Vai/ Eric Johnson and others artist card from reverb early 2020 for $400. I got a Line 6 Helix right after that and have not even messed with the GForce any more. I may try to run it in an effects loop with the Helix and see if they like one another. 🤔
Hi Leon another great demo, but could you please do a demo with your Boogie power amp Triaxis pre-amp and an effects processor rather than using the Axe- fx that you seem to use for these rack effects. I’m asking as I use the Boogie, Triaxis and the Gmajor 2?
I think the Eventide and Lexicon snobs (maybe that's me) don't find the later TC family hard enough to program, so it can't sound good, can it? My D-Two delay is killer from that linage - and my elderly parents could program it. Try that with my Korg DL8000r.....
What a comment! If you can't hear what others can... that's your problem. Sound has nothing to do with UI nor anybody is interested in how much pain vs gain is in programming these things. When something sounds good, REALLY GOOD, it stays in demand, big one too and for high prices, no matter its UI and what not. G-Forces go by 5 peanuts for a dozen...an H3000 goes for crazy money. Get both... spend a few months with them... then come back!
@@italoop7850 That must be one sturdy soapbox you've been standing on now for years. Give it a rest.....people came around to Leon's page for a bit of fun.
Used to play a lexicon lxp 5,and a rocktron intelifex, so when this came out, it sounded so much better and easier to program!!! The problem though it's not the reverb, you can tweak that, but the lack of shimmer effects and stuff... Every time you trying to create sounds like that, the pitch feedback gets really dirty, so you just can't get any polyphonic sounds. Another problem is that it can't save two octaves up in pitch shifting...still in my rack :) ("I also had mpx1 and mpx g2," they had great sounds in them but, you had to be an astronaut to program your own patch)
I have an old single channel no-eq DIY tube amp that has a cool, albeit extremely raw sound. I plan to use it with an attenuator and the guitar volume pot, BUT, the amp needs heavy EQing on multiple bands, some smoothing out with a compressor and maybe a lil bit of chorus. Do you think the G Force will work in this context? How effective is its EQ? Thank you.
I just reactivated mine (from 1996) today for hopefully many live shows to come. If I remember correctly, it has a parametric EQ, a good compressor (you get the knee diagram which I muss in all my software plugins) and the Chorus is top of the line anyway. I’ll check it out tomorrow, since I know way more about that stuff these days than back then when I was actively using it
Todd im still using my gmajor to control my Marshall channels and effects with a midi mate. There are ALOt of us that wont give up our Gmajor for anything. Well..maybe a Fx3.. :) got one ?
I’m looking for a multifx rack, I’ve found a Axe Ultra and a G Force at the same price. I need delays , mods and revs. Which one is the best solution for my analogue setup. No need amp modelling, just great ambient effects.
Hi Leon, I have a question? i see that the output signal is a mono signal, i use a marshall JMP1 and the G-force but i use both outputs (stereo). Is there a reason why you use only the mono output? kind regards Marc
I imagine people used these for basic mono chorus/delay sounds in the fx loop of a guitar amp so that would make it easy. Stereo is where it's at though!
I bought a G Force with an expansion card thrown in about 8 years ago, it sounds fantastic. The G Force has been in my studio rack ever since. It has a lush chorus and clarity in the delay. It was the TC flagship for a reason. As for the reverb … in the studio I use a plug-in, or a Lexicon in post for consistency anyway. I do not use the rack live and even if I did… I don’t use any reverb on guitar live as the halls and theatres provide it anyway, I found dry to be best. So for me the reverb complaints are no issue either way. No rack does it all, each specialises in something.
TC stuff has always (mostly) had that "clinical" sound to me, a bit weird and I'm more of that colored vibe guy. I can totally see why people would get this, around the time rack stuff on guitars was phasing out and TC produced a reasonably affordable and versatile unit.
Why am I getting a nasty lag on my G Force? on some settings i hit the string and the sound doesn't come out until a second later or so, whats up with it any ideas? cheers.
I had one a long time ago, played a lot and never found what I was looking for in this box. Sold it, and will never buy another one. I'm so happy with analog gear.
Still have mine, love the detune (the fixed detune, pretty close to a H3000) and the delay is transparent, a bit too pristine IMO I prefer my lexicon mpx 500 which is more soft to my ears
That is the grandad of the AxeFx. I remember seeing a few years ago that Steve Vai had one with a midi controller if my memory is correct. Sonic maximize is cool.. JMP1 is too cool too.. You have the best rack videos sir. The best. Be safe my friend.
Hey Leon, so if not being able to modulate delays is considered a big deal, would you just route (say) a BBD-320 after the G-Force, then stick a reverb after the BBD? Then only switch in the BBD as required or would that mess with the G-Force too much?
I’m still rocking my G major with triaxis/2:90/Mesa 5-band EQ into a road king 2x12. Sounds amazing IMO, love my G major! Been following your channel for a few months and only now just realised that we live in the same city. I just assumed you were east coast. 🤘🏽 keep up the good work man.
Since i'm almost deaf i use it on two jtm 45 fullstacks in stereo. All knobs on eleven.... Little joke. In fact i run the output into two pieces of torpedowhatever loadboxes. Sound clean eypecially lovely using my two old fender super reverbs but not 4×10 version but 12 inch jbl speakers. They came that way. 4x10 is my dads one. Blows me away everytime i run it, unfortunenately i couldnt find a second one from the same time my dads one had been built.. Would love to have a second one for stereo 8x10 sound. Until then my 2 fullstacks will have to do the job. Funfact, i bought all my stuff dirtcheap. I bought it when new things came out and it was regarded to be absolutely outdated, far to loud and "not modern and suitable anymore". Folks, buy stuff nobody wants anylonger, pack it 2 decades away, have it serviced, i do that part myself cause i can. When i was young, tubes had became outdated. That didn't stop me from loving the sound those things produce... Keep on keepin on folks.❤
Nice video and playing. And your tones are good to me. I have a mint G-Force that I’ve neglected and never really used. This video is gonna make me want to blow the dust off it!
I always wanted a g major when I was a kid and obsessed with rack gear. I have an axe fx 3 now which mostly takes care of everything but I do miss analog setups as well. Might be time for a revv generator 120 mk3🤤
There’s an inherent digital type of smear on or just after all of the notes played that just really sounds unmusical to my ears. Early versions of AXEFX were guilty of a similar type of sound but have since resolved it in the updates and hardware upgrades. I used to want a Gforce as an avid gmajor user when I was much younger, but now I just can’t get over the alias type of sound.
Yeah I was a G Major user who always lusted over this, and I can see why people would have been disappointed "upgrading" when you gain routing options but lose stuff like relay switching. Mixers always help but if you want to keep your rack small that ends up being counter-productive.
👍❤TC ELECTRONICS......my favorite rack gear company , by far ( plus MARSHALL JMP-1🇬🇧 )!!!!!!!......if u really know how to tweek & trick it out.....has the best natural harmonic tone etc... improvements ....2 your rigs whole sound & feel......
I like the Tone of GForce, Even the Reverbs... and your playing is superb. I like the way you present the products you choose, and it’s been a great hjelp for me when digging into Axe Fx III and FM3. Thanks for exelent performance and reasearch🎸☺️
Very good sounding, the chorus, the flanger, the delay, the pitch shifting and the reverb is ok, it gets the job done. For the tone snobs, I don't understand why should everything be "vintage" sounding, or emulating an analog effect. I like this unit's pristine sounding effects, they don't get in the way of your playing and they suit a lot of playing styles and genres because they're not associated with a particular sound (like saying that it sounds like an MXR Flanger so you sound like E.V.H.). You should keep it and test it with the Soldano or a Marshall and this in the fx loop. You can gig and have all the effects you want. For example this guy from Marshall Germany: ua-cam.com/video/KRXnP6K1-eA/v-deo.html
Lard Much?? Ahh the mighty G-force from the time when TC Electronic was truly great. I wanted one of these so bad back then. They were obviously everywhere in Denmark (TC was Danish), but I never tried one. I had no idea that it had so many similarities with the AxeFX - Many of the FX types are even called the same. I still think, it sounds great. I wish you had gone all in on recreating the 2290 delay. I am sure, it is in there :) Loved it
I kept thinking about TC when we played in Denmark. Like "woah so this is where some of my favourite effects came to life! Also, finally some good coffee!"
Now it seems that rack gear is sorta becoming cool again so it's starting to go up in price again...Should of invested in it but noooo I needed stage drives and delay pedals when I really could of just gone Steve Vai with my rig and had just as much fun
The cool stuff this does (modifiers, routing grid) are all massively expanded on an Axe-Fx, especially the latest gen. It is a fun unit with some good presets though.
Back in the day 2000ish, i really2 want all this g series...especially the g system, it looks cool at that time...but now ill stick with lil pedal because cramped space in my house 😩😩😩
I lov what your doing bro... I have an SRV 2000 (picked it up here in Japan for 40 dollars, 2 SDE 2500's i bought for 80 dollars each... Two PCM80's and a PCM90 for 400 each , but had to have them shipped here from the US.(just the lexi's). and paid tax lol... I want an H3000 SE but the prices on line are so rediculious ... I dont understand why ANYBODY would pay more than 500 dollars for an H3000 ... its 20 years old and if it breaks... all you have is a paper weight that looks cool..... last time i was in the music store I saw 3 SPX90's for 35 dollars a piece
If your looking to buy an H3000... the one to buy is the brown face SE vesion... if it has yellow buttons and just says H3000, its garbage, that was the first model.... i see people asking 2k for those on reverb.... the one with the blue face marked "S" was the scaled down version of the SE that Steve Vai endorsed in the 80's ... dont buy that one either..... if you want a H3000 .. find an SE and offer 500 dollars... its not worth more.... The only thing its good for is the VH microshift... you can not get that sound with an Eclypse but you can get it with am H9.... P.S. bro...if you are interested in old Japanese gear... call me... If you want something ... I will pick it up for you I will not charge you any more than it cost to buy it and ship it to you... Japanese made gear is really cheap in Japan... I bought my JEM 7VWH brand new at a local music store for 1800 dollars... everybody in America is paying 3k only because of trade tariffs ... anyway... sorry for the rant... Ive been a roadie for everyone from Brittney Spears to Guns n Roses over the last 20 years and im sitting at home so bored right now... on a side note... your accent reminds me of Australia... i hope if your not from there i didnt offend you.... I spent quite a lot of time there with a girlfriend in Smithfield... near Parmatta ... Jenolan caves, the Blue mountains, watching the sugar fields burning at night.... Evens head.... Byron,,,, ballina Watamala beach... minion falls... it was amazing.... sorry for my spelling... take care mate!
All these "tc group" era products have the same kinda cold behringer-ish tone, and a slightly flimsy build quality. Very different story to their industrial-grade 1980s digital delays.
The original G-Major had horrid build quality, from my experience. My dad had one (he might still have it) and the edit knob broke off. Luckily for him, he only used one preset and he left it on all the time. G-Force was their flagship processor before the G-System...it seemed to be in every pro's rack during those years. If it was good enough for Lifeson, Vai, and Petrucci, then it should be good enough for anyone.
Worst unit ever! Just plug into an amp that doesn’t have FX level on back. When the unit is active, your guitar volume will be reduced by G Force. When you turn off the FX Loop, the volume level will back to normal. All other TC units has the same problem except TC2290. - There are tons of discussion on forums. I also have the same issue.
Exactly! Fractal stole the G-Force interface and Eventide algorithms! Now... don't you hear how thin the G-Force sounds? Just compare this video with the others you have done, PCM, Eclipse, SRV, you will hear how no *force* never was in the G-Force! People slam things for a reason... you don't have to change the world, just understand why rightfully the G-Force has a deserved bad reputation about several points. The converters are really bad! No character at all... this is one of the first unit giving up a properly designed input section. Thus the poor tone it has. The more efx you crumble in a preset the worst it sounds as an underpowered hardware was used where a much better one should have been in place. Reverb is a total joke! You can tweak it for days and it sounds bad, dimensionless, poor in spread, tonally dumb with plenty of boominess and frequencies not belonging to the source being fed to it, building up in its internal delays in a catastrophic way. Listen!!! A Quadraverb kills it right away... and it was never much of a reverb really. Underpowered DSP which forced coding to almost ALL fx being mono in/stereo out... which is wrong when you string stereo fx. I have never read "it's not a 2290" as its criticism. Look Todd, you are a cool kid but you need to know a lot of things before doing these videos and only do them when you know very well what you are trying to show. A few hours with a machine don't give you the idea of what it really is... it takes way more time and experience with any piece. What you don't know is that a TC2290 is NOT an algorithmic machine, while the G-Crap is. Do you understand the difference? Another important detail you don't know... TC Electronic, no matter the fact you read that on both units front panels, is truly two completely different companies... one, the original which never failed a product, made the 2290... the other, which made the G_force, failed several ones. Ask yourself a simple question... WHY people still pay big bucks to have a 2290 or 1210 or 1140 in their systems and studios and don't give a flying crap to own a G-Force? That will tell you the fact, the honest truth. Last but not least... PLEASE use a real amp when you do these videos. Your tone is thin and disturbing to the ear, with weird harmonics. Use one of those cool amps you show in that room and you'll hear a huge difference, way more pleasant. You Tube doesn't like digital amps as it reveals their issues more than people has ever noticed or understood!
You make a great point about continued use in high-end environments being the mark of a truly great piece of gear. How do you like the Lexicon MPX-1? I just got one and the "add effects to the delay feedback path" is my favourite feature so far.
Italoop comes across as a down talking know it all A-hole that has nothing good to say about anything. If top pro guitar players used the G-Force and it’s heard on professional recordings, it kinda makes him look like a disgruntled TC employee out to slander and full of anger. Dude, get a life and try to be nice to people, not demeaning. The G-Force is a really good unit and powerful.
@@italoop7850 And your down talking is there again. Must be a personality defect. My ears are fine. It’s a good unit. Definitely doesn’t need ‘your’ bad rap rappin. Take a Xanax. 😂
"Catastrophizing": When the G Force reverb is so hollow the anxiety it induces causes an existential crisis prompting you to work through your cognitive behavior therapy process. :)
THIS
@@LeonTodd So that is why there is a thing called a rack system in order to glean the best that technology has to offer. Slap a PCM 70 in there and call it a day for reverbs! Delays? 2290's are the go to for that! I know this review was for the G-Force. It's a great unit and does well but there's never going to be a box that does it all super well IMO. Thanks for the review though Todd. BTW I have the G-Force and G Major 2 as well as a PCM 70 & 2290. LOL They all have their place!
Buy a Lexicon for the reverbs! 😀
I used a G-Force for years. Sounds great and I still have it for that reason. Light weight, one rack space. Nice billboard display. Easy to see. Easy tuning and tempo.
This has been the secret to Mark Tremonti's clean tones from 1998-2008 or so when he used the pair of Fender Twins, it's all over Creed's Human Clay album and Alter Bridge's live releases.
Instant click and like... then I’m greeted with a Landau lick. What a glorious Monday!
Now we're all humming that "I'm Buzzed" riff!
The G-force is THE guitar multifx
If it was good enough for Billy Howerdel, it’s good enough for me.
I once asked him what he mostly used it for and said that mostly for clean delays.
APC always had massive guitar tones
Danke!
Love my gforce. Even with the light broken on the screen and damn near impossible to see. Maybe coz its familiar to me. Who knows. I pretty much run the same 4 effects the same way as youve done leon in a wet dry wet config with my triaxis and 2:90. I can get the most ridiculously layered and produced tones this way. Virtually no need for double tracking or post effects and eq. Its f...ing unreal. It probably helps that im a huge fan of the mid to late 80s guitar tones.
...same set-up here, G-Force + TriAxis + Simul 2:Ninety (+ a pair of RoadReady 1 x 12" Theile cabs. and a Rocktron All-Access footcontroller), those were the days! I'm a Fractal Audio cat these days, I'll NEVER get rid of the above detailed rig though...NEVER!
i loved my g-force. went deep into that thing. very deep. doesn't sound the best, but the routing flexibility was kinda revolutionary at the time and lets you make some really original sounds. they did a great job with the UI as well. the pitch shifter does some pretty wacky things when the feedback is turned up high and it was one of my signature sounds for a while. you always do a great job breaking down these rack units....being able to see the front panel in a split screen is great. btw, if you see a lexicon MPX-1 for a decent price grab it, the reverbs are gorgeous.
also, i think you can see where cliff got some of his ideas for the axe fx in the layout and modifier screens :)
Big time, it's so familiar after being used to the Axe. I ordered an MPX-1 from Reverb a while back and it never showed up, but in the meantime a friend hooked one up for me. Totally agree about the verbs, and being able to put effects on the delay feedback loop is really fun. An MPX-1 with the G-Force UI would have been awesome.
@@LeonTodd yeah, the mpx-1 is a total headache to edit, but it's lovely and sounds so different to the g-force, it's worth having both. i used mine purely for loop treatments.
I have an mpx, and honestly never go into the editing. Its so cumbersome but does sound lovely. Should i get a g force or something else? I have a quadraverb2 and its actually really nice, also got a boss sx700 which is also good. Less majestic though but i need a new unit for a new travel studio. Thought about lxp 15 but not sure??
I still have my G-Force. I've gigged with it for many years in the past, hooked up to a Triaxis and 2:90. The box was well ticked with the sounds I could get. Today though, things have moved on, particularly with convolution reverbs etc - especially in software format for home/studio recording.
Just scored a super mint one. Only need to change the battery. The reverb is absolutely usable for my needs. Haven't A/B'ed the conversion yet, people online are saying it isn't great. I've just used it straight through: ADA MP-1 -> G-Force -> Matrix Power amp. I love the interface and feature set on the G-Force, I can do pretty much whatever I want to do with it. It's staying!
Yeah the Reverb is fine - that's a super compact and powerful rig you have there!
@@LeonTodd If I get the right soft case for it, it's even small enough to be carry-on luggage on the plane!
Edit: the weight is of course too much for carry on 😔
I miss my rack setup, I probably used less cable back then compared to pedals.
I have a G Major 2 and it’s awesome. Got it for like $175. It sounds great and isn’t difficult at all to navigate the menu
I had the exact same rig with a recto cab and jcm900 as a power amp in the early 2000s!
Punch in the Lexicon circle delays settings into the TC .. it’s rather lovely
Certainly one of the most flexible effects ever: if it had had better quality converters and a program to connect it to the computer to edit programs it would have been one of the best-selling boxes ever. I really like chorus, filters (speaker filter can be used to simulate a closed back cabinet) and the noise gate. I have been using the same parallel preset for years along with my BBE. The reverb is not super high quality but it's OK. The parametric EQ and wha are a plus.
The problem with the g-force is the sound cut between each preset when you change it
That’s fkn terrible had mine and it does that , will have to move on from it lol
I don´t Understand why people don't like this reverb, it´s just fantastic
I'll take my MPX G2 reverbs over this any day
I'd say the quality on the GForce is about equal to my Intellifex, usable but not it's forte
Specoos I would love to see that!
I mean. A live comparation of both:D
@@edb705
Yeah, unfortunately never owned a Gforce, would like to see the 2 contemporaries duke it out in a vid
...but from what I'm hearing, I don't need it
Got an Intellifex Online, GSP1101, MPX-G2 (and a Marshall JFX somewhere, that needs a new bios battery) that can handle everything and more
A Gforce would not add anything to that
The flange + detune thing was glorious. I doubt these were designed to have the reverb be on its own, since it has all that stuff in it.
Such a coincidence you posted this. I just pulled an EQ unit and a BBE422A out of my rack case because the were having issues. They were only used in my backup rig which is a 5150 block letter head and cab.
I was contemplating between just using my main pedalboard, putting together a smaller second pedalboard or grabbing a moderately priced rack unit for some multi effects since I had the spaces open up.
I was looking at the g major and g major 2 as I’ve heard they play well with the 5150. This video was very useful for me. Thanks for posting!
The g major has replay switching and can control your amp channels too
I actually still run a G-Major and really love it!
I loved mine before it fell apart, really fun box
The phase thing is very cool. Really opens things up. Thx
I was and still am obsessed with this unit....this replaced my Tubefex...The battery Leaked and I cant find anyone to repair it...still to this day.....waiting to revive this thing....But the Gforce is NIce@@@
.
Do it mate!
I'd had a chat with Pete Melandrone, back in 2008.He confirmed that Brian May had a unit on stage for the Queen+ Paul Rodgers tour. Its most prominent use had been the "Chinese Torture(+Brighton Rock)" track from the aforementioned tour live DVD. I was thinking about the unit already. I bought it on next day...
I’ve had mine since 1998!!
1996 🤟🏻
I have the true OG, G Major 1, still love the quality of effects I would be using it for reverb alone if it wasn’t a full size rack and so inconvenient to use when trying to incorporate into a modeling rig
Thanks Leon you've made me want to get busy on mapping my very same tc rack gear thanks so much.
Have fun!
They sound great I have 2 of them
Ah the TC...love those old chaps. But I miss hearing that Soldano in the background. Need to give that snakeskin some love! 👍
It’s awesome! This was the first thing Vai used when he ditched his big ass racks. I got mine when they were still $1000. I walked into Sam Ash and saw it in a rack, they had it listed as a G-Major and were selling it for $500. Best impulse purchase I’ve ever made. I’ll never sell that thing!
OH niiiiice score. I've had a few moments like that over the years where stuff is mislabelled.
I remember I still bought this before the Euro currency was introduced, I believe in 96, for around 2600 $ 😂 Still using it today, with the ART X15 Ultrafoot I got back then. No planned obsolescence, no Chinese junk
I've had three rack units in my life,
TC2290
TC G-Force
AXEFX-III
Don't think I've done too badly
please, can you make a video, deeping in how to program g-force..also midi mapping! thx
This one has moved on unfortunately
I got a G Force with the Steve Vai/ Eric Johnson and others artist card from reverb early 2020 for $400. I got a Line 6 Helix right after that and have not even messed with the GForce any more. I may try to run it in an effects loop with the Helix and see if they like one another. 🤔
Thanks for the review!
Sound-wise/tone-wise, how would you compare this G-Force to the Rocktron Intellifex?
Does the G sharp's effects sound similar to this?
Hi Leon another great demo, but could you please do a demo with your Boogie power amp Triaxis pre-amp and an effects processor rather than using the Axe- fx that you seem to use for these rack effects. I’m asking as I use the Boogie, Triaxis and the Gmajor 2?
Hi Leon, i also use the G-force for many years, it's a fantastic processor. thx for your tutorial. grts Marc
I think the Eventide and Lexicon snobs (maybe that's me) don't find the later TC family hard enough to program, so it can't sound good, can it? My D-Two delay is killer from that linage - and my elderly parents could program it. Try that with my Korg DL8000r.....
Hahaha I'm sure that's part of it. "Back in my day we EARNED that chorus effect".
What a comment! If you can't hear what others can... that's your problem. Sound has nothing to do with UI nor anybody is interested in how much pain vs gain is in programming these things. When something sounds good, REALLY GOOD, it stays in demand, big one too and for high prices, no matter its UI and what not. G-Forces go by 5 peanuts for a dozen...an H3000 goes for crazy money.
Get both... spend a few months with them... then come back!
@@italoop7850 That must be one sturdy soapbox you've been standing on now for years. Give it a rest.....people came around to Leon's page for a bit of fun.
@@coalfacechris1336 Or use it to clean your ears and finally HEAR the difference!
@@italoop7850 I still love you, Italo.
that riff@ 9:14 is INSANE brother! :)
Used to play a lexicon lxp 5,and a rocktron intelifex, so when this came out, it sounded so much better and easier to program!!! The problem though it's not the reverb, you can tweak that, but the lack of shimmer effects and stuff... Every time you trying to create sounds like that, the pitch feedback gets really dirty, so you just can't get any polyphonic sounds. Another problem is that it can't save two octaves up in pitch shifting...still in my rack :) ("I also had mpx1 and mpx g2," they had great sounds in them but, you had to be an astronaut to program your own patch)
I have an old single channel no-eq DIY tube amp that has a cool, albeit extremely raw sound. I plan to use it with an attenuator and the guitar volume pot, BUT, the amp needs heavy EQing on multiple bands, some smoothing out with a compressor and maybe a lil bit of chorus. Do you think the G Force will work in this context? How effective is its EQ? Thank you.
Also, how does the G major compare? Tnx.
I just reactivated mine (from 1996) today for hopefully many live shows to come. If I remember correctly, it has a parametric EQ, a good compressor (you get the knee diagram which I muss in all my software plugins) and the Chorus is top of the line anyway. I’ll check it out tomorrow, since I know way more about that stuff these days than back then when I was actively using it
I wonder how this unit compares to the TC Electronic G Major 2?
I immediately knew what you started to play at the start. "Peg" by Steely Dan.
Todd im still using my gmajor to control my Marshall channels and effects with a midi mate. There are ALOt of us that wont give up our Gmajor for anything. Well..maybe a Fx3.. :) got one ?
Used to gig with one but it fell apart and stopped working. Still looking for one.
what´s your chain .. guitar to axe -fx and then mono output to TC and stereo out to soundcard ?
I’m looking for a multifx rack, I’ve found a Axe Ultra and a G Force at the same price.
I need delays , mods and revs.
Which one is the best solution for my analogue setup.
No need amp modelling, just great ambient effects.
Get the Axe
it's become my new favorite since it's hard to find a properly working Intellifex
Hi Leon, I have a question? i see that the output signal is a mono signal, i use a marshall JMP1 and the G-force but i use both outputs (stereo). Is there a reason why you use only the mono output? kind regards Marc
I imagine people used these for basic mono chorus/delay sounds in the fx loop of a guitar amp so that would make it easy. Stereo is where it's at though!
@@LeonTodd Thx Leon, grts Marc
I do own the unit and i love it for everything it can do although it might be outdated, so am i.
First! Hey Leon! I hope the TC comes out awesome. I loved their stuff. I have the G-System which I still use.
I bought a G Force with an expansion card thrown in about 8 years ago, it sounds fantastic.
The G Force has been in my studio rack ever since.
It has a lush chorus and clarity in the delay.
It was the TC flagship for a reason.
As for the reverb … in the studio I use a plug-in, or a Lexicon in post for consistency anyway.
I do not use the rack live and even if I did… I don’t use any reverb on guitar live as the halls and theatres provide it anyway, I found dry to be best.
So for me the reverb complaints are no issue either way.
No rack does it all, each specialises in something.
still waiting on a G-major 3 with an fx loop and analog distortion
TC stuff has always (mostly) had that "clinical" sound to me, a bit weird and I'm more of that colored vibe guy. I can totally see why people would get this, around the time rack stuff on guitars was phasing out and TC produced a reasonably affordable and versatile unit.
Can it be changed from LARD scrolling across the screen to something cooler?
Why am I getting a nasty lag on my G Force? on some settings i hit the string and the sound doesn't come out until a second later or so, whats up with it any ideas? cheers.
Maybe is the “killdry” on in the settings
I had one a long time ago, played a lot and never found what I was looking for in this box. Sold it, and will never buy another one. I'm so happy with analog gear.
Still have mine, love the detune (the fixed detune, pretty close to a H3000) and the delay is transparent, a bit too pristine IMO
I prefer my lexicon mpx 500 which is more soft to my ears
That is the grandad of the AxeFx. I remember seeing a few years ago that Steve Vai had one with a midi controller if my memory is correct.
Sonic maximize is cool..
JMP1 is too cool too..
You have the best rack videos sir. The best. Be safe my friend.
Does it have the same freezing problems that the g major is known for?
Hey Leon, so if not being able to modulate delays is considered a big deal, would you just route (say) a BBD-320 after the G-Force, then stick a reverb after the BBD? Then only switch in the BBD as required or would that mess with the G-Force too much?
Hey Leon. Another rack gem 😊 why do you have empty blocks in your effect matrix? Cheers.
i probably had something in there and then deleted it without removing the block
@@LeonTodd i read somewhere that those empty blocks are a way of making a parallel signal along other effects
I’m still rocking my G major with triaxis/2:90/Mesa 5-band EQ into a road king 2x12.
Sounds amazing IMO, love my G major!
Been following your channel for a few months and only now just realised that we live in the same city. I just assumed you were east coast. 🤘🏽 keep up the good work man.
Perth crew 👊
Stoked to see a few Perthians in here!
Since i'm almost deaf i use it on two jtm 45 fullstacks in stereo. All knobs on eleven....
Little joke. In fact i run the output into two pieces of torpedowhatever loadboxes.
Sound clean eypecially lovely using my two old fender super reverbs but not 4×10 version but 12 inch jbl speakers. They came that way.
4x10 is my dads one. Blows me away everytime i run it, unfortunenately i couldnt find a second one from the same time my dads one had been built..
Would love to have a second one for stereo 8x10 sound. Until then my 2 fullstacks will have to do the job.
Funfact, i bought all my stuff dirtcheap.
I bought it when new things came out and it was regarded to be absolutely outdated, far to loud and "not modern and suitable anymore".
Folks, buy stuff nobody wants anylonger, pack it 2 decades away, have it serviced, i do that part myself cause i can. When i was young, tubes had became outdated. That didn't stop me from loving the sound those things produce...
Keep on keepin on folks.❤
Hello, I find your videos great, do you think that with the g-force you can imitate a shimmer reverb? Thank you
Nice video man! Did you try some expansion cards with it? Want to buy one, but it's impossible to find(
Never had the exp cards for this either
Nice video and playing. And your tones are good to me. I have a mint G-Force that I’ve neglected and never really used. This video is gonna make me want to blow the dust off it!
keen to hear how you like it!
The Alesis Quadraverb2 is this thing's ancestor, in a similar way....
I always wanted a g major when I was a kid and obsessed with rack gear. I have an axe fx 3 now which mostly takes care of everything but I do miss analog setups as well. Might be time for a revv generator 120 mk3🤤
Revv and the Axe-Fx will tear a hole in the space time continuum :D
There’s an inherent digital type of smear on or just after all of the notes played that just really sounds unmusical to my ears. Early versions of AXEFX were guilty of a similar type of sound but have since resolved it in the updates and hardware upgrades. I used to want a Gforce as an avid gmajor user when I was much younger, but now I just can’t get over the alias type of sound.
An external mixer would probably help with that.
Finally ONE who has EARS! Thank you M@!!!!
Yeah I was a G Major user who always lusted over this, and I can see why people would have been disappointed "upgrading" when you gain routing options but lose stuff like relay switching. Mixers always help but if you want to keep your rack small that ends up being counter-productive.
80's tone at it's best ❤
In my Gmajor2, I prefer the detune over the chorus....(+12 & -9)....
Smooooth
Lard!
What controller are you using and how did you set it up to switch blocks on and off??
Airstep. Sending midi CC's
👍❤TC ELECTRONICS......my favorite rack gear company , by far ( plus MARSHALL JMP-1🇬🇧 )!!!!!!!......if u really know how to tweek & trick it out.....has the best natural harmonic tone etc... improvements ....2 your rigs whole sound & feel......
I like the Tone of GForce, Even the Reverbs... and your playing is superb.
I like the way you present the products you choose, and it’s been a great hjelp for me when digging into Axe Fx III and FM3.
Thanks for exelent performance and reasearch🎸☺️
Very good sounding, the chorus, the flanger, the delay, the pitch shifting and the reverb is ok, it gets the job done. For the tone snobs, I don't understand why should everything be "vintage" sounding, or emulating an analog effect. I like this unit's pristine sounding effects, they don't get in the way of your playing and they suit a lot of playing styles and genres because they're not associated with a particular sound (like saying that it sounds like an MXR Flanger so you sound like E.V.H.). You should keep it and test it with the Soldano or a Marshall and this in the fx loop. You can gig and have all the effects you want. For example this guy from Marshall Germany: ua-cam.com/video/KRXnP6K1-eA/v-deo.html
Lard Much??
Ahh the mighty G-force from the time when TC Electronic was truly great. I wanted one of these so bad back then. They were obviously everywhere in Denmark (TC was Danish), but I never tried one. I had no idea that it had so many similarities with the AxeFX - Many of the FX types are even called the same. I still think, it sounds great. I wish you had gone all in on recreating the 2290 delay. I am sure, it is in there :)
Loved it
I kept thinking about TC when we played in Denmark. Like "woah so this is where some of my favourite effects came to life! Also, finally some good coffee!"
@@LeonTodd yeah, the TC team was really outstanding back then. Mmmm... Coffee .... I will have a cup now 😀
What's the midi controller you're using?
Airstep
No joke, I am always amazed at how good you are (yes I am super jealous). From the looks of it, it appears to be damn near everything. Cheers.
Too kind! Agree that this is a great "all in one" option in a rack
Now it seems that rack gear is sorta becoming cool again so it's starting to go up in price again...Should of invested in it but noooo I needed stage drives and delay pedals when I really could of just gone Steve Vai with my rig and had just as much fun
Would it be worth using this with an axe fx?
The cool stuff this does (modifiers, routing grid) are all massively expanded on an Axe-Fx, especially the latest gen. It is a fun unit with some good presets though.
Back in the day 2000ish, i really2 want all this g series...especially the g system, it looks cool at that time...but now ill stick with lil pedal because cramped space in my house 😩😩😩
Funny you mention the G system as I was actually looking for one of those when I found this!
I lov what your doing bro... I have an SRV 2000 (picked it up here in Japan for 40 dollars, 2 SDE 2500's i bought for 80 dollars each... Two PCM80's and a PCM90 for 400 each , but had to have them shipped here from the US.(just the lexi's). and paid tax lol... I want an H3000 SE but the prices on line are so rediculious ... I dont understand why ANYBODY would pay more than 500 dollars for an H3000 ... its 20 years old and if it breaks... all you have is a paper weight that looks cool..... last time i was in the music store I saw 3 SPX90's for 35 dollars a piece
Yeah it's classic gear and especially attractive if it's cheap. H3000's are the new vintage fuzz pedals
If your looking to buy an H3000... the one to buy is the brown face SE vesion... if it has yellow buttons and just says H3000, its garbage, that was the first model.... i see people asking 2k for those on reverb.... the one with the blue face marked "S" was the scaled down version of the SE that Steve Vai endorsed in the 80's ... dont buy that one either..... if you want a H3000 .. find an SE and offer 500 dollars... its not worth more.... The only thing its good for is the VH microshift... you can not get that sound with an Eclypse but you can get it with am H9.... P.S. bro...if you are interested in old Japanese gear... call me... If you want something ... I will pick it up for you I will not charge you any more than it cost to buy it and ship it to you... Japanese made gear is really cheap in Japan... I bought my JEM 7VWH brand new at a local music store for 1800 dollars... everybody in America is paying 3k only because of trade tariffs ... anyway... sorry for the rant... Ive been a roadie for everyone from Brittney Spears to Guns n Roses over the last 20 years and im sitting at home so bored right now... on a side note... your accent reminds me of Australia... i hope if your not from there i didnt offend you.... I spent quite a lot of time there with a girlfriend in Smithfield... near Parmatta ... Jenolan caves, the Blue mountains, watching the sugar fields burning at night.... Evens head.... Byron,,,, ballina Watamala beach... minion falls... it was amazing.... sorry for my spelling... take care mate!
Sounds great!
do you have a G-card to
if so make a tutorial how to use it
I don't unfortunately. My G-Card slot feels very lonely.
how does compare to g major? any difference?
The G Major has a set signal path while this gives you a routing grid, plus there's a modifier section and a few more fx options.
"Last in Line!" I keep thinking Dio, can't help it! Nice bit of gear!
Thanks for sharing Leon and Be Well All!
19“ love ❤️
I really don't get why nobody makes (wants?) this type of gear anymore. I don't want my user interface to be a stage diving ramp!
👍🇺🇲❤NOTHING BEATS : JMP-1 & TC ELECTRONICS RACK GEAR...... END OF STORY.... PERIOD !!!!!!
All these "tc group" era products have the same kinda cold behringer-ish tone, and a slightly flimsy build quality. Very different story to their industrial-grade 1980s digital delays.
hetfields toy...thats what brought me here to look it over
The original G-Major had horrid build quality, from my experience. My dad had one (he might still have it) and the edit knob broke off. Luckily for him, he only used one preset and he left it on all the time.
G-Force was their flagship processor before the G-System...it seemed to be in every pro's rack during those years. If it was good enough for Lifeson, Vai, and Petrucci, then it should be good enough for anyone.
Yeah my G Major fell apart in the same way, shame as it was a lot of fun.
L A R D
Worst unit ever!
Just plug into an amp that doesn’t have FX level on back. When the unit is active, your guitar volume will be reduced by G Force. When you turn off the FX Loop, the volume level will back to normal. All other TC units has the same problem except TC2290.
- There are tons of discussion on forums. I also have the same issue.
i told you g force forever tray g force with sans amp 1.1 like i have special saunds! hi
L A R D ........ ????
Perth! nice
Exactly! Fractal stole the G-Force interface and Eventide algorithms!
Now... don't you hear how thin the G-Force sounds? Just compare this video with the others you have done, PCM, Eclipse, SRV, you will hear how no *force* never was in the G-Force! People slam things for a reason... you don't have to change the world, just understand why rightfully the G-Force has a deserved bad reputation about several points. The converters are really bad! No character at all... this is one of the first unit giving up a properly designed input section. Thus the poor tone it has. The more efx you crumble in a preset the worst it sounds as an underpowered hardware was used where a much better one should have been in place. Reverb is a total joke! You can tweak it for days and it sounds bad, dimensionless, poor in spread, tonally dumb with plenty of boominess and frequencies not belonging to the source being fed to it, building up in its internal delays in a catastrophic way. Listen!!! A Quadraverb kills it right away... and it was never much of a reverb really. Underpowered DSP which forced coding to almost ALL fx being mono in/stereo out... which is wrong when you string stereo fx. I have never read "it's not a 2290" as its criticism. Look Todd, you are a cool kid but you need to know a lot of things before doing these videos and only do them when you know very well what you are trying to show. A few hours with a machine don't give you the idea of what it really is... it takes way more time and experience with any piece. What you don't know is that a TC2290 is NOT an algorithmic machine, while the G-Crap is. Do you understand the difference? Another important detail you don't know... TC Electronic, no matter the fact you read that on both units front panels, is truly two completely different companies... one, the original which never failed a product, made the 2290... the other, which made the G_force, failed several ones. Ask yourself a simple question... WHY people still pay big bucks to have a 2290 or 1210 or 1140 in their systems and studios and don't give a flying crap to own a G-Force? That will tell you the fact, the honest truth.
Last but not least... PLEASE use a real amp when you do these videos. Your tone is thin and disturbing to the ear, with weird harmonics. Use one of those cool amps you show in that room and you'll hear a huge difference, way more pleasant. You Tube doesn't like digital amps as it reveals their issues more than people has ever noticed or understood!
You make a great point about continued use in high-end environments being the mark of a truly great piece of gear.
How do you like the Lexicon MPX-1? I just got one and the "add effects to the delay feedback path" is my favourite feature so far.
Italoop comes across as a down talking know it all A-hole that has nothing good to say about anything. If top pro guitar players used the G-Force and it’s heard on professional recordings, it kinda makes him look like a disgruntled TC employee out to slander and full of anger. Dude, get a life and try to be nice to people, not demeaning. The G-Force is a really good unit and powerful.
@@jesman1 whatevere dide... get a doctor for your ears and you'll know bettet...
@@italoop7850 And your down talking is there again. Must be a personality defect. My ears are fine. It’s a good unit. Definitely doesn’t need ‘your’ bad rap rappin. Take a Xanax. 😂
@@jesman1 imagine what a blast he must be at parties!