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Hello all,
Finally after decades of trying to figure out how to manage my rig, I finally got an ES-5. This is what I needed and never got.
Short Story.
I picked up a Boss GT-8 back when it came out. I was floored on what it could do amp control etc. Built on volume pedal and so many effects. Shorty after owning it and the excitement wore off, I noticed it changed my amps natural tone.
So after trying to get it right, I sold it and went back to pedals. Now I feel lost and have to manually control all these pedals and my amp.
I wrote this sone that required Delay, Chorus and Reverb for clean but then switched to the Drive channel with only Delay. Well that sucked to manage and click all those pedals.
Boss Released the GT-10 and talked about how improved it was over the GT-8 so I ran out and got one. Yes it was much better then the GT-8, it has an easier way of setting up and man I really liked it for a while. But it still altered my amps natural tone.
Went back to pedals
Boss released the GT-100 and talked about the nature sound and now it sounds better then anything they ever built etc etc etc. So what did I do? Ran out and got one.
This thing is even better then the GT-10 and it didn't alter my amps nature tone that much. It retained it much better then the 8 and 10. But now it adds some fuzzy tone to it and I had a terrible time trying to dial it out. I fought with it for a few years I'd say. Then it finally wore me out and I sold it and yet again went back to pedals.
Boss Released the MS-3 and I figured FINALLY this is it, this is the product I have been waiting for. I hybrid wired it into my system , I tried the 4 cable method with it as I've been using the 4 cable method since the GT-8 and my volume dropped out and my tone slightly changed, even less then the GT-100 but still did it.
Talked to Boss about it and they instructed me how to get around it. The delay not carrying over to other patches bothered me so I wired in my Flashback Delay outside the MS-3 and it just stayed on in my effects loop which I also removed from the MS-3 and had the Delay in there by it self.
I found myself putting Reverb and my Waza Chorus in the loop with it and started using the MS-3 less and less.
I had the 3 loops with my drive pedals and found I was basically using the MS-3 as a amp switcher. I didn't even use the internal Noise gate as I hybrid wired up my Sentry noise gate.
After thinking about it, I should have asked for a ES-5 or ES-8. Bam Billie steered me to a thread over at the gear forum and made the swap with a member for a ES-5.
The ES-5 is simply hands down amazing. IT DOES NOT alter my tone at all. You can plug directly into your amp or go through the ES-5 and I hear NO DIFFERENCE. I so love that. Boss built this thing almost perfectly.
The switching is lighting fast, there is no hard click when you do so, it just goes into the next patch effortlessly.
It's crazy easy to program and setup, I haven't even used the editor yet which I always have found incredibly useful but I was able to setup 5 patches in minutes as it's that easy from the front controls.
The Only thing I think Boss could have done with the ES-5 to make it better is to have the same Volume effects loop like the ES-8 does. Most people who use pedals probably put the Modulation effects in their effects loops as it just sounds so much better there. You have to lose a Loop to wire in the 4 cable method so you can place effects in front of your amp and ones in the effects loop.
I have to share 2 loops . Loop 1 I share a Spark Booster and a Dark Matter distortion pedal and have to manually turn on and off which one I want.
I also have to Share Loop 5 which has my Flashback Delay and Hall of Fame reverb, same thing manual control.
I probably Should consider down the road the ES-8 as it has 8 full loops plus the Volume loop so it really has 9 loops. But for now I'm tickled pink with the ES-5 and don't need to upgrade. I don't use a tone of effects so my board will probably not get any bigger then what it is now. One good thing about the Multi effects units is you get to try out 100's of effects and find the ones useful to you.
I just use OD Distortion , Chorus , Delay and reverb. I'm good with just them.
Finally after decades of trying to figure out how to manage my rig, I finally got an ES-5. This is what I needed and never got.
Short Story.
I picked up a Boss GT-8 back when it came out. I was floored on what it could do amp control etc. Built on volume pedal and so many effects. Shorty after owning it and the excitement wore off, I noticed it changed my amps natural tone.
So after trying to get it right, I sold it and went back to pedals. Now I feel lost and have to manually control all these pedals and my amp.
I wrote this sone that required Delay, Chorus and Reverb for clean but then switched to the Drive channel with only Delay. Well that sucked to manage and click all those pedals.
Boss Released the GT-10 and talked about how improved it was over the GT-8 so I ran out and got one. Yes it was much better then the GT-8, it has an easier way of setting up and man I really liked it for a while. But it still altered my amps natural tone.
Went back to pedals
Boss released the GT-100 and talked about the nature sound and now it sounds better then anything they ever built etc etc etc. So what did I do? Ran out and got one.
This thing is even better then the GT-10 and it didn't alter my amps nature tone that much. It retained it much better then the 8 and 10. But now it adds some fuzzy tone to it and I had a terrible time trying to dial it out. I fought with it for a few years I'd say. Then it finally wore me out and I sold it and yet again went back to pedals.
Boss Released the MS-3 and I figured FINALLY this is it, this is the product I have been waiting for. I hybrid wired it into my system , I tried the 4 cable method with it as I've been using the 4 cable method since the GT-8 and my volume dropped out and my tone slightly changed, even less then the GT-100 but still did it.
Talked to Boss about it and they instructed me how to get around it. The delay not carrying over to other patches bothered me so I wired in my Flashback Delay outside the MS-3 and it just stayed on in my effects loop which I also removed from the MS-3 and had the Delay in there by it self.
I found myself putting Reverb and my Waza Chorus in the loop with it and started using the MS-3 less and less.
I had the 3 loops with my drive pedals and found I was basically using the MS-3 as a amp switcher. I didn't even use the internal Noise gate as I hybrid wired up my Sentry noise gate.
After thinking about it, I should have asked for a ES-5 or ES-8. Bam Billie steered me to a thread over at the gear forum and made the swap with a member for a ES-5.
The ES-5 is simply hands down amazing. IT DOES NOT alter my tone at all. You can plug directly into your amp or go through the ES-5 and I hear NO DIFFERENCE. I so love that. Boss built this thing almost perfectly.
The switching is lighting fast, there is no hard click when you do so, it just goes into the next patch effortlessly.
It's crazy easy to program and setup, I haven't even used the editor yet which I always have found incredibly useful but I was able to setup 5 patches in minutes as it's that easy from the front controls.
The Only thing I think Boss could have done with the ES-5 to make it better is to have the same Volume effects loop like the ES-8 does. Most people who use pedals probably put the Modulation effects in their effects loops as it just sounds so much better there. You have to lose a Loop to wire in the 4 cable method so you can place effects in front of your amp and ones in the effects loop.
I have to share 2 loops . Loop 1 I share a Spark Booster and a Dark Matter distortion pedal and have to manually turn on and off which one I want.
I also have to Share Loop 5 which has my Flashback Delay and Hall of Fame reverb, same thing manual control.
I probably Should consider down the road the ES-8 as it has 8 full loops plus the Volume loop so it really has 9 loops. But for now I'm tickled pink with the ES-5 and don't need to upgrade. I don't use a tone of effects so my board will probably not get any bigger then what it is now. One good thing about the Multi effects units is you get to try out 100's of effects and find the ones useful to you.
I just use OD Distortion , Chorus , Delay and reverb. I'm good with just them.
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