XSSIVE
OCDologist
...and they don't have tubes!
it was time to let go of my Dual Recto (which is listed in the classified area...cheap plug LOL) and try something new. i got antsy waiting for the recto to sell and sold one of my Charvels to fund the new toys now. i'm very happy with my 3120, JMP and vibrolux so i tossed and turned about what to get to go with them. i thought about a bogner, a splawn, a JVM, a 5150/6505, a modded marshall, axe fx, 11 rack and countless other things. then i came across some threads, reviews, clips and vids on the GSP1101 and was amazed at how good a low dollar modeler by a company whom i've always turned my nose up at a bit sounded. i figured the price was low enough to try it out and if it sucked i could always return it. plus this whole rig from the GSP, ART, rack case, Control 2 foot controller and even the splawn 4x12 with V30s (i already had) cost less than the Axe FX alone so that was a plus in my book.
anyway, after doing more research i realized all the great reviews and good clips came from using it into its own power amp and shutting off the cab sims and running it into a real cab. so i went with an ART SLA2 power amp since i didn't want to actually color the tone of the unit with tubes, just amplify it and let the work the guys who designed and modeled the tube amp feel into the GSP do the tube faking. it's run in stereo into my V30 loaded 4x12 splawn (split stereo 2x12/2x12 mostly for ping pong delay). just for kicks i tried messing with the cab sims and it sounded just as bad as everything line 6 makes, boomy, woofy, hollow and just fake. shut the cab sims off and HOLY CRAP this thing is amazing! i've tried all the line 6 stuff over the years and it all sucks compared to this. i know the Axe FX is the king at 5 times the cost of this but man this has to be second best despite the low cost and not being the latest and greatest tech.
it's amazingly easy to get good tones out of it and unlike line 6 stuff when you switch to a new amp model or pedal it actually sounds different...very different. do the models sound exactly like the amps? nah, probably not 100% exact in all cases but certainly close enough to fool most people and satisfy you with loads of tonal options. with line 6 stuff i struggled for years to get one good sound and never really nailed it even using the podXT into an atomic 1x12 specifically made to make it sound more real...nope, still fake. with the GSP i've managed to make great patches using several different amp models and all of them came as easy as if i were plugged into a real pedal board and head. as seen i use my laptop to do the editing via x-edit and that makes it MUCH easier to use since there are no menus on a little screen to scroll through, if i want to change a setting i just click on it and virtually spin the knob or change the amp or pedal model...very easy and user friendly.
i'm also EXTREMLEY happy with the pitch detune feature, i set it up on a patch to drop the tuning on a guitar tuned to E down a full step to D and it tracks amazingly well and sounds as if i tuned the guitar down a full step. i was honestly shocked that works so well. now i can play Crue tunes without switching to a different guitar...sweeeeet! the wah is a little bit of a letdown, it's not bad and certainly usable just a bit stale and vanilla sounding and since i'm a wah junkie who collects them (which could also be a reason i'm a bit ho hum on the built in wah) i just use one of my real wahs into the front and it works perfect. the FX like delay, chorus, verb, phasers and flangers etc etc are all again very usable and loads of fun to mess with...the ya ya is real fun. the whammy works better than the actual whammy 4 pedal i had by far which is another plus for when i feel the need to do my Tom Morello impersonation hahaha. i updated it to the latest C48 beta software which adds lots of new amp models and it's been working flawlessly.
the only big problem i have with it is that my tube amps may be collecting lots of dust due to it hahaha.
pics...
my tip to anyone who wants one of these...shut off the cab sims immediately and run it through a real cab and it sounds and feels like a real amp and is amazingly easy to get good tones out of. also if you aren't a fan of modeling in general due to using line 6 stuff you don't know what you're missing, this thing and everything i've heard from axe fx are on a whole new level compared to the line 6 stuff. so if line 6 is your frame of reference for the capabilities of modeling you've only heard the Kia of the modeling world and need to check out the better stuff. i was against modeling due to the line 6 stuff i fought with over the years and am real happy i decided to try something different because there are MUCH better modelers out there and this is one of them for sure!!
-Mike
it was time to let go of my Dual Recto (which is listed in the classified area...cheap plug LOL) and try something new. i got antsy waiting for the recto to sell and sold one of my Charvels to fund the new toys now. i'm very happy with my 3120, JMP and vibrolux so i tossed and turned about what to get to go with them. i thought about a bogner, a splawn, a JVM, a 5150/6505, a modded marshall, axe fx, 11 rack and countless other things. then i came across some threads, reviews, clips and vids on the GSP1101 and was amazed at how good a low dollar modeler by a company whom i've always turned my nose up at a bit sounded. i figured the price was low enough to try it out and if it sucked i could always return it. plus this whole rig from the GSP, ART, rack case, Control 2 foot controller and even the splawn 4x12 with V30s (i already had) cost less than the Axe FX alone so that was a plus in my book.
anyway, after doing more research i realized all the great reviews and good clips came from using it into its own power amp and shutting off the cab sims and running it into a real cab. so i went with an ART SLA2 power amp since i didn't want to actually color the tone of the unit with tubes, just amplify it and let the work the guys who designed and modeled the tube amp feel into the GSP do the tube faking. it's run in stereo into my V30 loaded 4x12 splawn (split stereo 2x12/2x12 mostly for ping pong delay). just for kicks i tried messing with the cab sims and it sounded just as bad as everything line 6 makes, boomy, woofy, hollow and just fake. shut the cab sims off and HOLY CRAP this thing is amazing! i've tried all the line 6 stuff over the years and it all sucks compared to this. i know the Axe FX is the king at 5 times the cost of this but man this has to be second best despite the low cost and not being the latest and greatest tech.
it's amazingly easy to get good tones out of it and unlike line 6 stuff when you switch to a new amp model or pedal it actually sounds different...very different. do the models sound exactly like the amps? nah, probably not 100% exact in all cases but certainly close enough to fool most people and satisfy you with loads of tonal options. with line 6 stuff i struggled for years to get one good sound and never really nailed it even using the podXT into an atomic 1x12 specifically made to make it sound more real...nope, still fake. with the GSP i've managed to make great patches using several different amp models and all of them came as easy as if i were plugged into a real pedal board and head. as seen i use my laptop to do the editing via x-edit and that makes it MUCH easier to use since there are no menus on a little screen to scroll through, if i want to change a setting i just click on it and virtually spin the knob or change the amp or pedal model...very easy and user friendly.
i'm also EXTREMLEY happy with the pitch detune feature, i set it up on a patch to drop the tuning on a guitar tuned to E down a full step to D and it tracks amazingly well and sounds as if i tuned the guitar down a full step. i was honestly shocked that works so well. now i can play Crue tunes without switching to a different guitar...sweeeeet! the wah is a little bit of a letdown, it's not bad and certainly usable just a bit stale and vanilla sounding and since i'm a wah junkie who collects them (which could also be a reason i'm a bit ho hum on the built in wah) i just use one of my real wahs into the front and it works perfect. the FX like delay, chorus, verb, phasers and flangers etc etc are all again very usable and loads of fun to mess with...the ya ya is real fun. the whammy works better than the actual whammy 4 pedal i had by far which is another plus for when i feel the need to do my Tom Morello impersonation hahaha. i updated it to the latest C48 beta software which adds lots of new amp models and it's been working flawlessly.
the only big problem i have with it is that my tube amps may be collecting lots of dust due to it hahaha.
pics...
my tip to anyone who wants one of these...shut off the cab sims immediately and run it through a real cab and it sounds and feels like a real amp and is amazingly easy to get good tones out of. also if you aren't a fan of modeling in general due to using line 6 stuff you don't know what you're missing, this thing and everything i've heard from axe fx are on a whole new level compared to the line 6 stuff. so if line 6 is your frame of reference for the capabilities of modeling you've only heard the Kia of the modeling world and need to check out the better stuff. i was against modeling due to the line 6 stuff i fought with over the years and am real happy i decided to try something different because there are MUCH better modelers out there and this is one of them for sure!!
-Mike
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