Played a Tonelab LE, Pod X3 and Boss GT-10

[Mr. B]

Re: Played a Tonelab LE, Pod X3 and Boss GT-10

Since I'm not one that is big on effects anyway other than reverb, the Vox is the one I'd go after.

I've been a fan of Vox modelers since they came out.

I sold my Vox Tonelab (desktop) to get the LE version. The spring reverb was so annoyingly bad, I though something was wrong with the unit. It has a repeating doinky tail to it that sounds like a repeating slapback of someone kicking the reverb tank on a real tube amp. This annoying unnatural repeat is on every spacious reverb effect, like hall and room too. I have owned a AD60VTX for years and the Tonelab Desktop for a few years, and never had any gripes with the spring reverb. I contacted Vox and they said they had changed the model to sound more like the doink of a "real" reverb tank.

He suggested that perhaps I just didn't like spring reverb and would prefer the plate reverb setting. I mentioned that I had 7 other "real" tube amps with "real" spring reverb, and none of those sound anything like their pathetic attempt at modeling it. I don't really know what they were shooting for, but they screwed up and there is no way to adjust it out.

I sold the LE and will never buy another of their "upgraded" models until I give them a listen at a store. I hope they are not using the same spring reverb sim on the new Black Diamond amp.

I like a lot of the features on the new LE, but that nasty reverb was a deal breaker. I can't live without good reverb.

 

[kjrocks]

Re: Played a Tonelab LE, Pod X3 and Boss GT-10

Bad reverb will not be tolerated.

 

[ShredFetus]

Re: Played a Tonelab LE, Pod X3 and Boss GT-10

Has anyone compared the GT-10 to the GT-8?

I have the GT-8 and love the fact I can just grab all the knobs right in front of me to adjust to the situation/room. It looks like the GT-10 has gone back to navigating through menus a bit more? I really find I can get any sound I want out of it, but you have to build up a patch yourself from scratch.

Do you think there are any major advances in the GT-10 that would make me even happier than I am now?

And for the guys wondering about playing through a guitar amp/PA it sounds great going into a valve power amp & 4x12 like I do, but not so good going into a regular amp head with a pre-amp already in there. I also go through the PA at practice, which is OK but has a different sound altogether than my regular rig. You have to re-write your patches most of the time be cause tweaking a little here & there doesn't do the job.

 

[innerdreamrecords.co]

Re: Played a Tonelab LE, Pod X3 and Boss GT-10

You have to re-write your patches most of the time be cause tweaking a little here & there doesn't do the job.
__________________

On the GT10 you can set the output for a PA, AMP, Direct Recording etc. That should hopefully solve that issue? The GT10 has a lot of nice features that I haven't even touched yet, I don't know the GT8.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Played a Tonelab LE, Pod X3 and Boss GT-10

I plug my GT Pro into a mixer (where I mix in guitar synth & loops) and then out to a full range speaker..I use JBL Eon 15s. I never really tried a conventional amp since I use it with the whole synth thing- the sound has to come from the same speaker or it sounds weird to me. And synth sounds terrible through a guitar amp. Also, I am not really going for conventional sounds, either.

 

[Yngwiestein]

Re: Played a Tonelab LE, Pod X3 and Boss GT-10

Are we twins separated at birth? It happened exactly the same thing to me last year when I bought myself a Boss GT-8 for my birthday.

I've used for about three months and, after I've made a dozen killer sounding patches, I couldn't find any use for any of them... I've found myself using my 335 straight to the amp with a pinch of reverb and that was it.

Pepe aka Lt. Kojak
Milano, Italy

The main benefits of it for me are for travel and because I've learned a few things about amps and effects by tweaking it. Modelers are so realistic you know so I've learned a few things from using it. I'll probably use it to play some covers or in my effects loop just for delays and stuff. Too cool to sell and too useless to use regularly LOL!

 

[uOpt]

Re: Played a Tonelab LE, Pod X3 and Boss GT-10

I have a Pod X3 and a Tonelab LE.

You can't just play them one after another, the X3 is bound to sound cold compared to the real tube Tonelab. It might have better effects, sure. And the presets on the Tonelab as delivered suck.

I have some ENGL tube preamp or another that I'll try in front of the X3 but for now it looks like the X3 will show up in the forsale section soon. However, I might want to keep it as a bass "rig". Remember the X3 has everything for guitar and bass, some pretty serious effects and it can mix in a microphone with a symmetric input at the same time. That's a lot of stuff compared to the Tonelab which basically only does base sound and distortions with so-so modulation and delay effects.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Played a Tonelab LE, Pod X3 and Boss GT-10

I've been a fan of Vox modelers since they came out.

I sold my Vox Tonelab (desktop) to get the LE version. The spring reverb was so annoyingly bad, I though something was wrong with the unit. It has a repeating doinky tail to it that sounds like a repeating slapback of someone kicking the reverb tank on a real tube amp. This annoying unnatural repeat is on every spacious reverb effect, like hall and room too. I have owned a AD60VTX for years and the Tonelab Desktop for a few years, and never had any gripes with the spring reverb. I contacted Vox and they said they had changed the model to sound more like the doink of a "real" reverb tank.

He suggested that perhaps I just didn't like spring reverb and would prefer the plate reverb setting. I mentioned that I had 7 other "real" tube amps with "real" spring reverb, and none of those sound anything like their pathetic attempt at modeling it. I don't really know what they were shooting for, but they screwed up and there is no way to adjust it out.

I sold the LE and will never buy another of their "upgraded" models until I give them a listen at a store. I hope they are not using the same spring reverb sim on the new Black Diamond amp.

I like a lot of the features on the new LE, but that nasty reverb was a deal breaker. I can't live without good reverb.

I like a good reverb too. That's pretty much all I use anymore other than some phasing here and there.

I've decided to go after a Digitech RP500. I sat with one last week for a while at GC and just sat with it getting familiar with the presets and the different models. I must say, they did a fantastic job on it.

One very cool feature is the ability to go from preset mode to pedalboard mode. In pedalboard mode, you can turn on/off each affect you have assigned to the 5 presets in each bank (compressor, OD/Distortion, Modulation, Delay, Reverb). In preset mode, you build a "scene" with what sounds you want and save it to one of those 5 presets. So, you could use the thing just for it's effects and such in to a guitar amp with the amp/cab modelling off or you can turn on the modelling and run it through a PA or keyboard amp or even a powered PA speaker.

For the price and in my price range, I don't see a better deal out there. It's a perfect setup for me in tight stage situations and also a great backup.

 

[Gamera]

Re: Played a Tonelab LE, Pod X3 and Boss GT-10

Speaking of decent Boss stuff, the Boss ME-50 is worthy of a mention in this thread I think. It has much of the same guts as its bigger brothers but is super simple to operate with knobs and dials rather than digital menus.

 

[guitarded]

Re: Played a Tonelab LE, Pod X3 and Boss GT-10

I don't think the ME-50 does amp modeling. It is more or less a straight multi-fx unit. From what I read it does a pretty good job as a multi-fx.

Speaking of decent Boss stuff, the Boss ME-50 is worthy of a mention in this thread I think. It has much of the same guts as its bigger brothers but is super simple to operate with knobs and dials rather than digital menus.

 

[Gamera]

Re: Played a Tonelab LE, Pod X3 and Boss GT-10

Correct. It doesn't do amp modeling, just effects modeling. But when it comes down to it, it really does the same kind of thing through it's OD and distortion models.

 

[Tor]

Re: Played a Tonelab LE, Pod X3 and Boss GT-10

It'll be interesting to hear your guys take on the Fractal Axe-FX systems soon..

 

[Mincer]

Re: Played a Tonelab LE, Pod X3 and Boss GT-10

The Axe-FX is seriously expensive for what it is...you can almost get a good Mac laptop and a bunch of plugins for that money. I haven't tried one, and it sounds great from sound clips I have heard. But if I want something that modular, I would go with a laptop system and have even more options than the Axe-Fx.

 

[Tor]

Re: Played a Tonelab LE, Pod X3 and Boss GT-10

Perhaps... But I think using a Mac is so drastically different from the idea of plugging into a good old tube amp. Even the Fractal stuff is dismissed by many people, because it's "only" a modeling system. A Mac is even a greater leap from the tube amp. But I see what you mean... However, what turns me a bit on the Fractal, is that a lot of guys that have been really into the tube amp world, are giving it raving reviews. If you head over to thegearpage, you can see some of it there. I've seen a couple of die-hard tone-guys from a Norwegian forum falling straight into love with the unit as well.
It's a pretty new system, and with more rationalizing of the production, and more economies of scale, and perhaps with a couple of years, more competitors, this will be a great bang for the buck, for those that don't turn up their noses to no-tube-technology.

 

[guitarded]

Re: Played a Tonelab LE, Pod X3 and Boss GT-10

It'll be interesting to hear your guys take on the Fractal Axe-FX systems soon..

The other guitarist in my project uses one. It sounds fantastic. There is no comparison to any other modelers mentioned in this thread. It is in a different league. What do you want to know about it?

 

[Tor]

Re: Played a Tonelab LE, Pod X3 and Boss GT-10

I was just thinking what some of the guys would say about it -- it has caused a little revolution over at thegearpage.net (where the tone-snobs hang out ), so I wonder if the same thing might happen here, once a couple of the members fall in love with it. We are here as well because we want to get the most out of our tones, so it'll be interesting to see if this will get as much praise here after a while..

But since you already know one, how does your buddy amplify his Axe-FX? Through a PA, or does he use a poweramp and a cabinet, or...? I really want to try one out, but I cannot afford two rigs at the moment..

 

[guitarded]

Re: Played a Tonelab LE, Pod X3 and Boss GT-10

Let me put it to you this way. The other guitarist was the biggest tube snob, I have met. He purchased this last year with intentions of using it as a multi-fx only. A week later I get a call from him and he is raving about one of the modeled patches of a Soldano.

At that point I am thinking he lost his mind, cause here is a guy who owns a Mark IV, a Duel Rectifier, and is currently playing out of a racked Tri-Axis, and now he is talking about getting a smaller rack and using the Fractal as his rig through a tube power amp. Now it is over a year later, and he is still trying to convince me I need to use one, instead of my own Mark IV. His setup holds it's own very well up against my Mark. I think my rig definitely cuts through better, but my taste is less scooped than his. Bottom line is this thing is for real... and for him... his entire rig is contained within a fairly small rack with luggage wheels on it, while I break my back lugging my Mark IV + my effects rack and he is completely setup and warming up at rehearsals before my guitar case is even opened.

My take on it, is I have like 5 different sounds and effects combos I use and have not touched my settings in months and it sounds more or less consistent in different venues. I have a PODXT which sometimes I stay up all night tweaking and fooling around with when I should be practicing and improving my playing. If I had this thing, my playing would go completely to hell and my family would never see me again

I was just thinking what some of the guys would say about it -- it has caused a little revolution over at thegearpage.net (where the tone-snobs hang out ), so I wonder if the same thing might happen here, once a couple of the members fall in love with it. We are here as well because we want to get the most out of our tones, so it'll be interesting to see if this will get as much praise here after a while..

But since you already know one, how does your buddy amplify his Axe-FX? Through a PA, or does he use a poweramp and a cabinet, or...? I really want to try one out, but I cannot afford two rigs at the moment..

 

[Tor]

Re: Played a Tonelab LE, Pod X3 and Boss GT-10

Haha, well thanks for another raving review for that thing! I think I'll buy one within a year's time.... If I have the money for it by then of course.

What poweramp+cab is he using?

 

[guitarded]

Re: Played a Tonelab LE, Pod X3 and Boss GT-10

At the rehearsal studio we both play out crappy Ampeg 4 x 12 cabs (But we make the best out them). At home he is using his Mesa 4x12's (full stack) The Poweramp is a 100watt 6L6 based Mesa and he is running in stereo. I don't remember the model off hand, but if you want to PM me, I will check with him later and get back to you.

Haha, well thanks for another raving review for that thing! I think I'll buy one within a year's time.... If I have the money for it by then of course.

What poweramp+cab is he using?

 

[Tor]

Re: Played a Tonelab LE, Pod X3 and Boss GT-10

Thanks!