Boss GT-1B Bass Multi-FX Pedal

Bardzo slaby multiefekt. Kupilem niecaly rok temu swiezo po premierze i juz go sprzedalem. Nie polecam nikomu, kto gra np. na basach 5-cio lub 6-cio strunowych albo stroi sie nisko. Multi dodaje od siebie i znieksztalca, wyplaszcza dzwiek. Brzmienia slabe, na pewno nie do przesterów. Na plus: octaver, mozliwosc przypisania kilku efektów do jednego przelacznika, mobilnosc i latwosc obslugi. Sprzedalem i kupilem Line6 Helix LT - i to jest jakosc, jakiej oczekuje sie od multi :)

This bass pedal is quite versitile, and has been a lot of fun to use. The preamps, a couple of the mod FX, and the distortion sound good for what they are, and it's portable enough for me to bring basically everywhere I take my main bass (a squier CV jazz). For a pretty cheap multiFX unit, I am satisfied, but it's not a rig replacement nor a good tool to use to track bass, not that I really expected it to be.

I have been using the unit for a while now, predominantly as a practice preamp, but also as an audio interface (I don't have much gear at home to record with) and sometimes I take the pedal with me to rehearsal and performances. To start, the buildquality and handling are fine. A lot of plastic, but it's high quality. The interface is intuitive and the device has a nice formfactor, but the expression pedal has this weird creak when I put force on it sometimes, which makes me think that I have broken it, yet it still works. In addition, one of the rubber feet seem to be shorter than the others, so I glued a small piece of cardboard to that foot and now it doesn't wobble. I have heavily used it for a long time and it still works perfectly, so I am satisfied with the quality.

As a practice preamp and creativity booster it's a lot of fun. I like messing around with the FX and crafting tones that inspire me to create more, but for actual (amateur) recording, the sound is not sufficient for me. While the dynamics FX and most of the preamps are useful, a LOT of the modulation FX, gimmicky and cut down boss FX, enhancing settings, delays and reverbs are subpar. I personally record more experimental bass focussed music, and while playing with the FX inspires me, listening back the playing it all sounds toyish and wrong. I have to do a lot of postprocessing work to make the takes sound nice, because weird highs and overcompression (even without any dynamics FX enabled) are present. For more serious creative work, it started to show it's limitations. To make it worse, the looping is not good. The looping time is so short (by design), that I find myself running out of bars often, and the lack of an undo function make on the fly fun more frustrating.

All in all, it's a convenient and cheap multifx unit that can be used in amateur settings for rehearsal, live performance, and if you don't mind some of the soundquirks, even recording. I liked it, it's cheap and helped me develop as a musician, but me, I'm seeking an alternative for recording and composition, because this unit does not deliver on those fronts.

I use this at home with headphones so far. In this aspect, the pre-amp module is perfect and works much better then most pedals I've tested so far.
I have also used it with a 2x10" GK amp. It sounds very nice, especially the clean sound, which is important for me. The clean sound is good and it's so easy to program it on spot that you can actually tune it just before playing some songs. The presets, despite being high on outputs (usually all pedals are), are very well structured, which makes it easy to find nice sounds.
Best feature for me: I load it in a backpack, together with energy supply, cables and so on and it weights in total less than 2 kg. Love it!
I would definitely recommend it if you're looking for a small and easy to carry pedal that can handle small gigs.