TC Electronic G Systems - are they as awesome as they are made out??

[Parker]

My band has collapsed, so whilst looking for a new singer / drummer, this allows me to tinker with my rig. I have always fancied a G System and they seem tobe becoming more affordable on the 2nd hand market. Is it good enough to replace the 90% of pedals i'd have to sell to fund it? Or are the Boss / Zoom units just as good at a fraction of the cost?

Your assistance is appeciated!

Thanks

[John_P]

My G system has been one of my best gear purchases - unless I go back to rack and get an axefx or someone brings out a nice updated jmp1/triaxis style preamp I can't imagine not using it.

The quality is (imho) fantastic - the modulation and delays are awesome as you'd expect from tc... whether you can really tell the difference live compared to boss etc is debateable I guess. It is very very solid and looks like it will take a lot of punishment.

For me the beauty of it is being able to merge pedals and patches - I feel like I've got the programability of my rack/modelling setup and the flexibility of the loops to use whatever pedals I want for that gig.

The one downside is getting used to programming it but that's not as bad as reported, it's just not quite as intuitive as some other multi-effects.

If you want to know anything specific about the G ask away...

[AlexHunter]

I'm also thinking of ditching the individual boxes and michael flatley impressions on stage for one of these.
Does the boost suck the tone entirely as it actually attenuates and returns to normal rather than boost? Is there a way round that as I'd like a boost function.
Does the 4 cable method still have ground loop/hum issues?
Are there any latency/delay issues when using it to change amp channels?
Do only specific versions feature a univibe preset?
Does it work at line-level effects loop rather than floor level?
And will it run on either 110v or 240v without modification (as some internet warrior has suggested) implying I could buy one from the States for cheaper?

[John_P]

I'm also thinking of ditching the individual boxes and michael flatley impressions on stage for one of these.
Does the boost suck the tone entirely as it actually attenuates and returns to normal rather than boost? Is there a way round that as I'd like a boost function.

Not that I've noticed - I tend to leave the boost on and use different patches for lead/rhythm tones.

Does the 4 cable method still have ground loop/hum issues?

I used to use my with my H&K triamp in 4cm and never had any problems - worked and sounded great!


Are there any latency/delay issues when using it to change amp channels?

I've only used midi to switch amp channels but I suspect any issues would depend on the amp...


Do only specific versions feature a univibe preset?

Not sure about this but you can update the firmware and if you get a used one I'd recomend updating anyway so it should be fine.


Does it work at line-level effects loop rather than floor level?

Yes - no problem, there is a ton of possible adjustments - loop send/loop return/loop headroom.


And will it run on either 110v or 240v without modification (as some internet warrior has suggested) implying I could buy one from the States for cheaper?

Mine has a UK kettle lead power connector - when i get home from work I'll have a look and see but I suspect it's UK only.

[Viz]

I use 4CM with a carvin legacy 1 amp and with a carvin legacy 2 amp. On separate occasions, not simultaneously in stereo (though i do that too and it's great). With the legacy 1 there is an awful ground loop hum which is totally eradicated by an ebtech hum eliminator which i got from ebay for 40 quid. With the legacy 2 for some reason there's no ground loop hum, no idea why but it's silent as a mouse. I don't use it to the extent that it could be used, just delay, compression, chorus and maybe a bit of reverb. Everyone, and i mean everyone, that's heard it comments on how awesome my sound is, i'm completely delighted with it. I used to have an analogman boss delay which i loved but this is completely different, it's soooooo natural. And the reverb doesn't sound like an effect, just like a natural reverberation. The chorus warms it up, again no digital "effect" just warmth. Once youve got the stereo trs cables and maye a hum eliminator it's a piece of cake to set up, use lairds white paper (obviously) to get the levels right and youre off. Programming is really easy - it's just the setup you need to do correctly, once. I got the iB modified version, there's no tone suck at all regardless of boost settings but on the tc electronic forum many seem to put a sunday driver in front of the standard one. I loooove mine.

[Si.]

I use a g-system now as well.. not had it as long as the others here but had it about 3 months now and have done a few gigs with it. I find it much better than my old pedal board and love the lack or tap dancing.

I did have a few issues initially setting it up and getting it working smoothly with my JVM, it's certainly not plug and play, but I think that was 50/50 the JVMs problem, worked seamlessly with my Jubilee. It needs good quality TRS cables to eliminate any noise issues, but once you get it all setup it's great.

I use the boost function without any problems on my Jubilee.

There is a lot of talk about the original having a bad input buffer but I've not experienced this, although I do run into a Decimator before the G-System so that's probably acting as a buffer for my signal.

[AlexHunter]

Alright, I'm being converted. How do you upgrade models to the latest spec and how difficult a process is that? In laymen's terms preferably.

[John_P]

It's ages since I did mine - iirc I just downloaded the patch from the tc website, connected the G via it's usb socket and installed it. I don't remember it needing any headscratching like I usually have at these moments