Boss GL-100

[MadSkillzMan]

Hey guys I scored a boss GL-100 off of ebay. I like the boss distortions, couldnt score the OD-20..iin fact got screwed on one by a sniper at 4seconds.

 

I got it for 45$. Figured it couldnt be that bad, especially after reading reviews on here .

 

So it came today. I hook it up to my carvin Xamp, via FX loop.

 

at first, yuck. Not liking what i hear.

 

Turn the Speaker sim switch on, turn on my amps OD channel. Hit distortion on the Boss, and WOW.

 

Im VERY pleased with this thing! Its QUIET in the means of noise/bypass..

 

But im curious, ive read that you can get pretty much any boss OD/Distortion pedal out of it

 

Does anyone know settings for it to mimic a specific pedal? or just have a kickass setting? Im finding my own but i dont mind hearing others sounds.

 

Thanks in advance!

[Robbert]

The GL100 isn't bad at all. It's about as expensive as a DS-1 but with loads more options.

 

I have the manual if you want. Did you gewt the rack ears too (I'm looking for them )

[MadSkillzMan]

I got rack ears with it yes, they seem pretty easy to make if your good with metal. Id offer em if i wasnt rackmounting it. I can scan/photo close ups of em if you like.

 

However im missing the footswitch. Im thinking i could just make one no? I figure ill wait to see what other rackmount gear i get. I have the behringer midi controller, itd be nice to convert everything to work off of that

[ck3]

How is the speaker simulation feature on this preamp?

[RUExp?]

What is the GL-100?

 

It's not on the Boss website.

 

EDIT: nevermind I found it

http://www.bossarea.com/other/gl100.asp

[ck3]

I went ahead and picked up a GL-100 locally. It had been sitting in a shop in Brunswick, ME for over a year ... so the dealer was a motivated seller.

 

 

I only bought this unit for its Roland-JC-style clean sounds, so the br3wt4l and soulful distortion/OD modes were a pleasant surprise. I was able to dial in some uber-saturated metal rhythm tones with "Dist I" and even copped a bit of a Dumble feel with "Drive II". The onboard speaker simulator doesn't smooth out the heavier distortions enough to make them musical in a traditional sense, so an external speaker simulator can come in handy in certain direct recording scenarios.

 

My GL-100 won't be replacing my Peavey Rock Master anytime soon, but definitely fills a tonal niche that my other preamp can't. When I devise a way to create an A/B setup using both preamps, I may finally have all the basic clean and dirty sounds that I will ever need.

[ck3]

Are there any other GL-100 owners on this board?

 

I tinkered with the "sharp" mode of channel 2 a bit today and was able to get convincing piezo/acoustic-type tones with a neck humbucker. Aside from being able to cop tones reminiscent of a DS-1, SD-1, MT-2, HM-2, BD-2, Big Muff, and BeeBaa, the GL-100 can also mimic the AC-2 ... and it has 100% analog circuitry. These things are a steal for their current price.

[cdawzrd]

I have one somewhere... It needs some cleaning of the pots, kinda beat up but still works fine. It uses a latching footswitch for channel selection, to whoever asked. I kinda like it, especially for the price.

 

I really need the rack ears o.0 I'd be interested if you could scan them in or give good measurements (in mm with a good ruler or calipers). If not, no big deal I guess. It's annoying that the ears have that little "squiggle" in them instead of just being a right-angle piece.

 

I need to start using mine again--when I first got it I really liked some of the sounds, but found it hard to work into my setup.

[ck3]

 

I need to start using mine again--when I first got it I really liked some of the sounds, but found it hard to work into my setup.

 

 

The GL-100 strikes me more as the type of device around which you build a rig vs. something that would be added to an existing one. Though it can function like a pedal in most respects, I tend to think of it as a 9-channel preamp.

[cdawzrd]

 

The GL-100 strikes me more as the type of device around which you build a rig vs. something that would be added to an existing one. Though it can function like a pedal in most respects, I tend to think of it as a 9-channel preamp.

 

 

That's true. Maybe I'll use it as my "non-tube" rig-- use that as the preamp with my V-amp pro for effects into my fender FM212.

[Mikhaelgp]

I have one of these Boss GL-100s, and I like the tones I can get from it. However, it's EXTREMELY level sensitive, and it gets a crackly distortion on top of whatever else it's doing, and the level without the crackle is too low. Does anyone know what this might be?

[part12studios]

Hey guts I'm only 8 year late to the conversation lol, but I just got my hands on one of these and I love it. Puts the recently acquired HM2 pedal to shame mostly because the pedal is noisy while this thing is remarkably "tight" in terms of not generating any noise beyond what is going through it..

 

but I wanted to mention a quick tip to the Rack Ears inquiry. Mine came without ears and I did some online shopping and found this set of ears http://www.katerno.com/detail/s/561476/p/ATN1007/ for sale. came to around $17 with shipping.. now bear in mind though you'll need a file or dremel tool to adjust the holes just a smidge, but well worth the effort.

 

There might be others that were a better fit but going from images on the internet this was the closest sure thing i could find at a reasonable price.

[WRGKMC]

I've owned one for about 22 years. I've used it on more recordings then I can count. I did use it for awhile in my live rig, but it does better driving a power amp then running it into a guitar amp, but its still not bad that way. It does have channel switching but not bypass mode. If you want to use it in place of a pedal using an effect loop switch so you can bypass it completely may be an option.

 

It does sound good for recording. Its got speaker emulation that removes the harshness you normally get from a preamp signal when you record direct. Its also got High and low impedance outputs, a buffered out (for a tuner or another amp) and a stereo effects loop.

 

If you plug a stereo effects unit like a Alesis Midiverb or Lexicon in there you'll hear some amazing sounds happen when you dial up reverbs and echoes. Even stereo chorus takes on a whole new sound. You can plug in mono too if you're going to use a single amp, but it really opens up when you're running stereo.

 

The preamp gain will go from super dry and scooped Strat tones on the one channel to gradually stepped up gains on the other channel. If you have a basic amp with no channel switching this unit can provide that. You can get some Boston type driven guitar if you use the high gain settings and play with the mids but overall its drive tones are a bit 80ish. Since its got an effects loop you can run other gain boxes in the loop and get more variety. I used it with a Yamaha GEP 50 (a rack unit nearly identical to the SPX90) in the loop for a long time because it had great reverbs, echo and chorus. I also ran other gain pedals in the loop for more variety.

 

Recording direct it gets you decent meat and potato tones for tracking. I haven't used mine for a couple of years, mainly because I got bored with the sounds and wanted to use something else for awhile. I've been using other rack units like an ART SGX 2000 and other modern multi effects units lately for recording but I'll likely break the boss out again at some point.

 

Here's one tune I did using that Boss recording the guitars direct. I had an Alesis midiverb in the effects loop https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1682170/Rain%20%5BMaster%5D.wav

[1001gear]

Anybody gonna see Linkin Park?

[WRGKMC]

Anybody gonna see Linkin Park?

 

Looks like they are touring mostly in Europe. They have one show in Arizona in November which is about 1170 miles away.

 

I'm really not into Metal much. There has to be something unique there to catch my ear and remember who did it. I may know some of their songs from having heard them on the radio but I honestly couldn't list one of their songs off the top of my head.

[MesaMonster]

I have an OD-20 that I am looking to get rid of if you are still interested. Never quite got on with it.

[WRGKMC]

I have an OD-20 that I am looking to get rid of if you are still interested. Never quite got on with it.

 

That would be allot more versatile with a guitar amp playing live, especially with its switching capabilities.

 

I was wanting to buy a ME 50 for awhile. I then played with a guy in a band who had one and wasn't impressed. I don't think he know how to use it very well, but still it lacked Gravitas.

 

I played with another guy who used a GT-6. He was an excellent player and knew how to get the best from that board. We did allot of recordings together over a 5 year period. Many of the effects were pretty good but he still couldn't match the driven tones I'd get using simple stomp boxes.

 

I might grab something like used cheap just to have fun but I'm really overloaded with effects at this point. I should sell a bunch of them off myself.

[DrewIn2une]

Hey hey my my. This thread will never die. I love my GL-100. I used it as my pseudo Mesa module. On top of my Red Knob Twin running through an ART Multiverb EXT. Playing my only electric, my 1980 ES Artist. And a shameless plug to my music.

Ok, glad I got all that out of the way... Here's my problem I would love some expert advice on. Sometimes when I plug into the GL-100, I get no output. It would be sporadic and sometimes increasing my guitar input would "blow out" the problem for a while. Full gain input would seem to overpower the problem and I would return to normal levels for a while. I then switched to the rear input which seemed to solve the input problem completely until today. I hooked up a keyboard which had more gain input than my guitar which "blew out" the connection problem and I got my GL-100 back. I would love to solve this input problem. Is it just the input jacks or is it something else? I'm not shy on taking things apart and am handy with a soldering iron. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[WRGKMC]

It sounds like its either a jack or a cord to me. May not be the input jack either, it could be an output cord or whatever you have connected in a loop.

 

Next time when you pull the cord out see if you can twist the tip or ring of the Plug end. Cheap plugs are riveted together, a couple of tings and the rivet loosens up and then you have a loose ground. Sometimes the cord gets oxidized too. Take a piece of steel wool and clean the connector ends so they make a good contact plugged in.

 

The jack on the front of the unit is a PC mount plug. If its intermittent there's likely a cracked solder joint. The unit would need to be opened and the solder joints re-soldered. Don't attempt to clean the connectors. They are made of plastic and the cleaner may damage the plastic forcing you to replace them. If anything you can put some cleaner on the plug then insert it while its still damp and rotate it to only clean the contacts.

 

Do not squirt contact cleaner into a PC mount jack. Bad things can happen. First, if its a bad solder joint it may temporarily mask the problem. The cracked solder may make a contact and seem like its better till it oxidizes again. The cleaner can cause the jack to disintegrate. I wiped out a used patch bay once trying to clean the plastic jacks. They all started cracking into small pieces within a month or two due to the solvent in the cleaner. Leaving fluid on the board can eat away at the protective coating they put on boards to resist dirt and moisture. Electrical solder contacts on components once exposed to the air can wind up oxidizing badly over time and short the board out. Alcohol does this to solder for some reason. As a tech I leaned from my mistakes because I was the guy who had to fix the problems I created. If you get alcohol on a board you have to dry it then treat the board with a petroleum based cleaner. It seals the plastic coating and prevents oxidation. Alcohol removes it and accelerates oxidation.

 

In any case, resoldering a cracked solder joint or replacing the jack are your only options. The plastic jacks are cheap garbage and once the stainless steel connections inside get flattened out there's no fix for them. The contacts are held in place to the switch housing with plastic rivets/ Once they loosen the switch is toast. Plastic jacks get damaged easily when you yank on a cord. Using the rear input is your best option. (if you're positive you haven't got a bad cord.

[1001gear]

Could be any analog transfer in there. Have you opened it up?

[DrewIn2une]

Makes total sense as that was the same problem with the Red Knob Twin. Each push and pull of a cord or knob was stressing the pins directly mounted to the PCB. I tried a few different cords and none made a difference. I'm pretty certain it is on the GL-100. I'll open it up and take a look today. Really appreciate you getting back so quickly. I'll let you know what I find and how it goes.

[DrewIn2une]

Could be any analog transfer in there. Have you opened it up?

I did today and everything looked good. No bad caps and everything solid as a rock. I hadn't used it in about 12 years and you know how that goes with gear. They need electrons flowing through them. ;-) This isn't the first piece of gear where pushing the gain "blew out" the stuck signal. I was wondering if there was something I was missing and an easy way to diagnose. I just took some WD and a q-tip and cleaned the contacts on both inputs. A little dusty but not rusty or caked with anything. And not loose in any way. I thought of bending the contacts to make a more solid connection but I left it alone and both front and rear inputs are working fine for the time being. I ran my U-20 through it with Organ1. Man with some distortion it sounds awesome! I need to replace the backlit LCD in the ART Multiverb also. Opened that up and it will be easy to get to. Luckily the part is available. Thanks for the help. Really appreciated.

[1001gear]

I did today and everything looked good. No bad caps and everything solid as a rock. I hadn't used it in about 12 years and you know how that goes with gear. They need electrons flowing through them. ;-) This isn't the first piece of gear where pushing the gain "blew out" the stuck signal. I was wondering if there was something I was missing and an easy way to diagnose. I just took some WD and a q-tip and cleaned the contacts on both inputs. A little dusty but not rusty or caked with anything. And not loose in any way. I thought of bending the contacts to make a more solid connection but I left it alone and both front and rear inputs are working fine for the time being. I ran my U-20 through it with Organ1. Man with some distortion it sounds awesome! I need to replace the backlit LCD in the ART Multiverb also. Opened that up and it will be easy to get to. Luckily the part is available. Thanks for the help. Really appreciated.

 

I have bedroom rack stuff that's seeing less and less use - 6 mos this time - and it's always a jack or pot. I have one pre with a balky tone stack so I shimmed it with cardboard, That does the trick although in this case the shorted sound is louder and more present. Go figure.

[WRGKMC]

Never ever use WD40 for electronics. WD 40 is a moisture/rust inhibitor and when it dries can make electrical issues worse. The solvents can damage plastic too. In a pinch use some rubbing alcohol or naphtha (lighter fluid) on a Q tip, or douse the end of a jack and work it in and out a few times. It should get rid of any dirt building.