g-system vs. g-major vs. g-force

Mister CCJ · #1 07-29-2006, 11:09 PM

whats the best for the money and to record and use live? aslo where can i find sound clips other than the t.c. webpage. someone must have recordings of these things

Mister CCJ · #2 08-01-2006, 10:13 AM

has anyone here recorded with these

desertdweller · #3 08-05-2006, 10:00 PM

All my recordings are with the G-Force.

I love the thing. The effects are top notch, and you have 4 independent signal paths to mix with in the unit, which is really nice when you're routing effects & dry signal.

The G-major is basically a stripped down version of the G-Force. It's still very very good, and I've had a few friends over the years that loved this thing. Hindsight being 20/20 I probably should've bought this unit years ago instead of spending the additional grand for the G-Force. The G-Force is amazing, but for live performance you don't need the highest quality effects & routing, and in the studio you generally want to record dry (and add effects in mix or post) unless you're going direct, which a lot of people don't do anyway.

The G-system, from what I've heard, is everything the G-Force is, only on the floor instead of in a rack.

For bedroom shredding, band rehearsal, basic guitar recording, & live performance, the G-Major will probably do everything you want to do. If you want studio-quality effects and lots of variable options with them, go for one of the more expensive units.

That's my $.02 anyway.

fyrie · #4 08-06-2006, 12:20 AM

The g-system stands apart from the other two because it has some effects that go before the input of your amp such as compression and wah. In addition the g-system has 4 analogue loops before your amps input that can be programmed to be on or off.

The G-Force has a few more "out there" fx than the G-system.

For what it's worth, I have recorded with the G-System, but I didn't use any in-your-face effects. I Just used reverb, compression, wah, and some trem on a few clean passages. Myspace sound quality stinks but here is a link: http://myspace.com/stellarvector . There are two guitarists in the band. My axe is in the right side of the mix.

kennydoe · #5 08-08-2006, 03:49 PM

Maybe I'm stupid.

I needed to replace my Zoom 9030 that i've been using for 6 years now. I bought a G-major becuase everybody here and on HC crows about how great it is.

What I didn't know is that you need a preamp with it if you want distortion effects. Should I have known that? Nobody's mentioned that here.

I guess all the 'normal' guitar players use real amps. i don't.
I feel like a schmuck. Didn't help that the guy at Sam Ash was as unhelpful as a commissioned salesperson could be.

I'm not spending $1500 on a G-Force. Gotta see what else is out there.
~K

Tom Gilroy · #6 08-08-2006, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kennydoe

What I didn't know is that you need a preamp with it if you want distortion effects. Should I have known that? Nobody's mentioned that here.

I guess all the 'normal' guitar players use real amps. i don't.
I feel like a schmuck. Didn't help that the guy at Sam Ash was as unhelpful as a commissioned salesperson could be.

I'm not spending $1500 on a G-Force. Gotta see what else is out there.
~K

Hang on, so your saying that if I wanted to use a G major for distorted sounds, I'd need to go separate preamp>g major>separate power amp. speaker or is is amp head>g major>speaker?

Do the g system and g force require separate preamps?

pawel · #7 08-08-2006, 05:26 PM

As far as I know these are all effects units, so no preamps in them - you need a separate preamp.

Tom Gilroy · #8 08-08-2006, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawel

As far as I know these are all effects units, so no preamps in them - you need a separate preamp.

So hang on, if you're just using it for live use or whatever, you can just rig it up with a normal amp, but when you want to record, you need a separate pre?

Or am I just really, really confused?

pawel · #9 08-08-2006, 05:49 PM

Yeah, you can run it in the fx loop of a guitar amp (preamp out -> TC -> power-amp in).

I am not sure what happens if you plug your guitar straight into the TC and than into the amp - theoretically you can use the amp's preamp, but that would mean that your effects run through the preamp, which is not a good idea.

Mark DY · #10 08-08-2006, 06:43 PM

I have a G-Sys and it's effects only (no pre-amp) unit. I think the effects are top notch as far as keeping the amp's tone in tact. With the G-S there are 4 "loops" that are used in the guitar to amp signal chain where you can take a dist/OD pedal and loop it into the unit in the on position and the loop button on the pedal controls the pedal along with any effects desired. I'm not using it as I'm just using my Road King for the distortion along with an Amp Gizmo for midi switching (GS & RK together).

I wanted rack quality effects without the rack. The GS mounts the unit under the pedal and it can be detached to be mounted in a rack.

David McCarroll · #11 08-08-2006, 07:54 PM

I have a G-Major - it is great - fantastic for the money (ie: REALLY INEXPENSIVE!) - the only occasional whine people make about the device is that it will not do intelligent pitch shifting - the sound quality is absolutely superb. The manual (which you can download from TC's website) states that it is basically a line level device (ie: either in your effects loop, or between your preamp and power amp), however you can just as easily run it before the guitar amp with a bit of input level tinkering - in fact in one configuration, you can actually set the G-Major up as a series of switchable "stompboxes".

As a few people have commented, the one thing the G-Major lacks is switchable effects loops within it's own signal chain, so unlike the G-Force, or G-System, you can't use it as an all-purpose controller for chains of stompboxes.

Also Kenny, all of the TC rack units are effects boxes - they are not designed to replace, say, a POD XT or similar - they are more for people who get their basic tone from an amp, and are looking for high quality reverb/delay/pitch effects.

The G-Major doesn't have the capabilities of the G-Force or G-System, but then again I bought mine for $399USD, as opposed to about $899-999USD for a G-Force or $1400 or so for the G-System - and for that sort of money, it's a steal. While I can't comment from personal experience, TC's own website states that the G-Major, due to it's simplified internal architecture actually changes patches significantly quicker than the G-Force, and there have been the odd moans about the software that drives the G-System still being alarmingly buggy.

I couldn't be happier with the G-Major - at any price - it does exactly what I want it to, it's easy to program and easy to edit - and it worked the way it promised straight out of the box!

Hope that helps,

David

pawel · #12 08-09-2006, 05:02 AM

Anyone tried the G-sharp yet? It seems to be TC's stab at the more entry-level market, I am curious what people think about that one...

iumentum · #13 08-09-2006, 07:16 AM

What I've heard is this:
The G-major: good enough effects, but the units seems to be of poor quality. I know several people who has had one that failed.
G-force: Better effects and quality than the G-major. According to most people, this is the best buy.
G-system: A great package, but this thing is known as a tone sucker. I tried it briefly 4 months ago and tought it was great, but I'd rather buy an G-force and buy stuff from Axxess to switch pedals in and out via midi.

Lexicon is coming out with the MPX-400 wich seems great on paper, and is cheap too.

I use an Intellifex for delay and chorus in the effects loop, works great and sound good. And it's dirt cheap.

Tom Gilroy · #14 08-09-2006, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David McCarroll

Also Kenny, all of the TC rack units are effects boxes - they are not designed to replace, say, a POD XT or similar - they are more for people who get their basic tone from an amp, and are looking for high quality reverb/delay/pitch effects.

David

So you're basically supposed to run it as I had said then? as in, guitar>g system>amp head or what?

kennydoe · #15 08-09-2006, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Gilroy

So you're basically supposed to run it as I had said then? as in, guitar>g system>amp head or what?

Yes, that's what i've learned in the last 24 hours...the G-Major is a great effects unit, but DOES NOT have ANY distortion/overdrive effects.

It's made for use in conjunction with a guitar amp or preamp, thru the f/x loop.

I'm finding that there aren't too many rack units around that are 'all in one' like i'm looking for (i go directly to the house, not thru a guitar amp). There's the Boss VF-1 (discontinued) which i think i'm going to buy off the 'bay.

There's a Pod 2 space rack unit and Boss put their GT-8 into a 2 space rack unit. Both are too big for my rack (and i hate the pod sounds)

There's a variety of floorboard-type effects, but they're not for me. I have a MIDI pedal that puts 10 sounds at my feet at a time without having to switch banks. The floorboards offer 4 or 5 at best.

good luck! sorry to hijack this thread.
~Kenny