Does anyone have a TC Electronics G System???
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Posted on Mar 27, 2007 12:10 am
amcolan
Member Since: Jan 24, 2007
Anyone have any experience with this unit? I bought one a few weeks ago and am getting a loud humming noise on my gain channel as soon as I plug in the G-system. Tried it on 3 different amps so its not my amp.
Anyone out there had this problem with theirs? Is there a setting on the unit I need to change hopefully? Right now I feel like throwing this thing across the room. TC Support sucks too.
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Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Mar 28, 2007 09:20 pm I would see if it has a noise gate on it, and turn it on. I have not heard anything bad on the unit as of yet regarding it being noisy at all. But all things are possible I guess. Is it possible that you are getting a ground loop? If you can make sure they are both plugged into the same circuit/outlet.
Also one thing to think about is if the unit has a gain stage that you maybe have turned up too high. It could be either on input or output.
RTL44Member
Since: Apr 08, 2007
Apr 08, 2007 11:58 am Did you get it figured out yet?
I have one and mine makes that same noise when connecting it via the described "4 cable method." I don't understand what the problem is. I also used very short balanced cables, but it still does it. There is another guy who videotaped the same issue on youtube. I e-mailed him yesterday to see if he got it figured out, but I need to find a solution soon before I go back to my previous setup. I have upcoming gigs to play!
Apr 09, 2007 12:51 pm Yes, It was a combination of running balanced cables through the effects loop.(Only from the insert on the TC). Also, I don't really know what the process is, but one of the techs from Guitar Center came to my house and played with the levels and the noise gate and the hum went away completely.
When I get a chance, I'll look at my global level settings and post them, but i'll be out of town till friday so I can't do it til after that. When you finally get the levels set right this unit sounds amazing. I thought it sounded like crap before but now its a lot better. If you dont have the levels correct it really drains the tone out of your pedals as well.
WestonMember
Since: Apr 11, 2007
Apr 11, 2007 01:55 pm I've been so frustrated with my G-System in similar ways and their support is hit and miss most of the time for getting the right person on your support ticket.
My issue is that the G-System makes my clean channel weak and much much quieter than if I take the G-System out of the chain. Keep in mind this is me running the G-System from the front of my amp, NOT through the effects loop (which, don't get me started, was a huge waste of time as well).
So to elaborate further, my dirty channel has no loss in volume, though it is affected in tone slightly. But the problem still is that my clean channel is completely subdued by the G-System immediately after hooking it up. For example if I just plug my guitar directly into my amp without anything else, just a single cable, everything sounds perfect. Both channels are loud and clear, tone is perfect.
Immediately after connecting the G-System my clean channel is immediately quieter and weak in tone and punch. But when switching over to my dirty channel only the tone is slightly different but still acceptable overall in volume and tone. Keep in mind I'm testing this on presets that range from the B95 ALL BYPASSED preset and others as well to make sure it's not a presets certain setting. Even then it wouldn't make sense that it knows to only affect my clean channel!
I have exhausted every option the manual to try and fix this. I have also hooked up to my guitarists amp (he has the same model) and it's the same scenario. Our amps are the Carvin X100B Tube Head.
On a side note I thought maybe if I tried splitting the G-System into a rack setup it would solve my problems based on running through my effects loops. What I found was that once everything was hooked up none of the effects could be heard aside from the filter sections of the G-System?! Basically it was like I was running right through the G-System and none of the effects could be heard at all. Only the Filter section as I mentioned. Screwy stuff, I'm just completely confused at this point.
Apr 18, 2007 12:25 pm I have a G-System that I use in a couple of different configurations.
Hum can be an issue unless you really work the volume/gain levels correctly. This holds especially true if you use the insert loop.
Setting the input gain, loop levels, and loop headroom properly is vital to making the unit work - and the numbers will change given the amp you use it with.
Weston - As regards when you tried to use the insert loop and only got the pre-gain FX,
did you have the insert loop turned on the G? ALL the loops on the G can be bypassed and by default the insert loop is OFF and its setting is PATCH SPECIFIC. You can change this. If you are always using the G with the amp - do this:
1)Turn the insert loop on
2)Turn on the insert lock on the unit.
Once you do this, the insert loop will always be enabled for all patches.
If you already did this, then there was a connection error somewhere. Here is the proper connection setup for a combo amp with an FX loop:
Guitar --> G-In
G-Insert Send --> Amp-In
Amp-FX Loop Send --> G-Insert Return
G-Out --> Amp-FX Loop Return
The FX loop should be in SERIAL mode or set to "Full Wet" if it is a parallel loop.
I have more responses/help for you guys. I have had my unit for over a year and am pretty good with it. But I have to go get lunch. ;-)
-Laird
Apr 18, 2007 02:56 pm For anyone interested in the unit, I also STRONGLY recommend that you run the 2.0 or greater firmware. It is vastly superior in almost every way to the 1.x firmware.
WestonMember
Since: Apr 11, 2007
Apr 18, 2007 06:06 pm Hi Laird,
I really appreciate your help, this has been so frustrating.
I recently came across a simple but overlooked possibility that I haven't tried yet. It appears that my amp's footswitch has a switch that enables/disables my effect loop. So it must have been disabled when I had everything hooked up and I didn't realize that I had to push it to get sound!? Duh.
I did have all the settings and connections as mentioned above internally set to "ON" in the G-System menus but it must have been this effect loop footswitch thing stopping everything from working correctly.
So, I'm going to see if that's what the problem is. Today I'm going to split the G-System in two again and try the rack/effect loops routing option and hope it works.
I hope it does because this issue of running in front of the amp is not working for me at all. It completely drains my clean channels volume, power, and tone beyond belief. It also pulls from my distortion channel a bit but not nearly as much as the clean; it's so weird. I am certain all of my input/output settings are normal. If I remove the G-System and plug straight into the amp, no problem, all sounds perfect for both clean and dirty.
Thanks!
Weston
Apr 19, 2007 12:26 am Not to mention that having time-based effects like echo and chorus in a pre-gain location sounds like poopie anyway ;-)
I am glad you found the issue Weston. The root cause sounds, if not in detail certainly in spirit, all too familiar. I've had so many brain farts with my equipment over the years it was hard for me not to laugh about your diagnosis.
WestonMember
Since: Apr 11, 2007
Apr 19, 2007 02:17 am Quick question...I'm planning on hooking my G-System up to my amp via the effects loop setup. If I ideally only want to use my Carvin head's clean channel and not the distortion channel, does this mean that I can simply hook it up to the G-System without using my amp as a preamp and power amp? I ask because I'd rather have the extra insert loop on the G-System to run another stomp box. Or does my Carvin head use the preamp to create the clean channel? Sorry, I'm still learning with the internals of amps, etc.
Apr 19, 2007 09:09 pm You will still want to use your clean channel in the insert loop. A "clean" channel on a guitar amp is not "clean" at all - and you would not like the sound if it were.
An amplifier is a necessary extension of your instrument. Not using it is like having a gun with no bullets.
-Laird
WestonMember
Since: Apr 11, 2007
Apr 20, 2007 02:59 pm Hi Laird,
So have you ever tried listening to the difference in volume, tone, and power on both your clean and dirty channels with having the G-System hooked up vs running the guitar straight into the front of the amp, nothing else? Let me know if you ever have a chance because the difference for me is awful on the clean channel especially.
So now I am thoroughly confused, more than ever. I went ahead and ran every setup listed in the G-System manual and nothing stops the G-System from sucking the top-end, volume and power out of my clean channel. I can test this firsthand when running the setup where my amp is the preamp and amp in into the G-System by switching my effects loop on and off and comparing the tone. Wow, it just sucks the life out of it. And this isn't just an issue of changing the input gain up on the G-System or switching my amp's effect loop +6db to compensate. It's a problem, period.
I've read online and seen a few other people with this issue but I'm starting to wonder if it's amp specific because most people don't mention it. Maybe they never compared their amp with or without the G-System hooked up, I don't know.
I'm not a tone freak but it's enough where my entire band is like, what the hell?! However last night I tried hooking it up to a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier Trem-o-verb combo amp and didn't notice a change in tone that much at all. It's driving me nuts though because I don't know if I need to buy another amp now or what.
I'm going to call Carvin to see if they are aware of any conflict between my X100B and the G-System because this is so weird to me. Another strange thing is when I have the effects loop enabled (G-System activated) via my amp's footswitch, my distortion channel becomes unavailable. I get clean only, period even if the front of my amp indicates it's on the dirty channel by way of a red LED. Crazy, I am stumped.
I'm going to call TC because their online support is weak when it comes to anything that isn't a common issue they run in to and it takes forever for them to get back to posts sometimes. Understaffed it seems.
Any ideas?! You don't have these tone issues? Please respond on that question though after comparing with G-System and without ;)
Apr 20, 2007 11:58 pm I have no such problem on my H&K Switchblade 100 Combo. I have not heard of this before. My guess is that the output of the G is not high enough. The gain stages in the distorted channel are compensating enough that you don't notice - but the clean channel gain is not managing to do so.
When you first encountered this problem, were you using the following wiring? I realize that you have apparently encountered the problem in a loop setup. I just want to know.
Guitar -> G-System In
G-System Out -> Amp In
What version of the G firmware are you running? Also - do you know how to set the G up for unity gain when all the FX are bypassed? I think you would do well to start there.
Your problem with the Loop and the Overdriven channel make me wonder about a wiring fault inside your amp. I would certainly talk to Carvin - but I do not really expect that this is related to your clean-tone issues.
WestonMember
Since: Apr 11, 2007
Apr 22, 2007 03:24 pm Wow Laird, you seriously know your stuff! You're a great guy to know in my time of need ;), so thank you for that!
When I first encountered this problem I was in fact running the setup you mentioned.
Guitar -> G-System In
G-System Out -> Amp In
I have set the output of the G-System higher several times when tinkering around with the problem and it just becomes simply louder, but the tone issue remains, and lack of punch. It sounds like my clean tone is being driven by a dying amp or by a dead 9 volt battery. Super thin and weak.
Again though, based on the wiring setup, if I remove the G-System or turn the effects loop off, everything sounds perfect.
I gave Carvin a call and they suspected what you said, something shorting with the wiring may be related to the loop overdrive issue.
So I don't know too much about effect loops in general. Is the only benefit that you can turn them on and off via the amp's footswitch so you can choose between your natural amp/guitar tone versus effects or are there other benefits?
I ask because I tried the effects loop setup in an effort to decrease the effect it would have in my raw tone. The thing is, I'm never planning on ever having the effects disabled, I always want to be running through the G-System, period. With that said, does running through the effects loop make no sense for someone like me? Or does running through the effects loop actually change something soundwise when the effects are enabled on my natural amp/guitar tone?
I'm running the latest firmware, 2.01. I am not familiar with unity gain that you mentioned. When you say all effects are bypassed do you mean the preset B95 on the G-System "ALL BYPASSED"? I really don't see why they call it all bypassed because it sure doesn't sound like it by way of tone for me haha. Please do share this unity gain topic you mentioned, I am definitely willing to try everything versus selling my G-System and going back to tons of stomp boxes without programming abilities per song.
I can't tell you how appreciative I am for your help. Honestly you have been way more help than TC's customer support by way of online and phone on their end.
Apr 22, 2007 07:20 pm Two ideas:
Unity gain means you get the same dBs out as you get in: no amplification, no attenuation. If you set the G for unity gain and bypass all the FX ( and yes, the ALL BYPASSED patch should do well) then if you still have tone issues it has to be something with the G bleeding you out.
I DO have one thing different in my setup than a lot of other folks - and I wonder if that is part of the difference. I have a tube buffer on the front end of my rig. My guitar goes into the buffer and then into the G. I wonder if a conditioned signal is what is making me happy with mine.
You should REALLY use the FX loop setup with the following wiring. (Explanation coming as to why.)
Gtr -> G-System In
G-System Insert Send -> Amp In
Amp FX Send -> G-System Insert Return
G-System out -> Amp FX Return
Why? Because feeding time-based FX like chorus, tremelo, delay and reverb through an overdriven gain stage results in a smeared, sometimes even pulsating sound. OPTIMALLY, you should mic your cabinet and apply such FX to the mic signal, so even the power-tube gain stage comes before these. But in the real world, most of us can't do this.Sinc the preamp is responsible for most of the overdriven tone in most of our rigs today, putting these FX after the preamp stage(but before the power stage) is a reasonable compromise. Putting the G before the guitar amp alltogether is a recipe for ugly side-effects.
If you want to read up on a good essay on this topic, go to amptone.com and check out the info there as regards signal chain design and FX order.
Having said this - I have talked with several people now whose FX loops are parallel rather than serial, and they have all kinds of tone problems when the G is in the loop. The G is really designed for a serial loop. Apparently, its behavior in some parallel loops, even when they are set to "all wet" is not so good. All my loops are serial, so I do not experience these problems.
The G-Major has a compensation algorithm called "KillDry" that helps deal with this - but the G-system has no such thing - yet. Maybe in the next firmware release.
If you can get your hands on a (loaner) high-quality signal buffer/conditioner to put between your guitar and the G, you might try seeing if that resolves the issue.
-Laird
WestonMember
Since: Apr 11, 2007
Apr 23, 2007 12:11 am Hi Laird,
I actually am running that exact setup you mentioned at the moment. I tried it out last band practice but I get the same tone problem either way.
Gtr -> G-System In
G-System Insert Send -> Amp In
Amp FX Send -> G-System Insert Return
G-System out -> Amp FX Return
However, when it is hooked up this way I can tell the difference in tone by merely pushing the Carvin effects loop footswitch to "on" or "off". When it's "on" I can hear what my amp sounds like through the G-System, when it's "off" I can hear how great my amp sounds without it. Haha, it's a great way to compare but disheartening to find out after paying $1500 for a G-System this is where I'm at...still.
I'm almost certain my effects loop is serial since my amp is somewhat older. It's a Carvin X100B. Tech docs are listed here if you can tell from them if serial or not, I can't tell...
www.carvinmuseum.com/techdocs.html
You mentioned the buffer that you use. Have you tried pulling the buffer out of the equation to see how different your tone sounds? That'd be interesting to see if there's any difference. That would tell me a lot.
As I'm sure you noticed before you left a review on HarmonyCentral.com for your G-System, a very large amount of people complained of the tone-draining issue with their G-Systems.
It just amazes me that such a flagship so-called new step in effects processors would have such an obvious drawback. Apparently they paid Steve Vai a lot to overlook this issue.
Either way, I shouldn't have to spend an entire month of my time scouring the net just trying to get the thing to stop ruining my tone. TC knows that this is a guitarist's biggest concern. I just feel stupid for trusting them and buying this thing. I mean, why should I have to buy a signal buffer at all? If that's the case then TC seriously screwed up in my opinion.
And to top it off Laird, you're way better customer support than TC and you're just a fellow G-System owner!
TC, if you're reading this, call me back already! Laird, any ideas besides the buffer? I suppose I could try it but it just seems like it'd be a band-aid on something that will never heal. I just don't want to compromise so much.
Weston
Apr 30, 2007 11:20 am Hiya Guys. I need some advice.
I'm looking to get a G-System to replace most of my pedals. I want to know what you guys think the best way would be to connect the G-S up with my setup.
I have a Carvin Legacy VL212 Combo which has an Effects Loop. These are the pedals I am keeping. Bad Horsie Wah, Little Alligator Volume, Digitech Whammy (9VAC) and Boss DS1 Distortion. Yes I know I could use and expression pedal for the Wah, Vol and and Whammy but I am keeping them. All of these except the Whammy will be powered by the G-System.
Cheers
Baz
May 02, 2007 01:50 am Some of the setup is pretty straight-forward.
Some depends on what you want to do.
More than likely you will want your amp's preamp section in the Insert loop on the G. This means:
G-System[Insert Send] --> Amp[In]
Amp[Loop Send] --> G-System[Insert Return]
G-System[L/Mono-Out] --> Amp[Loop Return]
You seem like a Morely fan. Get two of their 2-channel ground-loop busters and use 3 of the 4 channels in the connections listed above. You will not be sorry. The potential for ground-loops in this kind of setup is profound.
As for all the pedals - you can certainly power any 9VDC pedal off the G's power outputs. As a consequence, you are unlikely to have ground-loop problems with these.
The DS-1 Should probably be in one of the loops so you can just leave it on and then bypass it on a patch-by-patch basis.
If you want to be able to bypass the wah and whammy pedals on a patch-by-patch basis, then you should wire them into the Gs loop also.
The Volume pedal is a tough call.
You should NOT wire the Little Alligator into the Volume control on the G. You will lose a lot of the pedal's features and control.
Contrary to what one might think from a surface-reading of the manual, however, you CAN put he Alligator in one of the pedal loops on the G. The manual statement about not putting the pedal in an FX loop refers to putting the pedal post-gain in an amp's FX loop. The G-System pedal loops were DESIGNED for pedals - so you should have not problem.
My guess is that you want to put the Wah in Loop1, the Whammy in Loop2, the DS1 in Loop3 and the Alligator in Loop4. If you ever want to put another pedal in the mix, you can bring the Wah out before the input.
That's where I'd start anyway.
You might see if what Mssr. Vai has laid out with all his Morley stuff and a G.
-Laird
May 03, 2007 05:39 am Laird,
U have hit the nail on the head. Yes I am a bit of a Vai freak, and although I have a lot of his gear, can't afford his rack setup tho, there's no way I'm sad enough to pay £99 for an 18ft Dimarzio Vai Signature model guitar lead that's just as good as a £20 lead.
OK
I was interested in the G-System and liked it way before Mr Vai decided to use one. Finding out later that he has now changed his rig to use one just confirmed my choice. He actually used it at the London Guitar Show Masterclass on Satuday by the way, but I couldn't get close enough to see his setup.
On the TC site there's a pic of him with his board and no he's dosn't seem to be using the Little Alligator,unless it's just to the right of his board. I can't tell. It looks like he's got a couple of expression pedals. He is, although using the Wah, Whammy, DS1, TS9 , MXR EVH90 Phaser and a Strobostomp tuner.
So how do you think he hooks it all up as I'm just getting the tuner, phaser and TS9 right now??
Baz
May 13, 2007 01:49 pm I HAVE THE ANSWER TO ALL YOU QUESTIONS ON THE G SYSTEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE NOISE YOU HEAR IS A GROUND LOOP HUM DUE TO HOW THE G SYSTEM IS RUN WITH THREE CABLE (1 FOR GUITAR 2 EFFECTS LOOP) WHAT YOU NEED TO DO IS HAVE TWO CABLE MADE WITH BROKEN GROUNDS. HAVE YOUR LOCAL AMP DOCTOR MAKE YOU A SET IT WILL NOT CHANGE THE TONE OR MAKE IT UN SAFE IT JUST THAT YOUR AMP IS FIGHTING FOR A GROUND THREE DIFFERENT WAYS. I HAVE A HUGHES AND KETNER TRI AMP AND SAME THING AWFULL HUM OUT OF THE HIGH GAIN CHANNELS THAT WOULD NOT GO AWAY CALLED HK NO ONE NEW WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS. TILL AMP TECH ACCIDENTLY HOOKED UP A FAULTY GEORGE L CABLE TO THE RIG AND THE NOISE WENT AWAY. TRY THAT AND ENJOY!!!!
May 13, 2007 01:49 pm
I HAVE THE ANSWER TO ALL YOU QUESTIONS ON THE G SYSTEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE NOISE YOU HEAR IS A GROUND LOOP HUM DUE TO HOW THE G SYSTEM IS RUN WITH THREE CABLE (1 FOR GUITAR 2 EFFECTS LOOP) WHAT YOU NEED TO DO IS HAVE TWO CABLE MADE WITH BROKEN GROUNDS. HAVE YOUR LOCAL AMP DOCTOR MAKE YOU A SET IT WILL NOT CHANGE THE TONE OR MAKE IT UN SAFE IT JUST THAT YOUR AMP IS FIGHTING FOR A GROUND THREE DIFFERENT WAYS. I HAVE A HUGHES AND KETNER TRI AMP AND SAME THING AWFULL HUM OUT OF THE HIGH GAIN CHANNELS THAT WOULD NOT GO AWAY CALLED HK NO ONE NEW WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS. TILL AMP TECH ACCIDENTLY HOOKED UP A FAULTY GEORGE L CABLE TO THE RIG AND THE NOISE WENT AWAY. TRY THAT AND ENJOY!!!!
May 15, 2007 05:30 pm Goodness - Double posted and shouting to boot.
A tad excited are we Joey? ;-)
You are on the right track - but a better-sounding and safer solution to the ground-loop problem is to go get an isolator like the ebTech/Morley unit and put it between the G and your amp. I have every signal in my studio run through ebTech isolators and I have dead quiet with no issues. I also put a 2-channel ebTech between the G and my H&K Switchblade combo's FX loop and that too is dead quiet.
On another note:
Hey Weston - I just thought of something.
Are you set up to use the boost function on the G?
If so, then I think I know where at least some of your tone-change is occurring.
The "Boost" function in the G is accomplished by leaving 6db of headroom available for boost. Hence, the non-boosted output is 6db quieter.
For grins - try your test with the boost headroom set to ZERO, recalibrate the levels on your G, and see what happens then. I bet your signal levels go where you want them to and things become far better.
The reason that I did not think of this earlier is that I never DID use the boost function on the G. My rack preamp has a MUCH better boost function that is MIDI controllable, so I reprogrammed the BOOST button on the G to us MIDI to switch the preamp gain boost on and off rather than messing with the boost on the G. It works and sounds great.
My H&K Combo saves the levels, loop state, and tone controls as patches anyway - so I just save a louder copy of any patch to get the "boost" from my amp - and hence have no need of the G's boost their either.
Anyway - I am betting that the boost function is responsible for a LOT of issues that people are having - and would explain why I have not had them - since I have it disabled. It certainly could explain your experience with the dropped signal levels...they ARE dropped if you enable the boost function on the G.
By the way- theGearPages has a great thread on the G where there has been a lot of discussion and one of the H&K guys shows up on occasion.
Here is a link:
www.thegearpage.net/board...835&page=65
May 16, 2007 01:42 am just another victim of the compression wars.
WestonMember
Since: Apr 11, 2007
May 25, 2007 02:05 pm Hey does anyone know why no matter what expression pedal I attach to my G-System, the pedal motion registers backwards? As in, when I tilt the pedal all the way forward in calibration mode it's saying 0 and when I tilt it all the way backward it's saying 99. So when I play I have a backwards responding expression pedal; it's driving me nuts. I haven't looked into the issue deeply so I'm really just lazy and looking for someone to help me out ;)
Also, I've been having this problem where if I'm switching things around in the back of the G-System while it's on all of a sudden I lose all sound; just gone. I have to go into the Utility menu and do a "CLEAR SYSTEM" to fix it. Is this just simply because I'm not supposed to be unplugging things in the loop section while it's on? Probably, but just wondering so I know for sure in the future.
WestonMember
Since: Apr 11, 2007
May 25, 2007 02:19 pm For anyone reading this thread who might have initially had the "tone sucking" problems with their G-System; I wanted to let anyone interested know that I solved my problem.
It was the combination of the compressor being ON and the input gain levels on the G-System not being adjusted high enough, duh. I can't believe how much I overlooked these two issues. I'm also going to test the boost headroom settings as the poster Laird suggested I try; this could further improve things probably.
To see how much the compressor can suck the tone out of your guitar and amp, have your preset on B95 (all bypassed) playing on a clean channel of your amp. Turn the compressor on and off and compare how it can practically turn your guitar into an electric banjo with dead batteries powering it ;). Well, maybe not that extreme but in my opinion it's pretty bad when the compressor is on vs off.
Notice the LED indicator levels on the left side of your G-System when you pick hard or soft. The damp level indicator on the right side will show you how the compressor reacts. What you want to do, in my own experience, is play as hard as you think you'll usually dynamically attack your guitar strings and try to get the left indicator bar to just barely peak with the most aggressive attack you may do when you play. Turn off the compressor for all your presets except for ones such as flangers, phasers, high pictch wahs, etc because the sound wave swells become much too ear-piercing without the compressor on.
I honestly don't even need to use my effects loop anymore now that I have made the necessary changes on my G-System. Everything is in front of the amp and honestly...it sounds amazing. And I kept going back and forth between direct from the guitar to the amp vs having the G-System in the chain and the difference is incredibly minimal. And I'm super anal about that. Sure certain effects going before the preamp could be better but it's pretty minimal considering I only use the clean channel of the two amps I play through.
By the way if you ever have to send your G-System to support and they tell you it'll be a 7-8 turnaround, they mean 25 flippin' days! They said it was because they swapped out my unit for a new one and had to transfer over my stored presets so I wouldn't lose them. C'mon, professional companies meet deadlines for touring musicians; what gives!?
I sent mine in because the lights that surround each pedal button were flickering on and off sometimes so I figured it was worth replacing while under warranty and just in case I had a G-System that was faulty overall because of my tone sucking issues at the time.
I totally agree that TC made a very minimal manual. The default settings on a G-System from the factory are totally unacceptable and the fact that people have to tweak the crap out of them to get it working correctly is odd to me. However now that I have it dialed in I couldn't be happier.
Anyone considering a G-System, you need to be patient, sharp, and prepared to spend time with it. The rewards are far worth it though.
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
May 25, 2007 11:15 pm I'm surprised that it doesn't auto recognize the pedal. All my Line 6 gear does. But one thing you might try is to make sure the pedal is plugged in before you power the unit up. This happens on some oddly designed units. Otherwise you may have a pedal that has a current function switch or the pot is wired backwards. I have seen that with toms generic expression pedals before. You simply have to open it up and switch the two outside wires on the pot. Also are you sure your TRS cable is not funky and messing the signal around?
WestonMember
Since: Apr 11, 2007
May 27, 2007 02:30 pm Hi Noize2u...Thanks for the advice. The thing is that I've used this expression pedal plenty of times before with a G-System and it hasn't been backwards. However, this specific G-System is the one I just got back from the factory after they did a unit swap with my old one. This one is brand new. I'll try a different cable and see what happens but I doubt it's that because it's the same cable that had no problems before. So when switching the wires on the pot, does that involve soldering?
Thanks! Weston
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
May 28, 2007 06:22 pm Yep, that will involve soldering.
I think then if the unit just got back from the factory I would hit them up and see what they did to it.
Most units that use pedals like that have a set up utility for doing that type of thing. I know on all Line 6 gear it simply looks at the pedal as the unit comes on and sets itself up. I know I have plugged an expression pedal in before to that and other units while powered up and ended up with the backward control. Then I simply powered down and back up and it recognized it straight away.
But form what your stating above it seems as though it is hard set in the memory of the unit.
Jun 18, 2007 03:41 pm greetings
brand spanking new here..and this is my 1st post
im hoping that laird_willams and weston can share some info with me....everyone else is welcome also,,lol
i got me the g system today..i,ve been playin about 16 years and up to know i,ve been playin through a bunch of boss pedals on the floor,,this is actually the 1st time im gonna be dealing with an effects processor such as this
so what i want to know is the best way to hook this up
im using the carvin legacy stack,,i use the zoom 505 purely for the A1 distortion through the amp,s clean channel,,so ill wanna be able to use the G to activate the zoom..also i wanna keep using my digitech whammy and morley bad horsie(giddy-up)
so whats the best way to route the G to my legacy head and where should i connect the pedals
any info will be greatly appreciated
JG
Aug 08, 2007 03:51 pm Hi JG and welcome.
Sorry I took so long - have been busy playing :-) and have not been around here in a while.
I would wire as follows:
Gtr -> Gsys[In]
Gsys[Loop 1 Send] -> Morley[In]
Morley[out] -> Gsys[Loop 1 Return]
Gsys[Loop 2 Send] -> Whammy[In]
Whammy[Out] -> Gsys[Loop 2 Return]
Gsys[Loop 3 Send] -> Zoom[In]
Zoom[Out]->Gsys[Loop 3 Return]
Gsys[Insert Send] -> Carvin[In]
Carvin[Send] -> Gsys[Insert Return]
Gsys[Out] -> Carvin[Return]
If the zoom, whammy, and morley run off 9v, try to use the Gsys Power if you can, since that will reduce the probability of ground loops with the pedals.
Calibrate all the levels with the insert loop enabled and all the other loops and FX bypassed. Then, one by one, add your pedals and make adjustments as needed (pedal levels, etc)
If you have a lot of 60hz hum that you do not get when jacked straight into the amp, you may need some isolation. I needed it, and use a 2-channel Morely unit to go between the G and the Amp's FX Loop connectors.
The G VERY much likes a serial loop, so if your amp does serial loop, then use it in that mode.
Let us know how it goes.
-L
HenzyMember
Since: Aug 21, 2007
Aug 21, 2007 03:38 pm I own the G-system and I love it a lot.But I do have questions regarding the product.I have an ADA MP-1 preamp, I wondering will G-system be able to act as a midi controller for it.
Will G-system be able to change the overdrive to clean sound which already program (or from one preset to another) in the MP-1 but still able to use the effects from G-system? Simply said; can G-system be used of like ADA MPC(midi program changer)?
ok sorry for the long winded message, and pardon me for my confusing question
Sep 26, 2007 12:54 am Henzy,
The G will send MIDI PC (program change) messages to control external gear. You can attach any MIDI program number to a given patch, and the MIDI PC with that program number will be sent out whenever you change to that patch.
The G will also send certain MIDI CC (Control Change) messages in response to foot-pedal presses. You have to reprogram a foot switch for each item you want to control - but it works.
When in my home studio, I have the MIDI PC going to my VHT preamp, so I can select from one of the 3 channels and also turn boosts/brites/etc on and off.
I also reprogrammed the Boost switch on my TC to control the gain boost on my VHT through MIDI CC messages, rather than using the internal boost feature of the G.
Anyway - the point is - I know the MIDI stuff works great. I used it all the time.
-Laird
Aug 01, 2009 11:33 pm Just got a used G-System and I am trying to get a copy of Laird William's guide (white paper). Thanks!
