Fulltone GT-500 -- differences?

[jbd3]

I know Fulltone switches up the spec of their pedals from time to time. Are all the GT-500 pedals pretty much the same? Do differences between red and grey matter at all? Thanks.

 

[FLYING V 83]

Grey one is harsh & brittle
Red one is warmer, better

 

[jbd3]

Grey one is harsh & brittle
Red one is warmer, better

The red ones are newer, yes?

 

[phoenix 7]

Yes, it's newer. I think it's a great pedal. The boost/OD is great -- reminds me a lot of my big box Clark Gainster. It's just as good IMO. The distortion is challenging to dial in -- lots of bad sounds there -- but I've found a couple settings I like.

 

[shoelace]

I believe the latest ones have the Fat Boost III in the od section

 

[jbd3]

I believe the latest ones have the Fat Boost III in the od section

How can you tell which is the latest one?

 

[embrionic]

How can you tell which is the latest one?

Red

Supposedly all the red ones are the same. I have heard at least three that sounded identical.

I currently own the red GT-500, as tweaked (and signed) by Mike to get to the current production version.

 

[Eclipseall]

Grey one is harsh & brittle
Red one is warmer, better

I have a grey one and its not harsh or brittle. Its loud, thick and warm. The boost side is very fat.

 

[lux_interior]

I have a grey one and its not harsh or brittle. Its loud, thick and warm. The boost side is very fat.

When they first came out, I played with one of them (a grey one) and it was certainly harsh and a bit brittle... Plus, the wah inductor-driven midrange control never produced the tweakability and sounds I was expecting (as a previous owner of the fantastic Keeley Nova Wah).

 

[89strat]

I had the grey one and I now have a red one. The red one is warmer sounding, I think it sounds better overall. The boost side on the grey one always sounded great, not unlike the new ones. The distortion side had some issues that I didn't like, I did find it harsh sounding. It was extremely loud, and got louder as you boosted the eq settings, which of course added to the harshness. The drive didn't really compress enough. I don't know, I just didn't find it as "amp-like" or to have the touch sensitivity and sustain.

The red one, however, fixed all of that and there are a bunch of good sounds. I'd say, for an all around piece of equipment, and I've gigged live with the red one, it has to be one of the best distortions out there. The boost alone is excellent. I play single coils and humbuckers into a DRRI. My main live rig is a RAT and some kind of boost after it like a micro amp or a sparkle drive. But I can come as close as I need to with the GT-500. I'm not sure if I'm giving up my RAT, probably more for nostalgic reasons, and it hasn't earned a permenant spot on my board yet, but from what I've tried, the GT-500 is definitely up there.

If I had to describe the sound, the boost side definitely reminds me of my Deluxe reverb cranked up, and with more drive added kind of gets me closer to that tweed sound. The drive side reminds me of a JCM800 I used to use in our studio. Very close but more open sounding. It has its own thing going though. The grey one is not dramatically different, but I think the controls on the red one react better and are easier to get where you want to go. But I do think the red one is a warmer sound.

 

[phoenix 7]

I believe the latest ones have the Fat Boost III in the od section

I've got the FB3 and the GT-500 on my board. Yeah, the GT-500's OD section is pretty much the same flavor as the Fat Boost 3, but it's got more drive than the FB3.

 

[JeffOlson]

Isn't the boost section the same as the Fat-Boost 2? It sure seems so to me.

 

[ecm1117]

Isn't the boost section the same as the Fat-Boost 2? It sure seems so to me.

Unless they changed the GT-500 again very recently, yes, the boost section is the same as the Fat-Boost 2. I have both pedals and owned a Fat-Boost 3 for a while, and I can confirm it.