G System Owners- A Little Help Please!

[robbph37]

I just got a g system and after reading the manual I am not getting it. I have a Egnater M4 preamp, a VHT 2502 power amp and the Gsystem. Thats it. What is the best way to set all this up. I keep going over the manual and the setup is not working. Keep in mind the Egnater has no effects loop. Only an out and input.

 

[sinasl1]

run your guitar into the input of the G system. then plug the insert send (the 5th loop on the back) on the G system into the input of the egnater. Then run a cable from the pre loop out on the M4 to the insert loop return on the G system. Then run the stereo outs on the g system to your power amp ins.

On the G system, make sure you have the insert loop turned "on" at all times. Page 45 in the G system manual explains how to use the insert lock feature to do this.

Run a midi cable from g system midi out to M4 midi in... you'll have to figure out how to get the g system to switch the pre, it's pretty easy.

Set up like this, the compressor and wah are in front of the pre and all the time based efx stuff is after the pre and before the power amp.

It should sound great- spend some time making sure all the levels are set correctly etc. Have fun!

 

[robbph37]

How do you get the insert loop on at all times. Page 45 does not explain it to me clearly. Sorry I am slow.

 

[sinasl1]

I don't have a G system here right now- you need to get into utility mode, then make sure the loop is on, then find the insert lock feature in utility mode and turn it on.

 

[robbph37]

Thanks Sinas1. It works now but has a terrible sound. This is gonna take some wrok and the manual is average at best.

 

[Laird_Williams]

Thanks Sinas1. It works now but has a terrible sound. This is gonna take some wrok and the manual is average at best.

You have some work to do yet - and yes, the manual is not a very good tutorial - more of a reference.

There is a pretty good thread here that provides a number of good tips and tricks for setting up the G. Search for "g-system" and go to the thread with a zillion posts.

1. You need to set your levels right - this is not a trivial task, but once you have it you should not have to do it again.
2. You need to make sure not to use the presets, which stink. (If you are judging the sound of the unit by the presets you'll have issues.)
3. If you have a lot of hum and have set your levels correctly, you MAY need an isolator to break a ground loop.
4. You MAY want to jack the guitar into loop1 return rather than the guitar in to bypass the first FX block.
5. Did I mention that you need to set your levels right?

 

[robbph37]

Laird. Thanks I will try that as well. I have worked all weekend with the Gsystem. It has improved but I still feel that it is sucking tone from my Egnater. I will keep working with it. I have used a Keeley compressor before and I do not like the G-system compressor at all. Any tips?

 

[Laird_Williams]

I hate the G's compressor and have a Barber tone press in loop 2.
The Keely would go in about the same place. And - can you believe this - darn near every friggin preset has the compressor on. So you play around with the unit using the presets and immediately conclude that the whole thing is a piece of poopy. It ain't - just the compressor is a piece of poopy.

Since I don't use the first AD/DA block at all, (I am not a wah-filter person, and I hate the G's compressor) I also jack the guitar input into loop 1 return and keep loop 1 on for all my patches. This effectively "true-bypass"es the first AD/DA block, which is where a lot of dynamics get lost.

The problem is not the AD/DA stuff itself - its what they do with the signal pre and/or post processor - probably buffering or amplification or both. Even with all the first block FX turned off, the signal comes out MUCH hotter than the plain guitar signal.

Assuming you have your loop level at 0db and your loop headroom at a reasonable level, the entire path from loop1 to your amp (in the insert loop) is all analog and remains unprocessed and relatively unmolested (not amplified, not attenuated, and probably not buffered either) by the G. The only thing that may screw with your sound to any great degree in this case is other pedals (which is what you want). This will get you closest to the sound you get with the guitar straight into the amp.

A lot of us have done this with great success.

 

[sinasl1]

You need to keep the level paramater waaaaay down on the compressor... try like, -12 db or even a little lower. Then set the other stuff to taste. It's kind of hard to get a handle on. It's not bad once you do..... not amazing, either. I have a Demeter Compulator, that compressor kicks ass. But I don't use compression much, so i just live with the one in the G system.