Digitech GSP1101 / TC G System with my Mark III - wow!

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JeffMN

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Jan 20, 2009
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Hey,

I'm kinda new here, having recently acquired a Mesa Mark III combo. I also got a matching Thiele 1x12 cab. I've been moving from my Marshall combo with a bunch of stompboxes to this setup. Looking to streamline everything, I checked in to the TC Electronics G System. I bought it from Guitar Center about 2 weeks ago. Really cool unit, some nice FX, and it looks badass. But, it's not about looks at the end of the day.

I traded my Marshall for a package of things, including the GSP1101 with a Control 2 controller. All I can say is WOW. The G System has some great FX for sure, but some things about it just left me scratching my head... like, who really needs a dedicated filter block? Running the 4 cable method caused crazy noise with the preamp of my amp. Not buzz ground loop noise, but hissy noise. Totally surprised by this.

The 1101, while not perfect itself, seemed to be less intrusive to my tone. Yes, it adds a little noise as well... but the thing I noticed the most between the two systems is the 1101 being in my signal path (both pre and loop) still allowed my guitar / amp interaction to occur... hard to describe. Like when your amp is up loud, hit a fat open chord and it just blooms into feedback and harmonic overtones... the 1101 seemed to allow this much more than the G. I was seriously surprised!! I mean, for the money?

Also, my plan is to use the Mesa preamp the majority of the time while I'm playing. Just for grins I tried the AC30 model of the GSP, and was floored. Was it dead on, no, I wouldn't say so... but it was a SUPER cool tone that I instantly punched up at a show this weekend multiple times. The other guitarist in my band made numerous comments about it. He's a complete tone freak too.

I'll stop gushing. For the money, I can't believe all you get out of the Digi. I read many reviews on both units, and saw that many people felt this way about the 1101. I figured the TC *must* be better. Sonically, I honestly side with the Digi on this one. I've heard many stories about balanced cables being required with the TC, but seriously... for a unit that costs $1500 retail, why the @#$* should I be required to buy balanced cables to get it to work at the top of its game?

Anyway... the Digi is a great unit - I highly recommend it!
 
I also have a GSP that I use both as a stand alone unit (with a SS poweramp) and just as an efx unit with my Mk IV head. I agree it has very nice efx AND some very useable amp models. I don't have any of the noise issues you spoke of though.
 
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