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Anyone Using the Roland and the ToneLab LE?

Sat, 2008/03/01 - 3:32am — NeedTone
NeedTone's picture

I'm looking at the new Boss GT-10 and the Roland VG-99 (vs. the Variax) and have always considered the ToneLab SE and LE for it's vintage sounds.

Has anyone used or have the Boss GT-8 (or the new GT-10) and/or the Roland VG-99 with the Tonelab?

What's your take on them side-by-side?

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hotraman's picture

Hi Jamie; Welcome to the

Sat, 2008/03/01 - 11:04am — hotraman

Hi Jamie;
Welcome to the site.
One of the guitarists at my church plays a Roland VG 88, not the 99.
But he gets some nice sounds from his rig.
GT8 vs G10? I don't know... POD XTL vs X3L?
I read from other guitar blogs that's its a matter of what sound you are looking for. For my situation, nothing beats the Tonelab SE for pure guitar tone. But its "old school" with it's effects, delays and output.
I bought a L6 POD X3L for two reasons: more modern up-to-date effects and stereo XLR outputs. There are certain kinds of signature "guitar sounds" that the Tonelab SE can't do.
With the newer modelers, X3L, Gt-10, VG-99, the guitar amp simulations sound slightly better.... I've played a U2 patch ( Line 6) against the VG-88 U2 patch... not too much of a difference. The VG-88 is 1/4" output.
Having the stereo XLR output from the X3L is a big plus for me.

gretsch_man's picture

Hi Jamie, This has been a

Sat, 2008/03/01 - 5:54pm — gretsch_man

Hi Jamie,

This has been a question that has been asked many times. I know I asked the same question when I was looking for the best MFX unit. I agree with Hotraman, this will all depend on the sound that you are looking for. I know that I have tried the GT-6, GT-8 and then the TLLE and found the Boss units in my opinion have a very synthasized sound. The Tonelab gave me a much warmer, tube, vintage sound which was exactly what I was looking for. Also, with the Tonelab SE/LE it is so easy to create patches and edit them on the fly. I play with another guitarist who owns the GT-8 and I always blow him away on how fast I can produce effects.
I personally like the option to have everything in sight and not have to surf menus etc.

I own a Gretsch 5120 and Aria Strat with Seymour Duncan Cool Rails, I just love the tone I can produce from the Tonelab through my Tube Crate Amp. I think the answer to this question will be test the units out and see what type of sound you want and compare them.

Good luck to you. This is a great forum and you can get a lot insight from many users that have compared these products. Some of the users on here also have some nice sound clips that they have produced using the Tonelab if you want to get a good idea of what it can do.

Cheers!

nomad100's picture

if i were to get a boss i

Sun, 2008/03/02 - 2:52pm — nomad100

if i were to get a boss i defiantly would not use the distortions in it, but use it in the FX loop of an amp.

NeedTone's picture

Thanks guys for your

Mon, 2008/03/03 - 8:20am — NeedTone

Thanks guys for your input!

I just picked up the VG-99, basically for it's modeling of guitars and alternate tunings vs. the Variax.

From what I've read, the people who have owned both (Variax and VG-99) like the VG better. What sold me was the fact that the X3 Live had some issue with the buttons breaking and the X3 bean didn't connected digitally with the Variax. Also the VG-99 works with any guitar, not just a Variax. I've also heard some problems with the Variax guitars and the piezos when restringing etc.

I know some guys have the VG-99 and the GT-8. Personally I'd like something totally different to go with. Roland/Boss have been know for more of the effects vs amp vintage sounds. I like the vintage myself and think it's time to add the ToneLab to the rig.

I also thought about running some of the different guitar models (dry of course) out of the VG and into the Tonelab to see if I could warm it up and just use the Tonelab FX's and amp & cab emulations. I also have a Fender Blues Jr amp that I could mice for recording as well. Try a bit of this and that with the Tonelab and see what I get! ;-)

hotraman's picture

Nice to hear, Roland makes

Mon, 2008/03/03 - 11:28am — hotraman

Nice to hear, Roland makes great modeling gear.
Compare it to your Tonelab for fun!

ChicoBluez's picture

Love that

Tue, 2008/03/04 - 11:21am — ChicoBluez

Love that Firebird!

Chico

http://www.myspace.com/thefabuloushouserockers

"When the power of love is greater than the love of power, there will be world peace." -Jimi Hendrix

gretsch_man's picture

Hey Jamie, Did you buy the

Tue, 2008/03/04 - 2:24pm — gretsch_man

Hey Jamie,

Did you buy the VG-99 with the Foot Midi Controller? or without it?

tbyrd's picture

I had a GT-8 and a VG-88. I

Tue, 2008/03/04 - 4:15pm — tbyrd

I had a GT-8 and a VG-88. I like the LE "tone" much better. I actually hated the virtual guitar stuff. I wanted to like it and use it, but it sounded too fake to me. YMMV.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=442828

gretsch_man's picture

A friend of mine picked up

Tue, 2008/03/04 - 5:35pm — gretsch_man

A friend of mine picked up the VG-99 to test it out and we just compared tones with the TLLE. I dont think they compare, the VG-99 does have a lot of effects but they still to my ear sound simulated (fake). My buddy is taking it back and picking up the LE tomorrow. The other thing that we compared was ease of use, and with the TLLE it so much easier gettin a basic sound and working with it rather then surfing menus.

Just my 2 cents

nomad100's picture

Even line6 Gave in and

Thu, 2008/03/06 - 8:54pm — nomad100

Even line6 Gave in and started using tubes they are just needed for the natural sound.

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