Roland U.S.

Mike Bauer

Through The Years With My GT Effects (Part 2) — On Tour

by Mike Bauer

In the previous issue of Worship Connection I shared how I recently upgraded from a Boss GT-5 to a GT-8 and spoke about some of my favorite GT features. Having now toured a bit with my new GT-8, we’ve had some time to get acquainted. In this article, I’d like to share about some of the GT-8’s great new functions and how I’m using them.

The first thing that turned my head (and perhaps my favorite feature of all) are the guitar simulators. The one area that I have struggled with the most in the digital domain is the thickness of my overall sound. With the guitar simulators, I can plug my Strat or Tele into a Les Paul simulator and voila! Instant Phatness!! I’ve been running all my overdriven and distorted tones through the Les Paul simulator and wow, what a difference!

A second feature that I really love is the “solo” function. With the tap of a foot this gives me an added boost of drive and volume for solos. There have been many times I’ve gone to a lead guitar tone only to find I could’ve used a little more “umph.” Well thanks to the good folks at BOSS, my amps now go to eleven!

I’ve also found other uses for the solo function. It can sound great by itself, meaning — without the overdrive being on. I use the solo function without the overdrive for some really nice, mellower lead tones. The solo feature also works great for rhythm. I enjoy using it as a kind of “in between” stage — going between clean and overdrive tones. The solo feature is a great idea and very practical and versatile.

I’ve also been enjoying some of the new delay options. I’m a big fan of the modulating delay and was so glad to see this added to the GT-8. I really like how easy it is to create a “U2” type delay using the “tap tempo” function. Anyone who plays on a guitar driven praise team definitely knows how important the U2 delay is. All I have to do is set the control pedal to “tap tempo” and the delay time to “BPM” (dotted eighth-sixteenth). Then, it’s as simple as tapping two quarter-notes at the tempo of the song (usually during the drummer’s count-off) and I’m in delay heaven…where the streets have no name (sorry I couldn’t resist).

Two final features I’d like to point out are the GT-8’s amplifier style control knobs and the new advanced compressors. These external knobs make it very easy to create sounds quickly. They’re also convenient in a live situation where I might need to make a minor tonal tweak on the fly. Rather than having to press a bunch of buttons to find the right parameter, I can just turn the desired knob — like I would on my amp.

I’ve also always loved the compressors on the GT’s. The GT-8 still offers all the old favorites as well as new ones modeled after some vintage classics. My new favorite of the bunch is the Dyna Comp.

It’s really inspiring to watch and hear the technology of the GT processors get better and better. Of all the processors I’ve tried, I believe the GT-8 is definitely the best one on the market right now. In the last month, I’ve actually received more compliments on my GT tones than I have using my big analog pedal board. That’s a first!

Mike was kind enough to provide a few of his favorite sounds that he programmed on his GT-8.
Right-Click here and download a .MID file containing his GT-8 System Exclusive information. Play this file from any MIDI sequencing software into your GT-8 and enjoy these patches. Here’s how Mike describes them:

“Two are single coil (Strat/Tele) type tones and the other two are Humbucker (Les Paul/PRS) type tones. They're essentially the same two patches with different guitar models. The first one is that classic ‘U2’ delay with overdrive and the second is a rock lead tone for solos. I programmed all of these sounds on a Telecaster so I’d suggest trying them all on single coil guitars first. You might have to make a couple of minor tweaks for the sound of your particular guitar.”

If you enjoyed this article, you might want to check out Through the Years With My Boss GT Effects Pedals (Part 1).

Mike Bauer is a Nashville-based guitarist and clinician who has worked with over 35 artists including Pam Tillis, 4HIM, Paul Baloche, Point of Grace, Sara Groves, and Chely Wright. Mike and his wife also have a worship seminar and praise team coaching ministry called “The Art of Worship Seminars.” Currently he is working on two instructional guitar videos. If you’re interested in having Mike’s entire GT-8 sound set, you can contact him through his website: www.artofworshipseminars.com