Editors for the BOSS GT-1, 3, 5, 6, 8, Pro, 10, 100, 001 Guitar Multi-Effects Processors, and the BOSS GT-6B,10B Bass Multi-Effects Processors. And for the Katana modelling Amplifier. This software can edit patches via midi on the BOSS Multi-Effects/AmpProcessor.
If you have a DAW like GarageBand, Pro Tools, or Reaper and are thinking about buying an audio interface like the Focusrite Scarlett Solo or the Scarlett 212 to send your Boss GT-10 (or other guitar effects processor) signal into your computer you might want to read this article first.
I actually had the GT-10 and GarageBand sitting unused on my MacBook Pro for a couple years before I realized that I already had everything I needed to record my guitar.
All I needed was one simple thing… a USB cable!
To be specific I needed the type of USB cable that normally attaches to a printer, like this one AmazonBasics USB 2.0 Cable – A-Male to B-Male – 6 Feet (1.8 Meters) that costs a whopping $4.99!
But, I didn’t need to buy one because I had one attached to my laser printer all along.
So, I unplugged it from my printer, plugged one end into my GT-10…
and the other into the MacBook Pro…
and Viola!!!
I could record my guitar.
And as a bonus I was able to start recording for the low, low, price of zero dollars instead of spending $99 or $149 on an interface.
Very nice!
Fair warning: there were a few snags and false starts before I got it working correctly. Make sure to read the rest of the post to get the details if you’re struggling to get this to work for you.
First, you’ll want to get the special driver from Boss and install it on your computer. Your computer will recognize it without the special driver but the special driver has advanced functions. You can read in depth about this process starting at page 90 in the Boss GT-10 manual on Roland.com If you don’t install the special driver it will simply run in standard USB mode.
If you already have GarageBand open when you plug in the GT-10, a pop-up will ask you if you want to use the GT-10.
Click yes.
In a couple seconds another pop-up will tell you there is now one midi controller available.
Click ok.
Here are the things I had to do as a result of the “snags” I ran into when I first tried using the GT-10 as my interface. Some of these items will apply to other DAWs and some will be GarageBand specific because that is what I am using at the time of this writing.
You will want to set the output to Line/Phones by pressing “output select” and selecting it from the menu.
This will activate the speaker simulator in the GT-10. It definitely affects the sound that is recorded. The GT-10 changes the signal depending the connection type: Amp, JC-120, Combo Amp, Small Amp, Line/Phones, etc.
One thing that confuses many people is that once the GT-10 is selected by GarageBand as the input source the recording level slider grays out.
The slider grays out because once the GT-10 becomes the input source it also takes over level control for the track on which it records. This includes the expression pedal when it is set to be a volume pedal. The expression pedal in volume pedal mode will directly control the track volume level slider in garage band.
Set the monitor to “off”
It’s so quiet! What the…???
When I first plugged in the GT-10 and tried to record a track the levels were way to low until I figured out a couple other adjustments that needed to be made.
One, turn up the output level all the way.
Two, you will want to turn up the patch level fader on the GT-10 (far right fader in picture set at 170).
All of the preset patches return the level to 100 when you change patches or power on and off the unit. A level of 200 (all the way up) works well on heavy distortion patches. You will want to experiment with levels on clean patches. I’ve found I need to roll them back a little to avoid clipping the signal.
(UPDATE: The patch level issue seemed to resolve when I updated Garageband. I was running an older version at the time I wrote this post. After the update the patches work fine at the preset level of 100. Generally speaking it is the basic issue of getting a strong enough signal without clipping. You may or may not have to adjust the patch level.)
Another cool thing about the GT-10 is that you can control the low, mids, and highs of each patch in addition to the level with the fader knobs just like an amp.
Also, make sure that the expression pedal is all the way down. Then check to make sure the track you are recording is at 0db.
Here’s a quick summary/checklist of the process to use the Boss GT-10 as an audio interface.
- USB special driver from Boss
- Select USB mode standard or advanced
- Set output to Line/Phones
- Set expression pedal to 100%
- Set patch level to 200 (less with clean patches if signal clips)
- Turn off monitoring (GarageBand)
If you don’t have the GT-10 but have something like the GT-100 or Line 6 HD500x or another floor guitar effects unit this will still work. It’s the same process.
There you have it, how to use the Boss GT-10 as an audio interface.
Boss Gt 10 Librarian Software
With the money you save you could buy EZ Drummer 2 or Superior Drummer 2.0 (I actually bought Superior Drummer 2.0 for way less when they had a ridiculously low price for the holidays) and have a virtual drummer to jam and record with instead.