I don't really understand what's so complicated about the GT-8.
I bought mine when it first came out, ordered from Japan before they were even released here (cheaper too!
). So mine came with a Japanese manual, and given that my Japanese is no good whatsoever, I had to basically figure it out on my own until the English manual was put up online.
It's really not that hard if you just look at it in individual sections. Whenever I want to create a new sound, I just initialise whatever patch I'm going to work with, and start from the ground up. I use mine with a tube poweramp, so I use it for the amp section as well as all the effects 'n' whatnot. Obviously it helps if you know in your head the kind of sound you're going after. If you're just tweaking aimlessly, then yeah, it might be a bit much.
All it is really, is just your amps, effects, and controller, all in one. Except that you've got a lot of amps and effects to play with, and for every patch they can be arranged in a different order. When you play around with a non-GT-8 setup, if you look at everything you've got hooked up all at once, then yeah, it'll be just as daunting if you're thinking about playing around with all the settings to come up with a new sound.
I actually use hardly any of the effects in the FX-1 & 2 sections. I'm not that big into effects, just some of the basics like chorus, delay, reverb, eq, etc. It's more the range of sounds in the amp and OD sections, plus the availability of all those effects should I ever want them, plus the fact that it's all re-configurable within itself, and all very easy to switch between 'n' whatnot. Plus, it sounds pretty damn nice (at least, it does through a tube poweramp IMO).
You can also do some pretty nifty shit with the assigns 'n' whatnot too, and that's where you might be needing the manual.
I guess it depends what you're doing though. If you're only wanting a few effects, and you already have your amp sound and everything, then maybe the GT-8 is a bit excessive, and just getting a few pedals instead would be easier... As an all-in-one though, I think it's great.
I'm considering just reselling it and going back to the simplicity of individual pedals. Of all the effects on the GT-8, I think I would only use 10% of them anyway. I bought it really cheap so I know I could get all my money back.
