G-Major2 weaknesses...

[Kapo_Polenton]

What do you think are the weaknesses of this unit? For me personally, it is the input level. You are supposed to watch for clipping on the unit and adjust the input and output levels accordingly. Problem is, I get clipping before noon. The result is a serious volume drop in my amp. Am I missing something or is this the trade off?

 

[killertone]

Hmmm...weird. I have not had that problem. I run it in the loop of my Fortin and it can actually add a bunch of volume if I want it to.

 

[snakeman1986]

What do you think are the weaknesses of this unit? For me personally, it is the input level. You are supposed to watch for clipping on the unit and adjust the input and output levels accordingly. Problem is, I get clipping before noon. The result is a serious volume drop in my amp. Am I missing something or is this the trade off?

I don't really know anything about why it happens but it happens to me too with my single rec. I think it has something to do with the type of loop...serial or parallel or something...idk anything about the technical stuff

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

Nice to know I am not the only one.. i've got both a serial and parallel loop on this lynchbox, maybe i'll try the other loop and see if it is any diff. Might also just be the type of loop or the way it is designed but that is a huge issue for me if this is the case.

 

[snakeman1986]

ya dude it's terrible. you lose soooo much volume. i'm using the g-force but i had the g-major and it's the same situation and i think i read that it was the type of effects loop. cant promise anything tho.

 

[glpg80]

the g major II is defaulted to line level, switch to consumer in the settings and adjust your input and output levels as well as individual gain settings for each effect afterwards - problem will most likely be resolved.

 

[killertone]

the g major II is defaulted to line level, switch to consumer in the settings and adjust your input and output levels as well as individual gain settings for each effect afterwards - problem will most likely be resolved.

+1 to that. I should have mentioned it but I set my GM2 up so long ago I forgot about that little nugget.

 

[mboogman]

I know my original Gmajor has different level settings in the I/O settings. I've got mine set so 12:00 is "unity gain" for both in and ouputs.

 

[mrkmas]

also dont forget I believe all of the presets by default are set to -6db or something like that.

 

[nevusofota]

the g major II is defaulted to line level, switch to consumer in the settings and adjust your input and output levels as well as individual gain settings for each effect afterwards - problem will most likely be resolved.

+1 to that. I should have mentioned it but I set my GM2 up so long ago I forgot about that little nugget.

Same here, I don't remember how I have it set up (since I haven't fooled with it in over a year) but I never had an issue when run through the serial fx loop of my EVH. When I was reading up on the GM2 a few years ago I found that this consumer setting helped many with the same volume issue.

 

[glpg80]

it was the downfall of the g-major original IMHO, i owned one for years and remember the pain staking time it took to get your gain settings right for the effects to compensate, and god forbid if you added any compression - it messed up everything.

since then i like the g-major II, but what i like even more is not having to set damn gain settings in a menu for patches

thus now i use pedals only for effects and an alesis rack for backup. G-major II is great, but menu's and MIDI is a pain in the ass to me enough to not want to own one after my experience with the g-major

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

This is seriously making me want to go back to pedals too... just get an ebtech line level shifter so I can use my pedals in the loop and be done with it. I find I pretty much play with delay alone and have no need for anything else. I might throw in some phaser now and again and some chorus but that would be it. I just got a good deal on this thing earlier in the year so I picked it up. I was watching that John Norum gear walk through again and his setup is so simple and he's essentially a mega rock star compared to us. He runs delay in the rack and some chorus out front with a wah. DONE. The rest is just marshall channel switchers and maybe a boost. I think i got all excited about all these presets but i think like most of us, my tone is screamer+ marshall + delay. end of story.

 

[snakeman1986]

the g major II is defaulted to line level, switch to consumer in the settings and adjust your input and output levels as well as individual gain settings for each effect afterwards - problem will most likely be resolved.

o ya forgot about that. i did do that tho and it didn't fix anything on mine...maybe i should go back and try again. maybe i did it wrong

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

DITTO, Switching to consumer settings didn't do much.. I had more level but the clipping meter was maxxed out anyway and I had additional gain. All my MTS modules sounded like they were on steroids and really gainy.. not a bad sound but also not the way the amp sounds. I think Randall's loop may leave a lot to be desired. Frustrating..

 

[killertone]

Yeah, this sounds like a loop problem on the amp...the GM2 has a ton of ways to match levels to where there is no volume issue. I have run it in my JVM, Blackmore, JMP-1, and Fortin with no problem. Had to tweak it for each one a little but it always worked out.

That being said, I have pretty much gone back to pedals. A Nova Delay in the loop, Phase 90 and Corona Chorus out front. Done.

 

[glpg80]

the g major II is defaulted to line level, switch to consumer in the settings and adjust your input and output levels as well as individual gain settings for each effect afterwards - problem will most likely be resolved.

o ya forgot about that. i did do that tho and it didn't fix anything on mine...maybe i should go back and try again. maybe i did it wrong

could be the loop you're trying to use it with needs modification to reduce the dBv output to within proper spec's of what a loop is supposed to be in. if you changed it to instrument level and you're still clipping, its not the g-major, its the loop you are using it in.

i had the same problem with 5150 loop, except it was not dBv output but an impedance issue causing a ruckus.

should be able to download the g-major II user manual, look at setting it to consumer and make sure you followed the steps properly, last i would do some research on the loop you are using it with and see if others are experiencing simillar results. If they arent, tell'em to cough up the goods as to why

 

[Mr. Burton]

One other thing that hung me up early on was the fx routing. If you have two different routings for different presets, for instance series to semi parallel, there will be a wash of noise in some cases. I had to use the routing lock function to get everything to switch properly. I don't understand why they default the presets at -6db either. Makes for a tedious initial user experience.

I do like the processor for what it is though. Good for time based fx and the tri-chorus is cool also.

 

[glpg80]

One other thing that hung me up early on was the fx routing. If you have two different routings for different presets, for instance series to semi parallel, there will be a wash of noise in some cases. I had to use the routing lock function to get everything to switch properly. I don't understand why they default the presets at -6db either. Makes for a tedious initial user experience.

I do like the processor for what it is though. Good for time based fx and the tri-chorus is cool also.

it is set for -6dB for a reference point to the built in compressor, set to 0dB - which is what i was talking about with gain settings in my 2nd post

 

[mrkmas]

One other thing that hung me up early on was the fx routing. If you have two different routings for different presets, for instance series to semi parallel, there will be a wash of noise in some cases. I had to use the routing lock function to get everything to switch properly. I don't understand why they default the presets at -6db either. Makes for a tedious initial user experience.

I do like the processor for what it is though. Good for time based fx and the tri-chorus is cool also.

I believe they do the -6db thing as that is how the boost function works. The normal operation is set to -6 db so that when the boost is engaged, it actually brings the level back to 0db. Could be wrong, but thought I read that somewhere.

 

[Mr. Burton]

I believe they do the -6db thing as that is how the boost function works. The normal operation is set to -6 db so that when the boost is engaged, it actually brings the level back to 0db. Could be wrong, but thought I read that somewhere.

it is set for -6dB for a reference point to the built in compressor, set to 0dB - which is what i was talking about with gain settings in my 2nd post

Yeah makes sense to me if using all the features. I barely use any of the functions just the verb, delay, and chorus. No way I would ever need a boost. My lead channel can cut a dimensional rift through the space-time continuum. It would be like boosting Hiroshima.