BOSS GT-5

The Boss GT-5 is a guitar effects processor in floor unit form, launched in 1996 as the first model in Boss's long-running GT series of multi-effects pedals. It puts 28 different effect types, including stereo reverb, delay, modulation effects and pitch shifting, under a bank of footswitches and a built-in expression pedal, and it was the first unit to include Boss's COSM digital processing technology 1 2.

Where it came from

The GT series began with the GT-5. Boss's own buying guide states that "The BOSS GT series was first launched in 1996 with the introduction of the GT-5," and that "It was the first unit to include the BOSS COSM digital processing technology," the modeling approach developed by Boss's parent company Roland 2. Paul White's review in Sound On Stage noted that Boss "remains one of the biggest, if not the biggest, names in effects pedals," and that the company's COSM modeling technology features in the GT-5 1.

The series the GT-5 started runs through later floor units such as the Boss GT-8, Boss GT-10 and Boss GT-1000, and remains the backbone of Boss's multi-effects range².

How it works

The GT-5 combines analog and digital stages. A combination of analog overdrive and digital preamp technology is used at the front end to provide a wide range of boost and drive tones, while the effects that follow are fully digital 1. An input gain trim on the rear panel allows the circuit gain to be matched to any type of guitar pick-up, which matters because a low-output single coil and a hot humbucker need very different amounts of drive.

The unit also adapts to how you amplify. You can tell the GT-5 whether you use a combo, a stack, or whether you want to DI using the in-built amp/speaker simulator, so the output voicing suits the rig downstream 1.

Patches and controls

The floor panel carries five numbered footswitches, a single Control switch, a Bank switch, and an expression pedal, with a real-time control switch alongside the pedal 1.

Patch organization is two-level. Five banks of five sounds may be accessed directly from the switches, giving a choice of 25 patches, and there are ten Groups of banks, giving 250 patches in total 1.

The effects menu offers 28 different types, including high quality stereo reverb, delay, the usual modulation effects and pitch shifting. In the delay section, delay times may also be tapped in by foot to set up tempo-related delays during performance 1. Of the chorus, Paul White wrote: "This is very reminiscent of the old Boss CE-2 blue chorus pedal, but with the benefit of true stereo operation."

Inputs, outputs and MIDI

The rear panel carries the connections that make the GT-5 usable in a rig:

• Sound output in either mono or stereo, plus a phones output useful for practice 1
• Effects loop jacks, allowing an external processor to be integrated into the on-board patches 1
• Two rear panel sockets for the connection of further expression pedals 1
• MIDI out for program change and control change data, enabling external MIDI devices to be controlled 1

The MIDI output is worth noting for players with mixed rigs: patch changes on the GT-5 can switch sounds on connected MIDI gear at the same time, which was a practical way to run a rack processor alongside a floorboard in 1996 and still works with MIDI-switchable equipment today¹.

Power and build

Power comes from a captive mains lead, not a separate PSU, so the GT-5 plugs straight into the wall and needs no adapter 1.

The build is described as reassuringly solid, made from steel plate, and fitted with the same tough plastic switches used on previous Boss and Roland units 1.

What reviewers said

Paul White's 1996 review in Sound On Stage summed up the GT-5's operation in three words: "Surprisingly easy to operate." 1 For a unit with 28 effect types and 250 patches, that verdict speaks to how the front panel and footswitch layout were organized. The review's price at the time was £659 inc VAT in the UK 1.

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