GigRig G3 Pedal Switching System

The GigRig G3 is a programmable effects pedal switching system: a floor controller that hosts your pedals in true-bypass loops and lets you recall any combination of them at the tap of a footswitch, instead of tap-dancing across individual pedals mid-song. GigRig positions it as "the new standard in professional effects pedalboard control"¹.

It launched in 2020 alongside the smaller G3 Atom, as the successor generation to GigRig's G2 switching system². The range also grew to include the G3S, a G3 with screens next to each footswitch, and the G3S Atom²³.

What it does and how it works

The core idea is the effects loop. Each of your pedals sits in its own loop on the G3, and when a loop is bypassed the pedal is completely out of the signal path, not merely switched off by its own bypass. The G3 gives you 12 programmable true-bypass mono loops, which you can group in pairs for up to 6 stereo effects⁴.

From there you work in two ways. In Preset mode, a footswitch recalls a stored combination of loops, so one press can bring in, say, your overdrive, delay and reverb together. Or, as Gearnews put it, "you go for the super-simple stompbox mode for turning individual effects pedals on and off", with groups for switching pre-defined combinations⁴. The unit stores up to 99 banks with up to 28 presets per bank¹.

The footswitches themselves are GigRig's own OptoKick design, milled from stainless steel, and they "use light instead of mechanics to do the footswitching, so there's nothing to break"¹.

MIDI and expression control

The G3 is also a MIDI controller for the rest of a rig. GigRig's current product page says each preset can send up to 20 separate mappable PC and CC MIDI messages, with 2 expression pedal inputs for realtime CC control¹. At the 2020 launch, Guitar World reported up to 15 MIDI PC and CC messages per preset⁵, so the press figure and the maker's current figure disagree; the maker's page is the newer one.

Two expression pedals can be plugged in for additional CC message control, which lets you sweep parameters on MIDI-equipped pedals hands-free¹.

Stereo, wet/dry and spillover

The G3 handles stereo rigs directly. You can output your signal in full stereo⁵, and MusicRadar noted the switcher offers "full stereo and built-in" wet/dry signal splitting, so players using multiple amps can send different effects combinations to different amps⁶.

Spillover is the feature that keeps a delay or reverb tail ringing after you switch the effect off or change preset, rather than chopping it dead. Gearnews reported that "the G3 can also do true stereo delay and reverb spillover, even for analogue effects pedals"⁴, which matters if you run analog delays or reverbs in the loops and want smooth transitions between presets.

The G3 range: Atom, G3S and the Extension Kit

The G3 Atom is the version for smaller pedalboards. It has 6 programmable true-bypass loops, each configurable for stereo using TRS cables, and 99 banks with up to 16 presets per bank rather than the G3's 28⁷¹. Guitar World described it plainly: "For smaller pedalboards, the G3 Atom packs six loops"⁵. Both units share the same MIDI capability, with up to 20 PC and CC messages per preset and 2 expression pedal inputs⁷.

The G3S is a G3 built with screens next to each footswitch, which GigRig suggests matters when "you have 99 banks with up to 28 presets per bank"². The G3S Atom applies the same idea to the Atom³.

The G3 Extension Kit addresses a different problem: it "enables you to have your pedalboard behind your amplifier or even in a rack offstage" while you control it from the G3 floor unit on stage¹. Gearnews described it as being "for guitarists that want their pedalboard system off-stage and controlled by a floor-controller on the stage"⁴.

Launch and availability

GigRig launched the G3 range in 2020². On 16 October 2020 the G3 Pedal Switching System was available for pre-order at a UK RRP of GBP 1095, due January 2021⁴, with availability expected December 2020⁶, so the press sources disagree on when it would arrive. The G3 Extension Kit was expected in January 2021 and the G3 Hub in March/April 2021, both with prices to be confirmed⁴⁶.

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