PART 2:
The Secret to Comfortable Playability
― the COSM Preamp / Clean and Crunch

As I wrote in my previous "Impressions" article, the most exciting thing for me when I first played the GT-10 was its tone quality. I could also clearly make out the difference in sound depending on how I picked the strings. On good amps, your tone ― not just the distortion ― changes naturally depending on how hard you pick, where you pick, and the volume settings on your guitar.

In live situations, you may often end up playing through a single amp. That's because guitar amps are very flexible and can adapt to different situations. It would be safe to say that the GT-10's COSM amp behaves in pretty much the same way.

When a guitarist says, "It sound's good," it's usually not only about the sound, but also about how good it feels to play. Great sound and feel can inspire the phrases that you play. In this sense, the GT-10 is a fun instrument that feels great to play!

Here, I would like to get into the details of the GT-10's COSM preamp.

Photo 1: Product Page

Types of Amps in the GT-10 and their Parameters

The GT-10 comes with a total of 39 types of amps, including new amps not found in its predecessor. With this wide selection of amps, you're pretty much set to play any type of music you desire. Although the GT-10 has fewer types of amps compared to the GT-8, the impression I get is that the selection has been simplified and organized in a way that's easy to wrap your head around. For me personally, it's just the right number of amps before it starts to get too complicated.

To make amp settings, you use the four parameter knobs and cursor just as you did for the effects. As in previous GT-series units, press the [PREAMP] button to access that parameter.

Photo 2: Preamp editing view. Page 2 is where you choose your amp type,
and adjust your gain and level.

The GT-10 comes with 12 amp categories, each with several variations of their own. You use knob 1 to select the category, and either knob 2 or the up/down button to choose a variation. Making selections couldn't be quicker and easier.

Flip through the pages using the cursor button to see your knob settings just as you would on your amp.

Photo 3: Preamp editing view. Page 3 gives you your tone control knobs.

A major benefit of COSM amp models is that they not only reproduce great amp tones, but they let you customize the sound using the knobs just as you would on a real amp.
Next, let's check out the special switches.

Photo 4: Preamp editing view. The Bright switch and other controls are on page 4.

The Bright switch is available only if the amp that's being modeled has that feature. The Solo switch turns on a booster that has been specifically tuned for solo performances. The Solo parameters have been optimized for the selected amp, and their effects will be different depending on which amp you use. Use the Solo Level knob to control your level in Solo mode.

Photo 5: Preamp editing view.
Page 5 lets you choose and configure the type of virtual speaker or mic.

You can change the SP (speaker) to types other than ORIGN (original). This will dramatically change your sound and give your amp a completely different character.

There are also five types of virtual microphones to choose from, and you can designate their distance from the speaker and what point on the speaker the mic is aimed with MIC POS. You can access mic position by changing the display mode.

That's an overview of the main amp-related parameters. On the next page, we're going to listen to some tones created with several types of amps!

Amp Tones

I'd like to introduce you to the many different tones made on the various types of amps that come with the GT-10. All of these examples were recorded using a Stratocaster.

JC CLEAN
This tone comes in four versions, including JC-120 and Jazz Combo. Listen to this fat lead sound called BOSS Clean.

Photo 6: No compressor or EQ was used.

What did you think? These clean, hi-fi tones were good on previous GT-series processors, but I don't think you were able to make such nuanced, warm, clean sounds through a line output. Modulation and spatial effects sounded really good with this tone.

TW CLEAN
Although it has the word "clean" in its name, it’s great for crunch as well. There are four types of these tones, and they’re derived from the Legend Series stompboxes that were created in collaboration with Fender. In this example, I tried the Tweed option, which is now more powerful than ever.

Photo 7: A characteristic of TW Clean is a slightly subdued, bluesy tone.

Just as in the original model, when you increase Treble, it de-emphasizes the bass. If the sound ends up being too boomy for your guitar, adjust this knob along with the Bass control.

CRUNCH
The GT-10 comes with four types of crunch tones, including original tones that were popular in earlier GT-series units. One of my favorites is Stack Crunch, with its fat low end.

Photo 8: Listen to the fat lows, and that's on the Strat's bridge pickup!

COMBO
This is VO Drive, which doesn't have that much of a range but it's a gutsy sound with a characteristic midrange. This tone also comes in clean and lead, for a total of three types.

Photo 9: This sound makes you want to play rough chords.

The tone control for this amp also works the same was as with Tweed. A characteristic of this amp is its Presence parameter. When you turn the knob up, it cuts the highs, which is the opposite of what this knob usually does. This is a reproduction of the Cut knob on the original model.

MATCH
This is a model of another prominent crunch-type amp. It doesn't have as much low-end volume as VO, but it has a sparkling high end. I used MATCH Drive to play an arpeggio that might go well as a backing part in a vocal piece.

Photo 10: This arpeggio has great presence.

Characteristics of Mic-Related Parameters

To use the GT-10’s virtual mic parameters, it's important that you understand the characteristics of different microphones. That way, you'll be able to create tones to match your song. When an amp is miked in professional recording sessions, engineers perform the same procedures as you would with the GT-10's parameters. Since the final sound is determined through a combination of settings, you can't definitively say that certain parameters are best “for solos" or "for backing parts." The information you find here will come in handy when you feel your sound needs "a little more" of something. So, at the risk of getting slightly subjective, in this section I'd like to describe the characteristics of different types of mics and what the different parameters do.

Type of microphone (Mic type)
You can choose from five types of mics. I've described their characteristics below.

DYN57 :
This is a modeled version of a popular dynamic mic that has been used to record guitars for decades. It doesn't have a wide range, but its midrange has great power and cuts through. It doesn't get overly boomy and it's great for creating a gutsy sound.

DYN421 :
The sound from this mic has a very pronounced low end. It is also edgier and flashier than DYN57. Depending on how you set up your guitar and amp, you will want to make sure that you don't get too much low end.

CND451 :
This type of mic produces clean highs with textures that are less chunky, and this makes the tone blend well in the mix. It's a great fit with clean sounds, but it also goes well with high-gain amps too.

CND87 :
This type of mic produces subtle and warm tones, with not as much attack. You can play it loud in a mix without it becoming overpowering.

FLAT :
This model gives you a flat response that is devoid of all the unique characters of the other mics. One way to select your mic would be to start here and then move on to other mics.

Mic distance (Mic Dis.)
You can change the distance between the virtual mic and amp with this feature. In the On Mic position, you will get a powerful sound with more range. Having said that, you can set it to Off Mic to get a feeling of the sound coming from a distance, which is often great for ensembles. Be sure to try both.

Engineers often use more than one mic in real-world recording sessions, so you can use the GT-10’s Channel mode to reproduce this effect. I'd like to experiment with this feature in a future article.

Mic positioning (Mic Pos.)
Point the mic to the center of the virtual speaker to get catchy highs, and aim for the edge to get a softer tone. The GT-10 lets you adjust the position from edge to center in ten increments. The higher the number, the closer the mic is aimed at the edge.

In Closing

My hope is that the information in this article will inspire you to become a master of guitar tone with the GT-10. For now, forget theory. Play around, experiment, have fun, and create as many tones as you can. Don't worry — the GT-10 is packed with tools that let beginners easily create tones, which I will describe in a future article.
My next article will feature the types of amps we didn't go into here, and ways that you can customize your amps.