Grammatico GSG voicing Sounds Bad

[clean6]

Is it just me or does the new Grammatico GSG sound bad?

I really like the new voicings that come with version2 except this one. What I get is a tone that's low volume, distroted, dark sounding and muffled. It sounds the same with 2 different guitars. I added boost and played with the EQ and other things. I had to make some pretty big swings to make it sound just O.K. In the sound sample video from Line 6, it sounds excellent. Bright and clean. The guitar in the video is on the bridge pickup.

Am I missing something?

[rd2rk]

Sounds fine to me with no jumping through hoops.

Maybe you just don't like this amp?

[clean6]

No...I said that I liked the sound of the sample video. That was not the sound I was getting from my amp. Not even close.

I contacted tech support and was able to reload that preset. Now it works perfectly. I think that preset must have been corrupted during the update process...Or something.

Thanks again for great tech support from Line 6! 

[hardjack79]

I've got the same issue I think, also with the GSG. It's very dark to the point it doesn't seem intentional.

clean6 -- did you have to reinstall the firmware update to resolve it or was it some other trick?  Thanks.

 

EDIT: I've updated to the 2.02 firmware and it sounds the same. SOOO muddy compared to the same manual settings for the other channel (litigator). Can't believe that is how it is supposed to sound, but I might be wrong.

Edited May 11, 2024 by hardjack79
Still waiting for moderation, updated status.

[cloudhp]

On 4/19/2024 at 2:03 AM, clean6 said:

No...I said that I liked the sound of the sample video. That was not the sound I was getting from my amp. Not even close.

I contacted tech support and was able to reload that preset. Now it works perfectly. I think that preset must have been corrupted during the update process...Or something.

Thanks again for great tech support from Line 6! 

Hi, I have the same problem here. Could you tell me, how did you solve it? What do you mean by "reloading the preset"? Thx

[jiml6]

You can try loading the model (not the preset). Or, if you're in the GSG100 preset, turn up the Bias to 50% (the preset has it at 28%, and I think that's where a lot of the sludge is coming from). 

[cloudhp]

I will look at that bias setting, thx for this clue.

But how to load/reload a model? Or do you mean maybe some factory reset?

[huzee1]

You are not hearing a "bad sounding Grammatico" AMP TYPE, you're hearing a PRESET that happens to be adjusted/saved to be dark and named "Grammatico".

 

Line6 just happened to use the VOICING name for their PRESETS (to indicate what the preset started with ... i.e Grammatico) -but- PRESET NAMES in the Editor App could be named anything. Unfortunately, if you change anything (even the voicing), the PRESET NAME stays the same (in red) - very confusing. 

 

The combination of AMP TYPE (dial) + GROUP (1 or 2) determines the actual voicing you're hearing, NOT whatever preset name you're seeing in the APP. 

 

Due to the limitations of the physical panel controls, there's an overlap between choosing an AMP/VOICING and a PRESET:

•  When you choose an AMP/VOICING via the AMP DIAL + GROUP, you are choosing a VOICING (i.e. BOUTIQUE>GROUP2 = GRAMMATICO). 
• When you choose a PRESET via the MANUAL BUTTON + BANK (amp dial) + A/B CHANNEL (or in the APP by clicking on BANK 1-6), you are loading a saved snapshot (aka PRESET) of an AMP + GROUP (voicing) + ALL SETTINGS/EFFECTS - you are NOT choosing a VOICING ONLY... you are loading a voicing plus all the settings/effects it was saved with (a snapshot of everything as it was set at the time of saving the PRESET). 
•  Line6 created PRESETS and used NAMES which reflect the VOICING they started with (i.e. CLARITY ... but they could have named them anything).
• The PRESET NAMES (or what name you see in the editor) DOES NOT necessarily relate to the VOICING (it can if it was saved with that voicing, but the second you start changing things ... AMP TYPES/GROUPS .. the VOICING could be totally different than the PRESET NAME being shown. It's very confusing. You could end up with a PRESET NAME of "CLARITY" showing in the app but your actually hearing a GRAMMATICO Voicing. Again you can name a PRESET whatever you like and it DOES NOT necessarily have anything to do with the voicing used. 
• Note: The Catalyst does NOT have actual "channels" like a traditional amp. Channel A or B is really just another name for PRESET A or B. Banks are chosen by holding the "manual" button and rotating the dial (1-6) -or- clicking in the BANKS field in the EDITOR APP.  

 

Here's where the confusion comes in (I think it's a bad design choice by Line6): 

• When anything is changed the PRESET NAME in the APP changes to RED. Line6 chose to save presets using the name of the underlying voicing. This is confusing and here's why: You can change the VOICING to another (i.e. Elmsley) and the name in the EDITOR APP NAME field stays "GRAMMATICO". You can move the amp dial, etc. and the name STAYS "GRAMMATICO" in red. Confusingly so since you are now using a totally different voicing (not Grammatico) but the APP PRESET NAME still shows "GRAMMATICO". 
• PRESET NAMES DO NOT EQUAL VOICINGS -but- PRESETS CAN CONTAIN A VOICING AND BE NAMED ANYTHING (including the voicing). 
• Further confusion ensues, if you switch groups (having not changed any settings - loaded preset name is now gray color) then change back (Group 1>Group 2>Group 1), the preset name changes to red, the settings change to the default amp voicing (not back to the preset) and you lose the preset settings. To get back to the PRESET (name in gray), you have to reload the BANK/PRESET for either Channel A or B - this will reload the saved preset (now shown in gray).

 

Possible Improvement: 

• Perhaps Line6 could create another field below the NAME field which states the "CURRENT VOICING" (Clarity, Aristocrat, etc) regardless of what the PRESET name is. Or a field named "inspired by..." with the name of the voicing. So at least you have some reference for what your actually hearing.

 

BIG TAKEAWAY: THE DIAL POSITION (amp type) + GROUP (a or b) DETERMINE THE VOICING ...NOT... WHATEVER PRESET NAME HAPPENS TO BE SHOWING IN THE APP. ALWAYS LOOK AT THE AMP TYPE & GROUP BUTTONS (not the preset name) to confirm what voicing you're actually hearing.