Hmm. Struggling to get a summary out of this. The only consistent thing seems to be that the StepABout would be good. I might have to revisit my plans...

Let me try...you can't go far wrong with small moves...you've already got a GT-6B...you should be able to grab a used GT-8 soon for £cheap. This will be bags of fun and won't sound bad at all.
If you were to pick up a StepABout later, it would improve your preamping situation...you could use it alone or use it to buffer the signal to the GTs.

As we know, the GAS never stops...so keep it modular!

I concur. The StepAbout is a great unit but it is not an effects processor. The preamps on any of the Boss units will sound good and provide what you need plus provide all of those extra added effects. The GT units are quiet and the effects sound great.

The StepAbout is likely a better sounding preamp so if you decide to go that route, you can pick one up later and still use the GT units for all of the additional effects. Right now though, I think you're on the right path.

Glenn

Thanks both. That was my plan, so it's good to know that I'm not going in the wrong direction. Time to start looking for the cheap GT-8s.

This is the part that tends to confuse me... it seems there would be sonic compromises running a preamp's output to high impedance inputs, without some sort of "re-amp" device in between. I've had problems running anything but the Stick cable into my Boss GX-700, there is extra hiss added if it's a low impedance signal.

Or perhaps it makes more sense to run the Stepabout to the loop return of the GT units, you just wouldn't be able to use the loop function for something else.

Hi Rob,

Usually, if you plug a line level signal into an instrument level input, then you'll get overloads, noise, etc. While the StepABout is a preamp, it's still operating in the instrument level realm, so it works well with all of the devices I've tried, pedals, and even balanced rack gear like my TC Fireworx. I'ts not nearly as hot as, say, the Rane SP-13's effects send, which is line level, but it can drive my Boss SE-70 when it's set to +4 dB input level.

Most of the modeling preamp effects units I've seen want to see a guitar level signal, though some have switchable input levels. Is this a modification of the input impedance or merely an attenuation pad? I think it's a pad.

When you plug an instrument with an active pickup like the ACTV-2 or the NS/Stick into something, it will behave in basically the same way the StepABout will, but the StepABout is capable of sending a hotter signal, just because of the way the circuit is designed. It doesn't have to be a hotter signal if the volume pots are set low enough, but it has lots of headroom.

Oops, I think I just dropped something on my noise floor...

... when connecting the output of an active device to the input of another active device, the rule is, the output of device "A" needs to be a lower impedance than the input of device "B". That's the way audio gear is designed. Inputs are always higher impedance than outputs.

In the case of the GT-8, you would connect the output of the Stepabout to the input of the GT-8. Since the output of the Stepabout is at line level, you wouldn't need to use the preamp section on the GT-8. I believe you have the option of disabling it and as Greg mentioned, you would lower the input sensitivity of the GT-8 (adjustable attenuator on the GT-8)

That is exactly right. Assuming the GT-8 works like the GT-6 and GT-3 did, the preamp is just another effect that can be turned on or off. Plus, on the GT-x units, the distortions and overdrives are separate effects from the preamps (unlike with the VF-1 where they are wrapped into one ... stupid).

Glenn

You are correct, I did it all the time with my NS when I had the GT-8. I preffered using the NS in that fashion with the Loop button turned on, using the "direct" setting. I noticed without doing that, it would thin the sound out a little.