ADA’s GCS-5: a hot new contender in the guitar cabinet simulator pedal market?
When a 4x12 is just too much, you may well need a simulator
ADA has announced a new guitar cabinet simulator called the GCS-5. This compact box of tricks aims to get you some good guitar sounds without you blowing your eardrums to smithereens. It’s far from being the first of its type, though, with some stiff competition out there in the amp sim pedal category…
Cabinet Simulation
I love a good guitar cabinet simulator and it seems the market is awash with them right now, with new ones popping up all the time, especially during the NAMM Show a few weeks ago. ADA has now joined the fray and announced the GCS-5. This compact, plain black unit in robust steel looks very utilitarian and is covered in switches and a couple of knobs. These give you a wide array of options for different cabinet models and virtual mic positioning.
You can choose between settings like British or American, Vintage or Modern, Sealed or Open-backed and 10″ or 12″ speaker. The Mic Placement knob then moves the virtual microphone between the Edge or Centre of the ‘virtual’ speaker cone.
The GCS-5 has a balanced output on XLR and also features a handy headphone out as well, along with regular jack output and a thru. You also get a 20dB pad switch on the rear and also a ground lift, so it can be used live or in a recording environment.
This is the sort of thing that any serious guitar player should consider owning. However, with so many new cabinet simulators being announced this year, like the Suhr A.C.E , the Neunhaber Iconoclast and the Digitech Dry Cab, I would suggest going and trying some out. There is now a lot of competition in this field, and many of these have only just come out. I hope someone does a virtual cabinet ‘shootout’-style review soon, as the market is getting saturated fast with all this virtual goodness.
RRP $169.95
ADA site
ADA Facebook page
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