Valeton has unveiled the GP-5 – a compact but feature-laden pedal that looks to wrestle the crown from the hugely popular, best-selling IK Multimedia TONEX One and become the best all-in-one mini rig solution on the market.
With a Neural Amp Modeler (NAM) loader for authentic amp and pedal captures, a tuner, two onboard parameter knobs and even a display screen, it's a well-equipped piece of kit that has already made waves in the digital guitar gear world – and, what's more, it costs $79.99.
That means it is $100 cheaper than the TONEX One pedal, and, with its assortment of features, it clearly has set its sights on becoming the mini amp modeler to dislodge the current champ – which outsold the competition last year.
Budget modelers are easily sneered at, and while this writer found Harley Benton’s DNAfx paled in comparison to a Kemper – which cost a mere fraction of its challenger’s outlay – I’ve been far more impressed by what Valeton modelers like the GP-200 can do. The prospect of making much of that magic pocket-sized is therefore incredibly enticing.
Here, the GP-5's core ingredient is its NAM loader, which allows amp and pedal captures to be extracted and loaded into the pedal, similar to how the Nano Cortex operates. It can also load external Impulse Responses.
Notably, the NAM loader tech is already being supported by the likes of Two Notes and Hotone, after the Dime Head became one of the first bits of dedicated hardware to feature the loader. The tech originated as an open-source plugin and now the GP-5 continues that legacy, following in the footsteps of the ground-breaking Darkglass Anagram.
As Valeton humbly puts it, “The GP-5 tears down the boundaries of traditional multi-effects units, packing the sonic punch of a flagship processor into a palm-sized enclosure.”
It’s loaded with over 100 “high-definition modeled effects” and supports up to nine effects blocks per single chain. Each module benefits from customizable routing, and there are 50 factory presets baked in, sitting alongside a vacant slew of 50 patches ready for users to fill with their own stank face-inducing tones. Despite its diminutive sizing, the GP-5 offers a comprehensive modeler experience.
Beyond pre-loaded sounds, the NAM loader gives players access to thousands more presets, and its SnapTone module comes preloaded with 50 curated files, with a maximum storage capacity of 80 files.
Elsewhere, a color LCD screen headlines its user-friendly interface, analog and digital bypass modes are on tap, and its single footswitch has four uses. These include changing patches, activating the tuner, triggering a particular effect within the signal chain, or activating a patch.
Authentic stereo processing comes via a 1/4″ TRS unbalanced stereo output jack and it supports recording via USB. Connecting to a sister app – available on iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac – offers a different way to edit and manage presets, and grants access to 100 drum patterns for when your drummer is late to practice.
Bluetooth wireless connection also comes as standard, meaning you won’t have to rummage through drawers to find the right cable every time you want to connect to the app.
It can run off a standard 9V supply or USB 5V, which is a nice bit of flexibility, and it might just nail Valeton’s own question: “Ever imagined running an entire gig with just one pedal?”
Priced at $79.99, the all-in-one pedal is the closest thing the budget market has got to a TONEX challenger – which is a remarkable thing to say, given the TONEX One itself is already rather accessible – and with a decent reputation preceding its release, it will be interesting to see just how the competition shapes up.
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