# Mooer GE 250, thoughts?



## Alexa run my life (May 30, 2020)

I am gassing for one of these and I enjoy watching this guys videos about them.


It seems prefect for a mid-priced, mid-tier solution. I think I would prefer these over the less expensive PodGo (the tone capture is a huge bonus)

What do you power yours with? How does it compare to other modellers you've used? Did you go direct?


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## Spinedriver (May 30, 2020)

Alexa run my life said:


> I am gassing for one of these and I enjoy watching this guys videos about them.
> 
> 
> It seems prefect for a mid-priced, mid-tier solution. I think I would prefer these over the less expensive PodGo (the tone capture is a huge bonus)
> ...




Are you looking for mainly amp sims or do you need all of the effects as well ? I picked up the Mooer Preamp Live and it sounds pretty damn good. So, if the amp tones (and a few od pedals) are all you are really wanting, that might be a way to go. As for the "tone capture" it's not really a 'copy an amp's tone' feature. What it does is, you plug your amp in and then you have to select one of the amp sims from the Mooer that you think sounds closest to what you're trying to match and then the 'tone capture' will dial the amp in for you to try and get as close to the source amp as it can.
So basically, you can do the same thing yourself if you are so inclined. It's not like the Kemper, where it takes the amp you are connecting to it and makes a completely new amp model based on the input signal.

So, if you take the 'tone capture' out of the equation, if you look at the amp & effect list of each unit, I'd just pick whichever one appeals to you the most because tone wise, I'd say they are pretty much equal.


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## Alexa run my life (May 30, 2020)

Spinedriver said:


> Are you looking for mainly amp sims or do you need all of the effects as well ? I picked up the Mooer Preamp Live and it sounds pretty damn good. So, if the amp tones (and a few od pedals) are all you are really wanting, that might be a way to go. As for the "tone capture" it's not really a 'copy an amp's tone' feature. What it does is, you plug your amp in and then you have to select one of the amp sims from the Mooer that you think sounds closest to what you're trying to match and then the 'tone capture' will dial the amp in for you to try and get as close to the source amp as it can.
> So basically, you can do the same thing yourself if you are so inclined. It's not like the Kemper, where it takes the amp you are connecting to it and makes a completely new amp model based on the input signal.
> 
> So, if you take the 'tone capture' out of the equation, if you look at the amp & effect list of each unit, I'd just pick whichever one appeals to you the most because tone wise, I'd say they are pretty much equal.


I would use the effects too because I'm not picky when it comes to effects. I'm mainky a set it and forget it kinda guy...but depending on the venue, acoustics, etc... other models might sound better than your "go-to" so it would be nice to have a few to change at will.

As far as the tone capture, the Mooer tries to get as close as it can, using what it has on board, to the amp thats plugged into it, Is that correct? The guy in the video has a video on that too I should go back and re watch it. If I remember though, the captured tones were really really close to the actual amps. But like you said, you can probably tweak a model close enough. Also the 250, which came after the 300, is supposedly somewhat better than the 300 as far as some things.


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## diagrammatiks (May 31, 2020)

don't really see the point of the more expensive Ge's when the pod go and the helix stomp exist now.


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## Alexa run my life (May 31, 2020)

diagrammatiks said:


> don't really see the point of the more expensive Ge's when the pod go and the helix stomp exist now.


It has a point if you think they sound better, and are easier to use, or if you don't like Line6. To each their own.


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## diagrammatiks (May 31, 2020)

Alexa run my life said:


> It has a point if you think they sound better, and are easier to use, or if you don't like Line6. To each their own.



no no and why?

the only competitive advantage mooer had was the price point.


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## bracky (May 31, 2020)

The ge-200 is also quite compelling. It also has tone capture now. The amp models sound amazing. As good as any other modeler at any price.


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## Spinedriver (May 31, 2020)

Just in case you haven't seen it, here's a demo of the whole "tone capture" process.



So if you have a Bogner Uberschall amp that you want to tone capture, you have to scroll through the available amps and try to pick which one you think could come closest to sounding like it. Since the GE250 doesn't have one, it could be a 'trial & error' sort of situation. Once you have picked an amp though, the GE250 will then do it's thing and try to get the frequency response ranges to line up as best it can. It's an interesting feature for sure if you have access to a bunch of amps to actually make tone prints out of because I don't know if you can download them like you can with the Axe-Fx & Kemper units.


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## Metropolis (May 31, 2020)

bracky said:


> The ge-200 is also quite compelling. It also has tone capture now. The amp models sound amazing. As good as any other modeler at any price.



As an owner of GE250 I have few complaints.

Hi-gain amp models sound too much like each other, like an eq'd version of same amp

Not enough squishy real amp feel when playing
Master volume in amp models doesn't act like it would in real life, gain adjustment doesn't do this either
Effects are just "okay", they do their job but don't sound too special either
Good unit for the price, it's still in the affordable end. Last time I played higher end modeler it was a Kemper, in terms of feel it wipes floor with this thing. Same with Neural DSP plugins I play mostly nowadays.


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## op1e (May 31, 2020)

I wanted a GE 300 from my experience with the Micro pre I have. His demos show the micros actually sound better than the bigger units. It's like the farther you go past the 200 the worse they sound. Adding more and more options that act as eq filters seems to water down the good amp modelling they stole from whoever.


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## Spinedriver (May 31, 2020)

op1e said:


> I wanted a GE 300 from my experience with the Micro pre I have. His demos show the micros actually sound better than the bigger units. It's like the farther you go past the 200 the worse they sound. Adding more and more options that act as eq filters seems to water down the good amp modelling they stole from whoever.



I think part of it could be that the cab sims in the pedals may either 1) not be the same as either the ones that are loaded into the GE pedals or 2) that whomever is making the demo has it eq'ed to their taste and not necessarily trying to match the pedal version. I have the Preamp Live and I find that the amps sound pretty decent. Mind you I don't run it into a poweramp/cab setup, so perhaps just using it direct gets different results but it's pretty hard to beat for the price.


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## Alexa run my life (May 31, 2020)

Spinedriver said:


> Just in case you haven't seen it, here's a demo of the whole "tone capture" process.
> 
> 
> 
> So if you have a Bogner Uberschall amp that you want to tone capture, you have to scroll through the available amps and try to pick which one you think could come closest to sounding like it. Since the GE250 doesn't have one, it could be a 'trial & error' sort of situation. Once you have picked an amp though, the GE250 will then do it's thing and try to get the frequency response ranges to line up as best it can. It's an interesting feature for sure if you have access to a bunch of amps to actually make tone prints out of because I don't know if you can download them like you can with the Axe-Fx & Kemper units.



Hmm. So I wonder if you have a 5150 amp, how much better would the sound that you captured of your 5150 settings be, compared to the built in 5150 model? Either way a cool feature indeed.

Fwiw I would probably only use this modeller playing live going direct., which I think it sounds great for the price.


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## Alexa run my life (May 31, 2020)

Metropolis said:


> As an owner of GE250 I have few complaints.
> 
> Hi-gain amp models sound too much like each other, like an eq'd version of same amp
> 
> ...


Have you used the ge250 in a live or band practice situation or just recording/direct/solo?


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## Metropolis (May 31, 2020)

Alexa run my life said:


> Have you used the ge250 in a live or band practice situation or just recording/direct/solo?



Just direct into studio monitors or headphones. I also tried it with class D power amp into 2x12 and it works, but this was with reasonable volume at home. Power amp modeling from the unit itself is automatically disabled because it's in the same block with IR/cab, if you only want to have cab simulation out from XLR outputs. But for live situation the global EQ would come handy, I would set high cut at around 8-10kHz to remove some fizz.


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## Spinedriver (May 31, 2020)

Metropolis said:


> Just direct into studio monitors or headphones. I also tried it with class D power amp into 2x12 and it works, but this was with reasonable volume at home. Power amp modeling from the unit itself is automatically disabled because it's in the same block with IR/cab, if you only want to have cab simulation out from XLR outputs. But for live situation the global EQ would come handy, I would set high cut at around 8-10kHz to remove some fizz.



I totally agree that an eq section (like they have in the Radar) would have been nice. I ended up getting a Boss EQ-200 so that I could save an eq profile for each of the 12 banks of the Preamp Live.


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## Metropolis (May 31, 2020)

Spinedriver said:


> I totally agree that an eq section (like they have in the Radar) would have been nice. I ended up getting a Boss EQ-200 so that I could save an eq profile for each of the 12 banks of the Preamp Live.



GE250 has a global EQ, I just phrased those words in a weird way. GE200 doesn't have global one. And it's possible to set another in the signal chain from different EQ-types. What's missing is a parametric EQ, all of them are graphic with possibility to adjust chosen frequency.


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## Emperoff (Jun 1, 2020)

My bandmate has the GE-150 and AFAIK all of the GE series share the same amp models. To be honest I don't see the purpose of going higher than that. It doesn't sound that different to me from his old POD XT Live when going through a poweramp + cab rig.

The Pod Go is a much better choice IMHO unless you want something really compact.


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## Alexa run my life (Jun 1, 2020)

Emperoff said:


> My bandmate has the GE-150 and AFAIK all of the GE series share the same amp models. To be honest I don't see the purpose of going higher than that. It doesn't sound that different to me from his old POD XT Live when going through a poweramp + cab rig.
> 
> The Pod Go is a much better choice IMHO unless you want something really compact.


Here is the 200 vs 250. Probably not a huge difference, and the comparison isnt exactly fair because I believe he is using different cabs for each. But as it is the 250 sounds a little bit better, but only a little bit.


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## op1e (Jun 2, 2020)

Taylor usually demos stock cabs vs the same custom IR. Fan of his channel and listened multiple times and I think he does a fair representation.


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## Alexa run my life (Jun 2, 2020)

op1e said:


> Taylor usually demos stock cabs vs the same custom IR. Fan of his channel and listened multiple times and I think he does a fair representation.


That's good to know as I've been watching more of his videos and seeing the same fairness. In all actuality I watched the ge200 vs ge250 video last night and didn't like the tones as much as I remember I did when I first heard it. Of course many variables to that as I was tired as dozing off. I am still waiting for the ge250 vs. Podgo videos


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## Lozek (Jun 4, 2020)

I've owned a GE300 pretty much since they came out, once I got over the initial excitement I've become pretty disappointed by it. I bought the thing to run as a floor controller and live backup for my Kemper, but then found that it doesn't have Midi CC out so I can't get the wah expression data out of it or turn on the Kemper tuner to mute the signal. On the screen there's a tab that looks like it should logically be for Midi CC, so I was hopeful it would come in a later development. I even contacted them and pointed out that by instituting this, they could open up their potential audience to people who already owned Kempers or Axe Fx. The response was 'we'll pass it to our developers'. Then the Ge250 came out, then the GE150, now the online hub. The mood I'm picking up on a lot of Mooer groups is that everyone's realising they have no intention of developing or supporting their products, in favour of releasing something new (normally just a form factor change or restricted elements of a previous release).

Like a few people said earlier, I've also never managed to get it to sound close when I've used tone capture because the in-built models are nowhere close.

At this point, I'm giving up and looking at getting a second Kemper, my main gig is in a different country so I'll build something to live there so I don't have to fly mine all the time.


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## Alexa run my life (Jun 4, 2020)

Lozek said:


> I've owned a GE300 pretty much since they came out, once I got over the initial excitement I've become pretty disappointed by it. I bought the thing to run as a floor controller and live backup for my Kemper, but then found that it doesn't have Midi CC out so I can't get the wah expression data out of it or turn on the Kemper tuner to mute the signal. On the screen there's a tab that looks like it should logically be for Midi CC, so I was hopeful it would come in a later development. I even contacted them and pointed out that by instituting this, they could open up their potential audience to people who already owned Kempers or Axe Fx. The response was 'we'll pass it to our developers'. Then the Ge250 came out, then the GE150, now the online hub. The mood I'm picking up on a lot of Mooer groups is that everyone's realising they have no intention of developing or supporting their products, in favour of releasing something new (normally just a form factor change or restricted elements of a previous release).
> 
> Like a few people said earlier, I've also never managed to get it to sound close when I've used tone capture because the in-built models are nowhere close.
> 
> At this point, I'm giving up and looking at getting a second Kemper, my main gig is in a different country so I'll build something to live there so I don't have to fly mine all the time.


Thanks for the post! So since the ge300 was supposed to be a backup to your kemper, did you actually ever need to use it in a gig or were you juat not that impressed with the sounds by itself at home?


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## Lozek (Jun 4, 2020)

I have played a couple of festivals with it. It did the job and was convenient, but I couldn't say it was wholly inspiring to play or sounded monstrous like the Kemper. Probably Champagne problems, still sounds better than Line 6 stuff of 10-15 years ago, but things have come a long way recently.


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