I’ve had my Valeton GP-200LT for a couple of days now and am thoroughly impressed. Keep in mind that I’m not much of a guitar player. Anything I use needs to be relatively simple. It needs to sound good, at least to me. And it needs to be on the smaller side so I don’t have to take up a lot of room.
So far, I’ve been happy on all counts.
The things I wanted most out of device have been easy to use and sound great. I wanted to be able to use a looper easily. I’ve tried loop pedals with varying degrees of success. The biggest problem I’ve had is lining them up with other tools. The looper in the Valeton is fairly rudimentary, but it works. I haven’t plumbed the depths of it yet, but can create a loop using one patch, and play along using another. Yay!
I also wanted some sort of rhythm. The Valeton has a built-in drum machine. Again, it’s not super programmable or extensive. But it has basic rhythms allowing me to practice along with something that keeps time. Using the metronome function is especially useful, especially in conjunction with the looper.
I also was able to create a decent sounding patch incorporating an amp, a cab, and some effects both quickly and easily. And better, it sounds great.
Now for the things I really wish I’d been able to achieve. To use the looper, I’ve had to place the device on the floor. I’d have preferred it on my desk, allowing me to trigger looper start, record, and stop with an external switch. I’m almost positive this can be done. I just haven’t figured it out yet.
And sadly, my expression pedals doesn’t seem to work with the Valeton. I’m hesitant to get another in case that doesn’t work either. Again though, it may just be my inability to set it up correctly. It seems to be being read, it just doesn’t trigger anything, or at least nothing I want.
Things I did have to add. I use my Bose noise canceling headphones quite often because I live in an apartment with neighbors. Because I’ve had to place the Valeton on the floor, I needed a longer cord. That was quick and cheap from Amazon, but it meant a day or two of waiting.
Further, I also needed a longer USB-C to USB-C cable to plug the unit into my Mac M2 Mini. I bought a cheap one. You can imagine the results. Do not buy cheap USB-C cables. I ended up getting the very expensive Apple USB-C cable because I have an iPhone 15 Pro Max and a Mac M2 Mini. It works great with the Valeton.
Here’s a vid on why that cable may actually be worth the price from Adam Savage.
I certainly learned something about USB-C cables.
In any case, I’m happily plinking away with guitar and quite enjoying my new toy. I’m sure there’ll be more about it in the future and who knows, maybe even some music from me. But that’s not today!
All the best.