TEST: Mooer GTRS P800

 The company Mooer will be known to most readers as a very successful manufacturer of inexpensive pedals of all kinds for the budget range. Not really surprisingly, the company has taken the step to expand into other segments, not without referring to its strengths in the electronics field. Under the label GTRS Mooer now offers two models, which in addition to the regular functions of an electric guitar have a multi-FX device plus amp modeler built in. We have the GTRS P800 in front of us for testing.

The concept of the GTRS P800

I'll admit, when the words "Intelligent Guitar" are emblazoned large on a packaging box, everything inside me first goes into alarm mode. A guitar cannot be "intelligent", the user maybe more or less, but certainly not several pieces of wood, some wire and more or less complex electronics. I know the Chinese are guaranteed to mean the approach differently, but here at least the instrument has to deliver first.

So what exactly is the approach of the GTRS P800? In principle it is quite simple, the instrument has an amp modeler plus multi-FX, which you normally use as a floor pedal, built into the body of the guitar in a very small electronics unit. The idea behind this is once again to reduce the transport volume, meaning you can leave one more pedal at home if necessary and only have to take the guitar with you. You can choose whether you want to play the instrument analog without any effects through a regular amp, or whether you want to send a digitally processed sound plus an amp / speaker simulation into a Full Range Flat Response (FRFR) box. Furthermore, you can also send the signal directly into the P.A. or a headphone.

Of course, the same applies to demo recordings, where you can play with the simulations directly into the interface of the DAW. The sounds are managed and edited via the matching Bluetooth app, which is available for iOS and Android. In total, the FX module has 11 guitar simulations, 126 guitar effects, a drum machine for jamming, a metronome, a tuner and an 80-second looper, optionally 4 sounds can be switched for live operation via the GWF4 Wireless Footswitch, which is not included.

The FX processor, which is built into the guitar, is powered by a battery, which in turn is charged via a standard mobile charger (5V) using USB-C. The matching USB-A to USB-C charging cable is included. The battery has a capacity of 4000 mAh and is supposed to provide an operating time of 10 hours.

The guitar

If you now think Mooer would exclusively take the cheapest components of a guitar to only supply the FX module with voltage signals, you're wrong. The Strat copy has in fact some high-quality components, which also explain the price of 969, - €. For example, in the hardware area a Wilkinson VS 50 II vibrato, a Graph Tech TUSQ saddle along with locking tuners were installed and the bolt-on maple neck was subjected to a roasting process, which indeed has a positive effect on the sound, as we will see later. The body was made of alder. The fingerboard with its 22 Stainless Steel Medium frets is made of rosewood and has the popularly used 12" radius. Likewise, as expected, the instrument uses the long scale length of 648 mm.

The GTRS P800 is available in several colors, we had the version in "Tiffany Blue" for testing, which is strongly oriented to the Fender Vintage lacquer finishes of the fifties and sixties. To what extent the cream-colored pickguard fits to this color scheme, which does not really meet the vintage character in its high-gloss look, is up to everyone in the evaluation. The pickups are no name pickups from our own production in HSS with the designations GTRS SCN-1N (neck), GTRS SCN-1M (middle) and GTRS HM-1B AlNiCo V (bridge). Very nice also the accessories equipment, which includes all necessary hex keys and a high-quality gig bag in tweed look.

The electronics

The linchpin of the GTRS effect module is the Bluetooth management and the so-called "Super Knob", which due to its dimensions and the color looks a bit like the tone control of the guitar had to be replaced and only the volume control of Grandma's tube radio could be found in a hurry. The same knob is designed as a push knob and switches on the FX module as well as the 4 storable sounds on the guitar. In addition, it is also a volume control for the level of the output signal.

The signal is also output via the guitar's jack, so make sure that the Super Knob is deactivated in analog mode, otherwise the regular guitar sound will drift into spheres that cannot be put into words with any negative adjective. The sounds can be bent by means of the app as with all common modelers by means of effects and amp simulations until the doctor comes. It should also be possible to change the sound characteristics of the guitar and pickup type, but we'd better keep quiet about the sound result. By means of electronics, a Start with all classic woods and PU constellation can be turned into a Les Paul with just such a constellation at the push of a button. Yeah no, it's clear.

The GTRS P800 in practice

Played dry, the GTRS P800 starts with a very good impression. The workmanship is good, the hardware is of high quality and especially the roasted neck convinces with a very good vibration and sustain behavior, as known from other roasted necks. The playability of the instrument, which is very well adjusted from the factory, is playable, nothing worth criticizing from a haptic point of view. But then Moeer makes a big mistake from my point of view.

Due to the very good wood / hardware components, the GTRS P800 would have the makings of a good standard guitar, which with the electronics in bypass mode can produce a good sound via a standard analog amplifier constellation. However, this approach seems to be not wanted by Moeer, because who listens to the basic sounds of the pickups, which I played as an example directly without amp into the console, hears a very dull basic sound with all pickup constellations despite open tone diaphragm, which does not offer a good basis for a high-quality amplifier sound.

This sound changes immediately when using the modeler sounds, so it seems that the entire construction of the GTRS P800 is almost exclusively designed for modeler operation. In my eyes, Moeer is wasting an area of application with this approach, which, despite the constant advance of emulation and simulation, still makes up the majority of live amplification of an electric guitar, even in the live area.

In terms of sound, I think the modeler sound of the GTRS P800 can be placed in the midfield of current sonic possibilities. Clean sounds are hit as expected very tastefully, as the same also work very well without amp / speaker simulations, in the area of amp sounds, however, the sound of the system does not really convince me. In my opinion, there is still room for improvement here, although I am also sure that Moeer can improve the sound quality with the appropriate software updates.

In the final verdict, I am torn between a very interesting approach with very good hardware components on the guitar on the one hand and a concept that for me personally is not thought through to the end with rather mediocre distortion sounds on the other. I have therefore decided to award a "Very Good" for the high-quality construction of the guitar and a "Satisfactory" for the sound yield, together still makes a stable "Good".

Conclusion

With the GTRS P800, Moeer ventures into the next level of effects management by supplying their modeler systems with the matching instrument right away. The guitar itself has a very good basis for a good analog amp sound due to its consistently very good components such as a roasted maple neck or a Wilkinson vibrato system. Unfortunately, Moeer ignores this aspect within the sound approach and focuses almost exclusively on the sound management by means of their new GTRS processor, which was built into the guitar as an innovation.

The transport effort thereby dwindles immensely and those who like the Modeler sounds should definitely test the concept once.

Additional informations:

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