Mooer GE250

Gi71...Main Reviews....Mooer GE250

Mooer GE250

Vid Count: 1 Native

Guitar Interactive star rating:

PROS

Tone capture is a big plus.

Excellent amp models and effects.

Smart routing options for running DI or with an amp.

CONS

No external amp switching

Mooer GE250

MSRP (UK) £499 (US) $499

SPECS

70 contrasting amp models.

60 drum tracks.

10 metronome types.

70-second capacity looper.

In-built tuner.

For more information, please visit:

mooeraudio.com

With the release of the GE250, Mooer has packed premium preamps/cab simulation, excellent IR support and a shed-load of effects into one robust, compact unit. Throw in a variety of I/O types and a newly designed expression pedal, and you’ve got a versatile, powerful and highly customisable piece of equipment! Nick Jennison tells us more.

The amp modelling market is positively stacked right now. With Fractal’s updated Axe-FX 3 and Neural DSP’s highly anticipated Quad Cortex set to drop later this year, guitarists with deep pockets are very well catered for. Thankfully, you don’t have to spend a fortune to get amazing amp modelling and effects, and Moore’s GE250 is perhaps the most affordable pro-level unit out there.

If you’re familiar with last year’s all-singing-all-dancing GE300 (full review in GI #68), you’ll know how good Mooer’s amp models and effects are. The GE250 boasts all of the same core sounds, but without the more outlandish features like synth sounds and guitar profiling (although the “Tone Capture” feature on the GE250 still offers amp and cab profiling). It’s also about half the size and half the price of its big brother, but it still retains the colour display, onboard expression pedal and comprehensive I/O.

The GE250 can be used in just about any configuration you can think of: the XLR outs are perfect for going straight to front of house, while the jacks can go to either an FRFR cab, a power amp and speaker cabinet or a traditional valve amp using the four cable method. You can run the internal cab models, or your own IRs to either the jacks, XLRs or both, and each set of outputs has its own volume control. There’s even a USB port that allows you to use the GE250 as an audio interface for direct recording.

Connecting to an amp via four cable method allows you to place any of the GE250’s effects either before the amp or in the amp’s effects loop, but it also allows you to “clone” the sound of your amp’s preamp using the “Tone Capture” feature. The process is simple, and the results are alarmingly good! We were able to get the GE250’s 5150 model sounding remarkably close to our Victory Super Kraken. You can “capture” your entire amp collection this way and use them in your presets on the GE250 - taking them with you wherever you go. For touring musicians, this is a very powerful feature!

Of course, you don’t need to use this feature to get the best out of the GE250. The internal amp models are very impressive, and the effects are superb - particularly the reverbs and delays. The selection of drive and modulation effects might not be as extensive as some other units on the market, but that may not be a bad thing - for some, a dozen different tremolo effects is bliss, but for others, it can lead to severe option paralysis. The GE250 has everything you could need without going totally over the top with options.

Mooer’s GE250 is a streamlined, affordable and great sounding amp modeller. The comprehensive I/O and Tone Capture feature set it apart from the crowd, and the internal effects and amp models sound fantastic. It’s a very appealing little unit.