Oh yeah, the amp sounds great by itself but I can get alot of different tones with the GNX and edit them until my ear says whoa! Granted the factory presets are crap, you can download better presets on the sound forum that sound great. It's really about flexabillity. Anyone can buy a half stack and plug a guitar straight into it and play it. I like to be able to tweak my sound in a variety of ways and the GNX lets me do that. I have used the GNX solely in the effects loop but didn't like it very much. Running it through the BBE gives me a better sound that is not so "digital" so I think it's more versatile the way I have it. If I keep hearing that noise though, I will have to start rearranging some things to try and eliminate it. Haven't heard it again yet.