NAMM 2025: Boss has launched a new virtual guitar processor that can take the signal from your electric guitar – or indeed bass guitar – and turn its sound into something totally new. The V-800 V-Guitar Processor draws upon Boss’s formidable modelling tech to present players with a bewildering array of possibilities.
Say you have a Les Paul; the V-800 can make it sound like a Stratocaster. Or a Telecaster, perhaps any model of guitar you can think of. You can also go unplugged while remaining, err, plugged, taking your electric signal and turning it into an acoustic guitar of your choice.
And why stop at guitar? The V-800 also allows you to turn your sound into a sitar, a banjo, a ukulele, a synthesizer… The list goes on. Bored of standard tunings? You can also use it as base camp for exploring open tunings without the need to reach for the guitar tuner.
“Driven by the latest generation of BOSS V-Guitar technology and the Serial GK divided pickup, this extraordinary creative tool allows players to completely transform their sound at the push of a button,” says Boss. “Advanced modelling provides the ability to play different stringed instruments together or on isolated strings, explore alternate and down tunings, and go even further with all-new sounds not possible with traditional instruments.”
Longtime fans of the Boss/Roland lineage of products – and let’s face it, who among us isn’t? – will be cheered to know that the V-800 does a “spot-on” impression of a vintage Roland GR-300 guitar synth, so those super-cool ‘80s sounds are go with this.
The question is where to start with all this? Firstly, you will need one of Boss’ Serial GK MIDI electric guitar pickup systems (sold separately) to access this wealth of modelling functionality.
These, however, are user-installable. You don’t need to have done an internship at Bare Knuckle to get them on your instrument. Expect to pay £179/$249 street for the GK-5 divided pickup for electric guitar. There is also a permanent installation option for those who wish to invest more and go down that route.
Once you have installed the MIDI, well, the factory presets would be a good place to start. That will give you a taste of what the V-800 can do. You can then start designing your own sounds and saving them down, with 150 user-assignable memory slots available.
The V-800 is designed to invite experimentation. Players can pan sounds from different strings to different sides of the stereo spread. As mentioned above, you can approach this virtual instrument sound design on a string-by-string basis. There are VIO Guitar and Vio Bass modes that mimic a bowed response.
There are Dual Guitar and Dual Bass modes, which, if we are reading Boss correctly, mean you can have two different guitar or bass sounds running independently and simultaneously, which sounds like it could be very interesting, perhaps doubling your electric sound with an acoustic for extra texture. You can give your Telecaster – heck, your Les Paul – a B-bender without taking it into the shop, adding an expression pedal to control string pitches on the fly.
Furthermore, the routing options make it a powerful recording tool. Use it as a USB/MIDI guitar audio interface, sending your signal to the DAW via the multi-channel routing.
“It’s even possible to separately record the unprocessed string sounds from the GK divided pickup, then pipe them back into the VG-800 for ‘re-guitar’ or ‘re-bass’ processing,” says Boss. “Speedy pitch-to-MIDI conversion is also supported to trigger software-based instruments with a guitar or bass.”
Deeper edits can be made via the Boss Tone Studio software. The V-800 is priced $649 and will be available via dealers in February. For more details, visit Boss.
