What’s the Difference Between Boss Multi-FX Pedals?

Boss are industry leading masters at creating incredible multi-FX workstations whether you play guitar, bass and more! But with so much choice and many advanced features, you might be asking yourself “Which one is right for me?”

In this blog we have you covered. We will look at each multi-FX in the Boss range, and then look at the differences in our handy comparison chart. Let’s see what Boss has to offer!

Boss GX Series

Best for: guitarists who want to dive into the freshest audio workstations that Boss has to offer, with insane levels of tone creation and pro-level audio quality.

Boss GX-10

Embrace an insanely powerful streamlined guitar rig at your feet! Smaller than the incredibly popular GX-100, but just as powerful. All encased in a sleek, modern and rugged metal chassis, the GX-10 is a tone workstation which is controlled with its multi-function footswitches, expression pedal and the ultra-colourful touch display screen for simple, in-depth tone shaping thanks to the free-flowing interface.

Boss GX-100

The Boss GX-100 is all the tone-conscious guitar player or bassist needs for a first-class sonic experience! Equipped with 23 AIRD amplifiers and over 150 effects derived from Boss’ flagship GT-1000 processor — the GX-100 is an all-in-one, floor-based workstation that effortlessly delivers top-level performance anywhere you play.

With an incredibly sleek and modern chassis design, the GX-100 also boasts an intuitive colour touch display that allows you to craft inspiring sounds in just a matter of seconds. Up to 15 simultaneous effect blocks provide unlimited tonal possibilities, coupled with deep real-time command via onboard footswitches, an expression pedal, and external control support.

Boss ME Series

Best for: guitarists who want a whole range of tonal choice and a real all-in-one solution for a really attractive price.

Boss ME-90

The Boss ME series has been a favourite of performing guitarists for over three decades, combining flexible multi-effects power with intuitive hands-on controls — allowing users to craft inspiring tones in seconds! The ME-90 is Boss’ most advanced ME model to date, offering exceptional audio quality with 24-bit AD/DA and 32-bit floating point processing, flagship-grade AIRD amp models, IR loading, an effects loop, and much more.

Compact, light, durable, battery-powered, and filled to the brim with premium tones — the versatile Boss ME-90 all-in-one guitar floor processor makes it easy to build customised sound setups for every playing situation.

Boss ME-90B

The BOSS ME90B is an easy stompbox-style multi-effects processor built for sound creation with an intuitive knob-based interface. Filled to the brim with pro performance tools for bassists. Extend your creative range with 61 effects optimized for bass, giving you everything you need to deliver superior bass performance.

Boss GT Series

Best for: people who want a simple interface to help navigate the massive library of sound, and the many features the Boss GT series has to offer.

Boss GT-1

The GT-1 is an incredibly powerful multi-fx unit in a box small enough to fit in your gig bag! And even though it’s small, it’s jam-packed with loads of cool features and functions making it an effects unit for you whether you’re a seasoned pro or just learning how to play.

It contains the famous Boss GT engine for its amp modelling and effects. Loads of different tones and they’re all of the highest Boss quality – it even including some original Boss sounds like their OD-1 overdrive pedal. It’s got a built-in tuner, looper and expression pedal (for you to control wah and other sounds where you want to adjustment on the fly) and it can be run off of a 9v power supply or with 4 AA batteries.

Boss GT-1B

You’ll find every essential bass sound you’d ever need right here in the Boss GT-1B! Packed into the tidy unit are a host of Boss’ premium MDP-powered amp tones and effects. An essential piece of kit for plugging direct into an audio interface for recording or front of house when playing live.

Navigate super simple tone selections for quick and easy patches right out the box. Dive into an incredible selection of sounds ranging from a graphic EQ to reverb and into adventurous pitch shifter realms. Take control with the built-in expression pedal, looper and tuner at the push of single buttons.

Connect to the Boss Tone Central app to download fully formed patches or get into the nitty gritty of designing your own. Tone Central is an expansive library of guitar and bass sounds created by both pro players and the Boss community.

Boss GT-1000CORE

The GT-1000CORE fits the incredible processing power of BOSS’ flagship guitar floorboard into a compact stompbox! Featuring an abundance of built-in amp and effect sounds taken directly from the GT-1000 and 500 Series pedals, the ultra-versatile BOSS GT-1000CORE can become the tonal centrepiece of your rig – mounting easily onto a pedalboard or serving as a feature-packed, standalone unit.

Boasting advanced ‘AIRD’ technology for a natural playing feel, 24 simultaneous effects blocks and over 140 unique amp/effect types for a wide palette of potential sounds – GT-1000CORE is the ultimate all-in-one processor for performing and recording guitarists. And with flexible I/O and vast control support, the BOSS GT-1000CORE can be integrated into practically any existing setup!

Boss GT-1000

The Boss GT-1000 is the new flagship effects and modelling amp processor for these giants of the industry. It’s got a massive selection of on-board effects including algorithms directly ported from their powerful DD-500 Delay, MD-500 Modulation and RV-500 Reverb pedals. Along with all of their other distortion and drive effects and not to mention the countless amps available on-board.

The Boss GT-1000 ushers in a new era of amp and effect processing for the Japanese company. They’ve always been at the forefront of all things guitar effects and their GT-1000 captures years of innovation, engineering and design into this uber-powerful pedalboard.

It’s got an ultra-fast DSP engine, 32-bit processing and a 96 kHz sampling rate. Essentially, what this means is that it’s got some powerful computer processors controlling the quality of the audio which means you get incredibly accurate and warm sounding guitar tones from the GT-100.

What’s the Difference Between the Boss Multi-FX workstations?

Conclusion

If you want multi-FX for electric guitar, you have fantastic choices which are streamlined for seamless workflow and tone creation. If you want an effects workstation with a smaller footprint, then the GX-10, GT1000CORE & GT-1 are great choices. Looking to deliver outstanding bass effects? The GT-1B & ME-90B are feature packed solutions.

For more creative options via Bluetooth, the GX-10, GX-100 and ME-90 & ME-90B require the additional Boss BT-DUAL Bluetooth Adaptor.

Each Boss workstation is designed to connect to your PC for recording which make them easy to integrate into your current setup, or gives you the perfect platform for delivering incredible effects, expansive tone creation, and meeting modern needs of the electric guitar/bass player!

FAQ’s

Boss GX vs GT vs ME – What is best for a beginner?

The simple interface that the GT Series Boss multi-FX has to offer makes navigating pre-sets and creating your own user pre-sets easy. If you are looking for true value for money but invaluable features, the Boss ME range is the go-to choice.

What is the best Boss multi-FX?

As a guitarist it depends on what needs you have. Boss have created an incredible range of multi-fx to create modern solutions to help playing, recording & practicing simple. If you are looking for the most in-depth experience with authentic tube amplifier tone, an intuitive touch-screen & modern connectivity to easily integrate it into your existing rig, its time to explore the Boss GX series.

Want to Learn More?

• The Ultimate Guide To Multi-Effects
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• Shop All Boss Pedals
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