Make Your Guitar Sound Like Any Other Guitar?! The Boss VG-800 blows our minds at NAMM 2025

Guitar World's Matt Own swung by the Boss booth to check out the new VG-800 - a guitar modeling powerhouse that lets you change tunings, tones and transform your electric into any stringed instrument you desire (yes, that includes a Dobro...)
Get more info: www.guitarworl...

[@TheUpSpin]

I had the VG88 & VG99… looking forward to diving back into this technology. I’m sure it’s light years along from those units!

[@Eric_W_Bell70]

Heck they did this in the 90s with the Roland VG-8, then the VG-88.

[@zonakmahanta]

Amazing... does it have a setting for standard tunning??? For example, my guitar is not in tune, but once i select the standard tunning mode, it should play in tune....

[@ThePhilRobbProject]

No

[@JimsMusicJourney]

What is the difference in the guitar modeling between the SY1000 and the VG800. Is one better than the other?

[@attherateofarobase]

I'm pretty sure the modelling will be identical between both units. There is nothing new in the VG-800 apart from the serial cable instead of the 13 pin cable.

[@brainwasher0]

SY is synth sounds , VG is just guitar sounds.

[@attherateofarobase]

@@brainwasher0 The SY-1000 has guitar modelling and synth modelling. The VG-800 has guitar modelling and one synth model of the GR-300. With the exception of the Vaio guitar model (same as the VG-99 Vari guitar model) in the VG-800, all the guitar models are identical in both units. What remains to be heard is if there is any difference in latency and warbling with alt tunings

[@jimmywilliams3972]

I am sure there is nothing new. It is a combination of GT series effects, guitar models from the SY 1000 and some stuff from the VG 99. It is the size of a GT 1000 core and the switching options from the GX 10.

[@ansacoustics9691]

Is vg 800 available in india

[@BobJ-q5d]

Is there any issue with palm muting? I know with the variax you couldn’t palm mute.

[@mikeledwith4543]

Nope. Your palm doesn’t touch the pickup, unlike the Variax.

[@bobsondugnutt5688]

possibilities are endless! anyway here's some chugging

[@mikeroadblock]

Does it all have a slow flanger on it?

[@alchemysticgoldmind4164]

Roland has something like this 20 years ago..but they are perfecting it....Joni Mitchell would love it

[@mikeledwith4543]

Joni Mitchell used it. A Parker Fly Concert with a divided pickup into a VG-99.

[@ritzenhauf]

Turns out i play even worse when the strings don't agree with the sound. Feels wrong, and if you can hear them it's awful

[@STEELE9999]

It's a Variax in a box

[@ZTAudio]

Not quite. The Variax has no amp modeling or effects. This would be closer to the combination of a Variax and Helix in-a-box.

[@beatxt]

Next generation Variax - but you have to provide the guitar. Im wondering if it performs without the notorious Variax artefacts specially on the 12 string models.

[@ZTAudio]

@ I’ve got an original Variax. Most of the artifacts can be corrected using things like fret wraps, bridge dampening. etc. … but I absolutely know what you’re talking about. One would hope that this is better technology .

[@tperry5839]

NOBODY WANT S A SITAR OR BANJO THOSE OLE 80 sounds Man all this time yall could have really come out with NEW ACOUSTIC TONES NO ONE WANTS A DAM BANJO OR SITAR SMH COMEON MAN STEP IT UP

[@mikeledwith4543]

@@tperry5839I want a banjo sound :)

[@StormtrooperCylon]

Bye Bye to individuality. No thanks

[@jimmywilliams3972]

I think that we are talking about how to find your individuality. The industry is full of people playing a 5150 through V30's and a TS9. playing almost the same as everybody else.

[@MercutioUK2006]

So placing infinite tuning and modelling capabilities at your fingertips is limiting individuality? Right.

[@greedo69]

@@MercutioUK2006 just a decrepit geezer mad that time is moving on without them, ignore