Boss VG-800

It’s more compact than its predecessors, but the newest processor in Boss’ venerable VG range might just be their best one yet.

Amp, speaker and effects modelling is familiar to most of us, whether it’s done using hardware or software. But guitar modelling remains far less common, probably because accurate guitar modelling requires special pickups to detect the movement of each guitar string individually. This facilitates accurate pickup modelling, as well as the per‑string pitch‑shifting needed to, for example, transpose a string up or down by an octave, or create alternative tunings such as baritone, drop D or DADGAD.

The main proponents of this technology are Roland and Line 6. The former have released various V‑Guitar products over the years, and these are standalone boxes fed from a separate GK pickup. Line 6 build the modelling inside their Variax guitars, but while that integrated approach has obvious appeal, there are benefits to the GK route. For example, with a separate pickup, you can put it on any instrument, and even move it from one to another.

VG‑800 Overview

Reviewed here is the latest addition to Roland’s Boss range, the VG‑800. This follows in the footsteps of Roland’s VG‑8 (released in 1995), VG‑88 (2000) and VG‑99 (2007) and, as with all such devices, a separate GK pickup is required. Don’t let the idea of fitting a GK pickup put you off: there are some very easy temporary ways to attach them to a guitar that don’t require any special adaptations. For more about the GK pickups, see the ‘Pickup Lines’ box.

Despite its extended feature set and enhanced performance, at just 173mm wide by 135mm deep and 63mm high the VG‑800 takes up far less space than its bulky forebears (it’s around half the width of my old VG‑99), and while the styling is in keeping with the Boss SY‑300 and SY‑1000 guitar synths, it is smaller than either of those too.

The core functions are essentially improved versions of what came before, and they constitute what you might think of as a virtual guitar store, as you can choose the modelled guitar and pickup switching, the amp, the speaker and an array of effects. (User IRs may also be imported using Boss’ Tone Studio editor software.) You can create your own custom tunings, as well as 12‑string emulations with the octave and unison strings set up correctly. Because the pitch‑shifters operate independently for each string, they work very smoothly, with none of the glitchiness often experienced when using typical polyphonic pitch‑shifter pedals with regular guitar signals.

There are some non‑guitar instruments on offer too — you’ll find sitars, banjos, a bass emulation, and a range of a synth‑like sounds that include an accurate emulation of the highly regarded Roland GR‑300 analogue guitar synth. You can also create hybrid instruments, for instance by assigning different guitar models to the bottom two or three strings and to the top three or four. The VG‑800 can be set to switch instruments or models when you play above a specified fret position, and it’s possible to layer two different guitar sounds together.

Another intriguing possibility lies in the VG‑800’s ability to act as a USB audio interface. Your DAW can access the mixed signal, and/or the separate string signals, so you can not only record the result, but you can capture the multitrack signal for later ‘re‑amping’ through the VG‑800. It also opens the door to experiments in editing or processing before you re‑amp, though I’d keep the effects to a minimum as you really want a clean signal without notes overlapping to go into the VG‑800.

There’s another secret weapon: while this device is very much a modeller rather than a MIDI synth, the VG‑800 is blessed with the fast pitch‑to‑MIDI conversion of Boss’s guitar synths. This means you can use it as a controller to play soft synths or, courtesy of its MIDI output, hardware ones. (The MIDI out is on a TRS socket, so depending on the hardware synth in question you might need a TRS to five‑pin MIDI DIN adaptor.) This is a huge benefit, as those who wish to explore such things needn’t pay for a separate pitch‑to‑MIDI system. Incidentally, the MIDI output is derived from the string tracking, before any special tunings or 12‑string emulations, but you could use your DAW software to manipulate the MIDI data however you wish.

Since the new GK‑5 pickup doesn’t have any volume or expression controls on board, live performers may want to add a pedal to ride the volume at the start of the virtual signal chain.

Physical

The top panel is neat and uncluttered, with an intuitive control set and a clear display, making navigation on the hardware easy. The free Boss Tone Studio software can make editing simpler still, though. This runs on a Mac or Windows computer, and it can also be used for sound library organisation and sharing presets with the Boss user community.

Physically, the three footswitches are momentary action types, but the onboard software decides on their latching or momentary function. For example, the right‑most switch, called CTL1, operates in momentary mode when using the B‑Bender preset, but it latches when changing rotary speaker speeds. In default mode, the left pair of switches run up/down through the patches (hold both for tuner), and pressing the right‑most two buttons bypasses the effects.

The large screen shows the relevant data, and below it the five rotary encoders have integral push switches. These control what’s shown above them on the screen, which also shows the routing, with graphical amp and effects blocks. A further Select encoder lies to the right, and there’s an Output Level control. Six buttons (Inst, Effects, Menu, Left Arrow, Exit and Right Arrow) facilitate navigation, while ‘two at once’ button combinations are used to activate the Lock and Write functions. Navigating the patches can be done using the Select knob, the footswitches or MIDI.

Power comes in on the rear and a Boss 9V power supply is provided (it will also work with a pedalboard PSU that can deliver sufficient current). Here there are also two TRS jack sockets for the GK‑5 input and output, another input for the normal guitar signal, send and return jacks for bringing your own pedals into the signal chain, two output jacks for mono/stereo/phones use, and an expander jack for external controls two and three, or an expression pedal. There are further connections on the left panel: mini TRS jacks for MIDI in and out, a USB‑C connector, and an Exp 2 jack for control/expression four and five. As the GK‑5 pickup doesn’t have a volume control on board, most live performance users will probably find it essential to add an expression pedal to control volume....