Boss announces XS-100 and XS-1 Poly Shifter pitch pedals

September 25, 2025 · 8 sources

Boss announced the XS-100 and XS-1 Poly Shifter on September 25, 2025, described in the announcement as "two advanced pitch-shifting effects for guitar, bass, and other instruments"¹²³. Both are part of the maker's octave and pitch pedal line, which Boss traces to the OC-2 Octave of 1982⁴.

The XS-100 is a treadle-equipped unit with an eight-octave range⁵¹. Its onboard pedal gives linear pitch control across plus or minus four octaves, with independent pitch-change speeds for each direction, and an integrated toe switch at the end of the pedal's travel introduces momentary pitch jumps with adjustable range and rise/fall time⁵¹. Two footswitches bypass the pedal shift and retune at fixed semitone steps across eight octaves⁵¹. Boss lists a detune function of plus or minus 50 cents, adjustable pedal curve and response, a display, 30 memories, an analog output that mirrors the input, connections for up to two external footswitches or an expression pedal, TRS MIDI I/O and a USB connector for system updates⁵.

The XS-1 puts the core features in Boss's compact pedal format¹². Boss gives its range as plus or minus seven semitones and three octaves up or down, with a Balance knob for the direct and effect mix and a Detune mode¹². The pedal switch can be set for standard on/off or momentary operation, and up to two external footswitches or an expression pedal can be connected¹². RockBoard's PedalPedia lists 24-bit converters, 9V DC center-negative power at 120mA, and a shift range of plus or minus seven semitones plus three octaves⁶.

Accounts differ on the XS-1's detune range: Boss's announcement does not give a figure¹², while Guitar World reports plus or minus 20 cents⁷. Guitar World also reports that the XS-1 is not MIDI compatible⁷.

Boss's description of the XS series:

Both pedals will be available in October 2025, priced at $349.99 for the XS-100 and $199.99 for the XS-1¹²³⁷.