Boss GX-100

The Boss GX-100 is a floor-based amp and effects processor for guitar and bass, built around a color touchscreen and eight footswitches. Boss positions it as a unit that "combines the deep sound and performance capabilities of the GT series with the simple and direct approach of the ME series," with its effects derived from the flagship Boss GT-1000¹². It runs amp models and effects in a chain you build on screen, and it shipped in 2022³.

The current Boss product page lists 32 AIRD amplifiers and over 170 effects². Published reviews and buying guides from 2022 through 2026 consistently count 23 amps and 154 effects⁴⁵⁶, so the maker's page and the press give different figures for the same unit. Boss says AIRD technology provides "authentic tube amplifier tone and touch response"².

What the GX-100 does

The GX-100 is a multi-effects unit: one box that replaces an amp and a pedalboard. You build patches from up to 15 assignable blocks, strung together in any combination¹⁰¹¹. It comes with 100 preset memories from the factory, arranged in 25 banks of four sounds²¹⁰, and Guitar.com's review notes 200 user preset slots alongside the 100 factory presets¹⁰.

The effects library covers the usual ground. GuitarPlayer's launch coverage lists gain effects "from Booster and Over Drive to Metal Distortion and Fuzz," modulation including "phasing, flanging, chorus, vibrato, tremolo and more," and delays and reverbs including "Analog Delay, Twist, Warp, Shimmer Reverb and Space Echo"¹². Boss's feature page adds classics like Slow Gear and Octave, plus effects tuned for bass¹³. Premier Guitar's reviewer found amp emulations of "Marshall, Vox, Fender, Mesa/Boogie, and Bogner varieties along with Roland's classic models"⁸.

A looper is built in, offering 38 seconds in mono or 19 in stereo¹¹. A Manual mode "provides direct stompbox-like control," turning the footswitches into individual effect on/off switches the way a pedalboard works².

The controls

The GX-100's interface is its touchscreen: a 4.25-inch color LCD with four push-knobs, used for patch and effects selection, parameter tweaks and signal chain adjustments¹⁰. Boss says the display "works in harmony with the four knobs and page buttons on the panel"¹⁴¹⁵, and Guitar World's launch report also mentions a Select knob and page scrolling buttons¹⁴¹⁵.

The built-in expression rocker is assignable, and external control can go further: Boss's GX series guide notes players "can expand with additional expression pedals or use them to switch amp channels on real-world amplifiers"¹⁷. Third-party options exist too, such as American Loopers' aux switch, which adds two click-less buttons (CL 1 and CL 2) over a TRS cable for live, studio or practice use¹⁸.

Power and connections

The GX-100 runs on mains power from the supplied AC adaptor¹⁰¹¹. It weighs just under 8 lbs and measures 460 x 193 x 73 mm¹⁰¹¹.

Connections include:

• Send/return loop for external pedals or the four-cable method with a real amp²
• Effects loop send and return with switchable ground lift¹⁰
• MIDI I/O jacks²
• USB computer port (USB B type) for multi-channel recording²¹¹
• Headphones jack for quiet practice⁷
• Bluetooth adaptor port for the optional BT-DUAL, which allows editing sounds and streaming audio¹¹
• Mono or stereo output options¹¹

Over USB the GX-100 works as an audio interface with a DAW, receives user impulse responses, and connects to Boss Tone Studio for deep editing, saving and organizing patches¹⁷¹⁶.

History, firmware and versions

Boss announced the GX-100 in March 2022, available in the U.S. for $599.99⁷. Boss's own getting-started article describes the company as "an industry pioneer in floor-based amp/effects processors," with the GX-100 combining the GT series' depth with the ME series' directness¹. It is made in Malaysia¹⁰.

Firmware has been updated steadily since:

Guitar World reported that the Version 2.0 update "follows a major update for the GX-100's sibling, the GT-1000," extending several of that update's benefits to the more affordable GX-100²⁰.

To update: the version number appears in the lower right corner of the startup display. If it shows 2.05 or later, no update is needed. Otherwise, download the system program file (gx100_sys_v205.zip), hold down the WRITE button while powering on to start the updater, and send the file from a Windows or Mac computer with a USB 2.0 port¹⁹.

What reviewers said

MusicRadar's review praised "superlative sound performance and response from amp models" and called the unit portable at just under 8 lbs¹¹. Premier Guitar's reviewer wrote:

Premier Guitar, 2022³

The same review noted "tough competition in this price range, like the Line 6's POD Go and the Headrush MX5," while concluding that at $619 "it shines above others in this price range in terms of build quality and the level of I/O options"⁸. MusicRadar's beginner-focused buying guide placed it as "coming in at around half the price of the flagship GT-1000," adding that it "certainly doesn't offer half the performance"²¹. Buying guides from MusicRadar and Guitar World continue to list it among recommended multi-effects pedals, with Guitar World's 2026 guide citing 23 amps and 154 effects⁴⁵.

Videos

Click to load

Click to load

Click to load

Questions