BOSS VG-800

The BOSS VG-800 is a Boss V-Guitar processor: a modeling and amp/effects unit for guitar and bass that turns one instrument into many. Instead of shaping your existing tone, it uses a Serial GK divided pickup to read each string separately and rebuild your signal as a different instrument entirely, from steel-string acoustics and wide 12-strings to sitars, synth-style bowed sounds and the classic GR-300. Boss released it in 2025 as a pedalboard-friendly unit, carrying the V-Guitar line forward for guitarists and bassists¹.

The core idea is instrument modeling. Depending on the selection, you can adjust parameters such as instrument style, pickup position, resonance, and much more, and each string's pitch and panning can be set individually². A Dual Guitar type can split two guitar sounds across the strings, for example assigning a clean single-coil guitar type to strings 1 to 3 and a distorted humbucker type to strings 4 to 6³. The VIO type, available as VIO Guitar and VIO Bass, has bowed attack characteristics for sounds Boss describes as undiscovered territory².

Controls and connections

The VG-800 is built for the pedalboard. Its two leftmost footswitches move up and down the preset list, while the right footswitch works as a latching or momentary switch depending on the preset⁵. The screen is a monochrome graphic LCD at 256 x 80 resolution with a backlight, set in a metal chassis colored Azure blue with a wedge-shaped bottom half⁵.

The unit measures 63 x 173 x 135mm and weighs 920 grams⁵. Editing is also possible away from the pedal: Boss's free BOSS Tone Studio software for the VG-800 is used with a computer to find and edit sounds, which Boss says makes the process much easier⁶. Firmware updates are distributed by Boss, with Ver.1.50 the current system program as of July 2026⁷.

Guitar and bass modes

The same VG-800 unit can be switched between guitar and bass modes⁸. Bass mode provides bass-optimized processing algorithms and 150 independent memories⁴, and its instrument types include classic fretted and fretless basses, an acoustic upright, VIO Bass, and a GR-300 model specifically tuned for bass applications⁴. For players comparing bass processors, this puts it alongside dedicated units like the BOSS GT-10B and BOSS GX-1B, but with the V-Guitar approach of replacing the instrument rather than processing it.

Synth and MIDI use

The VG-800 features guitar-to-MIDI and bass-to-MIDI functionality⁹. Its pitch-to-MIDI output, on USB-C and a TRS mini jack, can be used simultaneously with all the key VG-800 features, so you can drive a synth while playing modeled instruments⁹. The MIDI output channels are consecutive, and the Basic Channel can be set from 1 to 10⁹. This built-in feature uses the same tracking system found in the latest Boss guitar synthesizers, including the GM-800⁹.

The GK Out jack can also interface directly with compatible products such as the GM-800 Guitar Synthesizer⁹, and the VG-800 is supported by the GKC-AD adapter¹⁰. The USB-C jack doubles as an audio interface⁵, and the unit works with mono and stereo amplifiers and sound systems⁹.

What reviewers said

MusicRadar reviewed the VG-800 in 2026. Their overall verdict:

The reviewer concluded there is no better way to turn your guitar or bass into a completely different instrument⁵. On the modeling sounds, Boss's own interview with the player Toast (Marcus Hidalgo) recorded his reaction:

That interview also noted the VG-800's steel-string acoustic, wide 12-string, sitar and classic GR-300 sounds are more hi-fi than the older VG-8EX⁶.

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