BOSS GM-800 GUITAR SYNTHESIZER

Description

BOSS GM-800 GUITAR SYNTHESIZER

The GM-800 brings guitar synthesis into a new era, with natural playability and an boundless expressive range. Thanks to the newly developed Serial GK interface, the advanced ZEN-Core sound engine gives you any sound you can imagine, from acoustic instruments to classic and modern synths, while high-performance DSP ensures tracking stability and expressiveness never before seen. Freely combine and edit Tones with the intuitive Scene workflow, color sounds with a huge selection of effects, and explore a universe of original content on Roland Cloud. Compact, essential, and ultra-versatile, the GM-800 gives your guitar or bass unlimited musical potential.

A New Milestone in Guitar Synth Innovation

BOSS and its parent company Roland have been world leaders in guitar synthesizer innovation for nearly fifty years, starting with the revolutionary GR-500 system in 1977. The GM-800 continues our commitment in this category, offering guitarists and bassists powerful creative capabilities, with access to sounds typically only available in keyboard instruments. Expanding and taking to a new level the ideas behind many historic Roland GR products, the GM-800 combines our most modern advancements in pitch and string tracking with a versatile and revolutionary sound engine.

ZEN-Core at the Heart

The GM-800 is based on the expandable ZEN-Core Synthesis System, the sound source behind professional Roland products like the JUPITER-X and FANTOM keyboards, the ZENOLOGY software synthesizer, and many others. ZEN-Core represents the most powerful synthesis engine in Roland's long history, distilling decades of expertise into a creative, timbrally vast, and deeply expressive instrument.

Over 1200 Sounds at Your Fingertips

The ZEN-Core engine combines modern PCM synthesis and advanced modeling to offer you boundless ground for your sonic discoveries. Play acoustic pianos, electric pianos, organs, and orchestral instruments. Immerse yourself in classic Roland synths like JUPITER-8, JUNO-106, and many more. And combine them to create sounds never heard before.

More Information on the ZEN-Core System

4 Tones + Rhythm

The GM-800 offers four Tone parts along with a Rhythm part, with acoustic and electronic percussion sounds. Recall a part with the dedicated panel buttons, then explore a wide selection of synthesis parameters, pitch settings, alternative tunings, and string assignments to perfectly refine your sounds.

Intuitive Workflow with Scenes

The ZEN-Core workflow is based on Scenes, which are "super patches" and contain all the elements of a sound: Tone selection, parameter modifications, sensitivity and other performance settings, effects, and more. And thanks to the powerful DSP, you can let the current Scene's sound continue when you select a new one, for uninterrupted musical transitions. There are 150 user-configurable Scenes, and 100 contain professional sounds ready to use.

Expansions on Roland Cloud

The GM-800 supports an ever-growing variety of creative options through Roland Cloud. Stay inspired with Sound Packs and Wave Expansions for ZEN-Core. Play the ZENOLOGY synthesizer and legendary Roland instruments in your DAW from your guitar or bass. You can start using Roland Cloud immediately with a free Roland Account, accessing additional content through three paid subscription tiers. All plans begin with a 30-day free trial of Ultimate, to experience everything Roland Cloud has to offer.

Discover everything about Roland Cloud

The Immense Power of Effects

The GM-800 contains the entire range of effects from the modern ZEN-Core system. With a wide variety of effect types available in each Scene, you can shape, enhance, and alter sounds exactly to your taste.

Dedicated Multi-Effects for Each Part

Along with their sound-modifying parameters, each Tone and Rhythm part has a dedicated MFX processor. Each offers over 90 effect types, including distortion, filters, modulation effects, delay, and much more. Many selections include two effect types for even more comprehensive sound control.

Scene and System Effects

Within each Scene, you also have two additional effects for processing the combined sound, along with high-quality chorus/delay and reverb effects, with independent send levels for each part. And with Master Comp and EQ, you can modify the output sound of the GM-800, optimizing it for any recording or live performance.

Unlimited Guitar Expressiveness

The GM-800 allows you to control an infinite variety of sonic textures, using the expressive performance techniques of your guitar and bass. Optimize performance with continuous or chromatic pitch control. Create Tone overlays to bring rich, composite voices to life. Or assign them to individual strings, like a bass timbre on the lower strings and a piano or sax sound on the higher ones. You can even assign Tones to specific key ranges, a powerful new feature made possible by the GM-800's advanced pitch detection.

Next-Generation Playability

The GM-800 guarantees standards of precision, stability, and real-time playability that far exceed those of previous systems, achieved through skilled BOSS engineering and a dedicated high-speed processor solely for tracking. Various parameters related to dynamics and feel allow you to set the optimal response for each sound and style. For example, you can set up a Scene with piano timbres so that it responds to every dynamic nuance (from soft to loud), while setting up another Scene with vintage analog synth sounds to the fixed velocity response present in the original instruments.

A Compact Performer

The essential GM-800 seamlessly transitions from desktop operation to installation in an advanced pedalboard. The four footswitches are set by default to Scene selection and two different control settings, such as pedal hold, pitch bend, or Tone selection. But they can be freely assigned to control a variety of functions via a powerful Assign matrix. Two external control jacks are also available, each supporting up to two footswitches or an expression pedal. And with the five-pin MIDI input and output, you can interface with both vintage and modern MIDI devices.

Expand Your Creative World

Along with independent operation, the GM-800 easily integrates into a variety of expanded creative environments.

Edit Sounds with BOSS Tone Studio

Craft Scenes in every detail from your computer, using the BOSS Tone Studio software for the GM-800. Configure Tones, string assignments, sensitivity, and more, from a large and intuitive interface. Afterward, use the Librarian function to organize your Scenes for different songs and performances.

Audio/MIDI Interface

With a single USB cable, you can capture the sounds of the GM-800 as audio tracks in a DAW, and "re-synth" sounds in a similar way to the re-amping technique used with standard guitar sounds. A "Guitar to MIDI" function is also available, allowing you to play virtual instruments via USB and control the timbres of hardware sound modules via the MIDI output.

MIDI Sound Module

The versatile GM-800 can also serve as a compact and easy-to-transport MIDI sound module. Connect a keyboard or other MIDI controller to the five-pin MIDI input to play the timbres. Or, use the ZEN-Core engine as a high-quality USB sound source within your music production workflow.

Multi-faceted Connectivity

The GM-800 features the newly developed Serial GK digital interface, which supports guitar and bass input from a BOSS GK-5 or GK-5B Divided Pickup, as well as easy connection of multiple GM-800 units. GKC-AD and GKC-DA converters are also available for classic 13-pin GK devices, allowing you to control the GM-800 with a Roland GK-3 or GK-3B pickup, and to use Serial GK devices with the BOSS SY-1000 and GP-10.

Specifications

Next-generation guitar and bass synthesizer with newly developed Serial GK interface

Advanced ZEN-Core sound engine derived from top-of-the-line Roland synthesizers

Natural playing feel and solid tracking stability thanks to high-performance DSP

Powerful Scene workflow, with four Tones plus a Rhythm part

Vast internal sound library, with over 1200 Tones and 70 Rhythm sounds

Explore Sound Packs, Wave Expansions, legendary Roland instruments, and more, on Roland Cloud

Comprehensive editing functions for each Tone, including sound parameters, sensitivity settings, and much more

150 user-configurable Scenes, including 100 Scenes with professional ready-to-use sounds

Over 90 total effect types available in each Scene

Space-saving design to integrate into any setup, from pedalboard to desktop

Serial GK expansion jack for connecting another BOSS guitar synthesizer

Two external control jacks, each supporting up to two footswitches or an expression pedal

USB audio/MIDI connectivity and standard MIDI I/O

"Guitar to MIDI" function, to play external MIDI instruments via USB or with a MIDI cable

Also functions as a standalone MIDI synth sound module for a MIDI keyboard, or as a sound expansion for a DAW

Edit Scenes and organize sounds on your computer with BOSS Tone Studio

Download and share GM-800 Livesets on BOSS Tone Exchange*

*To share on BOSS Tone Exchange, Scenes in Livesets must be created using the GM-800's internal sounds.

For optimal performance, always stay updated with the latest system software for GM-800 and BOSS Tone Studio.

Download "BOSS TONE STUDIO for GM-800" for Windows/macOS.