Boss GK-5

This is all about home/personal use btw, not a live situation and replacing my Taylor 614.
I am tired of having to re-tune my acoustic for the different songs I'm practicing.

@JiveTurkey I'm not interested in the amp modeling per-se. I can tweak things to sound good enough.
@mbenigni Yes... understood...you can't/shouldn't compare the sounds of piezo & magnetic pick-ups.

What I am interested in is getting a 'good enough' acoustic tone though. I know it wont be a Taylor 614 but if I can come close to it I'd be very happy.
The acoustic sound samples that I heard from the Helix Floor sounded 'good enough' and there are several YT folks that go over tweaking it.
I just haven't heard many acoustic samples from the VG800 and someone showing how to tweak them.
 
The VG-800 has only just been announced at NAMM-2025, and won't be in shops for another few weeks.
The GK-5 pickup options are
GK-5 external add on pickup - no controls
GK-5-kit-6 internal kit to fit inside a guitar with controls for GK-Vol,S1,S2, mix switch
GK-5-kit-7 internal kit as above, but for 7 string guitars.

The new VG-800 will have much of the SY-1000 abilities, the SY-1000 can do 3 concurrent/independent guitar models at the same time, each with alternate tunings, 12 string, and on board amps if required, each model can have its strings panned to any position.

Check out this YouTube video where it goes to the Acoustic modelling section.

 
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spartaacvs said:
This is all about home/personal use btw, not a live situation and replacing my Taylor 614.
I am tired of having to re-tune my acoustic for the different songs I'm practicing.

@JiveTurkey I'm not interested in the amp modeling per-se. I can tweak things to sound good enough.
@mbenigni Yes... understood...you can't/shouldn't compare the sounds of piezo & magnetic pick-ups.

What I am interested in is getting a 'good enough' acoustic tone though. I know it wont be a Taylor 614 but if I can come close to it I'd be very happy.
The acoustic sound samples that I heard from the Helix Floor sounded 'good enough' and there are several YT folks that go over tweaking it.
I just haven't heard many acoustic samples from the VG800 and someone showing how to tweak them.
Click to expand...
If all you're looking for is alternate tunings and one good acoustic guitar sound for practice at home... I think a lot of the solutions described here are overkill. I personally would be looking for used gear from a generation or two back, in order to save money.

Any JTV Variax (e.g. JTV59?) will fit the bill, though this isn't exactly "cheap" since you're buying an entire guitar.

On the BOSS/Roland side of the fence, a GP-10 with GK3 pickup is an easy way to get your alt tuning and guitar modeling. A used GP10 is well under $300 on average, and if you hunt around you can sometimes find a GP10 with GK3 for around $350.

(Note: I'm a cheapskate LOL.)
 
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mbenigni said:
Absolutely. I almost talked myself into buying another one just typing that post. (But I don't think I can go back to 13-pin cables and all that.)
Click to expand...
I am glad the GP10 (and VG800) doesn't speak to me.
Seth Meyers Omg GIF by Late Night with Seth Meyers
 
JiveTurkey said:
I am glad the GP10 (and VG800) doesn't speak to me.
Seth Meyers Omg GIF by Late Night with Seth Meyers
Click to expand...
Here's where Roland continues to not speak to me:

"GK-5 external add on pickup - no controls
GK-5-kit-6 internal kit to fit inside a guitar with controls for GK-Vol,S1,S2, mix switch
...
So, do you want to cut your guitar to pieces, or do you want half a solution?"

Are these my only two options?

(Third option: last gen external pickup with controls, and a cable that's heavier than your guitar and more prone to failure than your amp.)
 
mbenigni said:
Here's where Roland continues to not speak to me:

"GK-5 external add on pickup - no controls
GK-5-kit-6 internal kit to fit inside a guitar with controls for GK-Vol,S1,S2, mix switch
...
So, do you want to cut your guitar to pieces, or do you want half a solution?"

Are these my only two options?

(Third option: last gen external pickup with controls, and a cable that's heavier than your guitar and more prone to failure than your amp.)
Click to expand...
You know me. I don't need the onboard controls. I would like to get an internal kit installed at some point so I could get it down to one cable. Right now; I have the serial and guitar cable tied together and it is certainly clunky.
 
JiveTurkey said:
You know me. I don't need the onboard controls. I would like to get an internal kit installed at some point so I could get it down to one cable. Right now; I have the serial and guitar cable tied together and it is certainly clunky.
Click to expand...
It's almost impressive that they finally came up with a technology to get rid of the clunky 13-pin cable, yet managed to make the new solution equally clunky. With fewer features.

Dear Roland, for the thousandth time: 5-way pickup selector switch.
 
@mbenigni -- TY... I looked at the GP-10 and the lack of tone shaping is a non-starter for me.
What a miss for Boss not including controls on the GK-5.
As far as buying a guitar... I started the thread by saying I am ditching my acoustic so I will have to buy a guitar anyway.
At this point I'm not going to get a Variax because it's not manufactured and it's resale value is poor already and will only get worse over time. I will at least be able to resell any regular electric guitar I purchase and recoup some of my investment. Used electrics are easy to come by and I'm going to install the GK-5 onto it anyway.
So this leaves me with which unit
SY-1000 -- $1,000's although I found a used one for $800
VG-800 -- $700's
GM-800-- $700's
 
spartaacvs said:
@mbenigni -- TY... I looked at the GP-10 and the lack of tone shaping is a non-starter for me.
What a miss for Boss not including controls on the GK-5.
As far as buying a guitar... I started the thread by saying I am ditching my acoustic so I will have to buy a guitar anyway.
At this point I'm not going to get a Variax because it's not manufactured and it's resale value is poor already and will only get worse over time. I will at least be able to resell any regular electric guitar I purchase and recoup some of my investment. Used electrics are easy to come by and I'm going to install the GK-5 onto it anyway.
So this leaves me with which unit
SY-1000 -- $1,000's although I found a used one for $800
VG-800 -- $700's
GM-800-- $700's
Click to expand...
I can definitely see the appeal of a GK5-based rig over a GK3-based rig, but it’s not clear to me what you mean by “lack of tone shaping” on the GP10. Are you just talking about the number of physical potentiometers/ encoders? Otherwise, be aware that there are plenty of EQ etc options in the GP10.
 
spartaacvs said:
@mbenigni -- TY... I looked at the GP-10 and the lack of tone shaping is a non-starter for me.
What a miss for Boss not including controls on the GK-5.
As far as buying a guitar... I started the thread by saying I am ditching my acoustic so I will have to buy a guitar anyway.
At this point I'm not going to get a Variax because it's not manufactured and it's resale value is poor already and will only get worse over time. I will at least be able to resell any regular electric guitar I purchase and recoup some of my investment. Used electrics are easy to come by and I'm going to install the GK-5 onto it anyway.
So this leaves me with which unit
SY-1000 -- $1,000's although I found a used one for $800
VG-800 -- $700's
GM-800-- $700's
Click to expand...
GM800 is not going to do what you want.
 
@mbenigni The GP-10 only has the one chain to work with. Where the others have several chains to work with to shape the sound and the ability to enhance it. Thats not to say you can't add EQ to improve tone, but I think the GP-10 lacks the nuance that the newer software offers. We are 10 years out from it's inception and Boss has certainly improved that ability over time.

@JiveTurkey Thanks, can you clarify why the GM-800 that wont work for me?
BTW I'm not sure it is either... My understanding, albeit flawed ...VG = Virtual Guitar and the GM spears to be a synth for guitar, and that's not really what I'm looking for in any case. Perhaps I answered my own question.
 
spartaacvs said:
@mbenigni The GP-10 only has the one chain to work with. Where the others have several chains to work with to shape the sound and the ability to enhance it. Thats not to say you can't add EQ to improve tone, but I think the GP-10 lacks the nuance that the newer software offers. We are 10 years out from it's inception and Boss has certainly improved that ability over time.

@JiveTurkey Thanks, can you clarify why the GM-800 that wont work for me?
BTW I'm not sure it is either... My understanding, albeit flawed ...VG = Virtual Guitar and the GM spears to be a synth for guitar, and that's not really what I'm looking for in any case. Perhaps I answered my own question.
Click to expand...
Post in thread 'BOSS VG-800' https://thegearforum.com/threads/boss-vg-800.7613/post-311941
This is what they each do. GM does other instruments (NOT guitar modeling nor alt tunings).
 
@everyone... Thank you for helping me understand the various Boss lines and coming to some sort of conclusion to this thread.
My final thoughts are GK-5 to a VG-800.

But wait.... there's more.......
Is there a particular guitar that the GK-5 fits into well?
Should I just pick up a MIM Strat?
Looks like Gibson's are out... doesn't look like there's enough room for mounting the pickup?
I figure around $500 US should be about right.
Locking nut?
 
spartaacvs said:
.......
Is there a particular guitar that the GK-5 fits into well?h
Should I just pick up a MIM Strat?
Looks like Gibson's are out... doesn't look like there's enough room for mounting the pickup?
I figure around $500 US should be about right.
Locking nut?
Click to expand...
I thought there were brackets so you could install on a Gibson (tune-o-matic) without even using tape on the guitar.
 
spartaacvs said:
@mbenigni The GP-10 only has the one chain to work with. Where the others have several chains to work with to shape the sound and the ability to enhance it. Thats not to say you can't add EQ to improve tone, but I think the GP-10 lacks the nuance that the newer software offers. We are 10 years out from it's inception and Boss has certainly improved that ability over time.

@JiveTurkey Thanks, can you clarify why the GM-800 that wont work for me?
BTW I'm not sure it is either... My understanding, albeit flawed ...VG = Virtual Guitar and the GM spears to be a synth for guitar, and that's not really what I'm looking for in any case. Perhaps I answered my own question.
Click to expand...
This doesn’t quite jive with what you wrote previously:

“What I am interested in is getting a 'good enough' acoustic tone though. I know it wont be a Taylor 614 but if I can come close to it I'd be very happy.”

Depending on which product we’re talking about, multiple paths will make it possible to run multiple instrument or amp models in parallel. The ability to modify the tone of your primary instrument (acoustic guitar) isn’t going to be fundamentally different.

But again, I can see wanting to go with a GK5 and the newer, less cumbersome cable.
 
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