Gear compared
Boss ME-90 vs GX-1 vs GT-1
Updated 8 min read11 sources
All three are BOSS floor units that run on four AA batteries and have a built-in expression pedal with a toe switch. The ME-90 is the big one, with 30 knobs, eight footswitches, 11 AIRD amp types on its panel and the only effects loop of the three, at 443 mm wide and 2.9 kg. The GX-1, from January 2026, has 23 AIRD amp types, 146 effect types, a colour screen, Bluetooth built in and eight slots for your own IRs, at 307 mm and 1.2 kg. The GT-1, from 2016, has 27 COSM preamp types and over 100 effect types in a box almost the same size as the GX-1.
Choose the ME-90 if you want to turn knobs like on a pedalboard and put your own pedals in a loop. Choose the GX-1 for the most amps and effects in the smallest box, with a screen and your own IRs. The GT-1 had the lowest launch price of the three, $199 in 2016, and covers clean to metal, but it has no AIRD amps and no IR loading. Every figure on this page comes from BOSS's own manuals and press releases.
Side by side
Each column is from BOSS's own documents for that unit: the ME-90 Reference Manual and Parameter Guide, the GX-1 Reference Manual and Parameter Guide, and the GT-1 Owner's Manual and Parameter Guide, with each launch press release for the date and US price. Where BOSS lists no such feature, the cell says so.
| Boss ME-90 | Boss GX-1 | Boss GT-1 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Launched | July 2023, $349.99 | January 2026, $229.99 | September 2016, $199 |
| Amp types | 11 AIRD types on the knob; the app can swap the 11th for one of 5 more | 23 AIRD types | 27 COSM preamp types |
| Effect types | 97 | 146 | Over 100 |
| Your own IRs | 3 slots, loaded with BOSS's IR loader | 8 slots for WAV speaker IRs | None: seven speaker types plus each preamp's own |
| Memories | 36 user and 36 preset | 99 user and 99 preset | 99 user and 99 preset |
| Knobs | 30, one for each setting | 3 under the screen | 3 under the screen |
| Footswitches | 8, plus an expression pedal with a toe switch | 3, plus an expression pedal with a toe switch | 3, plus an expression pedal with a toe switch |
| Screen | Two-character LED | Colour LCD, 320 by 240 dots | Backlit LCD, 132 by 32 dots |
| Looper | 38 seconds, mono | 38 seconds mono or 19 seconds stereo | 32 seconds |
| Effects loop | Send and return, before or after the preamp | No send or return jacks | No send or return jacks |
| Extra pedals | No jack for them | CTL2,3/EXP2 jack, plus BOSS's wireless footswitch and pedal | CTL2,3/EXP2 jack for two footswitches or an expression pedal |
| Bluetooth | With the BT-DUAL adaptor, sold separately | Built in | Not in the specifications |
| USB | USB-C, audio interface | USB-C, audio interface and bus power | USB type B, audio interface |
| Sampling rate | 48 kHz, 32-bit floating point processing | 48 kHz, 32-bit floating point processing | 44.1 kHz |
| Batteries | 4 AA, about 6.5 hours | 4 AA, about 5 hours | 4 AA, about 7 hours |
| Weight | 2.9 kg with batteries | 1.2 kg | 1.3 kg |
| Size | 443 wide, 220 deep, 67 high, in mm | 307 by 149 by 56 mm | 305 by 152 by 56 mm |
Amp types: AIRD on two, COSM on one
The ME-90 and GX-1 both use AIRD, which BOSS describes as simulating a guitar amp as one instrument, its circuit and the way all its parts interact. The ME-90 has 11 types on its PREAMP TYPE knob, from NATURAL to RECTI STACK, and the BOSS TONE STUDIO app can swap the 11th for TRANSPARENT, BOUTIQUE, SUPREME, JC-120 or DELUXE COMBO, a different one for each patch. The GX-1 has all 23 on the unit, with six MDP types where the ME-90 has three, and models of a Matchless D/C-30, a MESA/Boogie combo, an Orange Rockerverb's dirty channel and the high-gain channel of a Bogner Uberschall.
The GT-1's 27 preamp types use COSM, and its press release says its sound engine comes from BOSS's GT-100. They cover the same ground, from JC-120 and CLEAN TWIN to R-FIER MDN and 5150 DRV, and they have a Presence control that the AIRD amps on the other two do not. On the GX-1 and GT-1, Gain runs from 0 to 120 and the tone controls from 0 to 100; every knob on the ME-90 runs from 0 to 99.
Knobs, screens and footswitches
The ME-90 works like a pedalboard. Each effect section has a TYPE knob and knobs for its main settings, 30 in all by BOSS's count, and the display shows only two characters: hold EDIT and turn a knob to see its value. Its eight footswitches change banks and patches in Memory mode, or switch each effect on and off in Manual mode.
The GX-1 and GT-1 edit from a screen with three knobs under it. The GX-1's colour screen is 320 by 240 dots, with a button for each effect block beside it; the GT-1's is a 132 by 32 dot LCD. Both have three footswitches, two for patches and a CTL1 switch, and a jack for two more footswitches or a second expression pedal. The GX-1 also works with BOSS's FS-1-WL wireless footswitch and EV-1-WL wireless expression pedal.
What only one of them has
Only the ME-90 has an effects loop. Its SEND and RETURN jacks put an outside pedal in the chain, before or after the preamp, and each patch saves whether the loop is on. It is also the only one with a knob for every setting, and the heaviest at 2.9 kg.
Only the GX-1 has Bluetooth built in, for playing along with songs from a phone and for the BOSS TONE STUDIO app, which runs on macOS, Windows, iOS and Android. It is also the only one that runs from USB bus power, and it has the most IR slots, eight against the ME-90's three.
Only the GT-1 has an AUX IN jack, a stereo mini jack for a music player, and it runs longest on batteries, about seven hours on four AA cells.
The same starting points on all three
These are Tonelify's starting settings from each unit's gear page, not BOSS's numbers. The ME-90's knobs run from 0 to 99; on the GX-1 and GT-1, Gain runs from 0 to 120 and the tone controls from 0 to 100. Only the GT-1's preamps have Presence, so only its column shows it.
| Sound | Boss ME-90 | Boss GX-1 | Boss GT-1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clean | TWIN COMBO, Gain 30, Bass 50, Middle 50, Treble 60 | TWIN, Gain 30, Bass 50, Middle 50, Treble 60 | CLEAN TWIN, Gain 30, Bass 50, Middle 50, Treble 60, Presence 40 |
| Blues | TWEED COMBO, Gain 50, Bass 45, Middle 60, Treble 55 | DELUXE, Gain 50, Bass 45, Middle 60, Treble 55 | DxCRUNCH, Gain 50, Bass 45, Middle 60, Treble 55, Presence 45 |
| Classic rock | BRIT STACK, Gain 65, Bass 50, Middle 65, Treble 55 | BRIT STACK, Gain 65, Bass 50, Middle 65, Treble 55 | MS1959 I+II, Gain 60, Bass 50, Middle 65, Treble 60, Presence 50 |
| Metal | RECTI STACK, Gain 70, Bass 60, Middle 40, Treble 60 | RECTI STACK, Gain 80, Bass 60, Middle 40, Treble 60 | R-FIER MDN, Gain 80, Bass 55, Middle 45, Treble 60, Presence 50 |
| Lead | X-HI GAIN, Gain 60, Bass 50, Middle 70, Treble 55 | X-HI GAIN, Gain 70, Bass 50, Middle 70, Treble 55 | The rhythm patch with OD/DS on MID BOOST and CTL1 set to LEVEL +10 |
Settings for a song, on any of them
A style setting gets you close. A particular record needs its own numbers, and the same amp lands differently on a 0 to 99 knob than on a 0 to 120 screen value. Tonelify gives song settings for the amp types and controls each of these units actually has, so the answer for one is never a copy of another.
Common questions
Which has the most amp models, the ME-90, GX-1 or GT-1?
The GT-1 has the most types, 27 COSM preamps, then the GX-1 with 23 AIRD amp types. The ME-90 has 11 AIRD types on its knob, and the BOSS TONE STUDIO app can swap the 11th for one of five more. Only the ME-90 and GX-1 use AIRD.
Does the GX-1 have an effects loop like the ME-90?
No. The ME-90 is the only one of the three with SEND and RETURN jacks, and it can place the loop before or after the preamp, saved in each patch. The GX-1 and GT-1 have a CTL2,3/EXP2 jack for extra footswitches or an expression pedal, but no loop.
Can you load your own IRs into the ME-90, GX-1 and GT-1?
Into two of them. The GX-1 has eight user slots for WAV speaker IRs and the ME-90 has three, both loaded with a tool from BOSS's website. The GT-1 has no IR loading: its speaker types are seven cabinets plus each preamp's own.
Which runs longest on batteries?
The GT-1, about seven hours on four AA batteries, against about 6.5 hours for the ME-90 and about 5 for the GX-1. The GX-1 can also run from USB bus power, and all three take a BOSS AC adaptor, sold separately.
Which of them has Bluetooth?
The GX-1 has it built in, for playing along with music from a phone and for connecting the BOSS TONE STUDIO app. The ME-90 gets Bluetooth from the BT-DUAL adaptor, sold separately, which fits its Bluetooth ADAPTOR connector. The GT-1's specifications list no Bluetooth; it has an AUX IN jack for a music player instead.
Which is smallest, the ME-90, GX-1 or GT-1?
The GX-1 and GT-1 are close: 307 by 149 by 56 mm and 1.2 kg for the GX-1, 305 by 152 by 56 mm and 1.3 kg for the GT-1. The ME-90 is much bigger, 443 mm wide, 220 deep and 67 high, and weighs 2.9 kg with batteries.
Sources
- BOSS: ME-90 Reference Manual (PDF)
- BOSS: ME-90 Parameter Guide (PDF)
- BOSS: ME-90 product page
- BOSS: ME-90 launch press release, 6 July 2023
- BOSS: GX-1 Reference Manual (PDF)
- BOSS: GX-1 Parameter Guide and Sound List (PDF)
- BOSS: GX-1 product page
- BOSS: GX-1 and GX-1B launch press release, 15 January 2026
- BOSS: GT-1 Owner's Manual (PDF)
- BOSS: GT-1 Parameter Guide and Sound List (PDF)
- BOSS: GT-1 launch press release, 9 September 2016
Gear in this guide
Settings for your own amp
This guide covers what is true of every rig. For a specific song on a specific amp, Tonelify reads the documented chain behind the recording and returns gain, bass, middle, treble and presence values for the controls your amp actually has. A first plan starts with 7 days free, $0 today.
