Boss GS-1 Eurus synth guitar on eBay

[BJG145]

I just noticed a GS-1 for £516 on eBay. This seems like a bargain, but after re-reading the SOS review I'm not tempted.

Either I'm losing my gadget-lust or this was a bit underwhelming...? The synth side doesn't exactly seem over-specced so it would need to be a pretty darn good guitar...and there are plenty of those about at budget prices nowadays...?

[Wonks]

With quite a few direct guitar-to-synth-sound pedals around now, it does mean that what would heave been quite unique 15 years ago now means you have to go and buy a whole new guitar rather than a new pedal. So for £500ish you get a £200 guitar and a £300 pedal built-in (or £250+£250) with limited sound palette and limited programming and program storage capacity.

If you are interested in something like that, then you probably already own two or three really nice guitars you are happy with, which you can easily all use with say an SY-300 and get a lot more versatility as well as a guitar you like playing.

[arkieboy]

I wonder wether the economics of guitar manufacture in the far east, together with the network of YouTubers eager for something to talk about, means it's cheaper to make something like the Eurus than spend hard cash on a marketing campaign ...

[Jude75]

Hi !

I think part of the “underwhelming” feeling might just be timing. When the Eurus came out, the idea of a self-contained synth guitar without hex pickups or a separate module felt pretty forward-thinking. But today, with pedals like the SY-300 and other guitar-to-synth options, the value proposition changes quite a bit.

At around £500, it’s not outrageous, but it does put it in that awkward space where you start comparing it to:

A solid mid-range guitar

Plus a modern synth pedal

With more flexibility and upgrade options

The built-in approach is elegant, but it also locks you into that specific platform and sound set. For some players that simplicity might be a strength, for others it feels limiting.

I suppose it depends whether someone wants an integrated instrument experience or a modular setup they can evolve over time.

[arkieboy]

Hi !

I think part of the “underwhelming” feeling might just be timing. When the Eurus came out, the idea of a self-contained synth guitar without hex pickups or a separate module felt pretty forward-thinking. But today, with pedals like the SY-300 and other guitar-to-synth options, the value proposition changes quite a bit.

At around £500, it’s not outrageous, but it does put it in that awkward space where you start comparing it to:

A solid mid-range guitar

Plus a modern synth pedal

With more flexibility and upgrade options

The built-in approach is elegant, but it also locks you into that specific platform and sound set. For some players that simplicity might be a strength, for others it feels limiting.

I suppose it depends whether someone wants an integrated instrument experience or a modular setup they can evolve over time.

Ish

The SY-300 has been around since 2015, (google says the) Eurus was announced in July 2021, so it was already a convenience over capability product as the SY-300 remains arguably the most capable DSP based, non hex product on Boss’ books. The more interesting announcement in this context was the SY-200 which was announced a couple of months after the Eurus, but before the Eurus’ actual availability in October. SY-200 was subsequently made available early the following year.

I couldn’t actually find anyone on YouTube who had done a direct sound comparison between the Eurus and the SY-200. I’d lay a small wager that they are the same engine from the Eurus manual as the main synth control parameters are easily recognisable from the SY-200 which I own, together with many of the same sound categories; however the Eurus doesn’t seem to have arpeggiator, noise and SFX. That said the Bluetooth integration with your mobile device for editing and the EV-1-WL wireless expression pedal can’t have been trivial to create, so maybe there are aspects of the underlying tech that will appear in future Boss products.

Given the timings, it still feels like a guitar-shaped billboard to cynical old me. But I can see some people out there for whom the convenience might sway.

[BJG145]

At around £500, it’s not outrageous

If it was priced at £500, that might be reasonable...but it was priced at over £1900?!

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/boss-eurus-gs-1

Current store price eg £1747.

£500 is the lowest I've ever seen for a secondhand one. They're usually offered on places like Reverb for over £1000. But they can't even sell it for half that.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/336401353824

I think Boss misjudged this. It still seems to be a current product but I suspect its days are numbered.

[Jude75]

Hi,

That price context does change the picture quite a bit. At £1900 new, the Eurus was never really competing with pedals like the SY-200 or SY-300 — it was effectively asking players to buy into a whole instrument ecosystem rather than just a sound source. From that angle, the current £500 used price feels less like a bargain and more like the market correcting expectations.

Arkieboy’s point about the SY-200 is interesting too. If the Eurus really shares much of that engine (minus a few features), it reinforces the idea that the synth side wasn’t the main value driver — the integration was. Bluetooth editing and the EV-1-WL support were genuinely forward-looking touches, but perhaps not enough to justify the premium for most players.

I can see why it might appeal as a niche instrument or even a future curiosity piece, though. It’s one of those “clever but oddly positioned” products that makes perfect sense on paper, yet struggles to find a clear audience in practice.

At £500 it’s probably a fun experiment; at £1900 it was a commitment.