Boss is not clear about technology differences between units, for example IR-200 is not AIRD and GT1000 series are, is IR-200 modeling better or different than GT1000? Thanks for this video.
This is awesome man, thank you & merry Christmas to you & family!! To my ears the IR-2 is Boss’s best sounding amp/cab offering yet, seems to me the lowend response/tone is better & maybe this helps smooth the highs which seems less harsh. Great comparison, thank you!
I have the IR-200 and whereas it has grown on me, it has taken some time to figure out. I really need to adjust the levels for different guitars, including the gain value of the amps and the massive EQ choices you can make and save per preset. I tend to use it more as a pedal platform clean or at edge of breakup and get my additional drive/distortion from input pedals. The IR-200 really needs a computer editor because EQ adjustments are tedious. The IR-2 has probably been designed with settings that just work and I'm sure I could accomplish anything on it with the IR-200 but with more fiddling.
The IR-2 is inspired. I don't want menus to scroll through, just a few amp models, analogue knobs and built in IRs. Something I can run my pedals into. All in the size of a compact pedal. Perfect back up.
I'm happily using GT-1000CORE still. I just sold the GT-1000 as they have reduced the price, I suspect a new flagship unit from BOSS might be coming soon. I really like the IR-2's sound though, but if I was going to use a compact BOSS pedal for the modeler, then I'd want all the other pedals to also be boss. I'm very obsessive about size and shape of pedals matching. I built a theoretical pedalboard using all BOSS compact pedals and the total price was over $1000 so I decided to just stay with GT-1000CORE for now.
The IR-200 does sound more 'hifi' compared to the IR-2. The ME90 and GX100 also have half the sampling frequency of the other 2 not sure if that matters, but in the Dynamic Range test both have a washy/bitcrushy overtone build up immediately when you start playing harder, like there's less digital headroom or something. The IR--200 sounds to have the least metallic overtone build up (Dynamic Range test), but it does stay a lot cleaner than the rest by the end so maybe it needed a touch more gain? Overall the IR-2 and IR-200 sound the best, with the IR-200 more for studio as I can imagine it being ideal for a high fidelity clean audio source with low fuss but more tweakability, and the IR-2 more for plug in and play live. Thanks for the comparisons!
your content is truly brilliant in my opinion an IR-2 is the closest one to the original, GX-100 is good enough but IR-2 still better. Others is not really close
Hi Leo I used apple,sony and shure headphones it sounds to me IR 2 sounds the closest to the real amp I really appreciate your hard work we all know where is the passion hardship doesn't matter 👍
Your coverage on various product lines is much appreciated. You make your comparison fair and objective. Also, you answer most questions I have on products, which unfortunately most channels I see on RU-vid do not tackle (Latency, feature comparison, etc.)
Thanks again for this incredible review and the time it took to make the video. I am surprised so many viewers like the ir-2 I thought there was a huge drop off between the me 90 / gx100 and the ir-2... I was planning on purchasing the ir-2, but since i own the ME90, can't justify the purchase.
BOSS should pay you, if they haven't already. If they already have, then you should get a raise, like multiple times. Always the best and detailed video 👏🏿👏🏿. Merry Christmas! 🎉🎉
😀...BOSS is not paying me....but they have sent me for free the GX 100, the ME 90 and the IR2...I have bought with my own money the IR 200 Thank you so much and Merry Christmas to you too!!!
Excellent tests. I trust this channel. The real amplifier sounds superior. The IR200 sounds pretty good. IR2 lacks liveliness in the mids (sounds scooped) but for home practice it would be fine.
You are welcome! In the user manual there is written "This unit also supports USB audio, so you can connect your computer or iOS device to play back the backing tracks." Therefore it should work only with iOS devices....but I'm not 100% sure Thanks!
I found ME90 and GX units pretty similar to the original sound of a Plexy, but all of them do a great job. It's almost impossible to tell any difference from the real amp. 🙂
I agree that the IR-2 sounds more natural. Even though they are from the same company and they both released close to each other, they sound very different. No matter the tweaks, the IR-200 always sounds a little too trebley.
I mentioned to you I didn’t like the Plexi sound on my GX 100 it sounded thin with bright digital fizz, adjusting the master master EQ fixed it, mostly some high cut, I used an EVH Celestion IR too. By the way the GX 100 and IR2 sounded closest to the real thing I thought
Perfect job as usual Leo. I think the biggest thing I noticed between the real plexi and all of the Boss products was when you were increasing the intensity from clean (Lick 3?). The plexi had smooth linear saturation throughout. I thought the Boss units had almost a 'disrupted' sawtooth kind of saturation build which didn't sound very pleasant or natural. However, they are great units doing a very respectable job.
I sold a Boss GT1000 out of desperation....the IR loader really sucks, the loaded impulse responses are very different if loaded into the DAW, in my opinion Boss needs to UPDATE the Boss GT1000 and Boss GX 100 as well as making new pedals
Thank you very much. That comparison, was what i was hoping for. I have a GX-100 and i think that it holds up against the new ones. Do you think that fiddeling with the extra setting, you would get a exact Tone with the IR-2 or IR-200?
Hi, you are welcome! I arrive at a point where every further change could impact the overall tone...I mean, each knob is related to the others...for instance if you increase the highs you may increase the gain, etc....I have obtained a compromise....obviously there is some subjectivity here, as there is a "human" intervention and someone else could obtain "better" results. Thank you!
Hello Leo, are you happy with these plexi tones? I hear a digital hiss behind all of the BOSS plexi modellers, to the level where I feel like this is the weakest point in all of their products. It's really strange to me how they can get so much right on form factor / stereo outs and so on, but always end up with the plexi sounding slightly worse than expected.
Hi, I would use any of these devices without problem...After all this time spent trying different devices, I'm used to them...to me the most important factor is the respect of the dynamic of my touch .... and this is recreated pretty well. Thank you
The Ir-2 sounds more natural, but I see that every time boss releases a new product, it seems as if it updates its level of converters and this makes its new products sound better each time. When is a new GT1000 expected? Leo, great as always
Thank you, I'm happy that you appreciate the video! Thank you also for sharing your findings! Unfortunately I don't know when a new GT 1000 will come out...
This test was very interesting....The IR200 sounds weird, the IR2 sounds much better. Thank you Leo, this video was great, and was the video I was waiting for. The IR2 is much better than the IR200, and this is very strange. :)
I have the Boss IR 200. I use it only for the IRs. I had several Tech 21 character pedals. I tried the Oxford as the preamp, with that pedals amp sim turned off. Killer tone. The high resolution Celestion IRs are awesome. I now have Badass Direct Tone.
I wanted to express how great it is to have these thorough and deep dives into gear demos and comparisons at a video length that is short enough not to be tiring. Thank you Leo, I know this means more planning and more editing to put together.
All good Ir responde. digital let some fuzzy hi end when signal is dropping but using diferent settings of gain bass and treble to each unit will almost clone the real thing. Awesome review by the way!!! Thanks a lot for you time and work sharing it with us🙏🏻🎸☘️ Never care about numeric values! Let’s close our eyes and open our ears 😀 thanks a lot! Sláinte!
Hi Leo thank you for the videos. They are helping a lot in making informed decisions with these products. Would you kindly do a comparison of the amps in the Boss IR 2 vs boss gx-100 equivalent amps.
Hi, you are welcome!!! Thank you for your suggestion! That would be an interesting and very time consuming video.... 😀. I will think about it. Thank you for your suggestion!
Hi Leo. Thank you for your response and consideration. I do agree on it taking a lot of time. Maybe you wouldn't have to do all the amps but anything around the range of a clean amp, one that is crunchy, Hi-Gain and something heavy. Thank younonce again for your consideration
I'm not too exigent with tone fidelity, but I found the level of noise when the notes are fading off a bit high on the me90 and GX100. Thanks for another great video, Leo!
Buon Natale Leo! Hello from Mexico, great comparation, even for me that have the GX100, IR2 sounds better. Now a suggestion, do another kind of comparation too. I mean shorter power chords or something and change quick to other gadget that is on the comparison. This could help to remember with no lot of seconds of distance from the Real amp as an example with the other devices. And in the RU-vid video Tag which is one in the time line (as the chapters of this video). This could help to scroll between the sounds of all and we can hear the differences without a time of delay
Hi, the GT 1000 is really really close to the GX 100...I did a video comparison in the channel about how these two machines sound each vs the other. Thank you!
Thanks, great work. It is generally hard to tell unless one is in the room. On my end with pro headphones, the ME90 came out as very unsatisfactory, the IR2 okay, the IR 200 and GX 100 as very close to each other and closer to the amp than the ME90 or IR2. But I have also heard comparisons in which it was impossible to tell real amp vs to high-end simulators, so....In the room, an amp surely feels different. Fun either way though. Thanks again
I have found that using modelers live through full range cabinets with compression driver high frequency horns and speakers can sound fabulous for cleaner tones and light crunch but if you want to get rid of fizz, ditch the full range cabs and just play through paper cone speakers. I use a couple 12 inch speakers that will handle the 500 watt Crown amp with a small mixer. I usually roll off a little low end on the guitar channel and fizz is never an issue as long as my modeler settings are not crazy trebly. Of course super high gain stuff might still need taming especially with a single coil Telecaster or Strat bridge pickup.
Your content is sometimes head and shoulders above others. ps. Was nice to see your sound tweaking matched what i heard, ir-2 was little darker so you added "touch more highs", i guess my ears are working. 😀
Sempre un livello di dettaglio altissimo nei tuoi video Leo. Alla fine la soggettività rimane una variabile importante ma senza dubbio l'oggetivita dei tuoi dati aiuta davvero tanto nell'avere un'opinione argomentabile!
Grazie mille!!! Sono contento che trovi i video utili!!! Si, l'oggettività e le opinioni personale comunque rimangono...ognuno ha il suo gusto personale...ma spero di darvi qualche "dato" su cui potete capire ciò che vi piace di più. Buon Natale!!!
They all sounded really close to the real amp to me. I actually thought that the IR200 sounded the worst and the Me90 sounded the best, but it was so close that I think with Amy of them I could easily gig and use them. I think I will probably buy either the ME90 or the IR2. With the IR2 I can use analogue separate effects in front of the IR2 such as an SD1 or boost and maybe a delay such as the Eventide Micropitch in the effects loop.. Where as the ME 90 has most all the effects I would need except the Micropitch which I could add in the effects loop. I thought the GX100 didn't sound better than either of the above, but it does have more options, but to me I like to keep it simple and not have to use the computer app much. I worked in the IT industry for many years and don't like using a computer for my music if I can avoid it except for updates. Great video sir as always. ❤ Regards from South Central Indiana. USA. Tim ❤
Hi Tim, thank you for sharing your findings! Yes, I see the point in avoiding computers while creating music and playing more in general...😀....even if, typically, the computer app are pretty useful (in my opinion) when creating presets. Thank you!
Wonderful video! Thank you for all the effort in making by far the most informative and educational videos! Marry Christmas! Now I'll go and order IR-200 for myself... 😊
Hope you and your family had a great Christmas Leo. IR-2 is closest to real Plexi to my ears. Another great video. Can't wait for your next demo song 😁 God bless and rock on 👍🎸😎
Ciao Leo, innanzi tutto Buone Feste! Per quanto riguarda il test l'impressione, usando cuffie e poi un buon impianto, è anche per me che, nel complesso l'IR2 si avvicina maggiormente al Plexi originale. Mi ha lasciato un po' perplesso il link 2 nel suono del del GX 100 che ho trovato un po' piattino proprio sulle basse. Test sempre di alto livello tecnico e molto interessanti.
That question is rumbling and tumbling in my mind for several days. Thank you Leo for revealing an answer. This channel great and needs to grow a lot 😁
The GX100 is known for not sounding right with external IRs, I’m surprised how crisp it sounded here. Can you please share the exact IR you used? Keen on checking it out.
Hi, I use my IR of a Greenback speaker miked with an SM 57. You can check it out here: www.leogibsonguitar.com/shop-online/p/leo-essential-irs Thank you!
Bellissima comparazione, naturalmente la testata, direi, meno male, suona meglio di tutti , le due pedaliera Boss , sinceramente son quelle che al mio orecchio hanno suonato peggio, mi meravigliano invece il Boss IR 2 che con poco fa davvero tanto. Posseggo solo testate e casse con pedaliera rigorosamente analogica, ma sarei intenzionato ad acquistare il Boss IR2 che sfrutterei per suonare con la mia per pedaliera ed andare direttamente nei Monitor senza usare testata , cassa ed attenuatore .... E la sera potrei suonare sanza impazzire con i Plagin... Ero interessato all'Iridium ma costa 400 euro circa... Chissà se riusciresti a fare una comparazione tra Iridium e Boss IR2 Buon Natale 😔👍😃
Grazie mille sono contento che ti piaccia il video!!! Grazie anche per aver condiviso il tuo pensiero! Ecco qui la comparazione IR2 vs Iridium...c'è anche il Lion: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-C9J15uOhzzE.html Buon Natale anche a te!!!
@@LeoGibsonGtr sono riuscito a provare l'IRIDIUM tramite un amico...ottimo prodotto per uscire dalla pedaliera ed andare nell'impianto o nei monitor.....se si entra direttamente nell'Iridium portando il Drive al massimo si avverte un suono un po' plasticoso....resta comunque un ottimo prodotto , ma se qualcuno pensa di avere un Marshall, un Fender o un Vox a portata di piede ne rimarrà deluso....penso che con il Boss IR2 sia uguale....
A parte l'evidente differenza tra l'ampli reale e i dispositivi digitali tutto il resto si assomiglia. Ho la GX 100 e confermo che i suoni sono quelli. Alla fine la differenza la fa la reale necessità del musicista. Io sono da all in one, per capirci. Comunque hai fatto un ottimo lavoro, come sempre.
Hi, I typically prefer not to give a "black" or "white" opinion, as my taste and preferences could be different from yours. I would say that these are pretty different devices, as the ME 90 offers a tactile experience based on actual knobs, where the MX 5 has a touch screen. I can tell you for sure that what drive me crazy is the missing computer app and the poor cab sim in the MX5. Thank you!
@@LeoGibsonGtr ended up with the GX ,,just got it yesterday and dang I really like it ,, using the 4 cable method and it sounds great with my peavey ultra plus ,,, gona set it up with a PA later today to see how that goes but so far I’m loving it,,, thanks for helping me choose
I was interested in purchasing an IR-2, but I already own a GX-100, so I guess it's not really necessary to me. Thank you for helping to save some money! haha
Tube amps of the same make and model are not identical either, depends on the bias set from new which also varies according to circuitry and tube quality, modellers are the more reliable though, because tonally they are not prone to degradation like tube amps, all tube amps require eventual tube/valve replacement because after every use they gradually degrade because they are tube amps. It doesn't make much sense carrying a heavy dinosaur thats unstable, there are FRFR cabinets at a fraction of the weight of a dinosaur which can murder a heavy larger rig and still provide the in the room trouser shaking tone no problem whatsoever.
I would've liked to have seen this comparison NOT using the same IR but instead using whatever IR boss decided to use in each unit as I think that's how most people will use these kinds of devices.
Thank you for this, it was an "ear" opener. The real thing sounds incredible especially at the highest levels. I think the IR200 stood out far above the other Boss products and was closest to the real thing where it is important for me but they were all disappointing for me and up until this video I've been considering the IR2. I don't mind the EQ differences, to me ultimately the most important thing in any product is does it sound great, but at the highest levels the gain in the Boss products was not pleasing to my ears in this video.
Based on the demos....the closest sounding to the amp are the GX100 followed by the ir 200....the ME90 and ir2 require quite a bit of tweaking to get that sweet spot........sad for me cost I just recently picked up the me-90 😢
These are useful function to customise your tone further...I would not say that they are a must have... but useful...actually (for my use case) I typically forget that I have those functions ...but that's me...
A very good test! Orig Plexi Is best. Among the Digital Imitators, the IR-200 wins. Everyone can hear how much digital noise these things make and how the strummed chords have a muddy hum in the background...
The devices sound more alike than different. Ease of dialing sounds is an important feature. If the device has controls that let the user get close to the original, and also dial in unique/personalized sounds, I think it's a win. Thanks
