Boss Shrinks Down its GT-1000 Guitar Effects Processor to a more handy-sized but still Full-Featured GT-1000 CORE Stomp Box

1. The CORE has 3 Assignable Multi-Colour LED Footswitches, 7 Knobs, and 6 Buttons - 5 simultaneous on-screen control parameters
2. The STOMP has 3 Assignable Multi-Colour LED Footswitches, 6 Knobs, and 4 Buttons - 3 simultaneous on-screen control parameters

1. The CORE allows for 24 Simultaneous Effects Blocks
2. The STOMP allows for 6 Simultaneous Effects Blocks

1. The CORE has 32-bit AD/DA, 32-bit floating-point processing, and 96 kHz sampling rate
2. The STOMP has 24-bit AD/DA, 24-bit processing, and 96 kHz sampling rate

1. The CORE has 670mA Current Draw
2. The STOMP has c1500mA Current Draw

1. The CORE has 250 User + 250 Patch Presets
2. The STOMP has 126 Presets (42 Banks x 3 Presets)

• The CORE Dimensions are 173 (W) x 135 (D) x 63 (H) mm
• The STOMP Dimensions are 178 x (W) 126 (D) x 66 (H) mm

• The CORE has Stereo In / Out, Dual Send & Return Effects Loops (2 + 2), 2 x CTL / Expression Jack, Mini MIDI In / Out, and USB Micro-B Port (Headphones on Left Output)
• The STOMP has Stereo In / Out, Dual Send & Return Effects Loops (TRS + 2), 1 x CTL / Expression Jack, Full-size DIN MIDI In / Out, USB Type B Port, and separate Headphones Jack

• The CORE has Monotone c96 mm x c34 mm - 256 x 80 pixel / dot LCD Display
• The STOMP has full-colour c50 mm x c38 mm - 320 x 240 pixel / dot LCD Display

1. The STOMP currently retails in UK for £399
2. The CORE is set to be £615RRP

1. The STOMP has circa 300 Effects Types onboard
2. The CORE has circa 150 Effects Types onboard
   
   

I was in two minds about whether to post the LCD Display as a Win for the STOMP or an overall draw. In some ways the STOMP interface is more colourful and appealing and has a higher screen resolution, while the Boss display is actually larger and more prominent overall though lower in resolution - and presents more parameters onscreen at one time than the STOMP - it seems like a draw to me really is the fairest result - but it could go either way depending on your preferences.

There are of course various other factors that come into play - both solutions have their own app / studio style interface and lots of individual nuances in how things are done slightly differently. You may find you prefer the logic of one approach over the other - and that one of the pedals better suits your accumulated experience and preferred way of doing things.

The HX STOMP has obviously evolved a significantly larger library of effects and IR Models than the current Boss iteration / generation - but you have to weigh up the quality and high-fidelity of those effects and algorithms versus Boss's own many classic voicings. Quantity is not not always independently preferable over quality - while ideally you want a mix of both. Generally though I think you have to award the Effects Coverage to the STOMP - as well as likely significant pricing advantage. For most else it's either a Draw or a CORE Win by my reckoning.

I know lots of people have had issues with powering their HX STOMP pedals - where guidelines indicate a 1500mA requirement, but peaks are more typically between 1200 and 1400mA - with idling usually around 1000mA.

I feel that both of these devices are really great and would equally delight the owner whichever way they chose, while as I frequently confess - I tend to be somewhat more Boss-centric, and am so familiar with Boss's classic effects that I already know how to make the most of them and how to tweak to my satisfaction. On a very basic top-line comparison of c300 vs c150 effects the deck does seem to be loaded in one direction, but that never tells the whole story - and there are subtle differences in the quality, range and application of each of those different effects - so it's never going to be exactly like for like.

There's also the fact that you have instant visual and control-access to 5 onscreen referenced parameters at any given time on the CORE vs just 3 on the STOMP. There are already two tribes out there which find Boss or Line 6's control interfaces and overall device topology more closely matched to their preferences. I've actually been considering the HX STOMP for quite a while - in fact since it first materialised - which you will have seen reflected on my blog with an occasional projected visual which then never evolved to status quo. I was very conscious of the fact that the power-supply challenge would have been an issue for me, and I would have had to buy in a Cioks DC7 to help power the HX STOMP - while with the lower Current Draw of the GT-1000 CORE I'm already covered with my existing supplies - so it immediately takes away one of the most significant challenges.

When I checked out the GT-1000 CORE with my good friend Matt Knight (Mr Boss Europe!) he only had the one demo version - while I was resolved even then that I would add this to my collection. When I get my own unit in - I will most likely put it on the #34 slot currently occupied by the GFI Synesthesia - which is where I had determined I was going to place the HX STOMP - before then settling on the Empress Zoia instead - since pushed out by the Synesthesia - which will soon have to yield its spot to the CORE!

I think how much the GT-1000 CORE appeals to you depends on how impacted you are by the practicalities of the STOMP vs the CORE and which brand and way of doing things you are better predisposed to. The GT-1000 CORE just seems to be the perfect form factor for me and contains everything I am already so familiar with. I think by and large that it will be the better candidate for many, while some will of course still prefer and be better served by going the Line 6 Way.

Would be interesting to know what all you readers think - I know a lot of you have succumbed to the charms of the HX Stomp - would the CORE have been a contender for you had both been available at the same time? For those who have been on the fence like I - are you tempted by what the CORE offers - or have you already decided on another way that better matches you requirements and preferences?