Boss ME-50 Multi effects

Sorry I have not responded sooner. The UPS guy has to get a few words next time I see the SOB. My Boss ME-50 was delivered on the 29th - to the apartment office, no notice on my door. That is the second time UPS has screwed me out of days of fun.
Anyway, so far my experience is great with the ME-50.
It has 22 different distortion/Overdrive settings, great modulation and delay effects. The expression pedal is great. Overall it is rugged and very simple to use with a veritable plethora of uses. I got mine at a slightly knocked off price, as it was an open-box deal. I've been keeping my eye out for the specials.
Hey! You wrote that in another topic, so I thought I'd quote it over here in this one!

Cool! 22! That's just silly!
How does it actually work? Do you have banks as such, or just patches with on/off for the different effect types?

G

There's a knob you turn to dial in one of eleven and there's a button to push for the alternate of the one you have dialed in. So you can't jump from one to another unless you create a "patch". There are preset patches and you can create up to 30 patches of your own. In addition to the ME-50 you would need a couple of other "optional" items. Basically, for full funcionality, you need two additional pedals (The Boss FS-5U) and the power adapter (the Boss PSA-120). Those three items run you an additional $70 or so, depending on where you get them from.

I am still experimenting with it, but so far this thing is amazing. It does not have amp modeling, but I don't want that anyway. I have a modeling amp and I don't really like it.

My next step is to get a tube amp to pair this with to get some great sounds. It has 11 modulation options, like Flanger, Phaser, Chorus, Harmonist, etc. and 11 Delay settings, including reverse, which is what I plan on experimenting with next.. Then there is the expression pedal, which has 7 settings, volume, Wah, Resonance, Voice, Ring Mod, +1 Octave, and -1 Octave.

It has a Tone modify knob with 10 settings like "fat", "enhance", single coil to humbucker, humbucker to single coil, hollowbody sound, and acoustic simulation. It has a compressor, a Noise Suppressor, 4 Reverbs, and a tuner. WOW!!!!

97Reb

Congrats on the nice pedalboard. I have seriously considered the ME-50 before.

And you don't have to worry about that thing breaking down. Boss pedals are built like a tank.

Have lots of fun.

Wes

Actually, the Boss ME50 has distortion modeling (the GT series also have amp modeling). But since Boss really has their digital stuff down it is pretty darn impossible to tell the difference between the 100% analog distortion pedals and the partial digital versions of them in the ME50. And best of all, it is as easy to use as stomp boxes but with all the cool functionality of digital multi-effects. 8)

Have fun!

multi fx? yuk.

always sound a little bit too digital, dont you think?

that lovely harsh grating sound that, when its loud, sounds like a band saw running through your eardrums.

buy single analogue pedals, they sound far superior.

Ignorance is bliss...

I have several individual pedals, none of them especially expensive. Some are good and some suck. Some of the tones on the ME-50 aren't great, especially if you have everything on at once. If I could afford individual boutique pedals that cost $80 - $300 each, then I would get them. I researched the multi-effects pedals for a long time and the ME-50 was the best of them, IMO. I don't plan on using it to the extreme, just a little of the stuff occasionally. As a matter of fact, I don't use effects pedals very much at all, but sometimes it is interesting to add a little Noise. I rely on my fingers and picking technique to get the majority of sounds I like from any guitar I play, then use the rest of the "stuff" for minor added sounds.

97Reb

As Joe (Forrok Star) always says, you need to add an EQ. That will really bring out the best in your pedalboard.

I bought the Zoom GFX-1 about 8 months ago. I loved everything about it, but found the EQ very difficult to get those "perfect" tones. Finally, I listened to Joe and picked up a Danelectro 7-Band EQ pedal. It was very inexpensive but works great. You will not believe the improvement it makes in your tone.

Now, I can get the heaviest distortion with a big fat, but very tight bottom end. You can take any harshness out like drgonzo was talking about.

Your ME-50 may already have a built in EQ. Most multi-effects do. But I personally have a little trouble getting great tone by adjusting numbers.

But a little EQ pedal is so much easier. You can just slide the sliders up and down and hear the immediate effect. It is so easy that I have found I recognize the frequency bands now. So if a preset is a little too harsh, or needs some mids, or fatter bass etc... I can just reach down and make that adjustment in a second. You can really find those tones that just turn you on.

I don't know if this is what Joe would do, but I run my EQ pedal after the GFX-1. But I am super happy with the results. I should have gotten an EQ long ago. It really makes that big a difference.

So, listen to Joe. Add an EQ! :twisted:

I have an EQ, the Fish and Chips, as a matter of fact. I also use a tube pre-amp, as I am using solid state amps, until I get a tube amp.

Wes,

I had to go with the masters, you and Joe, on that one, so I just ordered the Fish & Chips EQ pedal myself.

Next will be an attenuator and then a tube amp.

Chris

I am the MASTER OF CHEAP

But it's true. I search high and low to find good gear that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

The Danelectro 7 Band EQ really works great. I would recommend it to anybody. And less than $30!

There are of course many other very good EQ pedals. But you can't get 'em for this price. 8)

For this low price you can buy several and place them everywhere, just like Joe.

Yeah, I can't wait to see how the fish n chips affects my new Ibanez AF75 Hollowbody thru my set-up.

Wes: pretty much anytime now Behringer can release their EQ pedal, 7 band, for $19. I'm going to wait till Behringer releases them so I can compare them head-to-head with the Danelectro. I've tried the Danelectro before and I was really amazed by it. Expected lots of noise but it wasn't really worse then, for example, a $70 Boss pedal.

Oh, if you have 'just' one EQ pedal putting it after the MFX makes most sense, atleast to me. Unless you pay a few billion for NASA-quality digital-effects you are almost guaranteed to lose something in your sound when it goes through your Zoom (or Chris' Boss, or basically any affordable digital&analog effect) so putting it after the zoom would be the perfect place to make some corrections. Putting it before the zoom, immediately after the guitar is far less efficient to say the least. Depending on how you run it (do you use the tube pre-amp of your Hotrod?) you might put a second one in the FX-loop (guitar->zoom->hotrod->EQ->hotrod).

Chris: Behringer will release within two months a pedal that is basically a relay/latch (correct terms? Not quite sure in English) switchable dual pedal which should work on all those standard devices like the ME50. IIRC street price is probably going to be around $25. For my ME30 I used a proper no-brand adapter. For my GX700 I use the Boss adapter, because many people recommended it on other fora. Personally I notice absolutely no difference at all, so you might want to try a brandless one first. Make sure the polarity, ampere and voltage are correct and the adapter can deal with electricity spikes (quite sure that is the wrong term, but maybe you know what I mean).