Boss ME-30

Very easy to use, manual explains pretty well although you wont need it. I would give it a 10 if it weren't for one shitty thing, you can't use some effects if you are using another, like using EQ prohibits you from using phaser as these are on the same slot, using chorus prohibits you from using flanger, tremolo and pitch shifter as these are also on the same slot.. (Why??!) Only that lowers my rating for 2 points. One more thing pissed me off..That luminous lcd display, you can't see a shit if you're in a dark room unless you put your unit under light for some minutes before..That's -1 point. Just be sure you prepare everything before playing live and you will be just fine..

I run my Fender Strat through a little Crate GX-15. At first I went mad as every distortion and overdrive sounded like shit, by turning on the guitar amp sim. though everything started sounding like it should and I ended up getting any sound I want. From the most clean acoustic guitar sound, a H-E-A-V-Y distorted metal sound to a fucked up fuzz distortion like NOFX uses is in the song Brews. I don't know why most are complaining about me-30's bad distortions, I love them and I will always use them, wont even spend money to buy a separate stomp box as I feel I don't need it. It's all about tweaking, If you put your ass down and tweak the shit out of it you wont get dissapointed.
Now there is an expression pedal too. It can be used as a wah pedal, as tremolo arm, as a volume pedal and for the awful ring modulation (ring modulation always sucked, don't mind it). The wah is usable although not the same as a separate wah pedal, but again a good separate wah pedal costs almost 1/3 the prize of the me-30 so don't start whining. The first thing i tried with it was the riff from Bulls on Parade (Rage against the machine) and it worked well, then I tried some fill-ins and solos from Black Album and they also worked out fine.
The pitch shifter is cool, you can actually make your guitar sound like a bass if you like although there is a small delay before you hear the detuned note.
There is a noise suppressor included. Use this carefully or it might cut your tone when you pick your strings without much power. It got a threshold from 0 to 100, I suggest you set it at 65-70 as it will cut almost all hiss created when you have many effects at the same time and it will not ruin your tone.
The me-30's sound quality R-O-C-K-S and is simply worth a 10. No more to say about that.

I've only had it for two weeks. Although it's plastic, It's Boss so I it could be made of paper, I don't give a shit, I trust this company more than possible. I will gig with backup although that's something I would do even if I owned the most expensive unit ever, you never know what will happen. About the expression pedal: I've read a review of a guy who was 300 lbs =] , it hasn't broke for him so I am pretty sure It wont brake for me either.

Never dealt..

I play alot of shit, hardcore, metal, grunge, punk-rock..etc. In my band we are playing a mix of metal and hardcore. The me-30 is helping me ALOT when it comes to recording own songs and playing with my band. I love it and If it were stolen I would report it to the police as "missing baby" and buy a new one the same day (If I had money...)
Before buying it I tried out the Digitech RP-3 and the Zoom 2100 as they are all about the same prize, and I can say for sure the Boss ME-30 kicks some serious RP3-2100 ass.
The things I miss is a volume knob, a backlit display and the ability to use EQ - phaser and flanger - chorus - trem arm simultaenously. But again these drawbacks are compensated by the low prize and great sound you get.
If you can afford something more expensive you are lucky and could buy something better in they way of effects, like a multi-effect rack unit. But again if you are low on cash or just looking for a good multi-fx console, just run (fast!) down to your local music store and buy it now!!

It's very easy to use if you are familiarized with that kind of machines. If you're not, it's a little bit difficult, but the manual is very usefull

Except for the Wah-wah, Whamy, Ring modulator, that are disgusting, and the OD/DS that is very noisy, the rest of the effects are very good. I use my ME-30 with a JD Cry Baby, both connected through my Fender Performer 650 effects loop, and it sounds great with my Fender Stratocaster Silver. I'm using the amp drive, since it's a valvestate. The reverb isn't so good, but if you don't have any other, it's very usefull. I prefer to use the amp reverb. The volume pedal isn't the best, but it's enough for me. The other effects are enough for anybody

It's made of plastic. I broke the wah-wah switch when I didn't have the cry baby. The rest is perfect. I don't have a backup

Never heard about it

If I had only US 500, I would buy it again, because it's excelent for the price. I would change it only for a set of racks, like Marshall distortion, and others. Obviuosly those are very more expensive than ME-30, so I suggest you try it.

This pedal is really easy to get a good sound (with some of the effects) and It is really easy to get accustomed to changing patches, etc. especially if you are used to using stomp boxes. The manual could be better on explaining some things, but overall it isn't bad.

I run my ME-30 through the effects loop on a crate 2x12 combo and a Fender Lone Star Strat. The Metal and Fuzz distortions are always noisy even with the supressor. For the most part, the effects are pretty good, with the exception of a few useless ones like a ring modulator, and a few crappy whammy bar effects. The best effect is probably the chorus, which is always really rich and smooth. The worst is the wah, which has absolutely no depth to it.

This pedal is very dependable, however, if you are going to use it for more than an hour at a time, then use the AC adaptor that comes seperate.

The customer support is o.k. they give a lot of helpfull info, if you feel like calling or writing. The manual should come with enough to get you started without having to go through that trouble, though. There are troubleshooting sections, etc.

I play just about anything, except country, and this pedal serves its purpose well. I have been playing for 3 years and have owned pedals made by DOD (WHICH REALLY SUCKED!!!) and a digitegch XP-100 which I still use for detune/Wah effects. If it got stolen, I would have trouble deciding whether or not to buy another ME-30 or to invest in some good old stomp boxes. I love the fact that I don't have to hassle switching every single effects (like with stomp boxes)every time I want to get another sound out of my amp. You just have to switch to a different patch. I hate that there is only one way to route the usefull effects, like distortions and Modulations (Chorus, Flanger, etc.).I also hate that BOSS wasted their time adding some useless effects, like Ring Mod and Whammy, instead of conserving the processing power to make the other effects sound better. Like I said, I had a DOD(Tec8-G) and this ME-30 totally blew it out of the water. The overall quality of the effects offered, however useless they are, are way better than anything DOD could ever think of doing. The ME-30 doesn't really lack much at all, although, it has a little too much. It really helps make music, because sometimes you play something good with a certain effect, but you change the effects around, and it gets 2x better than it was before. It really diversifies your sound.

As a first time multi-effects pedal user, I found this to be extemely intuitive (with the help of the manual). The icon-based format is great! The manual is well written.

I've run this through both a Marshall 60 watt 2x12 tube combo(for about 1+ yrs) and a new fender vibrolux(+ - one month). I plug either my Heritage 535 or a mid eighties Ibanez roadstar II into it. Let me just put a synopsis of my evaluations here: Chromatic tuner: It's accurate and I like the fact that you can either use the display screen or the LED's.
Noise: Not too bad; the more effects used at once, the more noise
Factory presets: Good for showing off what the pedal can do, and also as a starting point for beginners to see how to (or how not to) run effects together. I've acually found that a couple are pretty usable.
What's good: Chorus, Tremolo, Reverb, EQ(o.k.), "Vintage" and "Metal" distortions(with *a lot* of eq/levels tweaking), Delay, Phase Shifter, Flanger, Volume pedal, Wah(so-so: not much of a sweep and is rather thin), compressor, noise supressor.
What's bad: The other five distortions, the whammy bar effects.
What's useless: The ring modulator(unless you like to pretend you're Rodan in a Godzilla flick), the pitchshifter/detuner -- really bad!!!!- it does not give true chromatic shifts(At least not if A=440, and even if it doesn't, the pitch isn't accurate relative to the dry signal. You can use it in conjunction with the pedal or not; set it completely wet or a mix -it just doesn't work correctly.
A word about the distortions: I've never really liked BOSS distortions- at least the ones I've tried over the years(i.e. since they came out). So that may explain why there's only two of them that are passable after *extensive* tweaking with the EQ engaged. It seems as though each of the OD/Distortion types have their own general voicing and no matter how much you tweak, you can't change that voicing. So you either like it or you don't I guess.
If a 10=pristine sound quality, then this thing's a 5; but I give it a 7 because of the price/performance ratio.

I've used this since before they were advertised, the dealer had just got it in that morning. So that's been since October of '97 and I haven't had one problem with it at all-- and I've gigged with it every weekend. Just a word to all of you out there worrying about its being plastic--I've stomped on this sucker and I mean HARD and it has shown no problems yet! As far as gigging w/o a backup, I always bring a couple of stompboxes with me just in case. But the thing is, if a person really depends on a multi-fx unit and it goes down, they're screwed.

I've been playing for 20+ years and play a bunch of different styles. I need something that will cover a lot of sonic ground. For the most part, I really like this pedal. It's quite the bang for the buck. The main thing I don't like about it is the distortions. This wasn't a big deal when I had my channel switching Marshall, but now that I'm using a vibrolux, I need distortions that are of really good quality(at least as I define it). The two that I pointed out above are pretty passable though and get me by.
I compared this to other FX units of comparable price and it had the best sounds[even the distortions:)]. I got it before the Digitech RP3 came out but I think I still would have gotten the BOSS unless the Digitech blew it away sonically because of the easy to use icon interface.
Areas for improvement: need to be able to bypass the unit by footswitching, not just by bending over and using the button.
BACKLIGHT THE READOUT/DISPLAY AREA!! - Why the heck put this easy to use interface in this unit and then not invest the couple of cents to wire in a light bulb so the user can see it?
Make the wah-wah on off switch/sensor(whatever it is) less stiff.
Anyway, this pedal is really a very good value and most of the usable sounds it offers are adequate for playing live(I've never tried to record with it).
If this were stolen or lost, I think I'd shop around and consider going to something a little more expensive; which I'd do only if the price/performance ratio favored a different pedal. What I intend to do is to keep using this and see if Boss does any upgraded versions of it in the future, or if someone else does something similar/better.

I never even had to look at the manual. Editing patches and singling out a sound you want is a breeze.

I use a Fender Strat (both a Mexican and an American Standard), a Fender J.A.M., and a Marshall Valvestate 10. Most of the effects are great...the compressor, chorus, and delay especially. The wah isn't bad, quite a bit weaker than my Crybaby, but not horrible. The only effects that I don't think are very good are the pitch shifter (noticable delay), reverb (shallow and weak), and the distorition (just all out weak and bot great). The ring modulator has got to be the most disgusting, worthless thing I've ever heard. The tremolo arm pedal-based effect is cool. Overall, this is a great deal for the price, but you'll want to get an offboard distortion, and possible reverb.

The jack-board died on me nearly as soon as I got it. Other than that, it seems dependable...I've left it out in freezing weather in my car (for a week or two), and it didn't hurt it. I've dropped it and such, and it's fine. However, the tuner won't pick up my B string right for some odd reason. Overall, a 7. Good for a multi-effects, plastic housed rig, but very sub-par for Boss.

Very helpful, but rather condesnding, and oh the time I was on hold! A 7.

It's great for what it is, so it gets an 8. It'll never be as good as having off-board pedals, though. If the distortion was better, I'd give it a 9, but the OD/dist on it's pretty sorry.

At first I didn't know how to handle it 'cause I haven't deal with these kind of things before. I messed around about five minutes and I learned how to get sounds out of it. Editing patches is pretty easy. But the buttons that edits the sound are pretty small. Manual is good. It gives you all the details about each effect.

I'm using a Fender American Standart Stratocaster -> JD Crybaby -> ME-30 -> Fender Vibrolux Reverb. I can get pretty good distortion out of it. Actually I boughted this thing because I wanted a great distortion. I'm not even using these flangers, ring modulators, tremolo arms. I find that I dont't use 'em for anything. Chorus is pretty good. And also tremolo, compressor and eq are execellent. This thing rules.

It looks a bit of week. Made of plasctic -> not good. Hasn't broken up yet.

Never deal with the company.

I play Jimi Hendrix and all kinds of other music. It's good. Buy it

This is an update from my first post on 05/20/98.
I've had a few months to put the unit through its paces. The main thing that I have found is that while I'm on stage (I play with a blues band) I don't have time to stand there and hit bank controls until I have found the patch I need. If I were only playing, it might not be such an issue. Since I have joined this band I do about 1/3 of the vocals. When you play blues not every song needs vocals. That makes it easier. Now that I do sing, The ease of use in a live situation is of major concern.
I have found a way to maximize efficacy and be happy with the overall sound. I have started using the "Manual" setting. I didn't want to at first. I thought I would be limited. I was left with no alternative. Do you know how stupid-feeling it is to be playing in front of about 200 people and while you're singing you're also trying to find the patch that goes with the next lead break? You think you've found it. You stomp on the patch button, thrust your pick to the strings only to find out, through the first note, that instead of a soulful, singing, creamy overdriven tone you accidentally hit the patch used for your ultra clean, ultra glassy 12-string patch.
That was enough for me. I had to find another way. I used my favorite tones for each manual patch. Rather than have a unit that does everything, I now use it to hone, more or less, what has come to be known as my signature sound. I use the expression pedal as a wah. I just need to get a volume pedal.

Since I'm not trying to find the highest quantity of sounds, I can now have the highest quality of sounds. I can tweak the noise levels with a lot more accuracy and satisfaction.

I've used this thing at all my gigs since I've had it. I have had no trouble out of it at all. But remember, it is plastic. I give this rating a 9. If it were metal I'd give it a 10.

N/A

My band is a blues band. I have a style a lot like Robben Ford and Larry Carlton. Good tone means a heck of a lot. Ease of use ranks very high as well. I have, with some tweaking, made this unit something that, I feel, I can take anywhere. I am very proud of it; but while I'm in this band the settings are fine. Who knows; the band may break up and I'll start playing progressive rock...

Found the ME-30 easy to use. It has icons of stomp boxes which are set up to like the individual Boss pedals. The instructions are complete and easy in the owners manual. My biggest complaint is that Boss didn't add an external volume pedal like Digitech's RP7.

I've read comments from the others and have to agree with most of them. The distortions are not bad if you take the time to work with the settings and the EQ. I took my stomp boxes and tweeked my sound until I got it close. Boss states that the distortions and compressor are analog, they are analog "emulations" and not true analog. It makes a difference in the overall sound

I did not care for the plastic casing. I would have rather of seen it built like Boss's individual stomp boxes. I was also concerned of the volume pedal and the strength of it on weekly gigs. Its made by Boss so it should last through thick and thin.

I recently sold the ME 30 and went back to my Boss stomp boxes for the following reasons:
I play every weekend and need something that will hold up to the use of the road.
The individual stomp boxes sound better to me and are easier to edit while on stage. You dont have to bend over and reprogram the stomp boxes when you need small adjustments.
The ME30 is limited to Boss sounds only. With the individual stomp boxes you can pick and choose the other companies pedals.
When you change patches the ME 30 is noisy.
The LCD screen is worthless. In a dark stage setting you can't see what you programmed.
Overall, for those who don't play in a hectic road gig environment, the ME30 would work out OK. For the studio use it would also be a plus. Also those on a tight budget would benefit due to its low price.
For me it didnt work.

The boss me-30 is very simple to operate, infact, it's laid out like virtual pedalboard on the lcd screen with the parameters of each pedal showing. The manual is easy to follow and understand, and even comes with a section for writing down your own patches in case the internal memory goes out.

I use the me-30 with an Ibanez guitar that has a h-s-h configuration with coil tap, so I've already got a great sounding, extremely versatile axe. I run it into a crate TD-70, a 1x12 70 watt combo amp with a 12ax7 in the preamp. Like most multi-effects, the factory presets mostly suck. It's like they say, "look at all the wierd unusable sounds this pedal can make!" But with a little bit of tweaking, all your favorite boss pedals are there. The noise gate is superb, and there are 8 different styles of distortion. There's not a tone I haven't been ablt to get with this pedal. The only thing I wish they had done is use a virtual GE-7 eq pedal instead of the 3-band virtual eq pedal they give you. That would give you a bit more tone-shaping ability.

Never had a problem with this or any boss product. I gig every weekend using this pedal with no back up. Looking at it, the built in expression pedal seems flimsy, but I weigh 300 lbs and have had no problems!!

A player on nine years, I make my living playing and teaching guitar. I am in a variety rock band that plays everything from Grand Funk Railroad to Def Leppard to The Wallflowers to Megadeth to Kool and the gang to Stone Temple Pilots. I also play in a "sight-reading out of a fake book" jazz band. I mean real jazz. I mean Miles Davis Jazz. The songs I write for the band I'm trying to put together sound like John Fogerty covering Sting songs with Eric Johnson on guitar. This pedal gets me at least very close to any tone I need. It's the only thing I use live, for recording, I use it and an original Ibanez TS-808 tubescreamer. My favorite features on this pedal are the ease of switching patches, the unbelievable amount of effects(great tremolo!!!!!) and the built in expression pedal which turn wah on and off within one patch! The built-in tuner is easy to use with just your feet for quick tuning even mid-song. I tell my guitar students, it's the best buy for the money in the guitar world right now.

The ME-30 is all around a good unit for programming.. the layout is nice.. but the tiny little buttons can sometimes mess you up. One HUGE problem with this unit is to turn on and off the wah.. i weigh around 250 pounds and i can stand on this pedal (hoping not to break the PLASTIC!!)and it won't turn on or off.. you have to hit it JUST right for it to do anything i don't think i'd use the wah live. The least Boss could have done about this is put an external effects loop on the ME-30 so i could use an external wah! (or other device)

I'm running a Vester Maniac Series 2 into a little Fender Champ 15GR my 120W Traynor got stolen :( I love the sound anything i want to do with this unit i can. My only disappointments are the wah and this fricken ring modulator. The wah is very "steppy" it's not as analog as i'd expect from Boss. Ring modulator is the most useless effect i've ever come across.. it's only good to imatate my cat, nothing musical about it.. it's noise. I was also disappointed by the EQ the treble and bass are fine.. but the mid setting should be like the one on their Metal Zone.. parametric, I feel like i'm setting my amp not an effect. I saw someone say that the distortion on the ME-30 was nothing.. i beg to differ.. i can choose from 7 different types and they all sound like they are supposed to.. IN YOUR FACE! AND DISTORTED AS ALL HELL!!

I've only had the ME-30 for about 2 months now. So far nothing has gone wrong.. but the expression pedal really worries me. I'm afraid i'm gunna break it in half :) Boss definatly should have made this board out of metal, also the board is so skinny when i try to turn the wah on or off sometimes the opposite end of the unit lifts off the floor. I definatly wish this unit was wider and made of metal. But as for workmanship.. nothing can beat Boss

Never had to deal with support.. and i probably will never have to :)

I play anything from Metal to Progressive Metal to alternative to whatever :) I've been playing for 9 years now and if this baord was stolen or lost.. i'd have to think hard about getting another one, i'd most likely get a rack GX-700 or GP-100 if i could afford it. But I love the price of this little board, for what you get in sound it's a good deal. I had a Digitech RP-3 on loan before my ME-30 came in.. i almost like the RP-3 better except for the ME-30's icon display and price. I REALLY REALLY REALLY wish Boss had put a backlite display in this unit, i had to rig up my own light that shines on the display (switched with power switch) so i could see what i was doing :)If the ME-30 was made of metal and was wider i think it would be more appealing also.