Boss ME-30

I really love this processor. I have been trying to find one for three years with no luck until recently. Everybody kept trying to sell me something i didnt want, and im glad i stuck to my guns and waited until i found (and won) this little baby on E-bay. Best $90 i ever spent. The only thing i have a problem with, is trying to figure out how to use the phase trainer. When it comes to that feature i am clueless.

The ME-30 makes my mostly cheap setup i have sound good. I have a Squier stagemaster and a Crate 12" solid state amp, yet my rig sounds better than my uncles SG, and Marshall. I just bought an Ibanez RG-350dx and unfortunatly it is still on layaway, but i cant wait to plug it into this. i think the choice between the little les paul and strat icons by the name of the patch are dumb, so i dont invest time in those. I love the dist onthis, (remember to lose the mid-range), chorus, delay, and phaser is great, love the flanger, and wah is so-so. Reverb is great as well.

So far so good.

This thing is impossible to find info about, and the Boss/Roland website- USELESS. All i want is an owners manual. i will pay for it, if you would be willing to sell me one, e-mail me ss70454ci@hotmail.com.

I play metal, and this processor is perfect for it. If it was stolen, i would be upset, but i wpuld upgrade, probably to a GT-3, or GT-5.

I bought this unit in a pawn shop 3 years ago for 80 bucks. It is the one and only effects unit I have ever owned. I don't own any other pedals because after using this one I haven't needed anything else. When I first got it I sometimes frowned at it, but as my guitar knowledge and abilities grew so did my ability to use this pedal. The factory effect setups are great to get you fimiliar with the capabilities of this pedal. Today I have about 10 settings saved into the non-volatile memory. So changing amp setups is just a stomp. The user interface is so simple to understand. No manual needed. The only drawback to the user interface is the display size. When I am sitting on my guitar stool and bending over to jack with the pedal, I usually find myself squinting to see the display.

I play a Gibson LP Special w/P100's through this pedal and then to my 1966 Wards Airline 8" combo. I play mostly blues, and blues rock(John Lee Hooker to AC/DC). For what I play I can pretty well get most of these tones without the pedal. I use the pedal for what its meant, effects. Most of my custom pre-sets are varying compression, tremolo, delay, and wah to tweak the sound for a particular artist or song. What I really like is being able to dial in a sound. Its really easy to toggle in/out an effect. I can leave the edit mode on and play for a while to decide if this is how I like the sound. I am really lucky to have gotten this as my first effect pedal. It has taught me alot about setups without having to drop a fortune on single effects trying to re-invent the wheel.

I bought it at the pawn shop because I recognized the Boss (Roland)brand. I had them put a battery in it, when the display came on I figured that worked well enough. Brought it home, cleaned it up, its working fine 3 years later.

Wouldn't know. Never delt with them.

Overall this is a great pedal. If it were stolen or broke I'd be S.O.L. cause the new ME-50's are $300.00 and I am one poor musician. I'd just rob a bank or hell, just rip one off at the music store. If I didn't do that I would just tough it for a while until I found a good used ME-30 or ME-50. Of course I would love to have other pedals. I'd like to have alot of stuff(dare to dream!). The boss ME-30 is the best deal around to get varied effects. There are cheaper units out there, but this one is gonna last so it pays for itself in the long run.

Pretty simple - ni dodn;t get a manual with mine, and was still flying!

A *little* bit noisy, but nothing to worry about. Generally, excellent quality, althought the chorus is little bit thin.

Delay and flanger in particular are excellent. Wah is so-so.

For the price, nothing touches it.

5 years old, and still going strong. Do you see how many reviews for this are still being posted? There is no other unit I've bought (bar my Sony Minidisc walkman; also 5 years old and still rockin'!) that i consider as well made!! 10/10 is an understatement.

Given the reliability of the unit, I'd say Boss tech are pretty lonely!

Absoulutly essential purchase - great item "just-to-have"

I haven't really been using any FX of late, but I'd never part with this.

One of my favourite personal belongings, along with my walkman, bible, and guitars.

This unit was extremely easy to use once I located the User's Manual. The ME-30 is easy to work with and not too confusing. Most people should have no problem figuring out how to use this. The lack of full spectrum tone/speed dialing with the modulation effects can be a bit frustrating if you are looking for an exact speed, however most other effects (like the delay w/ 2000 ms etc..) make up for this. Also, the Phrase Trainer and earphone Jack make things really easy when it comes to practicing.

I use a factory spec. 2000 Gibson Les Paul Standard through a factory spec. 1996 Fender Hot Rod Deluxe w/ Tesla/JJ 6L6GC's and 12AX7's. This combo is a sweet match. Trust me on this!!

Distortions - good, my amp is not the optimal "Metal" amp but it seems to nail many of the classic sounds, although the digital controlling scheme again is some what annoying - this can be such a touchy subject as there are so many factors that effect how well distortion will sound

Modulation - perfect

Delay - perfect

EQ - could have been more expansive

Phaser - I've heard better but works well

Noise Reducer - does the job for a low cost unit

Volume/Wah - good, Wah could have had a few options but I like the fact that you can select pre or post distortion

Compression - OK, similar to CS-3

*** Word of advice: Don't expect what you hear through the Amp Simulator w/ earphones to sound anywhere near the same as an actual amplifier. This is a low cost unit and is not the pinnacle of guitar effects units so don't expect miracles. It does the job and works well.

I use it in gigs and I rely on it. BOSS/ROLAND products are the best and everybody knows it.

N/A

I have been playing for 16 years and I know my sounds. I play many different popular ROCK/HEAVY METAL/BLUES styles from 60's/70's pshychadellic progressive blues rock to prog rock to 80's metal to 90's classic rock to you name it. This unit can pull all of these sounds off fairly well. I like the way I can toggle through banks as if I can have three patches per song when I perform live at gigs. I also like the bypass option. The ME-30 is an affordable solution for the average musician. There are obviously more expensive ways to achieve the perfect tone but this unit works fairly well as an affordable alternative. I wish I would have bought a GT-6.

Feel free to contact me if you want to know how to achieve certain tones. I have had quite a bit of success with this unit and I am happy to share ideas.

Very easy to get the sound I was after (primarily a heavy metallica industrial metal sound, with easy switch to organ and violin effects)
Editing patches is fairly simple, if not limited. The user presets are really average, 30 presets, and 30 you can edit yourself.
The Manual is pretty messy, but does cover every function - the Phrase trainer is the best thing i've ever ever used. It lets you record a guitar solo, and slow it down to practice to without actually dropping the pitch, so you really CAN play those solos you never thought you could - ahah eat that Kirk Hammett!

Im using a Marshall JMP MKII 1973 twin tube 50w Head, with a 6x32" quad box. With my Amp on 2(out of 11) and the Boss me-30 on 50 percent volume - I can fill a football stadium with ball crunching sound. The pedal sounds weak on the blues type effects - my computers sound card does a better job.
This is the ONLY pedal thats let me get that metallica type sound that I wanted - i have tried countless others - this was the first to actually do the job properly. The clean acoustic effects do need tweaking- a little too much bass in it, and that drowns other tracks when mixing with the pedal.

Yes I can depend on it. It has never failed on me yet - just watch the output level though! dont pump it too high if u use a tube amp. I blew my tubes (at $80 bucks each from Russia!) Mid gig, so I had to plug in my i9000 pre amp to finish the show off - luck I had a backup amp - the pedal is a workhorse though. I have dropped it, spilled Beer, bourbon, Vodka, Billy water and had it on fire once and it is still going 3 years strong! I ALWAYS have my backup Boss Metal Zone II and Distortion as a backup tho - wouldnt matter what I was using as my main pedal.

They are semi-ok. They took 5 weeks to email me back regarding a technical question re: panning the organ delay, and they didnt really have much of a clue. Hopefully I never need to worry about repair.

Because I love metallica, I love this pedal. Ive been playing for 15 years, and besides PC based effects and software, this has been the best pedal I've owned (sure, not the most comprehensive and effects-full) but it does EXACTLY what I need it to do when it comes to metal. It actually has helped me become a better musician via the Phrase trainer - learning complicated scales and solos is just so easy.

The unit I purchased off ebay didn't have a manual, but I was able to find one on the net, and skimmed it before the unit arrived. As it turns out, I didn't really need it (except for the Tuner option). Editing patches was quite simple, and I was tickled to death by the knobs on the screen (just like a stompbox!). I haven't messed with the Phrase Trainer, though. I don't really have a use for it.

I am shocked by a lot of the things said about this unit in some of the more negative reviews. You can't expect to get the perfect tone "out of the box" with multi-effects units!!! Nonetheless, I enjoyed most of the presets. But the real gold here is to be found in tweaking them...take your time and use your ears, folks.

My setup was an old Marshall Master Lead Combo and my Fender Strat with a JB Model Seymour Duncan humbucker in the bridge position. I didn't experience any extra noise with this unit until I started maxing levels with the distortions. Overall I find this unit less noisy than a bunch of stompboxes, but it isn't perfect.

The effects, even the much-maligned distortions (gasp!) were great. I'd say the delay and modulation effects (tremolo, chorus, and flanger) smoke many of the stompboxes out there. The reverb was decent enough. The Trem-Arm and ring modulation effects were great for what they were, but I don't have much practical use for them. As for the wah, with its limited sweep range it's no Crybaby but it is passable if you dont have another option.

I don't understand why the hell they combined the Phaser and EQ in such a manner that you can't use them seperately! That gets the finger...

The main thing here is to be patient and play around with it, and chances are you'll get the sounds you want provided the rest of your setup isn't lacking. In 20 minutes or less, I'd replicated Eddie's brown sound, got a semi-decent Hendrix (max the tone of the Fuzz and you've got a dead-on Arbiter sound), and nailed tones similar to The Edge, Andy Summers, Alex Lifeson, David Gilmour, and early Jeff Beck. Not too shabby...

Remember, for Gods sake: This ISN'T a high end unit so don't hold it to such standards!!!

Would I gig with it? Well...I do have a few concerns. The lack of a dedicated Bypass switch that is big enough to step on doesn't earn it any points with me, since so much of my sound these days comes from my amp alone. I found a patch to replicate bypass in the forum on Yahoo but I haven't tried it, admittedly. Also, so many people have noted that the Wah has been known to come on by itself. That has yet to happen with me, but if it ever does there's no way I'd risk a gig with it. Otherwise, if the pseudo-bypass patch works well enough and the wah misfires don't occur, the delay, chorus, and tremolo deserve a spot in my rig.

I honestly haven't had it long enough to determine whether or not I'd need a backup.

I've never had any personal experience with Roland's tech support. I've heard both positive and negative...

I'm getting back into playing music professionally, and decided to buy an inexpensive unit to use for practice. In my opinion, this unit blows everything I've ever seen for under $100 (new or used) out of the water a dozen times over. When it comes to playing and recording, ideally speaking, I prefer a bunch of good ol' stomp boxes. This unit will at least keep me from having to buy any more for awhile, given the great delay, chorus, and tremolo.

If it were stolen, I'd put 32 rounds into the prick that did it. Sure, I'd buy another, but my money would be tied up in establishing a good insanity defense...

If this were a perfect unit, it would have a dedicated switch for each effect (and lets not forget Bypass...), some knobs like the ME-50...okay I'm nitpicking...lol. It's not perfect by any means but I feel like I got way more than my moneys worth. Much better than Zoom, Korg, or Digitech's cheezy crap IMO.

oh it was easy to use,
Editing patches to get the sounds I wanted was fairly easy.

digital sound are not mu taste. This gadget sound analog and turn the amp simulation on.

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.

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.

A bit tricky in the begining (as I don't have the manual), but after that is quite simple. Editing patches to achive the sound you want takes a lot amount of time, but when you get used you can get the sound you want.

I don't have the manual, as i bought it in 2nd hand.

Well, the sound is good, quite good to be honest, altough there aren't so many effects to deal with. It's a bit noisy, but using the built-in noise supressor, it's all alright. The tremolo is very very good. All is good except the distortion. Distortion isn't bad, but it doesn't give the feeling... you know what i say.

I use a Kustom Solo 16R amplifier (which is very good to be a practice amp, i think I'm going to play with it outside!!!)

Well, mine is in second hand, but i think it will last... i hope!!
I pack it in a self-made shoes box! It really works... :-)

Well, i've never had a problem till now, but you know, Boss = Roland, which means quality. Only fault: it's built in plastic, but it's solid.

I play a wide range of music kinds.'
Guitar? There was a long time i played... but last month i bought a new electric guitar and Amp and this thing.

It's cool, but the screen doesn't have a light. So, playing in the dark isn't good.

If you have to buy a processor, well, to start, i recommend this one. For the price it costs, it's AWESOME.

I'l give it an 8 or 9 but it was a 10 for me, I bought this as an upgrade from a Ditech RP-50 so I have a fair idea of how multi effects work, no instructions cos it's like 3rd hand but easy enough to figure out

Ummm atm im using a low model ibanez with 2 pretty cheap sounding humbuckers though a peavy studio pro 112 so its by far not the best rig. I like the distortions but without the amp simulator on they sound very thin but simply pushing the amp sim button dramastically improves the sound. A hint of chorus on a clean patch makes even this cheap guitar sound pretty good so im happy with that, i dont uyse delay so I dont care but i guess its pretty good too. The different parameters within each effect mean that u can get pretty much any sound u ant if u willing to put enough effort in. I like the wah its much cheaper than buying a cry baby or a hendrix n it'l do the job if ur not too picky other than that i dunno what else to say...

I'd say it's very reliable mine is third hand n it still goes well except the powerpack connection doesnt work but im pretty sure the repai guy at my local music stoe will be able to sort that out fairly cheaply. For a gig i'd prolly bring my RP-50 along just in case but i'm 95% confident it would b fine.

Never dealt with them but i cant find a manual which is bugin me

I play lotsa styles from soft rock to metal n so far i'v been pleased with the sounds i can get, but hey everyones different n just cos i like it doesnt mean u will try one out if u lookin for an affordable effects pedal with a wide range of effects that wont let you down

Loads of folk can't get the manual. Here's a link to a pdf of it
http://www.procyon.com/~tclong/bossme-30man.pdf