Boss ME-30

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

oh it was easy to use, as are many fisher-price toys, so it is of no credit to the unit.

it sounds-no kidding- absolutely awful. i hated it. i put it on some chump over-seas on ebay for way more than it was worth...enjoy dummy!i think it would sound way better flying off of a buildind to its much deserving death

it was dependable. every time i wanted to sound like shit, just turn it on and viola!

i never met with the jerks who peddle this crap, so i'll lay off of them

i like to sound good and this is closer to an am radio getting butt-raped by a pit-bull so over all i have to give it a " go to hell you useless spineless piece of shit retard who invented this piece of snot dribble

O pedal e muito facil de usar, nunca precisei recorrer ao manual, a edicao de patches e facil e sem nenhum problema!

Eu uso uma ESP kh e um amplificador Crate, gosto de tocar musicas de guitarristas solos e vario muito do blues ao metal!!
bom... vamos aos efeitos
Compressor = Excelente quando se usa no canal limpo, quando usado junto a distorcoes com muito ganho... TERRIVEL!
Overdrive, Distortion = Achei digitais demais, as vezes ateh irrita... mas com o tempo voce acaba acostumando!
EQ = nada de anormal... um simples equalizador de 3 bandas!
Phaser = nao uso...
Noise Suppressor = funcional
Chorus, Flanger = Perfeitos... nota 10
Pitch Shifter,Tremolo = Uso muito pouco, sao ateh bons!
Delay, Reverb = Perfeitos!
Amp. Simulator = Nunca gostei dos simuladores da boss... mas eh necessario...
Efeitos especias para serem usados com o pedal de express?o: Wah, Tremolo Arm, Ring Modulator = Passe longe!!! ehehe nao gostei!

BAh

nunca precisei...

Se voce procura um pedal para treinar este esta perfeito para voce, se estiver procurando algo mais profissional, eu nao recomendo!

This seemed pretty easy to me, but then again, I had some experience with the individual effects before I ever bought this. I'm also sort of a computer guy, so factor that in. That said, editing patches to get the sounds I wanted was fairly easy, all in all. Some of the effects are lackluster, but I had no problem setting the parameters for them. You can't use the phaser and EQ at the same time, which annoys me, but that's a small problem at best. I prefer the manual mode, but that's personal preference as much as anything.

Setup is either an 80's japanese strat or an epiphone special II. From there we go to the boss, then my marshall valvestate 80 watt combo (2x12 cab). It can get a little noisy with a tapped humbucker or a single coil, especially with the compressor and a high gain distortion. Some sounds are better than others, but I'll go through the list here in a few. I mainly noticed that some guitars (especially les paul type axes) sound a little "flat" with the guitar, compared to going straight into the amp. As far as which sounds this does VERY well, I guess it's sort of a gimme with a les paul and marshall, but I can nail the sounds of Slash and Page pretty easily. I can get EVH without too much trouble, but you have to mess it up a little with the flange to thicken it up a little sometimes. I like some of the clean sounds I can get, but unlike other posters, I'm using an amp that dirties up a bit anyway (it's a marshall after all). Now for the individual sounds. I should note that while I'm not Eric Johnson, I am pretty picky about my tone, and this pedal flattens it a bit too much for my taste.

Compression: Compressor is good clean, but gets very noisy with a high-gain distortion.

OD/Distortions: I like the heavier ones, but the fuzz is a bit much. I like a thick, meaty guitar sound, and I can get some of those with the blues through metal settings. Set up exactly like a stomp box, you'll get a reasonable facsimile of your sound pretty quickly.

EQ/Phaser: EQ is, well, a 3-band EQ. Phaser has some decent sounds, but you have to play with it a bit.

Modulation sounds: Some reviewers like the chorus. I don't. It's not as thick as the chorus on my amp, though to be fair this amp has the best chorus I've ever heard. I like the flanger. The harmonizer is pretty solid. I can get some bizarre sounds out of it. I use an octave to thicken up solos sometimes.

Reverb/delay: Excellent. I traded in a top of the line boss digital delay for this pedal, and I don't regret it on that front. You do the math there.

Expression arm: NO NO NO!!!! Not reliable (doesn't stay in place after a month of heavy use), won't stay all the way down for a full octave on the whammy setting, wah is crappy compared to an even sort of respectable wah pedal, ring mod is completely useless, except if you do the pickup switching tom morello thing...and then it's a gimmick good for one song at best.

Oh, one mmore thing....most of the factory presets are only good for showing off the capabilities of the unit, not creating a usable sound. Remember that and start editing as soon as posible, and you should be ok.

That said, it saps your tone, wah sound is generic and crappy, compressor is loud. Some modulation effects are good (kinda run the gamut), distortions about the same, but have some subtlety if you use them for overdrive as well as all out distortion. Delays are reverbs are beautiful, probably the best use of the pedal. In short, if you want to do a few things well and give a nod to a few others, this is a good choice. I think with the rest of my rig, I've basically outgrown this pedal.

Nope. expression pedal went out on me. Won't stay in place, and I use the wah in a fixed position a good bit in what I play, as a solo boost or just a funky effect. I don't think this will see too many gigs, since I'm planning on selling it and getting a crybaby, a tuner, and....well...that may be all I'll really need.

Other gear is listed above, but I bought this because my effects chain was constantly growing and shrinking. I've been playing for five or six years now, and am about to start attempting to get serious about it. This is the only weak point in my rig, in my opinion. It will work for grungers and numetallers (I was into grunge and hard rock only at that point), but I now also play lots of blues and jazz, and dabble in classical and other exotic stuff. I love the delay, and it's nice having ALL those effects. I hate the wah and despise the fact that it kinda sucks the soul out of your tone. I couldn't really tell when I started playing, but my ears have developed, and I've had this thing for many, many years. Also, don't bother with batteries...get a wall wart.

First of all, I received no manual nor any assistence with this unit. To add to it, this is also my very first multi-effect unit, so I had no experience with such objects whatsoever. But, much to my surprise, it is actually quite easy to use. Should take about an hour to get the hang of it all.

However, getting a *good* sound out of it is something a bit more complicated. To give an example, you can play around with the Distortion settings for hours, but it will sound very thin until you activate the EQ, which is in another menu. As easy as it is to change the sound, as hard can it be to get the sound you are looking for.

I play this through an 'el-cheapo' setup: Dean Avalanche Zone H->Boss ME30->Behringer Firebird gx108. To start with, in my opinion, one of the most important effects, the distortions are quite hard to rate. If you just use them through a clean channel they will sound thin, and somewhat lifeless. However, with just a bit of distortion from your amp, it will suddenly sound quite good, with a lot more depth to it.

The expression pedal is ok. The wahwah is somewhat usefull, although you should not expect the quality of a Vox pedal. The ring modulator seems near useless to me, and the 'tremolo arm' effects seem a bit plastic. Nice gimmicks, but not really good enough. It is possible to place the expression pedal before or after the distortion, which has a great effect on the sound. Nice.

On the other hand, the reverb, chorus, flanger and delay are really good. Much to my surprise could this unit deliver no less then a 2sec delay, which is a lot longer then most other multi-effects. The reverb sounds just like it should, and the chorus is even better. As you can see, I only paid 80Euro for this unit, so these effects alone are quite worth the money, in my humble opinion.

The EQ is somewhat noisy, and cannot be used when the phaser is activated. A bit annoying, considering that it is almost always required to use the EQ. The compressor is nice, definitely good enough for unit like this. It can be noisy though, espescially when you set the gain of the distortion high. The noisegate is quite pathetic, doesn't seem to do much, if it actually does anything.

So what rating should it receive? The distortions are poor on themselves, and great after some tweaking. The expression is mediocre at best, but the reverb, chorus, delay and flanger are excellent. The noisegate is crap, but the compressor is quite usefull. The EQ is quite good, but blocks the phaser. I think it's best not to rate it at all, it just depends on what effects you are after.

Even though it is plastic, it looks sturdy enough. I am not going to throw it around, and it looks quite capable of taking a few stomps. I'll assume it is strong enough, considering Boss' reputation.

Never dealt with them.

Well, what is my final conclusion? Before I answer that question, it might be usefull to know I have been playing for less then a year, on not-so-expensive equipment. So I bought this unit expecting to get a nice unit, able of giving me multiple effects usefull at home. And I got that.

If you are a professional player, I am sure you will find this unit to be lacking. But then again, why would you expect professional quality from an 80E unit? I payed the price of one pedal, and found it well worth the money. I did not try to imitate famous artist, but I doubt I can sound like any through a 70E amp, no matter what unit I use.

The ME30 has added variety to my sound, and I found it to be a valuable addition to my equipment chain. Things like the wahwah are less then good, but a Vox or Dunlop wah will cost more then this entire unit, so that didn't come as a surprise.

If you are looking for a cheap unit to add variety to your sound, check this out. If you need professional quality, take a look at more expensive units. For the price I paid I give it a 9/10.

Operating: Not really difficult to make patches. It only takes you a bit longer than you would like to, because of all these small menu's.
The manual is sufficient.

Setup: Fender Strat or Hohner Les Paul and a Peavey Austin 400 tubeamp or Ibanez 15w combo.
Noise: The Boss is not very noisy, except for the compressor.

Sound: Overdrives/Distortions, just noise they are not worth using, they sound a bit cheap ,cold and it's clearly very digital. I hardly use it, it just irritates me.
Wah is ok, very wide range but nothing special.
Flanger/Chorus and tremolo are quite good, here you can really find some nice sounds, I guess here is Boss on it's best.
Phaser is ok, but nothing special
Delay/reverb, ok.
Noise suppression, ok
Equalizer, does a good job.
There are a couple of more items on it, such as arm up and arm down, but this is just for laughing, use a guitar with a tremolo.
phrase trainer I don't use.

It's all plastics but it's really strong.
I would not use it on a gig for soundreasons, but in terms of breakin down, it won't.

Never had a problem with it, never dealt with them.

I have been playing since 1984, but 10 years ago I sold my seventies Guild solidbody electric together with my Roland DAC and old Boss pedals. Now 6 months ago I wanted to do some playing again.
I bought a new Fender Strat and 1 week later I found this 2nd hand Boss Me-30 for 110 Euro. I guessed that the digital technology must be on analogue sound level these days, but I was wrong. This machine is just nice for practising in the living room on the sofa. The first thing what really occured to me was how good my late seventies/early eighties rocking stuff was compared to this junk today. Especially playing overdrives and distortions were so very dissapointing that I don't even play this stuff on this Boss anymore, and it's not the single-coiled Strat, also with other guitares with good humbuckers the sound is just crap. However I realize that you can't get supersounds for 110 Euro.
I play all kinds of music, mostly rock, blues, funk and ambient. Also the 80's underground. I can get quite accurate the early "Cure" sound and surfsounds.
If it was stolen I think I would save a bit further for a really good multi-effect, maybe a GT-6 or some 19 inch professional stuff. Actually I'm looking for something else already anyway. It's really too bad that Boss was not looking any further into this OD/DS problem instead of developing small jokes on it like arm up and arm down effects.

interface is well done. every button explains itself. Easy....

in combination with a high end guitar & amp this ?thing? does not ad anything. I use an engl fireball and a cort viva I (dimazio pickups, 0.13 strings) and the boss ME 30 doesn?t help in a live- or practice environment.

FX: time based fx are usable. Up to 2 sec of delay, very cool, chorus, flanger, reverb etc. are nice for a ? 200 Multi Effect processor. For the distortion, I used a mt2 and loved it, but boss? digital distortions SUCK. The wah doesn't even come close to any analog wah, and the harmonizer/pitch shifter has too much latency (play now, hear half a second later). Factory presets are not usable. They?re more of a ?showcase? for what can/could be done. Amazing how a guitar can sound like anything but a guitar, same as all the other digital FX processors I?ve ever used.

However, if you are using this ME 30 processor in a studio environment I think it can be very useful. It has a built-in ?limiter? (amp simulation) that enables you to play over normal (studio) equipment, which can stand up to 20 kHz in frequency and than it sounds very acceptable. In "amp simulation" mode it's destortion sounds better than in normal mode?

boss, isn't that german? :)

built like a rock..

never had to deal with them

live & rehearsal: if you use distortion, wah or harmonizer/pitch shifter, dont buy the ME 30.
studio: very flexible and cheap (and it has it's own limiter, so there's no D.I. box needed), distorton is acceptable when it is limited (?, very strange..)

It didnt take me long at all and i didnt need a manual.

i use a RG570lt-this-jcm800-behringer quad.It rips.The disortions are great. i found that putting the amp simulator greatly helps my tone.I love it and i was an analogue man before but this baby stole my heart.

I would use it live for sure but i always take a backup.

wouldnt know

I play heavy rock at the moment and its great. i think , with enough time you could get more tone that youd expect.I dont like the display but hey the sound is great and that what counts.

All those menus.... I have had this thing for about three years, but last week I replaced it for a BOSS ME 50, for main reasons of usability and sound. I mostly used the ME-30 in the manual mode, so no programming. However, this way I could not use the phaser..... a shame!

Reverb (my main effect) as well as delays were okay. Flanging is somewhat more than just okay, as is the chorus. The distortion sounds however, were not of any use. The old fashioned bumblebee in a jam jar type of sound. So I always have used the ME-30 together with one or more distortion pedals.
The wah, another favorite sound of mine, is a little less than okay.

I have used the ME-30 on lots of gigs. It never really let me down, but that is what you expect of a BOSS. However, as is already stated by other users, the wah has the strange behaviour of sometimes turning on, for no reason.... On the other hand when you want to use the wah, it does not want to switch on. This switch is really bad, you really have to stand on the pedal to switch.

Never made use of it.

I have used the ME-30 for some years now, together with a 1995 Fender Strat Plus, a Mesa Boogie Subway Rocket and a Peavey Deltablues. But always with a separate distortion pedal (Ibanez TS10, BOSS OD1, BOSS SD1). I have used the unit in the manual mode mainly, and mostly for the reverb and the delay sounds. I replaced it with a ME-50, which is far more easy to use and has much better sounds (especially on the distortion side of things!)

pretty easy... plug it in... and go with the flow... easy...

i have an ibanez AX120 http://www.ibanez.com/guitars/guitar.asp?model=AX120&color=1 and a cheap ass amp...
when i first bought this i didnt know anything about... well effects... now i know it sucks... for the kind of music i play... i play nirvana and stuff. i have to do a lot of switch from clean to distortion to chorus... it sucks... it sounds like it cuts sound... yawk!

the othe effects.. well i dont have a good point of reference...

heck no... i wanna sell this... im getting now i good set up for gig... with single pedals like a proco rat 2 and a danelectro chorus...
so no i wouldnt use it for a gig

n/a

i play nirvana and nofx and some othe punk bands...
i've been player for two years now, i have an ibanez AX120 http://www.ibanez.com/guitars/guitar.asp?model=AX120&color=1 and a cheap ass amp...
i hope someone steals it from me... that way i have an excuse to ask for anotherone.
i like the tunner...

Well I got mine for about ancouple of hrs but im beginning to enjoy it... doesnt need a wizrd to figure out which button is which

hmmmmmmm..... the Meatl settings can be great for rhythm... but the highs are too stingy though... if u need to put on a good leead tone.. here's a tip.. use the "blues" type of distortion for the lead patches... and just set the gain to about 85-90... u'll have a nice fat sustaining lead tone... as for the other effects... they're good... but still havent figured out all of em yet

BOSS.... well im sure its gonna outlive me

No online manual.... wut if ya lost ur manual boo hoo

GREAT !!!!!

Takes a while to get used to but once you master it is simple to edit, create, exchange and copy patches. i've never looked at the manual.

when i've compared to distortions to the likes of the 'Big Muff' and a few single boss pedals, i've found that this can match the sounds if not out do them. the compressor can be noisy but the chorus' and phasers' etc are versatile enough. i have been giggin live with this with no backup for two years(see reliability), using it with a Marshall AVT50H and a Carlsbro 300w cab, the sound is immense! only problem is that the tuner is not exact enough but my TU-2 solves that problem.

ok as i said above, i used this without backup. One time, it caused major problems! AFter about 30mins into a lively, jumping set the power input failed on this unit and therefore created a enormous rumble and cut out. only recently have a got this fixed, after using it a year on duracells. i had to send the unit away to an independant technician costing #15 to get the power input resoldered. a major problem with mine was that the backlight screen has never worked so at gigs with low light i rely on the leds for direction.

Didn't try to deal with BOss as my warranty had expired by the time the unit failed.

We play many styles ranging from heavy, punching rock to slow melodic ballads with this pedal able to cope with them all. i've recently bought the Boss Hyper Metal but comparing to this unit i will probably keep the HM-3 for backup as i want to use this till the death. if i lost it i'd definately go for a new one as you can pick them up for nothing on ebay. if your considering getting one of these at the right price i'd say go for it, you'll not regret it

It take some time to edit a patch but it's really easy to do.

Compressor: good but noisy
OD/DS: all good to usable except when at low "drive" settings, they
all sound like crap. (the metal type is like the Metal Zone)
EQ or Phaser: the problem is you can't use both at the same time
Noise gate : ok
Delay: good, very long delay time, stereo effect
Chorus, Flanger, Tremolo: all good
Pitch shifter: digital sound, not very usable
Reverb: good
Wah: not as good as a Crybaby (the tones range is wider in the
Crybaby)but very usable and it will never start to makes noises
Trem. arm and ring ocillator: the oscillator is a joke
Amp. simulator: better than nothing when using headphones
Phrase trainer: useful

I have it for 2 years now. The only problem I have is when using a patch where the wah is on standby. sometimes the wah goes on by itself.

Lot of features for the price. A good tool when you don't know all the effects. Start with this multi-effects then you'll know what you need and you'll can buy the right pedals. Good quality of sounds for most of the effects. Also, I'll wish it had a footswitch for the tuner.

It takes a little while to get used to setting it up and using patches but, it's fairly intuitive.

My set up is: Jackson Dinky and Schecter c-1 -> Marshall TSL602 with the Me-30 in the fx loop.

I use pretty much use this pedal for delay only. With that said, here's a break down of the other effects.

Modulation-pitch shifting is alright but the tracking for bends and such is pretty bad and it sounds pretty tinny, tremelo - not bad, chorus- allright but too digital sounding, the flanger is pretty good but also harsh the phaser is pretty bad and not usefull enough (they should have put this with the modulation fx instead you use it as an either/or kind of thing with the eq)

Wah-the weakest part of the ensemble you won't get a good wah sound

Delay-great, not many features but sounds great

Rvb- pretty bad, sounds like one of those old toy microphones with the springs in the bottom

Distortions-the light overdrives are not bad for a digital unit also the "hard" distortion is allright the metal distortion is pretty bad basically don't expect a $200 digital multi-fx unit to sound like a dual recto, plexi, etc...

I noticed that a lot of the fx are really out there and not very usefull.

Bottom Line: you get what you pay for, it sounds allright some patches are better than others, if you're a tone freak you won't be satisfied

boss stuff is built to withstand nuclear war

this thing doesn't break so i have had no contact

Mediocre, if it were stolen i wouldn't really bother replacing it and it would be a good excuse to buy new gear

Note to all you folks having problems with noise. Make sure either the batteries are good or there are no batteries in at all when using the ac adapter. Dead batteries in the unit under ac make the noise unbearable. Remove them and the unit performs much better...

The manual is very clear, it cleary says what can be expected from each effect and what can be achieved by changing ones parameters. The display is very clair and there's no more knobs than needed.

I'm using a Gibson SG and a Marshall Valvestate amp. I'm pretty satisfied about most effects but the overdrive/distortion is horrible. I have to use my amps distortion to get a 'real' distortion sound, but that makes it harder to use it with the ME-30 effects as the distortion is added as last one. Modulation effects/delay/reverb is alright. The pedal is pretty handy. There are some effects like the ring modulator and 'arm up' effects really suck, but propably you will never use. Boss should have paid more attention to its overdrive/distortion sound that waisting its time on developing no-use effects like the ring modulator etc.

It's pretty reliably. Don't use it on batteries when your on stage however, cause it only lasts for a few hours.

Like you already could have guessed I'm pretty disappointed with the ME-30 as its distortion sucks as you use distortion in a lot of music styles. This is propably the reason why I'm going to get rid of it, so please if you are planning on buying one, try it before you buy. If distortion isn't that important to you, its a good buy but if you like me like to play a large variety of music styles, try something else!

I think everyone agrees---its damned easy to use, and quite convenient. The LCD is not for use onstage, tho, since you ought to have your sound well adjusted before going onstage. Do not think you can adjust your sounds off the cuff like you do with other pre-amps like pedals and such. But the fact that you have a tuner, expression/wah pedal and even a ring modulator in this thing is definitely for the lazy musician who does not want to lug a ton of stuff around and set them up.

I run this through tube amps like HIWATT, and Gibsons with humbuckers. For all the metal playing dum dums out there who complain about the noisy distortion--please set your gain relatively LOW and your master volume HIGH on your amp. If you get a loud clean sound from your amp then the noise will go away. If you don't like the distortion, tough, get a tube amp with heavy gain (which sound solid-state anyway)and do not use the built-in distortion. Either that or use a Tube driver or other distortion units in front of this.

I just used this thing at rehearsal today and it ripped a hole in the time/space continuum. I can tell my drummer was busting a nut from the loud, monstrous and bizarre sounds coming out of this thing. And yes I'm talking about some of the presets many of you are so fond of. This cheap little box does quite a lot for the money, and I pity anyone who is trying to get conventional sounds out of this...wake up and start using this thing on its own terms! The cheap ring-mod in this is outrageous for a unit this price and would complement electronica. Other multi-fx in this price range just did not get the unusual and highly aggressive sounds I was looking for...they sounded too gay. Ok the wah is disappointing, but the pedal is way sturdier than those Crybabies with the metal buttons. One look at those things and you know it will crap out on stage. I would rather have something that sounded not as pretty but more dependable. Do you think the audience is gonna go "hey a Crybaby sounds better!" No, they would be like "dude, that guitar player needs practice." Yes and the guy who laughed at all you beginner wannabee dumbasses was right! Get a decent tube amp instead of an expensive guitar or effect, it will make the most difference. And stop listening to that achey-breakey shit called Metallica and be original.

Its made out of some hard plastic and just felt way more sturdy than those thin-metal digitech things. And yes, have an extra adapter ready it does suck. Otherwise I have never had a problem with it.

I play aggressive progressive music, and this thing adds to the choices I can select from to create a sundry of weird but usable sounds. I do wish there were a footswitch bypass since putting a "bypassed sound" on the patch does not sound the same as hitting the bypass button, which isn't true bypass anyway.

This box is exceptionally easy to get sound out of. If you can plug it in you get sound....if you take the time to play with it you get exceptional sound. Editing is not hard just time consuming but hey I got this used during a halloween sale at Long & Mcquade. It came without a manual so I'd have to give it top marks for being intuitively designed and esay to use. I suppose the buttons are atad bit small on the unit but the foot switches are excellent.

I am using a Northern Les Paul style guitar (Japanese custom made guitar I've had since the late 70's. IT has Dimarzio pick-up's) + an Ovation acoustic connected into a Yamaha G100 212. Additionally I have vintage equipment that I've had for years that I didn't part with; a Lil'Muff distortion pedal and a small stone phase shifter. The box is an excellent performer. I have read with interest many of the comments about noise etc etc....There is always some audible noise when you aren't playing, unless you have a sound engineer working for you on every gig or you have an expensive noise supressor your'e gonna have some noise....It tends to go away when you play though....It's somewhat amusing in the sense of how loud the small stone is and some of the gear that used to be available....Were getting spoiled with technology.....I am very impressed with the effects so far however there are quite a few useless presets....There is a great range of info and patches on the net and you can create your own so I am not all that concerned....beats having one or two pedals....or none at all....

This one was bought used at one of the best music stores in Canada.....Long & Mcquade....I am hoping it will last. It seems well used but in great condition....Long & Mcquade guarantee everything they sell so I got a guarantee with it along with a great deal!! What more could you ask for.....

Not an issue. Well beyond Boss's interest. I have to say that the Boss web site is NOT very good. They seem to, unlike their competition, stick with current products on-line. Support for the older disconyinued products is basically non-existent on-line.....There is no excuse for this in this day and age.....It would be nice to download a pdf file for the manual, instead they make you call and ask for one....kind of non-technical for a technical company....oxymoron kind of thing....They should be ashamed of themselves and fire the braintrust for their web site. But....because I will never have to deal with Boss I will rate it higher just because of Long & Mcquade. Boss 1; Long & Mcquade 10. Average 5 , score 7 :)!!

Overall this is a great piece of equipment. If you can play, it will make you sound great. If you can't play and you think this will help it won't....take your money and spend it on some guitar lessons, then buy one.....:)!! It has a great range of sounds suitable for many styles and I am; on the bottom line having a great time with it!!

This unit is very easy to use, if you ever used "single effect boss units" you won't get any problems with ME-30, it's almost the same thing. I learned to use the software in few days.

I use it with a Fender Stratocaster american standard, a Fender DeLuxe 120 and a Cry-baby Wha-wha. Every single effect of the unit sounds great ( but not the wha ), but you have to work for a long time on the patches, so you'll get THE SOUND THAT YOU WANT. I spent many time on adjusting every single patch on my unit, and now I have what I was looking for, not only "Star wars' sounds" but an excellent clean channel, an excellent distorsion channel, excellent chorus... and also very strange effects!! I worked a lot on the distorsions and the overdrive, at he first times it seemed shitty, but it was only a matter of adjust and get experience with the unit, work on the compressor! The only effect I do not like is the wha-wha. The unit works good for every kind of music you play on it, from the jazz, to the blues, to the hard rock.

I depend on this unit!

I had no problems.

I think you won't get anything like this unit at this price. You can have all the most used effects, a very high quality, at a price that's very low. If you don't want to buy rack units or other expensive stuff, buy this and not other shitty stuff like zoom units or else. THIS IS THE BEST FOR THIS PRICE!!!

Easy to navigate around if you know FX units. Very logical. Preset sounds are shite. But easy to get good sounds after you tweak. I didn't get a manual and it was easy.

I use: 2 Ibanez CT Strats, fender tele, custoim tele, Boss OS-2 (the king), Ibanez DML-10 modulation delay, 1971 JEN CryBaby Wah through a Peavey Studio Pro. And now an ME-30. Note: WHEN YOU GET THIS UNIT, YOU MUST SET ASIDE A NIGHT OR TWO (SITTING DOWN) JUST TWEAKING. YOU WILL NOTHING OUT OF IT IF YOU DONT. True, some of the distortions and the wah are a bit weak (only a bit) but, in total, it rocks. I will still my os-2 cause it's warmer and my DML-10 cause its whackier but this thing rocks. Stop knocking and sit down with it and do some work. THE TRICK IS TO START OFF WITH NO FX AND GET THE UNIT SOUNDING EXACTLY AS YOUR GUITAR DOES ON BYPASS. If you don't do that, everything else will souind like crap. Then build your patches.

I haven't gigged with it yet (come on, I've had it for a week) but it's a Boss. Everything I've had Boss has lived forever. Everything not Boss has died. Like my Korg AX 1000G. Crap housed in metal is still crap.

I have tried everywhere on the net and cannot get a manual. I assume this is because Roland are still selling them. Bzzzzz. aND 1 THING FOR THE PEOPLE WHO SAID THEIR DOESN'T WORK: i NOTICED THAT WHEN YOU RECALIBRATE THE TUNER EVEN 1 HZ EITHER WAY, IT DOESNT PICK UP THE B-STRING. BUT WHEN ITS CALIBRATED PROPERLY (IE., 440HZ) IT DOESNT HAVE THIS PROBLEM

I play in an originals band. I busted my hand (permanately) so I can't play full tilt anymore and do most of the songwriting now. The unit fits our sound really well- very versatile. As above the distortion isn't as warm as my os-2 and the wah...Well...JEN helped invent wah so I'm not even going to compare. But, for the money you can't get any better.

It is really easy

All the effects aren't suitable for playing loud. They all sound digital. Especialy the distortion does not have anything good. It is noisy and shit shit shit. If anyone wants to buy mine...please, you can have it for only $50

I don't have many problems with the device. I defenitely won't use it for gigs because I don't want to have a fight with the sound engineer.

never had to use it

I play heavy metal. My guitar is a Ibanez s40. I have a roland jc120 with a Koch(really good dutch brand) tube pedal for a really good distortion (limp bizkit uses this setting).

If it was stolen I think I will feel sorry for the thief because of all the efforts he had to make for steeling such a worthless device :-)