Boss ME-30

It can take a short while to get used to the editing system, but it's incredibly easy to use, especially if you already know your way around basic effects parameters. I've been in possession of two of these over the years, and only the second one came with a manual, which went largely unread. I've no use for the phrase trainer though, so I don't know If it's a particularly good one or not. The only real gripes I have regarding usability are with the lack of a backlight on the screen (be prepared for a fair bit of squinting), the lack of a bypass pedal, and the expression pedal on/off is, well... useless, on my unit at least. It's easier to just copy the patch to another location with the pedal on or off.

I use a Gordon smith S.G2, a Fernandes Strat type, various pedals, and a Roland cube. I like to use the ME30 in one side of an a/b box going into the aux in of the cube. For what I like to use it for (Psychedelic/ambient/far out stuff) this works just fine. In fact I'd go so far as to say that for the more experimental sort of sounds, I consider the ME30 a bit of a secret weapon. The Delay and modulation effects are crystal clear, the chorus in particular is good, almost, but not quite, as lush and sparkly as my CE2. The only letdown in this area is the phaser, but more on that in a moment. The compressor can cause a bit of low end boom on extreme settings, but it's still more than adequate. The noise gate also could be better, but this is usually solved by not maxing the gain on the overdrive block. I've heard/read a lot of complaints about the distortions, but if used in conjunction with the compressor and eq correctly, pretty much any sound you want can be coaxed out. Hi gain thrash/metal tones, ludicrous fuzz, even those just breaking up/slight crunch tones are available if you're careful, just remember to save it once your there! The only problem I have with it that can't be solved with patience is the way some effects are grouped together. Tremolo with flanger is out. Chorus and pitch shift? Nope. But the worst is the fact that the phaser and the eq are on the same block. Like I said, the eq can be integral to getting the sound you want, so the phaser can often be left sounding thin and tinny. This unit is probably not for the audiophile, but for anyone whose happy just to be in the right ballpark, price considered, it's a marvellous thing. Hillage glissando/volume swells? Definitely. Morrello style wig outs? It can be done. Hetfield(ish) crunch?. Yup. Even Mr Gilmour's in there somewhere.

I don't play live. If I did, I'd just use it for the more way out sounds, with an a/b set up to get around the lack of a proper bypass facility. It's seen a few accidents, mind. All manner of spillages, being dropped and clunked about, and it still works fine, but it IS plastic, so I doubt it's anywhere near as indestructible as a Boss compact pedal.

Not needed as yet, though if it did arise, I probably wouldn't go this route.

I've been playing for over 15 years now, and the ME30 has been one of my favorite bits of kit for a fair chunk of that time. The first one I had was on a long term loan, and when I saw the one I have now, at the price it was at, I felt like a kid in a sweet shop. Don't be fooled at the price, and its entry level facade. It has some crafty tricks up its sleeve. If you turn the delay feedback all the way up, in manual mode, you can use it as a looper. When adopting a similar approach with saved sounds, as long as you switch to another patch without delay, you can solo over your loops. Occasionally, I'll program a sound that will inspire a tune or two on its own. If you get to know it well, its almost on par with guitar rig for far out lysergic journeys. If you're after more conventional sounds, there's still joy to be had, just don't expect too much. As a basic multi fx and beyond, for the price these are going at right now, I doubt there's a better deal out there. Just leave some for me. If mine were stolen, I'd kill. I wouldn't swap it for a four foot tall rack of high end gear. Except maybe so I could sell it all and buy more ME 30's and an old les paul, then I could do Robert Fripp impressions till my arms fell off.

Everything is in the manual (download from Roland) A bit tricky when you first start, but after a while it's second nature. The ME-50 is a lot easier to use, and you can see why Boss has moved to welded together stomp box with knobs approach. The foot switches are too small and hard to use live. The patches are too slow too change, so you can't hot switch between patches during a performance. The software interface is the same as a boss stomp box, it just takes a little time to get to tweak using the buttons. I'll be opening mine up and rewiring some of the switches to some external foot switches for live work, as it's a little cumbersome to keep bending down whilst on stage.

I use everything through this strat/tele/paul/elec12/SG/335 to a Fender Princeton into Peavey Bandit / or Crate 120 (JC clone) and they all sound okay. So lets go through the effects. They've kept the analogue circuitry of the DS-1 and I can't notice any difference between my DS-1 and the ME-30 distotrtion. (I hate them both as much) The overdrive is pretty thin compared to what I can get out the dirty channels on my amps, so I skip them as well. The Wah is okay but the pedal is a bit small and flimsy to be rocking all the the time. The compressor does it's job, as does the 3 stage EQ and Noise Supressor. The pitch shifter is very basic. The flanger is a good, but the Phaser lacks a little range. NOW FOR THE GOOD NEWS.........The stereo chorus is as good as the CE-3, nice and rich. Add to this the excellent Digital Delay and Reverb, and suddenly the money feels well spent.

It will be an addition to my effects not a replacement fro them.

I bought this hoping to use the patches live, but they switch too slow, but now I have a very good live chorus, delay & reverb (plus others if I want them) for less than 1 Boss Stomper.
I play 60's through 90's, and this works well with my other pedals. It's really good for practice with the headphones, but I'd like to have volume adjustment on the Aux CD/Ipod input. Stolen or lost, and I had the extra $$$ I'd consider individual stompers, or an old Yamaha DG-Stomp and use it the way I use this one.

I got the Boss ME-30 from a music forum for 130 dollars. Once you figure out how to get everything going it's a very simple pedal to operate considering the amount of effects it has. You can choose from every effect available very easily. There are many weird effects that can be used in a programmable bank memory. Editing patches is very simple and non-time consuming. Manual can be very helpful but I think anyone could figure out how to do everything on their own, needless to say it is very easy to use.

I run the ME 30 through my Peavey Bandit 65 and use an epiphone les paul studio. Many are saying that the distortions are a bit weak but i think otherwise. Nevertheless I use the me 30 mainly as a delay and modulation pedal and use separate stompboxes for dirt and distortion(ts9, proco rat2, black coffee metal distortion). That being said, modulation and delay are top notch. I think that the flanger and chorus is absolutely awesome. Wah is pretty servicable but don't expect it to sound like a crybaby. ME 30 also has whammy!

BOss me 30 is made in japan and a product of roland but Can you depend on it? I think so, if you generally take care of your stuff, and not try to break it intentionally just to test the durability. I think that this thing can withstand a beating nonetheless.

no comment

As i have said, i use this as a delay and modulation pedal and it does it's job pretty well. For the price i paid i would rather have this than separate stompboxes. But with this alone, i think that you can achieve the sound that you are looking for, the key is tweaking

very easy to use.

Just take a peek at the manual and your all set.

Only a child will not be able to use this thing.

Great. I generally use the pedal for the modulations and delays and they are perfect. Distortions are pretty good but i use seperate stompboxes for them.

I generally take care of my stuff so no worries about this one
Would you use it on a gig without a backup? absolutely

no comment. have not contacted them yet

For the price, it's unbelievable

The unit is fairly simple to get good sounds out of, there is a never ending collection of sounds you can create and save. The Editing patches are great, and scroling through the patches are simple as well. The manual is a little bland, it is clear enough to get started, but for advanced features, you on your own.

I Play a Ibanez JS100, and a Jackson Dinky with a HOT Seymour Duncan in the Bridge, through a Marshall 120 Solid State Cab. The noise gate is awful, so I get alot of noise when on Distortion settings, the cleans channels are good. I can get some good distortion like Metallica, Slayer, Lamb of God, but like I said, it's noisy as hell. The dealy is awesome, the flanger and Reverb are great too.

The power adapter has gone on me twice, the pedal itself i pretty rugged. I would not use it without a backup, we have alot of songs that have some breaks or stops, and the last thing i need is noise.

N/A

If you can find one, grab it. The pedal has help improve my playing. It has given me the confidence to try new things, and it just pumps you up to be able to edit a sound and start pulling some Tom Morello stuff.

My BOSS-ME30 is pretty good to use can be a bit frustrating at times but has lots of different pedals in one greatfor recording live gigs are a bit painful.

editing patches on it is relitivley easy compared to others.

didnt get a manual as my cousin gave it to me for squat good old cosins.

i run my boss with a cort x-2 coustom and a epiphone EP-s28 and it goes queit well.

some setting blow your sack off when you cahnge to it.
distortions are queit good so is delay and chorus wahs average.

i can get some sweet metallica distortion real thrashy and that.

i would depend on it now after a gave it a kick when it stoped working now it goes sweet.

i would use it without back-up

never delt with them

i play thrash,industrial,progressive,death metal,hard rock,indie and everything else and it goes well with all most all after some ajustments.

5 years playing guitar.

i also have a ibanez chorus pedal witch i like better that the boss's chorus.

Fairly easy in a studio setting but on stage changing parameters is a real pain.

I use a strat with mesa boogie mk2b & find most fx fairly quiet apart from the overdrives which are pretty noisy, with sounds ranging from awful to excellent.

Mine has had lots of use & abuse & still works,

n/a

I've used it with several styles & have a love hate relationship with it. I like having all fx in one box but hate not being able to change parameters on the go without having to use the presets. Also the wah turns on midway through songs without me selecting it, usually at the most inappropriate times! I think there are many better units in the same price range & would buy something else next time

This thing is so easy to get good sounds and save em. You have 3 pedals for switching presets and an expression pedal! Anyone with any exp. with a multi will be right at home and novices will have a pretty easy time adjusting to their liking.

I use this straight into either a fender tube amp or peavey classic 30 for practice( or headphones). Fender and ibanez guitars sound great. This pedal lets the sound of the guitar come out more than some more generic sounding processors that make a cheapie sound like a vintage les paul. I found the distortions to be great used alone when eq'd properly but best when used with amp dist. The effects are decent to good and cover just about any sound you could want.

I have had it since they first came out- NO PROBLEMS. It's sturdy plastic so as long as you dont run it over its good. Its a boss. I never have had a prob with a boss pedal and I have maaany. So this is not a throw away unit with a 2 year life expectancy like some newer junk.

I play rock mostly, blues and pop and alt too. 18 years playing. Got a lot of pedals and amps and gtrs. I have or have tried everything you can think of(almost). This would be a great choice for any one looking to simplify their fx. Great value. Get one gently used for the price of one good stompbox!

I've been playing for over 10 years now and have played a wide variety of pedals and guitars. This is one of the more difficult ones to use. The screen is low contrast and hard to see. Forget playing with bright stage lights or outside...ever. Its just complicated.

Of all the analog, digital and multi effect pedals that I have ever played. This pedal has hands down the worst overdrive and distortion sounds imaginable. The reverbs arent too bad for digital and the delays arent bad either. If you are at all a gear head you would never play one of these. If you are a beginner, its a good beginning pedal to get your feet off the ground, but once you start thinking about sounding good...get another pedal.

When it gets hot (outside or on a hot stage) it can cut out and the screen fills up black so you cant see anything. Power supply went out very quickly. But after about 8 years it still works.

Never dealt with them.

I play mostly rock, blues, and metal, and occasionally delve into the ambient arena. This pedal is okay for the delays and reverbs but not much else. Tone sucks, screen sucks, volume pedal is too light, plastic construction sucks, power supply sucks, distortions and overdrives suck, makes too much dang noise. Like I said, once you get to the point of worrying about how you sound, not just how to fret a guitar, get another pedal.

Easy to use and very flexible as far as possible sounds you could go for. The manual seemed to cover almost everything.

I played a Kramer guitar and amp through this for years. My guitar was definately not one of the best, but the pedal made up for quality of my guitar. I loved that it gave me distortion, delay, a compressor, reverb and an expression pedal ready to use at the drop of a foot. However, I didn't like that Tremolo, Chorus, Pitch Shifter, and Flanger are all on the same switch; This made it impossible to use any in conjunction with the others. The noise compressor is a bonus as well, but depending on the output of the pedal it could result in some white noise. I always run the unit on manual, and never used the preset sounds on stage.

Over the years my jacks have worn out, resulting in me having to push the unit with my foot at times, because my sound went out completely. You don't want that on stage=embarassing. When new I would have used it on stage, but no longer. The expression pedal on/off no longer works either, so you have to either operate with it on or off and bend down to manually disengage/engage. I'm going to rate this a 7, only because it did last for a few years with no problems, but years of use can be hard on anything

I've yet to deal with the company, but I do plan on trying to get it back in working order. Guitar techs(not Boss) have told me that if the jacks are connected directly to the board, then they can't be replaced, but a computer tech told me he could fix it. Repair work is way over my head, and with the computer tech there is no guarantee the I'll get it back working order, even the way it does now.

I play a wide range of music from rock, metal, reggae, country, and improv. This product fits in well with whatever you want to play with a little tweaking. The only complaint I have is the chorus, flanger, tremolo, and pitch shifter being on the same switch, I'd like to be able to use some of those together. Currently if I could get the jacks replaced I would still use it live for the ranges in distortion, the compressor, and the equalizer, reverb, and delay. But I would have to use seperate pedals for the other effects listed and an expression pedal. All in all if I were starting from scratch now, I would buy seperate pedals

It's easy to use edit and make new patches once you just understood the system. the manipulation is so easy.

I could get a wide range of sounds as Pain of salvation distortions, rammstein and a lot of others. the chorus is exellent and I love the delay too.

I'm using it for 5 years now on stage it's perfect with electricity ( no battery) I rely on it and I no need backup

actually i never did that

It's so brillant guitar petal and I found it professionnal. I just would loved if they made better COSM.

It ain't easy to use, since this is THE ONLY guitar effect box that is DSP driven from the very beginning... starting from the interface, and that's why it's been taken out of the production line, 'cause it's the best guitar effect box that's ever been put on the face of this weakling earth... though not being sturdy, it is the most flexible and most intelligent guitar effect box on this earth, no wonder they took it out of the market, now it is even more valuable, starting from at least 400 bucks since it's already a limited edition... if you have it and know how to use it, keep it... otherwise, sell it really expensive, since it is the best of the best, the combination of the guitar world and the tech world,, :p

If I ever think about selling this device, I will really take the price up high, 'cause it's a real state-of-art piece of an equipment... It's really unvaluable because of the flexibility and electronic interface, I really couldn't believe they thought the ME-50 would replace it, when it's a completely analog interface... they say nice things never change, but I think the ME-30 came out to this world to make it all easier for us guitar players....

Just Perfect

I definitely would, 'cause I've already done so...

Crappy, no fucking online support, they (boss, Roland) think they could just outcast a product like this...

Well, This bastard can be configured to any type of setting you're looking on... from Queen to Nirvana, from Red Hot Chilli Peppers to Eric Clapton... so I have no complaints at all...

I've had the ME 30 for about 9 years now and it recently shut down on me. No power. I had to reroute the power line to feed directly into the box. Easy to use with writings and presets. jhavent midied any yet with it though. editing is a breeze. learned it without directions.
I have not upgraded, dont know if its still being made

it tends to have an "Eddie" sound to it yet some wha wha effects hard to hear even when turned up in all areas. Most people who hear it love the sound - no complaints

Heck ya i would, in fact I plug and play at the church I go to into direct sound board. i use the preamp since its there and let the sound man edit the sound its great. esp since the ease of use to write and edit for concert use. i wish i can update the one i have or at least fix the one i have or get another one new, the reason I choose 7 is because the box lost power and had to reroute through box to resolder line

never called

i play anything from rock/metal to contemp christian to blues and jazz its all good. played for 22 years. i would like to get another to update. i love the writeability of the box. its versitale enough to take it any where and powerful enough to hit those awsome notes and bends. it makes it easier to use rather than keeping up with all small pedals and tying them up to get the same sound out the ME-30 for the price its great

I have had this thing since it first came out. It is very easy to use, simply plug into an amp, plug in guitar and start pressing the pedal button to get different preset sounds. I have not how ever edited patches so I have no comment there, unless that is fancy for saying adjusting the sound settings. In that case again very easy to use. I am not aware of any upgrades and that is the reason I am searching the net to see if there is any upgrades or tricks it has that I have not used.

Originally I used a small practice amp with this unit. I feel using just one amp with this device is seriously killing it. I have been (believe it or not)running it from the headphones out, into a nice pair of computer speakers (no computer needed). The reason I do this is that most CPU speakers are digital by nature and have great surround sound capability, the Boss me-30 also has a setting in the delay mode for "pan". So I set it on "blues about 85% crunch 100% volume, then add delay 330 or so, mid feedback and 85 % volume, then I use the compressor and a touch of reverb and run it thru the CPU speakers and it is unbel;ievable sound I get. If you turn up the delay more you can get some really heavy echo-plex effects. The only thing I do not like it when I turn up the compressor too much and max the gain on the distortion it has an overpowered sound and I hear some crackling (and it is not the amp or guitar) But overall I am pleased with this thing. If you use an amp run this thing thru 2 amps as there is 2 outputs and you can get stereo crossover etc. If you are not getting good sound using the presets, just click the manual button and make your own setting. That is the only way I use it these days.

I have used it for over ten years and other than the occasional crackling when I rev it up too high it seems very reliable.

Never needed customer support. But if someone knows of an upgrade for it and how to install it I would love to know about it.

I just play around on it, I am not a "Van Halen" fast lead type but more of a slow handish bluesy folky kinda player. For what I am trying to do it is fine. If you want the real high treble crunch for superfast leads I would look another direction. If you want nice deep warm mid range blues it is great. The only thing I really dislike about it is when I run it in mono thru one amp it really sound average. Plug it into 2 amps or CPU speakers and it is awesome!

Easy to use and edit.
Read the user-friendly manual in the beginning.
Has a "phrase trainer" which can slow down a 20 second recorded lick.

I don't use it to gig, just to practice.
Some effects are weak (wah, EQ). The others are OK.
Sounds better through headphones (seems that is always the case) than plugged into the amp.
Not the best effects processor.

It's a dependable unit. I've had it for almost 10 years.
But, like I said, I don't gig with it. Not the best for that format.

Never had to deal with them.

Overall, it is a unit to practice with.
I bought it mostly for the "phrase trainer" to figure out songs that are not popularly tabbed.
If it was stolen I wouldn't buy another I'd go get a Roland.
It is a good "starter" pedal for beginners.

Quite easy to use. You'll probably have to take a peek in the manual to learn how to move patches around and use the phase trainer, but other than that it's fairly simple. I love the 3-patch-per-library layout of the pedal, at least compared to the one big friggin' list layout that some of the Digitech pedals have. It makes flipping through and finding effects easy, especially if you group them somewhat logically like I do.

I have a Fender Mexican Fat Strat and a Jackson Rhodes RR5 with EMG 81 and 85 pickups. I pretty much only use this pedal and then go right into the amp (clean channel) or my computer. Going right into the computer, the guitar amp simulator is okay, but in most cases you're a lot better off going into your actual amp and micing it or using the direct out on the amp. Here's a quick rundown of some of the effects.

Compressor/Sustainer - Pretty good, can get a tad noisy, but basically does the job.

Distortion/Overdrive - Good. About half a dozen types of distortion/overdrive. I have very few patches with the vintage or lighter sounding overdrives. The metal and fuzz distortions are my favorite. I get a much tighter and controlled distortion from the metal mode than I do on my amp (Marshall AVT 50).

Equalizer - Pretty good. I can't seem to turn the mids up with distortion and get an appealing sound though. I just think it makes the distortion seem compressed and cheesy. But that's just me though.

Phaser - Good.

Noise Supressor - Good.

Modulation - Good. Chorus is especially awesome. With a clean sound, chorus and a bit of delay, and my Fender Fat Strat, I can nail Eddie Van Halen's clean sound for 316, Best Of Both Worlds, etc. Pitch shifting for octaves and fifths is good. It would have been great if they could have the harmonizer like on their Super Shifter though. Flange good. Tremelo good.

Delay - Good.

Reverb - Good.

Mixing up these effects the right way is how you get the beautiful lead sounds or crazy effects patches. Some Digitech pedals comparable to this have a taking synth-wah that I miss on this pedal. But I like the distortion on Boss pedals a lot better, so I'd take the tradeoff.

I've had it for about five years now. It's dusty as hell, but still works perfectly as far as I can tell.

Never dealt with them.

I've been playing for about 7 years in pretty much any style. If this were lost or stolen, I might just buy individual stompboxes. Besides the fact that Boss doesn't make these babies anymore, most indivual pedals can do more with each effect than this multi-effects can do with each effect. I am always trying to improve my rig. Overall though, this pedal is a well-layed-out, reliable sampler of great effects.

Very easy to use once you get to know it. I worked with it without using the manual. Editing patches was easy enough if you know which button to push when. Takes a couple of tries but you'll soon figure it out. The manual is good tells ya what to do and what you should know.

I use a strat copy with 2 JS model Seymour Duncans and a 100wat Marshal half stack. It sounds great with my rig. Not noisy att all no matter what settings. The effects sound really great only the Wha-wha sound is not that good. I managed to get a good Eddie van Halen sound with it and a good Green Day punk sound.

Its never let me down as long as you use the AC power connector. It eats batteries so i would not advise battery usage. I use it live or for recording and it sounds tops

Never had to deal with the company but if you are looking for a manual here it is. http://www.rolandus.com/support/product_manual.asp?Letter=M

According to one reviewer, Jai i think finding the manual was not easy for him. But i managed to find it easily.

Never had it repaired or upgraded! Solid quality

We play a mix between The Ataris and Placebo and the ME30 sounds great for either style. Ive been playing guitar since 1990 and i if my setup were ever stolen i'll get the same equipment except maybe get the latest Boss GT6 effects unit seeing as it is very current.
I love the fact that you can simply just press and the sound is there no fiddling or what ever. Use your banks and set them up correctly and there you go.

I only wish the pedals were stacked a little further apart but as it is it works out, little getting use to. Otherwise i love this unit it gives me everything a need!

You can switch through patches very easily, but working the phase trainer requires reading and patience,give it time and you'll
get it.

Sound quality is pretty damn good, with some minor weak areas
Going heavy like Metallica is this things true strenghes plus there
are effects that are hard to imagine, the range of sounds u can get
is a real strong point, this thing is worthy of recording, high quality

This thing is solid and I never had a problem

If I were U I would buy this on Ebay for $170, I paid$550 cdn a
couple of years ago,sold it for cheap,and I've been kicking my ass
since,not having this pedal felt like I was held back,I just bought another one, This is an excellent first multieffects proccesor,
I would go for the ME-50, It's the same,just has knobs for ease of use. Buy it you won't be dissapointed,

This pedal is very easy to use once you give it the look over

i use a montrey stage series (SG imitation) guitar with a on a small peavy transtube series rage 158 amp and it sounds great

it looks strong and boss procucts a 'suposed' to be built to last

to get a manual the boss/roland sitte is bull $#!t so i googled it and this is a pdf file (you can also view as a html)

http://www.roland.co.uk/Support/Turbo/ME30.pdf.

i play hard rock - metal (ac/dc to pantera) na dthe effects r good
seeing as i baught it on ebay and it wos fine and that other fool payed $700AUS !!!!!!!!!

I purchased my ME-30 from Guitar Center late 97 or early 98. If you stick with the standard patches it is so simple to use, however the other features, user patches and setting the manual patches is not at all intuitive. The instructions have to be read and re-read to get up to speed. The phrase trainer works ok however is hampered by mixing issues. If the bass is strong it may overwhelm the lead passage especially at reduced speeds. The bypas switch is much to small to take the unit out of the path and the noise is strong in some settings even with the noise gate. In other instances the noise gateis excellent. I use the rig on my Road King ( Who's reverb, sucks) To the person trying to find a manual please contact me at the indicated e-mail address, I would be more tha willing to help. The coolest sound is that of the JetSound throught earphones so you can hear the panning its great. Try playing "I wasen't Born To Follow" you'll love the sound.

I use the inst with a Road King formerly a Twin Reverb. It can get noisy in cleaner pasages and if too many effects are ganged together.
The effects are robust and can be controlled sublely. The key is to use them sparingly. I like the sound of SRV's phase shifted pickups , however thats a tough sound unless I use my Fender. All the effects are decent quality yet not supurb.

I have had the rig since 97/98 never a problem it used to go on the road with me. I carried it in computer case and it protectred it well. I plugged into it directly and the sound was great through phones.

Never had to deal with Boss.

I play bluse based rock, fussion, semi Jazz, country ( no slow stuff).
I have played for 42 years. I would replace it with a newer version most likely with more switches. I would like to have an easily accessable bypass switch. I chose it because it was one of the first popular priced units with a phrase trainer ( which I rarely use , see above comments.)It can get in the way and I am goint to place in the effects loop when I need plain clean sound.

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

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 :-)