Boss ME-33

Its very easy and enjoyable... when you read owner manuals, you have more experience in setting the patches...

That is great sound quality. when you buy me-33, you cant have any comments. after 2-3 weeks, you can catch real quality sound. because me-33 required good patch settings. when many parameters set truely with combining other effect parameter, you will provide incredible sounds. Especially for beginners, if your sound week, use the compressor. This will make stronger your sound. And amp simulator gain and level is very important. to strong sound, rasie up gain and level.. (control your audio device volume level to prevent harmfull and be sure that audio (your guitar amp, phones or other audio devices) volume doesnt too high level and after rasie up gain and level knobs in amp simulator..) This parameters are more important for strong distortion sound. I will not make comment about other effects(modulation, chorus, flanger..) all of this are great...

I really trust it.

customer support usually doesnt depend on the manufacturer, it usually depend on which dealer you bought from.. because the dealer provides contact between you and manufacturer.. I hope that your dealer is good. :)))

overall, when you make true setting, you will find incredible effects. dont make comment if you used it a few time. learn good and true settings and then make comment.

Scrolling a few knobs is enough to edit effect parameters for good quality and strong boss effects. Owners manual effectively helps you how you change the patches.. Baclit LCD is great and useful in dark side.

I hve been playing guitar for 12 yrs in Turkey. And I play Steve vai, Joe Satriani style. (Especially lead guitar)Me-33 gives you quality in single pedal in a multi effect proccesors and maybe more... Especially modulations great. Delay has DD-5 quality. (and 2000ms).Distortions is good and strong. Me-33 has 6 different distortions. (Overdrive, fat, blues, distortion, metal, fuzz). And plus it has more distortion sound by using guitar amp simulator.(you can provide it by chancing the amp gain level knobs). I found real Joe satriani tones in me-33.(especially his dramatic lead guitar sounds with pitch shifter and other)
I give 10 this category. because if you will not record ultra high quality in a studio(as a famous group, for example metallica), me-33 will be full enough in standart studio recording, stage and your house. hovewer if you are a music star or famous group, you usually use the studio efect processor (rack). so dont think more further in normally me-33 will give full effect quality in your house, live, stage and studio. so I gave it 10....

trust it...

No problem

Im living in Turkey. And importing and taxing of me-33 affect its price. Its price is higher than USA and Europa. Normally its prices avarage is 249-USD but I bought it 350-USD in Turkey. (In real The dealer wanted me-33 400-USD but I didnt give that money. Finally we agreed on at 350-USD. For example GT-6's price 600-USD in Turkey this is incredible price. While buying me-33 it is important which country you live in. Overall me-33 has no negative comments as countable.

this has got to be one of the easiest guitar devices i have ever used. It is allot more spacious than having a bunch of pedals lying around.

the sound is great!
the wah-wah sound isn't as great as i thought it would be but still it sounds decent

this is very reliable and all the buttons are so easy to acces.

didn't speak with company

i like to play all sorts of music, especially hardcore stuff and it sounds just like the real thing!

Very easy to get the basics, a little fiddling and you should get great sounds.

Sound quality was awesome, that has to be said. But then what lowered my rating, and made me sell ME-33, was that when you change from chorus to dist, for example, there is a 0.5 second gap. During that time, no sound comes out of the box. And that is unacceptable. Which is a shame, because apart from that, the pedal is great.
No I have separate little Boss stomp boxes and Dunlop wah, and I'm going to stick to them.

Oh yes I trusted in it.

Didn't deal with them.

The sound-switcing gap thing is so horrible. Otherwise this would have been 9 or 10..

Since the unit does have some depth programed within the multitude of effects (that's a good thing), and could require some fine-tuning to get a particular prefered sound, I would say that the manual in this unit should be a must. However, spending some quality time and having a previous knowledge of similar products would probably get anyone by without a manual.

Ultimately the ease of use depends on what your doing with it. The quick-knobs are an idea that should have been avaliable on digital effects many years ago - and they make tweeking the unit quick and simple. Once behind those knob settings, however, programming becomes a little more complex. Regardless, there are no complaints on my part regarding ease of use here. Looking at it logicly, you can't expect to have tons of flexability and a library of sound options without a little complexity in the "use" department. Because if there was no depth to programming this unit it would probably be just another glorified stomp-box - which it most surely is not.

My guitar is a 76' Les Paul, and I am running the ME-33 directly into my JBL PA-System with the 'line' output option selected on the ME-33.

To give up my quick history here, I have been playing for 22yrs, own and operate a recording studio, and do session work with other musicians. Being able to create tones/sounds is essential for my work, and the tons upon tons of guitar gear I've run through is endless. I've owned everything from MXR to Eventide to ART to Digitech to Zoom to Alesis. You name it, I've used it. But enough of that ...

This unit is without a doubt, the best sounding, most flexable, best unit I have yet to hear or own. Within the first week of tweeking it I was able to simulate everything from a Hot-Rodded Mullard-packed Marshall, to a Triple-Rec. Mesa-Boogie, to the Van-Halen "Brown Sound" to Peter Framptons uni-vibe tone, to Jeff Becks Semyore-Duncan sustains. The CMOS sampling was done flawlessly on this unit, and the flexability within those tones was fabulous. The pick-up simulator was pretty on-the-money, but almost pointless when compared to the overall tone control of the unit. I am not going to say I now own every type of amp by having this unit, but I will say that I have a thousand times more flexability and selection than the poor hump who cashed all his chips in on a single Mesa Boogie. I never heard any Mesa Boogie simulate a JC-120, Matchless, or a Marshall as well as this; and in fairness, simulate is an insult - it's right on the money.

Effects are a BOSS specialty. I've always loathed Digitech, found Zoom to be absolute garbage, and never understood why DOD was even in business. All those BOSS stompboxes that we spent the $50-$100 on individually are ALL flawless reproduced in this unit. There is not really one effect that is weak here, and not one effect this unit does not have. The Delay has perfect loop capabilities and remains clean and crisp. The Chorus/Flange are effective and tasteful. Overdrive is true old-fashioned OD-x style, Reverb is studio quality, Phasers and Univibes perfectly simulate the "jet sound" or a rotating speaker. The Feedback option is unbeleivably cool, simulating perfect feedback at low volumes. The expression pedal offers very very very cool dive-bombs and whammies (ala Tom Morello RATM). As usual, the Ring Modulator is avaliable (but not really applicable). Pitch Shifting and Auto-Licks are great. And those are just some of the effects the unit has.

The unit has more to describe, but too much to bother writing about here. What sold me was the creative power this unit had in acheiving every sound from the standard rock to the freaky and twisted ala Zappa. Given a good studio tech, it would not be inconceivable to record all of Radioheads KIDA using this unit alone. On the same token, recording any Rage Against the Machine, Mr. Bungle, or Kraftwerk (for that matter) would be something this unit deserves to do.

At the studio I now use the ME-33 to play with sounds and tones for musicians to hear on their music. I've even used it in mixdown as an outboard effect module. In my 22yrs as a player, and my 10yrs as a gear-monkey and studio geek, I have never come across a product that is so complete as the ME-33. I sound like a BOSS promotions stiff - but in reality, I am so thankful that a unit like this is finally avaliable.

My only feature I found to my distaste was the lack of BLANK user patches avaliable for the user. Although I rarely ever use factory sets, I don't like recording over them just to save my own- as they are great for a foundation. A seperate group left blank at the factory would be ideal.

And one more thing. BOSS, don't be so cheap. Include the wall-rat in all your products. They cost you a quarter to produce, so lighten up.

If there were cons, they'd be here.

At home or in the studio I would have no problem. However, the pastic expression pedal and plastic casing would probably give me concern depending on what kind of live situation I was playing. The BOSS GT series was more road worthy but twice the money. If BOSS were to encase this unit in a roadworthy box they'd have a product God himself would struggle to improve on.

Never dealt with BOSS Customer Support.

I have heard nothing but great things about them though.

I play in a wanna-be Mr. Bungle style band that requires SO many sounds and very tweaked guitar tones. However, my primary use is at home/in studio - to which it has been a godsend.

Other gear, for reference: Marshall JCM800, Metaltronix 100W head, Soldano 50W head, 2 Celestion 4x12 cabs, 1 Greenback 4x12, 1 Roland JC-120, too many rack-mount pre-amps to list, too many rack-mount effects processors to list, blah blah blah.

I've covered everything else. But I will say: Forget the "for the money" crap - all electronics are cheap by nature and expensive by brandname. This unit is sonic beauty for all ranks of players, beginner to advanced. Studios spend thousands of dollars on gear to create tones and sounds that this unit made for under $250.

I would replace it immediately if it were to go away.

I found the ME-33 to be extremely user friendly right off the bat..
Editing patches is as easy as as adjusting old stomp boxes, with the added benifit of good old fashioned KNOBS, unlike some past Boss guitar effects processors(early ME units).I also love the dedicated expression pedal button.
Manual is complete, however a copy of a blank patch table would be a nice insert for future buyers.
The only downside to the Boss from my perspective,and maybe others, is the lack of a REAL tube preamp section. While amp modeling is a fantastic way to get simulated sounds from the characteristics that previously had only bee achieved with a REAL tube, the fact remains that the sound is in fact "simulated". The addition of an actual Tube(12ax7a) could take this Modeling unit to the level of perfection thus only achieved in the higher end two spaced rack units (Digitech GSP 2101,2112,2120) , or multiple 1 space rack units.
In closing I have to say the upgrading myself to the ME-33 from the Me-30 was well worth what moneys were spent.
Product changes were needed and Boss once again proved that it does listen to those who buy there product.

I use a Peavey Ultra 60 head, 2x12" Fender cabinet.I Play through a tweaked out Squire Stagemaster 7-string guitar.
Effects are part of the sound , notaround the guitar sound, like most stomp box setups or multi effects.
Artist sound reproduction is fantastic, yet challenging. Remember they are not always using a chorus for the chorus sound on the song. many factors besides your effects make sound reproduction possible.Another words its not going to sound like Metalicca if your playing thru the wrong patch with a single coil guitar pickup. So think outside the norm.
All effects are well developed, but we should expect good sound from a Boss product, they have been dong this a long time. This brings me back to the need for a REAL tube section in the distortion section .
The wah pedal is one of the nicest I have used,letting the user control what kind of wha being used would be a nice addition(RP-7 had 9 wahs for use on the expression pedal)

Have not had unit long enough to comment on this.
However the ME-30 that is still have is still productive and on standby should the need arise, and it was purchased as a floor model, for $89.00 after being on the display wall at a local music store for about a year or so.

Never had to use customer support

I use my Boss to play progressive, Melodic,Hard Rock. The Styles of John Petrucci,Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Eddie Van Halen.
I have been playing for about 17-18 years now, after switching from trumpet, to guitar.
If it wee stolen or lost I would either rplace it or upgrade further to the Boss GT-6.
I love the fact they backlit the LCD(ME-33 display was light absorbant..RE:GLOW IN THE DARK!!!) I hate that it is plastic!!The knowbs!, I love the fact it has knobs. Did I mention that I hate the fact it is plastic!!
Purchase of the ME-33 was based upon features versus price,versus budget, and budget always wins with me. if you had and extra $100 or so, then I might say to go with the Boss GT6. but for the price the ME-33 has the others beat. As stated previously the addition of a REAL tube preamp section would keep me coming back for a new one very time they updated it!!This honor previously went tonly to the Digitech product line,until they stopped producing the floor models with the REAL tubes.
Have not had the unit long enough to sy how it will affect my music,however my ME-30 made a difference,so I expect the same with this.
In addition, i encourage beggining players that have a ME-33 enjoy the AUTO-Phrase feature but dont rely upon it to play your instrument for you. use it as a tool to experiment with..A guitar sounds only as good as the hands that are commanding it. Peace people..

All effects are easily added to any sound. The manual is easy to read and apply. I don't think editing the patches could get any simpler. The expression pedel is pretty sensitive and takes some practice to get the volume where you want it.

The effects sound great. I have owned Boss effects before and the ones available easily sound as good. The ME-33 really does require good quality patch cables or else lots of interference noise. Some dials make some noise when turned. So far I leave my amp on clean channel and just use the ME-33 for all other effects. Wroks out great.

Had for a month, no problems.

They haven't phoned me yet......

I play a Fender Squire Strat through a Fender Princeton Chorus. I play in a garage band and practise every week. the pedal makes absolutly no noise between songs! I really do like all the effects and sounds you can make. Although the delay when switching between effects is really annoying. I pretty sure I made a good decision when buying this unit. I like the Wah pedal.

If you want anything but a clean sound it is disfunctional. It is very easy to edit patches, the manual has all the info necessary.

I use a Wolfgang & a Les Paul Custom with a Marshall VS 100 combo.

The good effects are: delay, stereo chorus, tremelo, flanger, phaser, smart pitch shifter, compressor, eq, reverb.
The effects that suck: Overdrive/Distortion (all variations), Amp simulation(all variations), panning.
The ok effects: guitar simulation, riff thing, and all the other ones not mentioned.
The manual function is good, in the manual mode you get the effects of the patch you had selected before mashing the manual button.

The OD/DIST are thin, the amp simulation doesn't sound like any amp I would want and makes my marshall sound like crap (that must have taken the developers some time to add that feature)

It is probably very reliable, I have been using the ME-30 for 4 years, this pedal will probably last as long.

Never have needed it.

Overall- Boss has taken a step backwards from the ME-30, by swapping the good sounds of the me-30 for that COSM crap, it is not even possible to duplicate the sounds of the ME-30. I am taking this thing back to the store tomorrow. The ME line no longer takes the place of stomp boxes, which is what it should do. It is worth 1/2 of list if you are a gigging musician and know what you are looking for, and all of the discount store price if you are just starting and don't have alot of money for bunches of boxes.

Much simpler than other manufacturers multi effects. I really love the actual dials on the unit. Much better than pressing a button and waiting for the value to change. A bypass footswitch would be nice, as I run my ME33 stright into my amp. The expression pedal is nice and fluid. The display is awesome, I love the Icons. Almost like a Palm Pilot screen.

I love this thing, I had a boss GT3 and this blows it away. Noiseless & the effects sound great if so long as you don't overdo the effects. The wah sound is surprisingly good. I actually like the Presets, they are a great starting base for your own creations. I love the preset called StudioLead. In fact I love the distortion capabilities of this thing, the Feedback idea is cool, it really gives the edge to your solo's.This is great for a Lead I can get a Dave Gilmour sound easy. On the clean side things are nice too I like Uni Vibe patch a lot.

Only had it a few days, so far so good.

Not had to deal with Boss directly.

I play mostly blues and rock. This is the only pedal I use right now, and since I just got it, I'm not sure if I'd replace it. I've used others in the past, such as the Digitech RP300 and it sounded no way as good as this thing. As of today, I would replace it.


For the price and ease of use, I wouldn't trade it for a more complicated unit like the GT-6. I also tried the Digitech GNX 1 & 2 and I did not like them at all, the Lead sounds were not what I was after.

Good sounding, depending on how much energy you are willing to put into adjusting parameters.
Editing is easy enough.
Not difficult to learn,-and quickly done, once you know how to do it.
No problem !!
The manual helps a lot,and is in my opinion very good.
I bought it new recently.

If you listen to all the preset sounds in a headphone,you get quite impressed and want to use some of the sounds.
I guess this goes for any dig. box with "modelling"

I now want to tell why I think "the wet soap" tends to slip out of ones hands" in many cases.

Gear:
Ibanez Les Paul copy -old,with di marzio super dist. in neck position.
Vox ac 50 running a high quality 12"(Custom)in open back cabinet.

Noisy? Do not know the problem.
The "quality" of effects vary a great deal.
Wah is not even worth the name of it.
But I do not use it either.
Tremolo is also "not so good"
Distortions are not very "inspiring"
(Distortions in my old Zoom 505, own settings !!!, are terrific, compared to what I so far have been able to get out of this one.
Delay,echo,compr.,eq.,chorous and phase are high quality,-as I hoped it would be
Some "modelled" amps are also very good.

Maybe because of 24 bit prosessing,the difference between "prosessed but no-effects" sound and bypass is very small.I take this as a sign of high quality.

"Sonic Nirvana " may not be found by means of a floor dig. prosessor.
BUT i is a great tool,and it helps you on the way,no doubt.
After struggling with adjusting parameters for quite a long time I now make new and very inspiring sounds.
eks.: open D sounds of Creedence and Keith Richards.
In these cases I use only comp. eq., and reverb.
(Of course,be aware that head and hands are sound-producers nr1 !!)

I guess any high quality dig.box can only be a useable tool if you put much work into listening and adjusting.
Remember that these tools have many "faces":
They are so versatile,you HAVE to make adjustments depending on your gear.
Ever tried to turn knobs on a PA-rig without a plan,or knowing what you are doing? It is very easy to make it sound "unsatisfying".
The chance of "unsatisfying sounds" is four times bigger with these "boxes"
The parameters and possibilities are so many.
You HAVE to make one group of settings for your git.amp.,and one quite different group if you are trying to run direct through PA.
I believe that one neeeds a very high-quality PA to get good sounds in this case.
Imagine a PA that delievers the sound-quality of a good headphone on a BIG SCALE.
The quality of crossover and mid/high freq. get very important here.

-the sound of these things do not satisfy you completely.
Perhaps as prosessing power grows,in the future they will.

You can hear that it ia a "prosessed digital" sound
There are other and well known "ways to Rome".
But good things cost!
In a high quality dig. box like this one,
you get many useable and functioning sounds for the money.
The fascination of it lies in the many posibilities of guitar-sound.

FINALLY:
+ important effects are GOOD,and making loveable patches is possible.
- distortion,wah,tremolo

High quality!-looks and feels strong.
But,I want knobs and display to be better protected.

Low rating because of this
(Look at Zoom gfx707 and how it is done there.This solution does not have to cost more.)

Back up necessary?
My Zoom 505 would serve as a back-up,(he he )
it has survived so far,
(guess this one will too,actually)

no comments

Been playing for quite a long time,-dancing-orchestras and as a hobby.
Have owned quite a lot of the most well known guitars and amplifiers through the years,and own currently,among other things,some good analog boxes.

Would i buy it again?
Have not compared this box with similiar products in the same price-range.
Believe that the strong sides of this box are STRONG.

I chose it because of:
Boss reputation,
24-bit at modest price,
live friendly:
easy choise of banks(up and down)3 patches pr bank and useable vol.pedal
printed reviws and user rewiews on theese pages.

Yes,it helps me make music and opens new possibilities.
Eq.,comp.,reverb,delay and vol. ped. are the main reasons why this is so.

Almost forgot:
There are two worlds,of course:
STEREO or MONO
My comments are mainly based on mono through my Vox AC-50(JMI)
Stereo trough a GOOD PA (or two git. amps) opens new great possibilities -I believe.
Have not had the opportunity to test this out properly yet.
Guess our PA is "not good enough"
(crossover+mid/high -elements)

The unit EATS batteries.Power supply is not included,but is a MUST.
Wish it had some patterns of Rolands good drum-sounds internally.

There is some kind of "digital" sound ,which I believe this unit shares with all its "brothers" so far.
This is based on other reviews
-have read a lot of them.
(Not to mention the Zoom 505,but this is another generation AND price-class.)

-as one said earlier on these sides.
FORGET IT, make use of its good sides and play !
This unit will do a good job for you if you adjust it properly,