Boss ME-50

This is the easiest FX processor you can buy. Every parameter has its own knob. Nothing is hidden in menus.

It looks like a big integrated pedal, but it has patch memory and other features that make it a true FX processor.

Its built like a tank and has good footswitches for everything. A comparable rack FX + midi foot pedal is a relative nightmare to program.

The tuner is GREAT! To those who say it is not accurate, or not good enough, I use it to set intonation on my guitars and it is spot on. Ive got golden ears so I dont know how they can diss the tuner. Very accurate.

The delays are fantastic. They are worth the price of entry alone.

The chorus and mod effects are mostly very good. I wish the chorus had a level control.

The volume pedal works great. The harmonizer is great and can work like a digitech whammy.

The COSM amp models are little understood. I run this pedal in the FX loop of a tube amp. The amp has its own three channels which are excellent, but if I engage the amp models in the loop behind the clean channel, this is where they really shine. Now I've got a 3 channel amp plus can cop any other imaginable tone.

The speaker compensated out is pretty good, you can run to the board in a pinch if your amp dies.

BOSS has discontinued this pedal. I am pretty sure most people dont "get" it.

I suffered through the 80s and 90s with rack gear, then got this and its perfect. Its a pedal. Its every pedal. And it is better than the sum of the whole.

Will have this for a long time, and will buy a used one if this disappears. Its not perfect, but if you are learning a song that needs something, this is like a swiss army knife that always gets you there. (This thing has almost all the tools to recreate Satch songs). If your amp dies at a gig, this thing has got you covered too.

Very sraightforward piece of gear and lots of fun. I've had it for 3-4 years. Much has been said about this product. Certainly, if you compare it to individual analog stomp boxes, they would all likely win out over this. But, compare this with the dog's breakfast of boxes, wires, cords, connectors and cutesy flashing lights and, for what this thing does in one box, it is a very respectable piece of gear.

OK, this is a guitar effects compilation box. No amp mods. It doea a lot and I am not a fan of all aspects of this thing, to be sure, but, thats OK. As a player, (Fralin equipped Project Strat into a Traynor YCVR-20WR) I want clean sounds. And I want bluesy break-up. I'm not after heavy distortion. With the ME-50, I get a good, fairly flexible delay; quite a good chorus; good reverb; usable compression; some usable distortions and a volume/wah pedal. The ME-50 gives me ALL this, all quite gig-worthy and usable. I don't like the gimmicky stuff and the Tone Modify section is pretty useless. The Tremolo is also not great (I add a Boss TR2).

From a sound standpoint, one other writer below noted that this thing sounded better through a tube amp and he/she is bang on. Through a previously owned solid state Princeton Chorus, I found distortion to be disappointing, muddy and no projection. A tube amp will make a difference.

Built like a brick S-house

Not needed. Good resources on line if needed.

Been playing forever (45 yrs!!) and like clean sounds and bluesy tone, some distortion for slide. I back up singer/songwriters with this thing (get Declan Sinnott kind of sounds - See youtube with Christy Moore.) I play classical, dobro, Strat, acoustics. Yes, I would get another if pinched. Does is help me make music? Hell, yes!
The best feature for me is the fact that IT DOES NOT have amp modelling to mess everything up! I already have a reasonable sounding tube amp and the ME-50 helps me to get more out of it.

It is very easy to use and get a good sound out of it. i just recently bought it so i didn't try out the editing section but im sure its amazing. If you have any questions about it, the manual will answer them for you.

i run 2 fender strats, a univox hi flyer phase 4, a fender mustang, a fender jaguar, an epiphone et-270, and a fender duo sonic thru it and from the pedal it runs into a fender fm212r. there is annoying noise or anything, but it ur amp is noisy, there is a noise suppressor in the pedal! the effects aren't weak in it. they have the same strong sounds as the compact pedals. i am a huge grunge guitarist and i'm nirvana's #1 fan. i know how to replicate kurt's sounds and this pedal does it. if you're a grunge fan, you'll definitely want to buy this. You can get nirvana, foo fighters,smashing pumpkins,green day etc. sounds. i compared the distortions with the single compact versions. for example, i compared the ds-1, the rat, and the big muff to this pedal. they are exactly the same sound. you can easily match the sounds with some tweaks of the knobs. Not only can you get grunge, but you can get every other kind of music out of it. all of the effects sounds great except the acoustic mode under the tone modify. the acoustic doesnt sound very good but oh well.

this is a very very dependable pedal. it's really tough so it wont break. that's how every boss pedal is. i would play this pedal anywhere(band practice,jammin,gigs, etc.)

i didnt buy it directly from boss. i bought it on an ebay store. no problems with it since i bought it.

like i said, you can play any kind of music with this. i have been playing for years. i used to have 19 pedals, then 15, then 9, then 5 and now i only need one. it's an easy setup. you don;t have to have all those single compacts pedals and all that hassle. if it was every stolen or lost, i'd buy it again. i love everything about it. what is very helpful is that the tuner is silent so you can tune without anyone hearing you. i think the only think you might get annoyed with is the expression pedal. you might not like the fact that you must have it pushed all the way forward for full volume but that's no big deal. another thing you might get annoyed with is activating the expression. you have to push it forward and push a little force more to activate it but it doesnt bother me. this pedal will not only replicate sounds but it is perfect for writing your own music and getting your own sound.

After using a Zoom in the past (a mess to program and never sounded "real"), this is SO SIMPLE. There are too many effects for my taste, so I only use about 1/2 of what this offers. I don't have a grip on the overdrives, they are OK, sure I can get a good sound if I spend some time (and there are tons of choices)

Reverb is good. Not sure what the neg. comments are about

Delay is fantastic, Compression is good for CLEAN (don't need compression for distortion anyway). Tremolo sounds great. The Presence tone helps a clean sound too (gives it the Fender "Ice" Sheen).

With Delay, reverb, compression and Presence I get a fantastic Mark Knopfler tone drop the delay add tremolo for a Robert Cray / Jimmy Vaughan...blues but clean

My gear: 1992 Mexi-Tele, and a pro Jr. Fender amp (has just volume and single tone knob... all tubes 15 watts but LOUD). I also have a cheap strat and a nice yamaha acoustic that I use for solo and unplugged shows.

My main instrument is bass, but I have not used the me-50 with bass (plus I am not into bass effects)

The Me-50 takes care of the rest - reverb, comp, presence, delay, trem, volume

No need for amp modulation (my amp is perfect as is).. plus I think they sound phony.. so I just needed some effects to open up the sound

In bands I play alt-country, classic rock (Stones, Who, CCR, Springsteen, Wilco)and blues, but I like to play Van Halen, Motorhead, AC/DC stuff too jut for fun. The Me-50 should be able to do it all.

I have had this for just a week, but BOSS stuff is reliable, so I think I would trust it to work for gigs without a backup (can always go right to the amp if needed) Might still bring my tuner, I keep hearing that the built in tuner is sharp.. may have to check this out

Tele + Fender Pro JR + Boss ME-50 gets me that classic fender sound without an army of stomp boxes. Would a top of the line reverb, top of the line tube screamer, top of the line compressor and top of the line delay do a better job? Maybe (ok they would) but for $160 I would be able to get ONE of those, and still need a pedal board, a tuner, patch cables, wah, volume, AC adapters,power strip...and figure out the chain of command...I need a beer!

I spent less than 30 minutes setting this up, and I have my basic sounds. The Wah is next on my list, then working out the Fuzz for some Hendrix!

Bottom line is that the ME-50 can get the classic guitar rock sounds better than an amp modeling processor. It sounds like BOSS pedals not a computer.

The Boss ME-50 offers hundreds of sound variations. I shelved a lot of my old single effects pedals. This unit was designed well, built like a tank and is easy to use. I bought mine gently used, owner forgot the manual though. No matter, you can download the manual from Boss' website. Pedal is divided into 3 sections with separate controls for each effect; Overdrive/Distortion, Mod (Chorus/Flanger/Phaser/Harmony, etc...) and Delay. You can set the compressor, threshhold, reverb, modify the tone... Basically you can mold almost any sound you wish. The effects pedal is METAL (yes!) I hate plastic. Easy to use from the first 10-minutes.

Sound quality is Good -> Great. Some effects are better than others... even approaching greatness in some areas (chorus is outstanding, delay control is very good), but others are just good (Fuzz & Overdrive are sometimes muffled or tinny sounding). This effects pedal won't help a poor quality amp, but if you have a decent rig it can enable you shape new sounds. This thing is built for gigging. It replaces at least 4-6 stomp boxes and you'll no longer have the stage being a tripping hazard. Simple, easy to use and easy to modify to fit your sound.

The built-in tuner is just for show. It's close, but not good enough.
I REALLY wish that BOSS did something a bit more with the expression settings. For me, the {Wah, Resonance, Voice & Ring} just doesn't do it. The +1 /-1 octave is bad, sounds like squeezing your music through a garden hose. The Voice is typical 1980's and Ring isn't used much. I wish they gave a few more options with the expression pedal.

One of my favorite features is the output for Mono amp or for Left/Right amps. Very few pedals give you an ability to control output for two amps. It isn't stereo, but you can create cool sounds with two quality amps and the right settings.

You can definitely depend on the BOSS ME-50 for any gig not involving water sports. This thing has a solid metal housing, knobs are sturdy... just try to break this thing!

HOWEVER, you either need to buy a separate plug-in converter for the DC in, or use a single 9-volt battery. The battery will last you for maybe 8-10 hours of use or more... but bring a spare fresh battery just in case. It sounds dumb, but I prefer to use the battery so I don't have to plug it in. That way, the effects pedal is free to be put wherever I want it and moved any time I want with just a small kick of my foot. Not having that plug-in umbilical cord gives you more freedom.

You can depend on this ME-50 effects pedal better than you can rely on most band members or stage help.

Boss... you get good customer support and they do answer the phone. Never needed them, but they will be there if I do. Enough said.

I play mostly classic rock, blues and some 70's acid rock. Been playing for a few years. The ME-50 is not the be-all/end-all of effects pedals, but it is an excellent pedal for musicians on a tight budget. I like that it is compact, well organized and looks good. Some guitarists look like they can launch a space shuttle with all their wires, pedals and programmable effects spread out on the stage. This stomp box will do what most will, but you can carry it under one arm, lay it on stage, plug in your guitar and amp and be ready to jam. No more screwing around with tangles of wiring. The pedals are also easy to use.

I play a Fender Mexi-Fat-Strat, a seriously upgraded Washburn Mercury Fat-Strat (the GOOD one) and an Agile AL-2000 (Gibson style) with humbuckers that scream. Amps include a Behringer Virtube UltraTwin, Fender and Peavey singles.

The only thing BOSS could do better is to add more usable effects for the expression pedal and put in a better tuner. They devoted a lot of space to the Fuzz / Overdrive... but sound quality is more important than selection quantity. Work on improving the overdrive sound. It works for my purposes, slightly distorted, but would never satisfy a true metalhead or someone into serious OD distortion.

This pedal is definitely worth every penny. I would recommend it to any serious guitarist. If you play 70's-80's classic rock at all... this is a must have.

If you can use a stomp box, you can use this. You don't even have to know what order to connect the effects in. Experienced effects users may not need the manual but it's good to have it as a technical reference. Inexperienced effects users should consider going to their neighborhood music store and asking for advice about how to get the best sound out of each effect. Not everyone has educated ears. One important rule: with any effect/module with a level control, set this to where the volume is nearly the same with the effect on or off. You can apply a little extra kick with a compressor or an overdrive but with a long chain of effects, the level should be pretty much even throughout the chain if you want singing, controllable feedback and a minimum of noise. For a simple multi-FX unit it doesn't get easier than this.

I almost got the ME-70 for the COSM amp models but I had to have the RAT. I intended to use it with an amp, anyway. All BOSS effects have generally good sound quality. The only complaint I have with their overdrives/distortions is that they aren't very dynamic compared to analog boxes made by other manufacturers. The most can be gotten from the overdrives by NOT using a compressor with them (since they do that themselves) and by trading a little gain for a little extra brightness. Some previous people have mentioned that the compressor is somewhat lacking. The comp is one of my favorite effects and I know my way around one. Yep, it could use an attack and it's own tone. You should be able to match the "clamp-down" time with the natural pick attack of your guitar, and the more sustain you use, the more you need to brighten it back up a little. The solution to this problem, when you use the compressor for sustain, is not to use too much of the effect so it doesn't affect the attack so much. It may be a subtle effect if you're using it to smooth out distortion, but compression *should* be a subtle effect. Crank it up more and brighten the tone if you're going to do some chikin-pikin.

The chorus is...well...a BOSS chorus. They invented the thing. Would have been nice to have the chorus/vibrato as a separate module, though, so you could mix another mod effect with it, like the harmonist (Boston! ...nope). The flanger sounds okay but is limited by the lack of a "MANUAL" control. The flanger is my absolute favorite effect because I have my own special way of tuning the sweep and getting the speed just right to produce this signature "rolling" effect of mine, as well as a pretty convincing Roto-vibe. I can't do that with this. Also, it's a bit plain. Ten years ago, BOSS was putting digital flanger circuits with a "Separation" parameter in their COSM rack units to give you a nice "through zero" effect. They could have built a little of that into this. But I'm not too upset. Whaddya know? It's *got* a Uni-Vibe! Gotta know how to make it throb like Robin Trower though. A phaser is a hard effect to do digitally, but BOSS manages quite well.

The delays are adequate but the reverbs need more flexibility - more parameters. I don't want *their* reverb, I want *my* reverb. So I blend a little of theirs with the amp's reverb. A little spaciness and a little natural ambience. A spring reverb is pretty good at simulating early reflections.

I can't say I have much use for the "Tone Modify" section, as I have a collection of different guitars. But it's fun to play with.

As everyone knows, anything by BOSS could probably reenter the Earth's atmosphere and still work. Still have the NS-1 noise-gate I bought in the 70's. I use it onstage for my acoustic guitar. Haven't had this long but it seems rugged. I DO keep a backup pedalboard (loaded with my old BOSS pedals), but only because I happen to have one.

Never dealt with BossUSA. Never had a Boss pedal break down. I did have a Roland JV80 synth and if if Boss is anything like their parent company, they'd get a failing grade. But I don't know so I won't voice an opinion.

I'm a progressive/art/space rock guitarist of some 35 years experience. My go-to axe atm is a '96 Fender Dlx Strat + with Lace TranSensors. I've got a larger rack system I use for bigger venues. I use the ME-50 mainly for practice and jam sessions. I attempt to duplicate the sounds of my rack on the ME-50 and manage to do a passable job. It sounds good through the clean channel of my tube combo. Ha! That one guy below who compared the ME-50 to all his boutique gear just so he could brag about his boutique gear was a riot. The next guy straightened him out. Remember dudes, "It's not the gear, it's the *ear*."

I used to use a Boss GT-5, and it was really hard to use. I never really liked the presets on it, and it was really hard to get the right sound when I wanted it. On this unit, it is really easy to get the right sound out of it-- it basically has about 50 stompboxes all packed into one. Right now, i'm happy about its sound.

When i first read about the patches on this, it said 30 user and 30 factory patches. However, once you write a patch, the factory patch goes away, being erased until you reset it.

The manual is good; however, if there is some way to get around erasing the factory patches, it doesn't tell you.

Theres no way to upgrade the firmware. I don't think there will be a need to.

Setup: 2008 G & L Tribute w/ a Traynor Amp. I dont get the part where the ME-50 is draining their sound, my guitar i got for 400 and the amp for about 600. It doesn't drain my sound at least.

It hasn't failed the noisiness test. Whats cool is that i have a uni-vibe effect, can't find that anywhere for some reason.

The compressor can use some work, i already used it on some gigs and the reverb fits the rooms perfectly (i use room and hall reverb). The overdrive/distortion settings i use.

I haven't really gotten around to using the presets, i don't think im using them since there is already so much versatility in manual mode.

I always get the sound of my favorite artists: Hillsong United, David Crowder Band, Planetshakers, other Christian Rock artists.

Umm, its almost perfect. Just don't put it in water and your fine. Maybe they can make a waterproof version of it.

Haven't had to deal with them yet.

I play Christian Rock, and also some Altern Rock.
I've played for about 8 years. Im 15, don't know if my age affects the way i hear the sound; to me, its almost like stompboxes.

If it were stolen or lost, I'd cry for a day.

Before buying, I wanted to buy a GT-10. I decided on this after an hour with each one. It was a lot easier to use.

I wish it had a loop station, like the GT-10, since im the only guitarist in the band and right now, i cant play lead and rhythm at the same time. I don't know if anyone can.

This has actually helped me make my own riffs and stuff.

My friend has a digitech; i kinda like its sound but i think its made out of plastic so its not as durable as this tank.

Dead simple - no need for the manual, just plug in, twist a few knobs and play.

I have an early 80s Jap Strat (one of the good ones), and a badly treated Fender Ultimate Chorus. Most of the sounds are pretty good, not sure it needs so many distortion options, and the compressor is a weak point - but overall, a very impressive budget effects rack.
Can't get my head round all these cowboys coming on here saying they have used the me-50 with their Parker Fly and boutique amp and that is sucks out their tone!! WTF!!! If you really spent ??15k on your guitar and amp, why are you buying a ??150 effects rack and did you really think it would sound better than your amp!!?? Note to these people - my amp is not very good, that is why I have this effects pedal not Dave Gilmour's rig. I'm giving it an 8, but for the price should be a 9 or 10

Not let me down so far

Bit crap - I know its not expensive, but would be nice if it came with a power supply. And the Boss website sucks.

Been playing for about 25 years, mainly country, blues, classic rock and folk rock. For most of that time haven't really used effects - just the odd bit of wah wah for Hendrix covers.
ME-50 is pretty easy to use - if I had the spare cash I'd get individual stomp boxes, but for the budget I'm on it's a great bit of kit.
The only thing I wish it had was a power lead.

It is totally easy to use i havent opened the manual once.i love that it works the the pedals im used .

my setup includes gibsons,danelectros,epiphones and for amps i use crate,fender and marshalls.i own half the peadals on the dist part of the me-50 and they come really close.i dont think theres anyy real bad effects.i dont really use the modulation besides tremolo but im an old school dude!the spring reverb rocks love it.

no probs as of yet

n/a

this thing rocks i love it!!!if stolen id shoot the bastard

Totally simple to use, just turn knobs until you get what you want.

Sounds fine for now, however obviously everything in here could be much better done in individual stomp boxes.

yeah its a brick, i treat it like s*** and its still going

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Our band listens to old Modest Mouse and Flaming Lips, Sonic Youth, Nirvana, Animal Collective, Spiritualized, My Morning Jacket, TV on the Radio, Velvet Underground etc etc, so mush that together and thats what kind of guitar sounds i need. Good to have this pedal to give you basic options for a wide range of effects.
Been playing for a few years, I play mostly a japanese Fender Jaguar with Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounds and sometimes a Highway 1 Tele. I also use a vintage MXR graphics equalizer, all through a valavestate Marshall 50 watt. This pedal sounds fine through all of that, although im planning to get a fender twin reverb, and am not confident the ME-50 will last too long once i get that.

Basically i bought this when i had little experience in effects because it seemed simple enough to use, had a wide range of effects, and being BOSS would at least not sound completely terrible. I was right on all these assumptions, and since buying it have been slowly phasing it out with individual stomp boxes. It's helped me work out what effects i want to use in different songs and what kind of pedals i need that would sound better than whats in the ME-50. So for that purpose its a great little unit for the price - Although be prepared to start moving on as soon as you've spent an hour playing around with it (but this is a good thing!!) Peace.