Boss ME-50

very easy to sus out.
patches are 50%good, some are very "one exact style" which limits them.
the manual is spot on for explaining exactly how their pre set patches were made.

i play my 99.9% original 73 strat through this, into a shit standard poxy tramp ohm amp.
it gets me the mick taylor les paul sound im looking for,fucking cool!!!
some of the distortion effects are very good, full stack etc, but seems to have a bit to much amp feedback.
some of the modulation effects are a bit pointless.

i dont gig with it (yet) but its fucking solid metal construction is .....solid!!!!

haven't needed manufacturer back up, but all my boss pedals have never fucked up

I love that you can use the ME-50 in purely manual mode
as if it is a string of stompboxes. You never have to
program anything if you are not inclined. Very intuitive.

I bought this as a replacement for a pedal board that was
stolen at a show. It is setup with exactly the same fx order that
I use (delay>modulation>distortion>reverb) Everything has it's
dedicated footswitch except reverb, but I leave that on anyway.
So $600 worth of lost fx was replaced by $299, and I have more
options in each fx category. Sound quality is Boss/Roland,
exceptional.

My band plays between 4 and 8 shows a week,
so I will be depending on it. If it is half
as reliable as Boss pedals, I have no worries.

Roland/Boss is a little light on archiving info on their products,
but I have had no problem with finding upgrades or repairs
on the Roland/Boss gear I own.

Just a Boss RV5 reverb will cost you $140... considering
it is only $299 and you get expression pedal, 3 dedicated
on/off fx categories, tone shaping, compression, and reverb,
the ME-50 is a bargain. I love knobs, hate menus. Boss did
a great job on the design. Best multieffect for the money, easy.

I am an older musician who was used to using what is now refered to as "vintage equipment". In my younger days when music was a source of income, I made it a point to use only "pro" gear that I may have paid a little more for but you could expect it to provide long life, little if any problems and provided the sounds necessary to cover what was being used on the recordings of the day. But, nothing lasts forever and some time ago I found it necessary to replace my echo unit. It's been a while since I had purhased any gear and I couldnt beleive the price of some of the stuff that's out there. I tried several different units but none had the clear, rich sound that I was looking for. One of the fella's in the band lent me some Boss pedals to try and write from the first note, I was hooked. I went out to buy a Boss echo unit but for not a lot of dollars more I was able to get this ME50 which provides a host of other functions. This unit was made to order! And I mean that litterally. I shopped just about every music store within about a 45 minute drive from where I live and EVERBODY was sold out. Finnaly I found a place that had only the store demo left. They lent me that one until the one they ordered for me arrived. I'm not into a lot of electronic wizardry. Just give me a unit that will sound good live and is easy to use. If an old guy like me can handle it, anyone can. The only minor irritation as far as ease of use is that because the switch banks are close together you have to be carfull not to press 2 of them at a time.

I really like the sound of this unit. The tone modification bank is really handy and I can make use of many of the presets. The acoustic simulater is a bit hokey but it's good enough to get you through a couple songs a night and saves you luggin' more equipment around. I especially make use of the compressor and reverb functions. This unit is really quiet. Of course before I was using individual effects all linked together. This is a big improvement over that and even the guys in the band commented how quiet it was. I am using this unit with a Gibson 335 or a Les Paul Deluxe. For amplification I am using a Peavey Special 150 - a nice clean amp. I currently play 50's -60's rock and roll and some old country. This unit covers any sound I need and does it well.

This is really important to me. I never owned any Boss products before but they have been around forever and if it didn't stand up, they would have fallen by the wayside like many other manufactures have long ago.

I can't offer an opinion on this because I have never had to deal with Boss directly and if there product is as good as I hope it will be, I won't have to anyway.

I guess you could say I'm a "mercenary". I play all styles of music from continental dance, to ethnic, to rock and roll, to country. I've been playing a long time - over 30 years and I need equipment that is versatile, stands up under professional use and sounds good. I've spent a lifetime finding the gear I want to give me that sound. I'm happy with the sound I'm getting so I don't need to try and "model" somebody else's sound. This seems to be the big rage these days and it's one of the reasons I chose Boss over other products on the market. It allows me to complement what I'm doing instead of trying to make me sound like something else.

I choose the ME-50 because it was made of metal(not plastic) and you could dial up the settings directly (no menu searching). It seems pretty easy to use, although making patches its the nromal menu surfingprocess. The manual is basic but good.

Most of the time I play a 20-year-old Ibanez Blazer strat copy through my computer set-up (edirol speakers) so the effects one uses is important to improve the flat sound. As I have since discovered since buying the unit all sounds are quite good except distortion. Nice chorus, modulation & OK delay settings (I leave it on analog delay mostly). The distortion is crap. No doubt about it, you loose the tone of your guitar on any of the settings, lots and lots of noise generated, very hard to get any reasonable sound (my old zoom 9009 & gfx707 had heaps better distortion). Wah pedal OK &^ quite usable. Everything quite good except the 'all important' distortion.

I have had Boss gear for years and they always last very well so I guess that this will be reliable as well.

Have not had long enough to know.

Becasue i do not play live very much at the momnet, I needed a multi effect that is really good. Althought the modulation, delay & wah are ok I will probebly keep it however I and now have to purchase further distrotion effects. 6 out of 10 Its just OK

Good manual
I have never used an MFX unit before - I had it figured out in 5 minutes. Editing patches is pretty easy too. But Boss - include a bank-switching device! With long and pointy toes, it can be done as is, but leaving that out is pretty cheesy.

Using a new Rickenbacker 330 --> ME50 --> ss practice amp or PC for recording.
Its sounds good! At least for my uses. I have not yet used it live, so my comments obviously don't apply for high volume situations.
In general, it adds greatly to the flexibility of my "rig." I was originally set to get a small tube amp along the lines of a Blues Junior or similar. BUt, even that amp is too loud in an apartment.
I like most of the effects. My priorities included a good delay pedal, passable reverb, and good OD and distortion. The ME50 gives me all of those things and more, for less than the price of 2 or 3 good pedals. Definitely high marks for "marginal utility per dollar." FOr you non-econ majors, heaping helpings of bang for the buck.

Individual effects:
OD/Dist - lots to choose from here. I am not picky, and my amp limits touch sensitivity to the solid state realm. Lots to choose from and no complaints.

Modulation Effects
Chorus works for my purposes - adding a hint of shimmer to clean sounds and slightly thickening up distorted leads for an '80s arena sound. The rest of this category sounds like fun once in a while, but not stuff I use on a daily basis.
The harmonizer blows - but as this is not a core effect, no biggy.
Flange is usuable.
Have not messed with the others much.

Delay - very good! The digi-delay options are extensive, and include loooong delay times. The "loop" function is pretty weak though - only enough time to get in a very brief riff, which will drive you nuts in less than a minute, guaranteed. That's a minor quibble though. The reverse delay does what is supposed to, and works well for getting bizarre spacy effects. Analog is decent. Essentially the delay is a DD6 sans a few goodies. I am very satisfied here - and I use delay a lot (With a heavy metal shred machine like my rick, are you surprised?)

Reverb is basically pretty weak other than "hall" - I leave mine off or set it to "hall." Both the spring and mod settings produce an unpleasant, high-pitched clicky sound on my higher strings which makes them unusable. No fendery wash here. Grr! THe "4 settings on one knob" thing doesn;t bother me in the slightest though. BUt, definitely an improvement over my amp.

COmpression - sounds like ass straight through to the amp, because it sucks a lot of tone. It is useful, however, for recording. Maybe a real amp would fix this.

Wah - mixed. On clean sounds it's passable. With distortion, a lot of very obvious digital noise creeps in. As others have commented, the range seems messed up - going from full "wah" to full closed with the barest hint of heel pressure - the transition is not smooth at all. It can be made to work, but get the real deal if distorted wah is important to you.

I really like the "whammy" function of the expressions pedal - especially the detune - used *sparingly,* I think it can really add something. It's not a replacement for a wang bar, but a useful tool in it's own right. It's also a good deal of fun to mess with.

Tone shape
Yeah, a real eq would have been better, but I frequently use the "fat" and "HB" settings on my rick - both thicken up the mids and lower mids a bit, which can help for a bluesier sound. It still, inevittably, sounds like a rick though (yay!) Obviously I am not going to use the top-boosting settings anytime soon - instant icepick.

Insert cliched boss description here ____________________

Despite some of the flaws (reverb!) This unit is a total steal for what you get - I was looking for a good delay, (1) good reverb, and a good dirt box. I got all of that plus a lot of extra goodies. I couldn;t care less if the Big Muff Pi setting sounds exaclty like the real thing - and no audience will either.
THis is a great foundation for those of us needing usuable effects on the cheap. Which is what I recommend this unit for. I won;t comment on its appropriateness for touring pros. Highly satisfied given my expectations.

I play a bizarre mixostuff - some pseudo-jazz, indiepop along the lines of REM, sleater-kinney, the Feelies, Pixies, etc, and am trying to get more into blues based classic rock. Through on some celtic-inspired fingerstyle stuff and that's me. For my intended uses, the delay especially makes the ME50 worthwhile. Again, I am highly satisfied, YMMV.

This unit is incredibly simple to operate. I have had some experience with a Digitech RP1 and the ME-50 is so much easier to edit, save and use patches. The "effects" are divided into 3 sub-groups: 1) Distortion/Overdrive; 2) Modulation; and 3) Delay. All you have to do is turn the dial to the desired type of distortion, modulation, etc. . . adjust it to taste, with knobs incredibly similiar to those on an independent pedal, and play. The manual is simple and to the point. Explains each effect fairly briefly and explains how to edit and save. Of course, like any multi-effects box, some of the factory presets are "cheesey" and have no "practical" use for me.

As for sound quality, I guess I should first describe my setup. I am running the ME-50 through a Crate BXH-220 bass head into a Behringer BG412S cabinet and using either a Fernandez Revolver Pro, ESP M-350, or ESP MV-100 all with stock pickups. I have noticed no noise on any settings thus far or any "weak" effects. The only complaint I have is that the chorus is a little thin for my tastes, however I was spoiled to a 90's Peavey Stereo Chorus 212 for 11 years and it may be due to the speakers in the cabinet. I have had no difficulty so far adjusting the effects to emmulate a specific "tone" whether it be a bluesy over-drive or a screamin' demon metal tone. I must admit that the "wah" function of the expression pedal may be a little weak, but I can not honestly say since I have had no previous experience with a wah pedal of any type. I will say that I am still in the romance stage with it and that this is the 1st multi-effects pedal that I have ever purchased for guitar. Overall the strength of this unit seems to be the "lack" of any amp/cabinet modeling. A majority of the effects are Boss's own with very few attempts to sound like some other company's pedals.

The contruction of the unit would seem to make reliable, however I have not used it in a "live" or even a recording session yet.

I haven't had to deal with customer support yet (knock on wood) and hope that I don't have to.

This product seems to be a good match for what I play. I am very ecclectic in my playing. I play anything from blues to metal, and even throw in a little neo-classical and jazz. The unit seems to be as flexible as I want it to be. I have been playing for a little over 18 years and for the longest time felt that any effects besides distortion, chorus and reverb were simply overkill. The other gear as far as guitar playing goes was mentioned earlier, but I also play bass. For that I have several basses (a Rogue 5 string with EMG Select pickups, a Memphis Jazz copy with EMG Selects, an Ibanez G10, and a Ventura EBO copy) and a Peavey 115 combo amp. If the ME-50 was lost or stolen, I would definitely replace it with another one. My favorite feature is the ease of use compared to any other multi-effects units that I have had the priviledge of helping other guitarists translate, edit, tweak settings, etc... My least favorite feature is that changing patch banks requires purchasing 2 other pedals and a special type of patch cord or bending over and then "manually" changing the bank (i forsee this being most inconvienent at a live gig, unless I happen to play barefoot and have very dextirous toes. LOL). As for comparing it to any others, I looked at several "modeling" amps and a few multi-effects boxes and this seemed to be the best value for straight-ahead effects and ease of use.

I wrote a review earlier. ( $400 can-eh-dian) But after jamming with it at high volumes i noticed something that someone else mentioned.
Most of the od's and distortions give of some rediculous feedback right after playing any stop-n-go chord or even note for that matter.(mostly at high volumes) The feedback an insanly loud and the ns takes a second to kick in. THIS SHOULD NOT HAPPEN.
The manual says that if the distortion level is too high, there may be some noise. WELL IS 12:00 TOO FRIGGIN HIGH???and i'm getting screaming feedback on any guitar I plug into it. The distortion volume should not be lower then the clean, especially in a live setting. so I guess this thing is pretty limited. AND NOW I have to use outside distortion pedals to not damage my ears, and external pedals don't exactly function well with a lot of the effects. (especially the pitch shift) so much for simplicity..............................fuck man...............................................I waited months for this thing and it is bull shit. I have owned it for four months now and the other effects sound great but they are not nearly as usefull without the onboard distortions.(which sound great at low volumes) IF ANYONE KNOWS ANY THING ABOUT THIS PROBLEM TAT CAN HELP ME OUT, E-MAIL ME AT fullmarshallstack@hotmail.com IT WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.

I own a shitload of boss pedals.They usually make great stuff and this unit is no exception, but i figured BOSS would do it a little better than they did. IF ANYONE WHO WORKS FOR THE BOSS/ROLAND CORP CAN HELP ME (A LIFE LONG CUSTOMER) FIX THIS PROBLEM PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

Plug in your guitar and crank it up, twist a few knobs and it's just like playing with a series of stomp boxes. Editing is a breeze and the manual is decent enough. Boss manuals never go into enough detail for me, but I like reading about effects. Way easy to deal with.

I use the ME-50 through either a Tech 21 Trademark 60 (w/ a Parker Nitefly), a Peavey Ecoustic 112 or Tech 21 Bronzewood 60 (w/ a Takamine acoustic-electric), or mainly a Fender Powerstage 100 PA (w/ a Line 6 Variax) and the Boss sounds great. Very quiet on the whole and the effects are very good to excellent. Presets are, well, presets: fun to mess with but not what I would use on a gig or a jam, but what multi-effector has presets that everyone would use? I can't complain about any of the effects. There are enough distortion/overdrive/fuzz options to please just about anyone. All the major modulation effects are there and they are equal to if not better than the PODxt modulation effects (I also have a PODxt). Okay, so the Boss doesn't model a Phase 90 or a ADA Flanger, but the effects on the Boss hang right there with 'em. The delays are great as well. By the way, the Twin Pedal series has many of the same great qualtiy effects as the ME-50. I'd rate this a 9.5 cause it's not perfect, but compared to other multi-effectors out there (and I've used a ton of 'em over the past 25 years) it's equally as good as most or better, IMHO.

I own a bunch of Boss gear and have never had a problem. Oh yeah, I don't work for Boss/Roland, I'm a 6th grade teacher who loves to play guitar.

Never dealth w/ 'em.

I'm a jam-based folkadelic player who occasionally plays out and I often jam with other like minded folk and the ME-50 does what I need it to do, plus it doesn't have amp modelers/preamps that I don't need and the tone modifier works well for me (I don't need EQ and I hate to tweak endless EQ parameters. I have a VF-1 for that). I own a crap load of Boss gear and have owned pedals and rack gear from Boss, MXR, Electro-Harmonix, Line 6, Akai, TC Electronic, Lexicon, Rocktron, to name a few over the years. There are tons of quality manufacturers out there and Boss is one of 'em. Don't listen to those who bad mouth Boss stuff. Great sound quality. Top of the line durability. Easy to use. And while not the cheapest price out there, it's money well spent. If you're like me and prefer pedals to multi effects because they're easier to use and require less time to program, check out the ME-50. I needed a multi effect to lug around to simplify travel, and it's like using pedals except everything I need is in one housing, and it doesn't have the things I don't need.

As with most Boss products, the ME-50 was extremely easy to use. Its just like a row of stomp boxes. Editing couln't be any easier! Just push a couple of buttons and your done. The only problem comes when you have to change patch banks, unless you buy a couple of extra foot switches you're going to have to bend down and push a small button. Its kind of a pain in the ass but with some careful planning you can work it out by setting up each bank with all the effects you need for a song.

This is where it started to piss me off. With the exception of about 2, the distortions flat out suck!!! They all sound very week compared and thin compared to a regular Boss stomp box. The biggest problem with the sound is a really horrible reverb that comes when you turn on the distortion. Its not like reverb that you want its more like bad feedback. You can't play any kind of stop/start riff without this disgusting noise following.

Besides the problems with the distortions, everything else sounded pretty good. The Modulations all sounded very good with the exception of a couple (the ring mod. for one). The delay was very good, although it could have been longer. It stops at about 2 seconds. The wah is great though don't plan on playing alot with the octive up/down effect, it just sounds like crap. Its very thin sounding. Its cool to just mess around with though.

All around you can get alot of really cool sounds out of it, its just that you don't get the sound quality of a traditional stomp box. Just keep in mind that they are using COSM technology so all the effects are simulated.

Definitly dependable!!! You can count on anything with the boss name.

Never had to deal with them!!!

This would have been a killer tool if it weren't for the crappy distortion. I just sold it and went back to the single pedal setup. If you are looking for a really cool multi-effects pedal i would go for a Digitech. Although they don't have the ease of use as this one I think that its worth the extra few minutes it takes to program them. The effects they produce just sound great. I just bought a Digitech Genesis 3 off Ebay and it is amazing. This is the first effects devise i have ever heard that had quality pre-sets.

I have some experience with multi fx's and pedals. This is easy, but I don't like the fact that there is no bank switch and going to tuner/ manual you have to hit two pedals.editing/saving is simple pushing the correct buttons.

reverb option is a bit minor.I like most of the overdrive/distortions, the U-vibe, the phaser, the standard delay.
I didn't like the ring mod, but I could never use that live anyway.
Very stompbox sound and feel.

never had problems with boss, this looks ok too.

never needed them

I bought this because for rehearsal with my band.I have a line 6 flextone II plus home and a marshall jcm in the rehearsal room.
I like it but I miss the bank switches and the option to customize the expression pedal.

No menus. No scrolling through parameters. No "bank up" or "bank down" pedals. No amp modeling features. This pedal is perfect! It's about time someone came out with a no-nonsense, useable pedal that has the simplicity of stompboxes with the tone to back it up. This pedal is reminiscent of the old Ibanez Power Trio only with more options. It suits me just fine.

I'm using this pedal with a 2003 American Series Strat, 2002 Classic Series 60's Strat with Texas Specials. My amps are a Blues Jr. and a Hot Rod Deville 2x12. This pedalboard doesn't sound as good as individual stompboxes, but with all the options to choose from and the ability to tweak the sound to my taste with the simple twist of a knob, plus the cost savings (Imagine the cost of all these pedals separately) this is a great product. Plus, how often do you really use more than one or two distortion pedals when playing?

The distortions sound very good for the most part, but I have to agree with some other reviewers that the fuzz and big muff settings aren't as good as the originals. But then again, what is? The modulation effects are excellent, especially the chorus and the flange and the delays are equally excellent. I like the compressor feature as well as the tone modify, especially set on "fat". This is a quality product. In comparison to my Zoom GFX-8 this pedalboard sounds better and is much easier to use.

The all metal chassis is very sturdy and the quality is very good. I believe this pedal will last a long time. I've never had any problems with boss products in the past, and don't anticipate I will with this.

I'm a "hobbyist" or amateur if you will who has been playing for 34 years and play jazz, blues, and rock. This pedal will provide me with multitudes of sound to fit whatever style of music I'm playing. I didn't find it overly noisy like some did on the high gain settngs, but a good guitar, a good cable, and a good amp also make a huge difference in the equation. You can't beat the quality of this product for the price. Plus, it's simplicity is great for someone like me who likes to dial in different sounds. I don't play live so I can't comment on how this would perform in a live setting.

Fairly Easy to use. You can get confused if you overthink this product. Manual is solid.

Best used in front of the amp. You can encounter problems trying to use the unit through the effects loop. One of the units strongest features is that it does not colour your sound, if all effects are off. Other types of units I've used in the past have acted as a seperate preamp. Boss has done a reasinable job here.

Had the unit for 6 months - no problems. Steel chassis, not plastic, adds class and refinement. Very structurally sound.

Have not had any opportunity to work with Boss. Have owned Boss floor pedal effects in the past. All have seemed reasonably constucted

I play mostly Blues and Rock. I dont gig, just jam with friends. Boss has designed something here that is meant to be a new Generation of Effects Unit. Noise Gate is very effective. The Wah is the best I have ever used. The basics are covered, Distortion, Modulation, and Delay. The choices within those groups are extensive. Delay algorithms need improvement, but are acceptable, Modulation is the strongest of the three major groups. Many distotions can be selected, the "variation" button gives a passable tube-like sound. Remember the best distortion always comes from the amp itself, tubes still rule in this area. If distortion is what your looking for go for a tube-preamp type pedal. Overall Boss has done a good job with this unit. There are some bugs to be worked out. I especially like that there is always a knob you can fine tune with. Due to the nature of room acoustics, presets you worked on for hours in your room or studio may not sound right wherever you gig or jam. Preset patches are overated. Boss has included 30 presets, that should be more than enough.

Pretty easy and straight forward controls. It took a little time to figure how to write effect settings into the processor, but the manual helped out with that. Just as easy as stompboxes w/o all the cables

Most of the COSM stuff is really good. Some of the distortions are a little too noisy but thats why there is the noise suppressor. Also if you do bends or try to sustain a high note it makes a weird signal sound or something i dont know how to describe it you can hear it if you turn on an effect full distortion and tone then add a little flange and do a high bend at say the 119th fret on the high e.
I wish you had more control over the reverb too. Also the harmonist is ok not the best i've heard along with the ring mod.

Most of Boss' stuff is reliable. I havent need to use a backup but i do have a gp-100 that is collecting dust due to the ease of use, amount of fun i have on this thing and the fact i dont have foot controll which will make the gp-100 more convenient for switch patches.

never had to deal with it

i think its like an 8.5. its a good product to help you get familiar with effects or if you are tired of going through screen and having to punch it your settings. This thing you just turn it on adjust the knobs and play. The only thing i wish that was better was the bank switch, it is too smallyou cant switch with your feet you have to get down and punch it with your finger it would have been nice if they were foot switches like on the me-33 and gt-6. but i plant to keep this unit for a while.

Nothing out there easier...except for the single stomp boxes themselves...

Strat and a Reverend Hellhound w/ext cab..as usual, the presets aren't worth a shit....but it's ultra tweakable...and simple and small...I was tired of cables...If I don't like a sound, I change it...

Don't know about Boss much......the rep is good tho...We like metal chassis and a sturdy pedal...

Big companies usually don't have time to get back to you...one of the reasons I got the Hellhound...they always get back to you.....

We have a very eclectic song list, calls for alot of variables..rock, ballads, blues etc...and this has to be the best deal out there considering what you get...I don't have that Eventide kinda budget...$300 I can do.....Distortions for days, flange, phase, chorus and a passle of delay options....nice.....I would get another if ripped off....Since we're gigging now, I needed a simple, effective tool to pull the deal off, and for now, this is it.....Or maybe I just really like this color of blue..

I was up and running with a good distortion and delay sound in less than 5 minutes. The ease of use and stability of this unit is a relief from the POD 2.0 that I've had to deal with in the past. Creating patches doesn't require a Masters Degree and the manual is quite helpfull if any questions should arise.

I'm running the ME-50 through the front end of a Marshall JCM 2000-DSL 100 with 4x12 cab and because the amp has a great clean sound the ME-50 shines through. I play a Gibson re-issue 76' Explorer and usually play various styles of music and the ME-50 gives me plenty of flexibility. The noise gate works like it should and doesn't hinder soft passages at low volume and the reverbs are good although I use the reverb on the Marshall instead.

I've never had problems with any boss pedals and neither have any of my friends. If you want a dependable, good quality, awesome sounding pedal, Boss is the way to go. I've returned other pedals in the past (Line 6) due to the lack of sound and other complications, so I guess I'll just stick with what works. I can't stand looking at knobs and not knowing if what it's showing is what I'm hearing or not. This pedal is very easy to adjust and read, so there's more time for playing.

Never had to deal with customer service. I guess that's a good thing.

This pedal can cover some musical territory, so I would say it could work for just about anyone that wants good sounds. I've been playing since 87' and probably could open a music store if I had kept all the amps, guitars, effects that I owned in the past. I was able to get the power supply for free due to a misprint in the musicians friend catalog, but I do think that companies should include power supply units for the more expensive products. I bought this pedal for the distortion and delay sections although I find myself using the tone modify and wah pedal on a regular basis. This unit has the sounds and flexibility that inspires me to play and I've had riffs just pouring from my finger tips since I pulled it out the box and set it up.

OK,there's 40-something reviews before mine here that describe the fx features and sounds ad nauseum, with most complaining about having to buy 2 Boss FS-5U footswitches and if you go by the manual, their PCA-31 stereo y-cable to use the ME-50 live, to turn Tone Modify or Compressor on/off or make Patch changes on the fly. So I'm going to do y'all a favor. The switches go for $28 each at American Musical Supply or Musicians Friend, a stereo y-cable will run about $10. And the Boss AC adaptor goes for another $20. Dont' like Boss's $100 add-on gambit? Me neither. So if you have to have the switching, actually,any momentary (non-latching) switch works, Yamaha's FC-5 go for $19 each (@ AMS). But here's the best solution: the Digitech FS-300 3-button switch ($42 @ AMS)comes with a 15' 1/4" TRS-TRS cord. One cord, one pedal. In Manual Mode, Button A switches Tone Modify, B the Compressor, and C will turn them both on/off at once, or if one or the other is on, will toggle between the 2. In Memory Mode, A is bank up, B is bank down, C does nothing. You have other options for AC power, especially if you need to have other pedals besides the ME-50 to handle your auditory masturbation urges; check out the Godlyke (or Maxon) PS9 Powerall to run the ME-50 and 4 other battery pedals for $40.

I use the ME-50 primarily in a home studio application, so footswitching isn't absolutely necessary. Neither was the ME-50; my digital recorder (Boss BR-532, going to move up soon)has most of these fx onboard, but tweaking them's a pain. But I already had the Digitech (and Yamaha) switches for other fx gear. I also had noisy, clumsy, never-enough chain/board of 8 pedals that I'd dealt with for 20 years until I traded them all in for the ME-50. And after one week with this tool, I don't miss them a bit, and I have about 60 more fx to choose from without having to go through the angst and scrolling through menus, etc.

More advice: don't disregard the manual. Alot of reviews here rightfully point out that many/most of the 30 factory preset patches are useless if not hilarious. (Especially how they're described). But Boss knew this, so the manual includes a chart that reveals all the settings for them, so you can figure out what to tweak,to edit them to your own taste or, duh, give you a guide on how to set up your own. That's also why they include a blank patch chart. Make yourself some copies and have at it. It ain't rocket science. Organize your banks/patches as you like, key your setlist.

OK, got that off my chest. Another clarification on ease of use: the Noise Suppressor and Reverb can only be turned on or off by their knobs. No footswitch. Sorry,you Leslie West types. But you were going to have to bend over to twiddle knobs if not swap pedal positions on your impressive array of little boxes anyway now, weren't you?

Switching to/from the (silent and very sensitive, accurate) Tuner or Memory mode, and setting Tap Tempos or the Hold delay (a 2-second loop)are done with the 3 fx switches. The Expression Pedal takes a pretty firm toe-push to swithch, but yu can adjust it's sensitivity. (See the manual; it ain't rocket science).

Unlike your snob-POD's, J-Stations, etc., there is no software to wonder if you need to upgrade or when it will crash. This is simply, with some compromises, an amalgamated pedal board that makes life simpler and if you aren't in love with all the sounds you can coax out of it, read on.

As other (rational)reviewers have pointed out (a) you need an excellent clean sound amp to start with and (b)different guitars, pickups and amps will produce different sounds for the same settings. I'm not going to get into critiques of whether the Overdrives or Choruses sound like 'the real deals' they model, or whether they deliver enough of this or that. Those are totally subjective and driven by the style of music you play, besides whether you've had the cash to actually own or try all of them long enough to really know. I sure haven't. You have just got to try this thing out, with your own guitars & amps, have the store's lamebrain clerk give you the manual, and give it a fair test drive. Take at least an hour. You'll probably want to spend more time once you get into it.

The ME-50 works best in front of the amp, by design. I tried it thru the fx loop of my Behringer GM-110, and I didn't notice much difference in sound. But in front of the amp, working your guitar's volume & tone controls gives you the ability to customize the EQ of 11 preset Tone Modify options, which many have whined about as useless. Limited, arbitrary, yes, but far from useless. I find some are instant kharma. My amp, an analog modeling amp (see my review and 35 others on this $100 marvel), is just a tad short in 'glassy' clean treble, since it's best clean setting is a Fender Tweed, not Blackface/Twin. The Enhance setting adds the missing sparkle. Now, my '81 Fender The Strat and new G&L Tribute ASAT Special really spank and twang like they should. My humbucker guitar is a Cort MGM-1 (Matt Murphy sig model), and it's alnico buckers can now growl like higher output ones. My '82 Rick 360-12BWB has never sounded better,with the Compression and range of Stereo Chorus and Delays here. Acoustics? Gotta cut back the bass a bunch on an Ovation Legend CS-257, and at low settings, the Compressor acts as a Limiter. Do NOT use the 'Acoustic Simulator' Tone Modify setting on it; chalk on a blackboard. That setting needs a bunch of eq help to make an electric come close to an acoustic, but then, the operative word is 'simulator'. Still, while the piezo pickup on the Ovation can be a bit shrill and honky without careful EQ tweaking, it's overall decent. I think an acoustic with much better or dual pre-amping could really fit well. But I'll keep noodling. Another week, I bet I find a good setting or 10.

In fact, my amp's lack of reverb/fx was what led me to the ME-50. I needed a satisfactory 'verb. I've got my choice of 4 very decent Reverbs with this. Some say they're not very tweakable; they're turning the dial too much, because I find they each have a wide range in a short span.

While the ME-50 works OK into a single amp, your really need to run it stereo to appreciate and get the most from all its modulation and delay fx. I'll probably get another GM-110 to gig with a matched pair. But you can go right into a board (or digital or analog multitrack recorder) with either the L/R amp outs or the Phones/Line out and get that. The amp outs give you the straight ME-50 sound; the manual says the Phone/Line out has an amp simulator, I just know the signal isn't as hot, less likely to overdrive a recorder.

The Expression/Volume Pedal is either/or, not both at once, and its range takes getting used to. So one pedal I kept was my Goodrich 300A Volume Pedal, which I put in my amp's fx loop, to control volume after fx and preamp, before Master. The other I kept was my 20-year old MXR 10-band EQ, hooked before the Volume Pedal. Between the EQ's on the amp and the EQ pedal, and some of the ME-50's expression modes, I think I've got all the final-stage tone-shaping I need. Maybe I should have kept my Cry Baby, maybe I'll get used to the range of the wah on this. So far, I don't miss it. Or my MXR DynaComp, Distortion+, Stereo Chorus,Stereo Phaser and little Phase 45. Or my Ross Flanger (and THAT is/was one awesome pedal). Or my Boss NS1 (Japan) Noise gate tha

Well, besides the NS-1 with 20 years on its clock and the BR-532 recorder I've had for a year, and several other Boss pedals I'd had, I've never had a Boss product fail. I expect this metal-chassis, heavy rubber switched 7-pounder to be there when I need it. I handle my stuff with care, pay attention to things like turning down all volumes before powering up or down, and don't take the term 'stomp' literally. Gigging is rare for me these days. But I never had backups for my single pedals. Boy, would that add up. To be safe, if I was gigging nightly or weakly, with this all-in-one baby, I'd save to have a spare. I'd look for one used and could probably find one wiht low miles on it for a song from harebrained doped-out headbanger who couldn't fathom the synergistic relationship of multi-effects, guitar and amp. I'll knock off a point just because it's all in one. Also, it's only a 1-year warranty, not 5 like the compact pedals, so that's another point to dock. (If you try it live, then screw your 'friendly' Guitar Center and buy it from AMS, you get a 2nd year Free, so you can personally add that point back.)I bought mine from my trusted local dealer, so I could trade all those dinosaurs for it. If it was a Zoom unit, I'd knock off 9 points. But as the mantra goes, 'it's a Boss'.

Boss's website isn't that hot. It's to sell stuff with, not to help, although with enough wandering, I found the downloads I needed for my BR-532. Try searching it sometime for an answer to what you'd think is an obvious question. Their online help (search a knowledge base, no FAQ's)is as useless as tits on bull, and phone support is better (than what I just said?). The best support comes from other Boss Customers in the User's group or in User's Forums in Yahoo. So I'll rate the combo of the company (2) and other customers (4), and my dealer(4). If you leave any of those components out, adjust my rating by docking the appropirate missing link's points

Unlike the many Guitar Gods and Wannabes that populate these reviews, I don't play every style, and absolutely no present day metal or thrash. I'm 53, playing since '62. You figure it out. I've covered just about every 'Classic Rock', Brit Invasion, Motown, Stax/Volt, Hot Country, Country/Southern-rock from Eagles to Outlaws to Skynyrd and, throw in Seger, Bryan Adams,Petty, John Cougar, Steve Miller. And yes, the metal in my bag is Zeppelin, the Who, hard rock is Aerosmith,AC/DC. All those sounds are found with the ME-50 and my guitars, amp, etc. I can't stand some of the Factory Presets, setup for guys 30 years younger than me. What can I say. Old Fart. But still rockin'. I've been working on writing my own stuff way too long. Ain't ever gonna be a superstar. Just sane.

My favorite feature? Might be that with headphones and a portable cd-player (with or without ac adapters)you can just use this as a stand-alone, very portable (fits in laptop computer bag nicely) silent jam-along & practice tool. (Or hook a rhythm box instead of CD player...hmm). I know it's my wife's and neighbors' favorite feature when the muse comes to me at 3am. Or 3pm. After 40+ years,I've just found something I wish I had from the git-go. I know I'd be a better musician, even more versatile and polished, because I wouldn't have been wasting time searching for the right sound for any situation or what I heard in my head, and would have been playing and creating instead.

I do wish Boss would include the AC adapter, but that's it. The footswitches are totally optional according to your use/needs. But the AC is a must. C'mon Boss. Get real.

If it were stolen? I'd amire the thief's intelligence and good taste, but want his testicles (or her left boob)in a jar of formaldehyde as their sentence if they were caught, tried, and convicted. Then I'd sell that souvenir on E-bay and go out and get another ME-50 ASAP.

This has to be a 10.

Easy to use when playing around at home. But the clever Boss-engineers came up with a briliant idea: you have to buy several other Boss-products to make it work well in a live situation. Unless you want to crawl around on the floor during the gig, you have to buy extra pedals for switching banks, for tempo-tapping and for turning on and off the "pedal-less" features compressor and tone-modify.
And you also have to pay extra for the DC-adaptor, otherwise you have to run it on batteries. Plus, the manual doesn't say anything about the specific requirements of the adaptor - you "have to buy" the Boss-adaptor. Now that is both clever and cheap, Boss. But mostly cheap!
The design with knobs instead of menues and displays makes up for some of this cheapness, and is the very reason I bought it.

I play Fenders through Fenders and Marshalls.
The distorsion/od-pedal is probably the best, but the one I'll be usin least. Some of the sounds, like the imitated Boss-pedals are quite good, as is the Tube Screamer-imitation. I had hopes for the Fuss Face and Big Muff-imitations, but they were a disappointment.
All of the od-sounds are very high gain, you have to keep the drive knob all the way down but there's still too much drive if you like to keep it almost-clean.
Some of the modulation-sounds are also decent, while some are crap. Boss could have skipped the pan, vibrato and one of the stereo-choruses and put more effort into the other sounds.
The delays are ok. Different stops for different time-ranges is a good feature, makes it more accurate. The analog delay sounds a bit like a Danecho, which is nice. The swell-delay is ok, while the "backwards" delay is useless. The hold-function is hard to master live.
The expression pedal is mostly useless. The "whammy"-function is a nice toy, though. But there is a slight delay before the sound comes out after you've plucked the string, not good.
But, for the money it's (almost) a bargain.

I'd depend on it. A big plus for the metal chassi. The expression pedal will probably give in first, but I won't cry.

Don't know. But I don't expect much, to be honest.

I traded in a bunch of separate stomp-boxes for it. I don't regret it, but I had higher hopes for it. The plus is, I get rid of all the cords and connections and get most of what I need from a single unit. And the basic features are easy to use on stage, thanks to the stomp box-like design.
A plus also for the possibility to turn the compressor, noise-suppressor and tone-modify off.

Easy to use (unless you're stupid) . Not too hard to get a good sound.

My setup consists of a u.s. tele, fat strat (w invader\tex/mex), and an ibanez rg 520. I play through a simple fender hot rod deluxe (erlier u.s. model). The best way to get good effect quality is to run your effects through a very clean amp. even an idiot can figure that one out. So if you are playing through a solid state crate shit and the unit does'nt live up to it's full potential, don't cry about it. I can get all kinds of awsome distortions, delays, flange effects etc. Different distortions will function differenty with different guitar/amp combinations ( the me-50 uses the charecter of your guitar and amp and applys the effect to it) so if your playing through a squirer with three singe coils DON'T COMPLAIN about bad distortion. The harmonist function if excellent but is only useful if how know how to play youy'r damn instrument. Th harmontist is the intelligent kind that can predict if things like if your 3rd shuold be minor or major based on the key and degree you would like you harmonise with. Overall GREAT SOUND.

ROCK SOLID!!!!!!!!!!! Huge upgrade from the me-33 plastic shit.

Friggin ASSHOLES

MAN...........for the price, you can't go wrong
I play just about every style of music and this unit caters to just about all of my needs. The is no perfect pedal but this one is GOOD. They do milk you on the whole bank switching thing, becouse yo got to but fs-5u pedals to switch between more than three banks at a time. But who gives a shit, what else can you get for 400 cadadian dollars...............fuck all.

As most guitarists look for simpler methods to get their sounds, I was pretty darn frustrated with the overlapping menus and digital parameters most floorprocessors use, but with this babe, it's top-notch sound shaping. It's a knob-twisting frenzy! Perfect for guys like me, no manuals, no menus, no big lcd screens. Just knobs.
It's that easy. I looked at the manual and if you don't get it by trying, the manual will most likely get you through.

I'm using the ME-50 through a bigass Marshall stack, and believe me: it sounds convincing. The effects are quite powerful, and if you're looking for easy access effects, this is your deal.
Of course it's not perfect, and sometimes the effects can get a little noisy when you're using a lot of gain, usually this can be helped by twisting a few knobs, unfortunately the noisesuppressor isn't always the answer. It helps, but you'll risk losing your sound and sustain too.
I usually aim for a dark, groovy and fat kind of distortion, like for instance the foo fighters or early Pearl Jam, and with this unit it's easily approached. Approached, yes... it can be quite tricky to get all the parameters right.
There are several kinds of OD/distortion, which means there are a couple of really good ones, and of course a couple of pretty crappy ones. Delay is superb!

It's a Boss pedal, if you don't put in any effort in breaking it, you will enjoy this unit for quite a while.
I gig with it without worrying about a backup.
Just remember not to use batteries. This baby drains your alkalines...

It didn't break.

This unit almost has it all. If you want smooth blues or if you're more interested in chopping desert-riffs, this baby does the trick.
I've been playing for 5 years now, and this is the best suiting pedal for me in this price range. There's better out there, and i suppose buying the singular effects would sound even better, but lets face it, I can't afford that. For me, this is the best solution.
Armed with a pick, a slide, and an E-bow this thing brings a nice quirkiness to my playing as well as those wanted "classic" sounds.
You only have to be careful not to go overboard with the effects, or you won't even recognize a guitar when you hear one...
Of course there's stuff missing, like a pedal to change banks, but Boss would like you to go out and buy that too, you just have to be a little more inventive, it works fine the way it is.
Also some of the effects could use a little fine tuning, and the wah pedal is a little disappointing.
Still at about $ 300,- this is great value

This is top-notch sound editing, i don't think this could get any easier, except maybe if someone else would like to do it for you... Even without the manual adjusting and saving your own presets is easy.

It isn't perfect though, 'cause when you switch patches, there is a short pause in the sound. But then again, this is just a minor problem, 'cause after a little practice this won't be a problem anymore.

I play a ( very...very good... ) 2002 epiphone Les Paul through the ME-50 with, at home, a peavey 158, which sounds quite impressing, but of course not great. But with my band i use a Marshall JCM. Now things get groovy.

There's all kinds of different distortion and overdrive sounds. not all of them are useful, but this makes it easy to approach your favourite bands and guitarists, still getting the parameters right can be very tricky. As someone else already said: "It's not a magic box"
I like all kinds of bands and styles and the ME-50 can handle it. Whether it's smooth blues you want, or chopping desert-riffs the ME-50 is your trusty sidekick.
Of course there are tons of possibilities, but mind you, it's easy to cross the lines and make your guitar sound like a chainsaw cutting through steel.
Most of the effects are more than decent, but some are either useless or not quite good enough. The reverb only works good if you crank it open at the largest preset: Hall
Delay is superb!

Boss has a good tradition in building solid stomp boxes, and so this thing looks like a tank. The only way to break it is to smash your guitar in it (which would be a double waste)while your playing some gig. I gig with it without even worrying about a backup. Just don't use batteries, this baby drains you alkalines...

It didn't break

In my band i usually play grooving rock riffs. I've heard people comparing our sound to foo fighters, and others comparing it to the police, so i'm kind a lost myself :)
I've been playing for five years now and the ME-50 was another step in the right direction. Too bad though that some effects aren't as good as others. The expression pedal works fine, but isn't great, and of course choosing a bank is done by a tiny button, or by buying an extra footswitch... do they think I'm made of money? Also it would've been helpful to have some more patches available, ten banks divided into three patches isn't very much...

I've played through a korg a1G but that was murder to the depth in the sound of my guitar. This one leaves the sound intact, which to me seems necessary, I also used a boss turbo distortion, but that ruled out any sustain. This baby does it for me... armed with a pick, a slide and an E-bow you can bring some kickass quirkiness to your playing, as well as "classic" sounds.
When i bought it i compared it to a couple of other floor processors, but for about $ 300,- there ain't nothing better. There's better out there, i just can't afford it.

Very easy to use. To use this live you need switches to move up and down the patches. People take about not being able to use this live, I don't get what they're talking about. I use it live all the time with no worries. You have to spend time with it initially to tweek it and be smart about the progression in which you set your patches. I set them 3 in a row in progression of clean, dirty, combination with modulation. I have patches for my strat and patches for my Leas Paul. It's GREAT for live use!

I use a Fender American Strat and a Epiphone Elite Les Paul Custom (which I highly recommend, I like it better than the Gibson I had) I play through the Boss ME 50 and I use a A B switch into a Boss TU -2 Tuner because the tuner on this is not useable in my opinion. I then run into a Fender Vibrolux with NOS tubes and Weber Ferromax Speakers (which are awesome!) This unit, properly tweeked and set up with your own patches is awesome, The price is cheep, some of the effects come very close to the originals (I've played them all.

It's a BOss!!

Just about the easiest piece of gear I own. I was able to figure out all the functions in about 5 minutes (didn't even open the manual until I'd played with it for a couple of hours)

I wanted easy and I got easy! No patch cords, etc, etc,

I'm sick to death of having to read manuals for every piece of gear - and I hate scrolling thru numerous windows - this thing is all about tweaking knobs!

Guitar is not my main axe - so I have not owned many guitar pedals, accordingly I can't really judge how accurate the COSM models are. I can get the general tones I want - so it works to my needs. The reverb is limited and the tone presets are limited (I think most people would prefer an actual EQ section).

Some of the distortion/OD models are user friendly and some simply don't seem very "musical" I think the time based (chorus, etc) sounds are pretty decent. The expression pdeal sounds are OK, but the wah is more limited than I would have liked.

Since guitar is not my main axe I struggle to get good tone (chops are easy, tone is a lifelong goal) and I was hopeful this would improve my tone - and while it certainly has many tonal options, it is not a magic box. I think it simply reinforces that tone is more about technique and less about technology.

However, for the price it is OK

Haven't had it long enough for an opinion - but every piece of Roland/Boss gear I've ever owned lasted forever!!!

It does appear to be very solid and I would think it would hold up well in gigging conditions

Don't know, never tried

I wanted easy - this is very easy. I wanted alot of sound options in one box - and this does it. I wanted a lot of bang for the buck and this does it. I think in the under $300 range is provides good value.

I needed this mostly for recording to use thru a POD, J-Station and a couple of low watt amps. It seems to work well as a front end for my amps (a Fender Champ and a small Marshall) but it does not play well with the POD or the J-Station (well after some work it does - but that compromises the whole easy thing).

I don't know if I would buy it again, but I'm sure I'll get my use out of it.

really easy to use, that's why I got that. the patching stuff can be a little confusing but using as stompboxes is totally cool. ease of use is not that important!

i've been busy with some pedals for a couple of years and I can tell what sounds good and what doesn't. this is totally crap! I sent it back to guitar center after 3 days.
as you can see below this page some people love this and some hate. some say that these effects are only immitations from the originals. this is, unfortunately, TRUE! I own a Big Muff Pi NYC reissue and the imitation of this awesome pedal on Boss ME-50 is just miserable. as long as the other distortions
not even the boss originals like DS-1 are OK.
let's take step by step:
tone modify: nice and cool but not so useful
comp: yeah it does the job but extremely noisy
NS: killes the noise and the TONE
reverb: yeah yeah... who needs it? specially this funny one!
dist/OD : one word: Miserable!
effects: there's a lot but they're not detailed, so forget it and it's really hard to get a decent sound out of phaser and chorus, tremolo is the only fine one :D
delay: it's digital delay, not analog so ignore those fake ones and it's fine. slow echo and revers are interesting
expression pedal: a nice function but extremely narrow in a way. wah is bad! really bad!
resonance and ring mods are cool but these two are much more sophisticated that can't be maneged by only one pedal
pitch shifting is good but only +1/-1 octave is not really enough
talker is mute! hahhaha

it's phisically reliable, I guess

never dealt with 'em

a toy!
wanna play around get it, has many features that will astonish you probably
but when using a small stone and knowing what a phaser sounds like, you would never touch ME-50
for $300, you can get some decent stuff.
I returned mine and got Boss CE-5, Boss DD-6 and I'm extremely happy about those 2 very pedals.
at least I can get what I want

the difference between these pedals is I spent so much time to get a good sound out of ME-50 but cound't, but any sound out of CE-5 is amazing!

Very easy even without reading the manual

Sounds good for all kind of music

well its metal so it should last for ever if you take the necesary cares, but will never and i repeat never gig with it, theres nothing wrong with sounds but its unbelievable that boss didnt put the bank selectors in it, besides the sound cut beetwen patches makes useless for realtime situations.

ive never had to deal with them so i cant say

i mostly play METAL (In Flame, Hipocrisy, At The Gates, etc), and with a
few touches i can get a very close sound to this bands, it has lots of efects which are really god but once again the sound goes out when you change a patch and it makes it useless, if it where stolen i wouldn't buy another, and i will advice the theft to sell it as soon as posible

when i was in the shop i was already setting effects up that i'd been using in my old multi fx with the greatest of ease. everything is there and very easy to store in. a fantastically well designed piece of kit.

i'm using it with a yamaha erg121 and a marshall mg30dfx. yamaha, boss and marshall, an absolubtley excellent companionship. i also use it with an audio technica wireless system, and it keeps a much better tone than the zoom ever did. i haven't had much over-noise, but when you want feedback, it's very easy to get some ;)

i would, no, i WILL be using this for every gig i do, and unlike most of ym gear, i think i will be keeping this one for a VERY VERY long time. it is a very reliable unit, i haven't once had to shout at it *and trust me, i have a fiery temper ;)*

i play a very personal style of music, verging on art rock mixed with alternative metal type sounds. i like to use lots of effects with delay and modulation effects together to get ghostly sounds, and this delivers them perfectly. i've been playing 2 years and 5 months, and this is the best buy i've made so far. i would most definately buy it again if lost or stolen. i love it's simplicity, it looks great*come on we're all fussy, we're guitarists!* the only thing i had a problem with was the whammy. setting the switch was a bit annoying, having to bend down during performance. a small footswitch maybe would be better. and i think having footswitches to change between the ten banks would be good. but then, for twenty pounds it's not too much just to get a footswitch is it?? it is a brilliant tool for making good music with, and compliments my style very well, whether i'd like to play some full on death metal, or some soft mellow jazz.

great pedal, great company, great buy!!

::charlie:::