Boss ME-50

R u serious guys? may be somethin's wrong with the one i have.

basicly it's quite good for beginners.Nuthin on it that comes near to any pro stuff.Yes it is noisy an all the od/ds sound - thin and dead.I did a lot of tweaking,tried so many of the features,but never got the sound.if u play the unit at low volumes(somewhere around 1-2 on your 10 watt practise amp)it sounds a bit decent but reaching hot point on a valve section everything is out of control.The wah pedal is the only thing that i like but still feel bad cuz for the money i paid i could have nice CRY BABY and some cash in hand left.Ya know know when your guitar hero plays there ain't no sizzling after the tone and believe me that wasn't my girlfriend frying bacon. yes i can say that nothing's wrong with my DSL 50,or my Gibson les paul standard.what else should i check?

yes, solid built.proper metal box.

what about power supply incl.?

if it's lost or stolen i would never buy one again.btw mine's for sale.I hope i'll get as much as i can selling it.I think overall 4 because of the nice wah on it but please check before u buy.there's so much good equipment on the market street ,do yourself a favour save a bit more and get an all valve amp.I'm pretty sure a good amp will make u sleep well.if u have one ,have another one.

Easy switching but difficult to create the sound you (really) want... Programming is easy. The manual too extended on 'how good is this product' than 'how to use it in 5 steps'. You'll get used to it after a few hours of playing anyway.... I'll give it a ten though...

I m playing with a YAMAHA SG-500. I couldn't say it's noisy on clean ones but it certainly is on the distortion effects. The effects sound great all of them. I had really serious problems with the distortion though on the first gig that i used it. I m into H.I.M. , Deep Purple, Guns and roses ect and i like the classic distortions most but can't adjust my me-50 properly to find the sounds i want. Finally i believe the tap delay is not realy convienient cause you must spend precious time to manage how the intervals work... much classy model though on its effects of any other that i used. Ill give it a 9 cause of its difficulty to find your sound.

I bet it's beer proof :)

.....hm... dunno

Actually i play a whole range of styles and i need LOTS of different styled sounds on each gig. I love perfect and NON-ALL SAME-BORING guitar sound throughout the gig. I believe this machine is the right for me as long as i find out its little 'secrets' for even better sounds...cya...

This unit is as simple as it gets to use. Every effect has it's own series of knobs to tweek, (just like the seperate pedal it's apeing).

I A/B'd this thing next to the actual Boss pedals, and was very surprised to see that it produced the same sounds of each!

Hey, it's a Boss....whatta ya think!

Never had to deal with them, (always been reliable/ onstage and off)

For the price, you can't beat it! Built like a tank! A word of advice to all the youngsters: When you use ANY prosessor, ALWAYS zero the E.Q. settings on your amp! (simply put: adjust ALL the E.Q. knobs on your amp/s to "0" or "5" Set your E.Q. with the prosessor, and let IT do the work, (otherwise, you're working the E.Q. of the amp, and the prosessor AGAINST each other). "And they wonder why they get hiss and other noises"!
I play through 100 watt Marshall Plexi's, and while they're very loud, they are also very unforgiving of ANY mis-match of signals! Remember, KEEP IT SIMPLE!

The ease of this box is what first raised my interest. Then I went to the store and spent some serious time with it. The sounds I could get in no time at all made me take it home. I don't like the factory presets much, but the editing is a snap. Set all the knobs for all the effects you like in a patch, and you're done. I like to think of my banks as modulation types, distortion types and delays. In bank one live the rotary variations( + compressor, or, say, a couple of different distortions and speeds, etc.), in bank two are the choruses, and variations, and so on.
The manual is a nice reference to have around, but not nessecary if you have a good ear and half a brain.

I play a couple of differnt Ibanez hollow/semi hollow guitars, an Epiphone Alleykat, and a '92 USA Strat into an Ampeg Jet 12T. The amp alone is the strongest feature of my tone, and the Boss does not color my sound in any way I don't make it to. I don't use extreme settings on any of my gear, as I would rather you talk about what I'm doing on the strings, plus my tone, than any of the sounds I use. I think effects are just that--effects--not the basis for the sound.
The distortions are good for what they are supposed to do, and the tone modify feature is nowhere near as useless as some people here would have you believe. It gives the results stated in the manual, and comes in handy if I feel like something a bit darker or brighter, or so on, and helps the patches take on different dimentions.
I don't try for my hero's sounds but this thing gets what I will use very nicely.

Same as all the other posts: don't drop it or beat it agianst your head, and it'll last the duration. I've had it out to around ten gigs now, and it continues to please me for simplicity and great sound.

N/A

We do funky rock that leans heavy or trippy depending on the song. I've played for 22 years and have resisted getting a multi-box, cause quite frankly, most of them suck ass. I tried out Digitech's RP series stuff and it sounds like crap next to this unit, and the Zoom boxes are just as bad. The sounds are truly great in the live situation, except for the (say it with me, folks) Annoying Drop Off when changing patches, but this is so easily overcome as to be a non issue. Few guitarists in the whole world realize that when they stop for a couple seconds, that music is still occuring, and takes on new dynamic ranges when the guitar is quiet, then comes back in. Most of the guitarists I've seen in amature situations play as if they are the only sound, but there is a whole new world available to those who realize that it's not just the notes you play, but the SPACE between then that makes music interesting.
The only thing i wish this thing had that is missing is a minimum volume setting on the volume pedal(DUH!!) so I got around this by simply running my Morley Little Alligator Volume pedal in front of the Boss. Now I have the L.A. giving me minimum and maximum settings for rhythm/solos, and the Boss pedal acting as expression or mute. Overall I give it a SOLID 9 for this small lack and the delay in switching patches, made up for by the ease of use and the great useable sounds and bang for the buck.

Very easy to get good sound...I wasn't sure at first what I was doing because I have put off a multi-effect unit for years and I was always dead-set against them because it might influence "taraditional/vintage" sounds. But the sounds that it produces is really very spectacular. The variation on the distortion works quite well and produces stack sounds that would normally have you arrested because you would have to turn up the amp.

I am using a crate amp and a 1988 Ibanez RG with IBZ pickups. Hendrix, Page, Pink Floyd, etc... are replicated with ease. At first I had doubts about the distortion, but with the variation effect this unit kicks. I can't believe that I am imitating Marshall stacks with a little practice amp. I have wanted to sound like Eddie Van Halen, but I could normally pull it off with sounding 'similar', now I am able to control phaser volume effects, whereas with the MXR you couldn.t do.

I could depend on it wholehearedly. I don't understand what issues other people have with theirs, but this is something I hope will last for decades, until Boss builds a better unit.

NA

I have played almost 23 years and I have evolved from the "old school" Sears guitar to telecaster to Ibanez. I would probably purchase this same unit if it were stolen. I love its compact size, simpleness and reliability. It's not the easiest to figure out at first because it does have some compicated effects, but after a while it's a no-brainer.

The ME-50 is very easy to use. The manual's okay, except it would be better if it contained more information on how to get good sounds. I prefer to use it in manual mode (as the series of stompboxes), which is why I don't mind (as some others do) about the slight delay when you change patches in memory mode. The thing I would most want is some kind of online users' forum, like those that exist for the GT-series. From the number of people that have written reviews on this site, it is clear that there are a lot of people that use the ME-50. The biggest advantage of a users' forum would be for everyone to post their favourite settings, and settings that they use to sound like famous guitarists. If there is such a forum already, can someone post a message on here saying the website (I've spent ages googling and haven't found anything).

I'm using an epiphone SG with a small Peavey amp, and have enjoyed using it so far. I haven't yet played it with a loud amp, and i think that will be the real test of sound quality, but so far i have enjoyed all the sounds. My favourite distortion setting is on the tubescreamer simulator, and i like the choruses and delays. The wah's not as bad as everyone says (in my opinion). It is not very noisy at all.

It seems very reliable. I must say that I don't quite agree with everyone saying "it's built like a tank". Yes, the body of it is made of metal, but the pedals (what you actually step on with your foot) are made of plastic and don't seem that sturdy.

The website is useless (just a promotion for the product). This unit really needs a functional users forum where you can get ideas for good settings etc.

Overall it's great. For what it costs, you end up getting a lot of decent effects. The thing i most like about it is the stompbox interface, where you can individually kick in the distortion, mod effects and delay (and wah etc). I am slightly worried that if i get a better amp i won't need the ME-50 as much (because a lot of amps have effects on them, and the ME-50 is meant to be used in the clean channel of the amp, which means that you end up not using the good sounding natural distortion of your amp). Maybe other people who use the ME-50 with good amps could say what it's like.

I never had pedals and i decide by something pratic and easy to use, and found this feature in ME-50. Just changing two or three buttons you can transform completely sound and do it like your favorite gutarrist without that amount cables and pedals that want avoid be crazy tunning. I don`t have manual, and i think will be not necessary.

I use one METEORO 20w in my bedroom and Ibanez GRX-20. I heard much noise when i use max gain and level in almost all effects but when i decrease a little they desappear. I got sounds like my favorite guitarrist RANDY RHOADS playing studio album, increasing UNI-V, WAH totaly backward and DS1 with more medium tone version, such as playing live, increasing CHORUS, few DELAY with fast ms, without WAH, just VOLUME, COMPRESSION SUSTEINER AND DS1 all at MAX. i feel shiver when i done this. But ZAKK sound i still looking and i think will not possible with ME-50. If anyone found please tell me how.

I never play live, but i think ME-50 should be used just in short places because if you whant more power in any sounds i think separete padals can offer more gain and levels.

i not still contact company.

I`m playing heavy metal for a two years and i think is good match. I don`t have other gear, if i could by separete pedals knowing exactly type pedals and effects i would buy separeted pedals. But i prefered save money and i had almost all i was looking for in ME-50.

Hey Freddy
Thanks for your email. I have sort of fixed the problem. I usually have the presence turned way up but on the weekend, pulled it way back. It's a much smoother sound now. I also let the amp do most of the work with the master right down and the drive on about 5. Everyone else on this forum said to play with the clean channel but I tried the dirty channel and it worked fine. Now it's just a matter of fine tuning it for my sound. You're right, the other functions are great. I'm still mucking around with the chorus and stuff. Just trying to get a bit of a Stevie Ray Vaughan, Leslie type sound. I used the Octave+ feature on the weekend and the crowd seemed to like it. It's not something to be hesitant with, if you get caught half way you can sound pretty silly. I just keep the pedal going on the 1 and 3 beat during a solo and it sounds great.
And yes the price was great for what you get.
Thanks again for your message and advice.
Mick

the boss ME50 is very easy to use, even a dimented monkey cud use it. you can get very nice sounds out of it and the distortion settings are brilliant.

The sound is very good, im using a epi g400 sg copy and an encore ( which is not brilliant) but it sounds good, the hollow sound isnt brilliant.

i can definately rely on this, its built like a tank, really good buy, i cnt reely fault it. i would use without backup

i havent had to deal with them

very good buy, makes any guitar sound brilliant, the me50 will suit any style of playing and its really really good, just one prob, its quite expensive. otherwise it would get a 10

Very easy to use. Perfect idea

I love the sounds of the distortion but I must have my amp set up wrong. There seems to be a mid-to-top end break up. I've tried and tried and will keep trying coz I love the tones. I've tried a clean channel and a dirty channel. I play into a Fender Hotrod Deville. It sounds OK at home at low volume, but at the gig it seems very glassy. If anyone has any suggestions, Maybe I need new valves? please help

I play mainly Chris Duarte and Gov't Mule. Been playing for 20 years. Would give it a 10 if I can fix this problem. AAAARRRRGGGGHhhhhh

This unit is really easy to use. Its just like using the boss pedals.. no difference.. except fir the memory mode

I use a Maton electric, acoustic and a gibson acoustic into a fender deluxe... I don't think its exceptionally noisy if you keep the levels right. The effects are pretty good, I use the natural distortion sound a lot. The wah doesn't have a huge spread, but this unit is more about a value for money easy to use replacement for the 10 or more pedals you'd need to get a hold of to to cover. Giveen that a volume pedal, tuner pedal and a chorus or delay costs more then this I'm giving it a 10 for sound quality....even though it does have its shortfalls

Boss..... need I say more

haven't had to deal with them

For $500 aussie this is unbeatable. The natural distortion is great, all the delays and modulations are fantastic. I think the eq's could of been a bit more interactive, and the wah isn't great. I'm going to get a dunlop or morley to use as a wah and use the pedal just for volume. Its built like a brick and is a good starting point. If I lost it though, I think I'd grab the line 6 xt live..... or maybe I'd get another one of these

This is the easiest to use multi-effects by far. I use it more like a set of Pedals and hardly ever use the saved patches. However, that's really just a matter of setting the knobs to your like and hitting save into the appropriate bank.

All of the sounds are great on their own, and the unit works darn good for recording.

Not so good in a band/live setup. I am using this with a Crate BV-120H tube amp, and find myself preferring the Amp distortion AND reverb to the ME-50's. And the worst part of the ME-50 is the terrible hiss. The unit does have a built in Noise Supressor, which removes some unwanted string scrapes, but is otherrwise below average and does not help with it's own hiss. I have solved this problem by putting a Rocktron Hush Pedal in the amp's effects loop (after the Me-50 and Amp effects). This had the dual advantage of removing the ME-50's hiss AND the Amp's own hiss. However, I feel like I must include the $75 hush pedal and $15 Power Supply cost on top of the $299 price tag of the ME-50.

The unit handles my 7-string guitar well. Modulation effects are average. Delay effects are good. The Pedal is the best part of it and the main reason I am having a hard time getting rid of it. The pedal is like 100 times better than a Hendrix Cry Baby.

Like others have said, the ME-50 is a tank.

I play old school Metal. Sabbath, Megadeth, Metallica, etc. I've been playing about 8 years. Aside from the equipment mentioned in the sound area, I mostly own recording equipment. Again, the ME-50 is better for recording at lower volumes. I am considering selling the unit and using individual pedals instead.

Let me put it this way, Im 54 and never used an effects pedal before, and you know what they say about teaching old dogs new tricks...well let me tell ya that this thing is so easy to use that within 2hours I was totally comfortable with it...What Im saying here is that if I can use it, anyone can

I use it in church for worship and praise music...I play a G&L S500 Tribute (a great guitar by the way) direct into a Musicman 75 2x10, in the clean channel...I oonlly use it for doing little fills on songs, and it more than suits my purposes

Its a Boss. Built like a tank....I expect no problems

Im very happy with this unit, and will always have one...If someone stole it, so be it, I would difinitly buy another....My only complaint about the whole deal is why couldn't boss include the power supply with the unit...Im sure it wouldnt break their bank...I also have a 64 Guild T100 and a Guild JF30 jumboacoustic...The T100 I run strictly in the 2nd channel of the amp with a touch or reberb and a smitch of phase, But I think one day Im gonna start playing with the acoustic through this unit just to see what I can come up with...Finally, I feel this unit is well worth the money,the more time I spend fooling with it , the more I seem to be able to do...

Take it out of the box and plug it in to the amp and your good to go. If you can operate a Boss stompbox you can use the ME-50. The manual is easy to read if you need it.

I use the ME-50 with a PRS SC, 02', PRS CE-24, 02'. Fender Strat Deluxe 02', and Fender strat Plus 91' played through a Fender Deville 4x10.The unit acts like a stompbox so you get the noise you would get from a pedal. The effects are everything I want and more. I have recently went back to digital from analog with the ME-50. I had a huge pedal board with tons of cable. Batteries needed changing and you lost so much volume. With the ME-50 you you plug in your geetar flip the power switch and your good. I can definatly get the sounds of my favorite artists with the effects from hendrix to Incubus.

Have not taken it to a gig yet only had it for a couple weeks.Seems solid.

N/A

I play anything from classic rock to new rock, blues, and so on. I have been playing for 17 yrs and have used Boss products for 10yrs. I still own some analog pedals Electro-Harmonix etc... just to have for the classic sound and to have. I have friends that say analog is the only way to go and digital sucks. I was sold on the idea for awhile but after paying over $200 or more for some pedals and not being a highly paid rock star and not hearing a big diffrence between digital and analog I threw that idea out the window. It's seems having some of those high dollar pedals is more of just to say you have it. I agree totally with another submission further up on the page...no one in the crowd cares whether you are playing analog or digital. I like the ME-50 because it is so easy to use. As of now I would probaly get another one if lost. In all, if you like the product and like the sound don't give a rip what other people say do what you want, it's your cash.

very easy to use manually, pedals work great and only niggle i might have is the memory thing could have been just a little easier to use but other than that no problems if your not too much of a sound nut

me im using yamaha pacifica and fender frontman 15 cus im a cheap ass, but im suprised at what the boss me-50 can get out of that fairly basic set up, distortions are all pretty, good, would have been nice to have an SD-1 but you can't have everything, the delay , i tend to use a tap function for creating my own delay timing and it seems to work well enough for what im trying to achieve, modulation, chorus and harmony is great and theres a flanger and rotary if you messin around, and then i found an enhancer function to improve the tone quality of my pacifica quite significantly. wah pedal, fantastic, with resonance and then some daft options like voice, computer blippy noises and motorbikes and what not, its perhaps more a boys toy than an elitists accessory but, its affordable for those of us who cant get themselves a korg 3 or somethign crazy, and definitely improves more basic equipment, so perhaps the complaints you have seen here are from those who already have decent amps/guitars and really didnt necessarily need this, but otherwise for the price its a great range of effects in one, get you started in effects anyway!

you can't go wrong with a boss

well contact numbers are provided if a fault occurs, even though there is only one per country but is it really going to break?

well im a bit of a u2 nut, the delay (tap effect) was substantial enough for where the streets have no name, and if I had two amps i cans ee the pan being of use to, other than that analogue isnt too bad and the rest is pretty bog standard, 70s lizzy topne is possible, acoustic sound, its greta just a big range of noises to make use of and play with, hours of enjoyment.

this i think has to be the easiest effects unit to program and edit i have ever used just turn a few knobs and youve gota new sound... o thats nice i might store that select wich bank and pedal you want and bobs your uncle easy as that

i found most of the effects very useable, i am a bit unsure of the wah but yeah , oh and some of the real heavy distortions hiss somtin cronic but i am not a death metal man myself so that dont matter

this thing is built like a ww2 veteran stomp it as hard as you want it will take anything , only one thing the tone modify knobs etc. feel a bit squealchy like they might wear out but its not a big deal.

never dealt wit them and i dont think i will have to this thing is built like a brick!!

I have been playing the guitar for 18 years now and have gone through lots and lots of different equipment....this by far is the easiest effects processor I have ever used....The only thing easier would be to plug directly into an amp and playing that way....

The setup I am currently using is an Ibanez JS-1000 plugged directly into the ME-50 than plugged into a crate g-600 solid state amp with a Blue Voodoo 4x12. I also use an ESP with EMG 81's. I use only the clean channel on the amp with the tone controls set at 12 o'clock and no reverb. This product allows the natural sound of your playing to shine through with still plenty of gain. The effects on it are pretty good quality but are somewhat noisy. Since this is supposed to be a mixture of different Boss pedals I wonder if the noise came from the use of an AC adapter vs. using the Batteries that are supplied just like the original Boss pedals. The noise gate does a DECENT job of cleaning up the noise that I know is not coming from my guitars. The distortions on the ME-50 sound very good and very tube like. The metal sounds are superior to most tube amps and do not sound fuzzy at all. The reverb on the item is good but the delays lack the depth of good quality digital units...same goes for the chorus....however I have tried all of them and this one is definately up there as far as quality goes. The wah sounds really good with the Fuzz setting and you can get dead on "Voodoo Chile" tones with it but it lacks depth with the higher gain distortions. Compressor is good for clean but sucks with Distortion...im going to give it a 9 but its really more of an 8+1/2....

Feels ultra sturdy...have had boss pedals for over 10 years now and are still kicking strong....

Never dealt with them before

Overall it works perfect for me...Im into progressive metal ala` Dream Theater and it really helps my solos sing with the JS-1000 axe. The crunch could use some more balls for real metal type players but for $299 its definately, MOST definately bang for the buck...

I switched to this from a Digitech RP-6 for anumber of reasons- ease of changing settings was one of them. The three effect pedal paradigm with knobs was just the ticket.

I use a 1969 Les Paul, a Yahamaha RGZ321-P through a Marshall 3201 Tube head. I LOVE my Marshall sound, and the RP-6 colored it, even with modeling off. If you set the ME-50 to null, that being, no level boost, no effects, run through my effects loop, you can plug and unplug it and hear absolutely no change in tone. Perfect. I give it a nine for the inability to to set a fixed power boost for leads that doesn;t change the tone.

Built like the typical Boss Rock.

For the money, it's hard to beat.

This thing is easy to use...bought it today...gigged it this evening! Up until this evening I have been using a cobbled together pedal board containing various fx pedals, i wanted to try this unit to see if it really is as easy to use as the ads say and ....IT IS! Manual mode is really useable live as it says in the adverts it is just as easy as regular pedals.

I am using the unit with a suped up Fender Tele with seymour duncan little 59 in the bridge and a hot rhythm in the neck positions into a Fender Hot Rod Deville also occasionally use A Standard Strat again with a seymour duncan little 59 in the bridge. For overdrive I like a Ibanez tube screamer type sound, the screamer setting on the ME50 is great it doesn't sound much different to my original TS808 especially in a live situation you really can't tell the difference! I don't use a huge ammount of effects but all modulation effects on the unit seem fine chorus is really good! Delays do exactly what I expect of them, expression pedal is great..wah wah effect is fine and useable..for the money this thing is great!! I spent two hours getting to know it and took it to a gig that night what more can I say?....This is the first time I have been happy with a floor based multi effects in the live situation, i have had digitech stuff even other boss stuff and have never got a good gigging sound out of them they were great at low volume or through headphones but live they were sh**e! I play everything from 60's music to present day rock and pop my main sounds are overdrive (use compressor for lead breaks) chorus for clean chord work and tap tempo delays and the odd phaser or flanger, what I have wanted though is the option to have other effects at my disposal and I think this unit is gonna serve just that purpose! Try one for yourself some people have slated this thing in these reviews, but i'm glad I took the time to try one out...this is a real diamond FX processor. The only thing that seems useless to me is the tone changer thing! you don't need it! Compressor is great too better than the Boss CS3 simple and effective! All of the fun effects are there to for those mad creative bedroom guitar moments...come on we all have them!

Seems solid enough to me, i have gigged it without any back-up it's a Boss they're built like tanks!

Haven't tried them yet but I belive should I need them the UK HQ is very near to where I live...which is handy!

GO WITH AN OPEN MIND TO YOUR NEAREST DEALER AND GIVE ONE A GO! Seriously good unit.

I bought this used with no manual and was up and running in just a couple of minutes. Very easy to use, you don't need a manual. No brainer to edit and create patches. I had it mastered within 30 minutes.

First of all, you need to know that the sound quality of this unit depends completely on how you set it up. For example, I'm using it through a Tech 21 Trademark 60. When used in the effects loop it sounds like complete CRAP! When used in front of the amp on the drive channel it also sounds like crap. However, when you put in front of the amp on the clean channel........WOW!!!!! It sounds GREAT!! Many have said the OD's are no good. I've not found this to be true. In fact the OD's are excellent. The OD-1, OD-2, BD-1, DS-1, and MT-2 are all great. I don't really like fuzz effects so I can't say whether those are good or not. From my experience they sound like they do what they're supposed to. The modulation and delays are all very good. As good as any individual effects I've ever used. The analog delay is particularly good. I will agree with most of the other reviewers and say that the reverbs are completely useless. The noise gate is actually one of the best I've used. Though, many have said they don't like it. At this price I'd like to know what they've used that's better? I used to own an early model dynacomp and I'd say that the compressor on the ME-50 is almost as good. The expression pedal is great. The wah is very good, though, not as good as a dunlop...but almost. The voice effect on the pedal is fairly lame, however, the octave effects are great. For those that have said it sounds horrible, I can only conclude that they just didn't set it up correctly. It certainly has the ability to sound like shit, but if set up correctly it's an amazing unit. Well worth the price!

Built by Boss. This thing is made like a tank. I was sold the first time I stepped on the expression pedal. It was heavy smooth and solid as a rock.

Never used it.

This unit answers all my needs for effects in one easy to use package. Unlike most multi effects units that do one thing well, the ME-50 does it all! With the exception of the reverbs, all of the effects on this unit are as good as the individual Boss pedals, at least the ones I've used. If you like their one-off units you'll love this.

Very easy to use...no menus and an excellent interface. All the knobs are on the "face" of the unit, and are clearly marked.

As far as getting a sound...start with the distortion section with the knobs at 12 O'Clock, and work from there.

The manual is informative and complete.

I'm using this with a variety of guitars, but primarily I use a '74 Gibson Les Paul (beat to crap, just the way I like it) with a Seymour duncan JB pickup in the bridge and a Seymour Duncan Jazz pickup in the bridge. I use a Mesa Boogie Studio .22 combo (all tube, 1x12" speaker). This unit certainly likes playing with quality gear. If you are getting weird noises or substandard sound, check your cables and other gear.

The unit isn't noisy at all, and with the the gate engaged, is less noisier still. Of course, hi-gain settings will be noisier than low-gain ones, but that's the nature of the beast. The ME-50 is actually much quieter than the massive pedalboard based system I used to use, with 8 pedals in series powered by a Furman SPB-8.

The effects are very good...you have practically everything: Wah, chorus, Flange, harmonizer, etc. Only one complaint - the delay level knob seems to kick in only on settings of 11'O'Clock or higher; in other words, you can't really hear the delay effect too well at lower levels. But, I like the whole Edge/David Gilmour/Andy Summers sound, so I tend to turn the delay up anyway to begin with and therefore this isn't really a problem for me.

I strongly disagree with the reviewer below who said the sounds were digitized crap...remember, it's not the car that gets into the accident - it's the driver. Like I said before, use the best gear you can afford. I can't tell you how many HC reviews I've seen where someone says "It's crap!!!" about a product, only to see him/her reveal that he/she uses the unit with a $150 Squire guitar and a Gorilla combo. Garbage in, Garbage out.

Also, beware of extreme settings...this is true of any unit, but especially this one. Let your hands, the wood of your guitar, and (preferably) the tubes of your amp do the work. I set my amp to a loud clean with moderate breakup, and then use the Distortion (the OD-2 setting) to saturate the sound. I've owned many of the pedals that the ME-50 models, and yes, they do sound astonishingly close.

As far as the common complaint about the "lag" in patch switching in program mode - it's not as bad as some of the guys below make it seem. In fact, they may be shocked to discover that the same thing actually happens on $1500 big name processors. You know how your computer takes a second to load a program? Well, ALL DIGITAL DEVICES DO THIS. The only way to use this is to use a parallel/send system (like the pros do), but I don't have the cash to invest in such an impractical system (and chances are, neither do you, if you're reading this).

How do you get around this? Either stay in manual mode like I do (honestly, do you REALLY need so many patch changes?!?!?!) or just pause your playing before getting to the next patch. People, it's not a big deal. Get over it.

As far as getting the sounds of your favorite artists - this is actually a great "poor man's Edge" device...the triplet delay is very handy for getting that "When the Streets have no name" sound (which is NOT two delays going at once, contrary to what many will have you believe). And yes, the moron below complaining about how the tap function only works on triplets is WRONG. The tap function works on ALL the delays, and the mod effects too. READ THE MANUAL!

I can get pretty much nearly every sound I can think of with this unit. I give it a 9 isntead of a 10 only because of the delay level knob issue, which is minor anyway.

Like all Boss products, it seems very reliable...it even includes batteries that you can use for backup purposes! I'd gig in a heartbeat without a backup.

Never used them. But, I do have to take off a couple of points here.

First, they DON'T include the pwoer supply with your purchase. WHY?!?!
Second, in order to access the tone modify (which is Boss' fancy term for the selectable/bypassable fixed EQ settings) and/or compressor function in manual mode, or to access the up/down bank select function in program mode, you need to purchase (an) extra switch(es) and the appropriate cable.

Would it have killed the company, finacially, to include these with the unit? Hmmph!

I've been playing for 10 years. My band plays both covers and originals in the classic rock/punk style (think the Clash, Television, early U2, etc.). This covers all the bases for what we do. As I wrote before, I switched over from a multiple-pedal system that I was never happy with. I even considered getting into the whole rack thing, but then I came across an ad for this thing in a guitar magazine. I tried it out at Guitar Center, and put my pedalboard up for sale the next day.

I also do roadie/guitar tech work for a popular NYC-based tribute band on the weekends, and I come across plenty of hi-tech, fancy, expensive gear. I can honestly say that for the price, this is one of the better multi-effects units on the market. To think that 7 years ago, I paid the same price for a crappy DOD multi-effects unit that did only a fraction of what the Boss ME-50 does know! How times have changed...

Anyway, woul I buy it again if it were stolen? Yes. I really love this thing...it's inspired me to incorporate more FX into my playing, which untimately has helped my band discover new sounds and song ideas. The only thing(s) I wish it had standard were the power supply and outboard switcher pedals (Boss FS-U).

When deciding whether to buy a unit like this, remember that the ultimate test is whether it helps you make music or not. Effects are a means to an end - and all the gear in the world isn't gonna save you from bad songwriting and crappy skill. As for the "tube snobs" or authenticity freaks who argue against the ME-50 because it doesn't sound like some hot vintage collectible de jour: guys, get lives. NOBODY in the audience cares about your gear.

I was once such a snob, and I found that my sound AND my playing got better when I started taking shit OUT of my signal path. I did the whole dedicated-pedal-for-every-effect thing, and ended up with a huge, heavy, pedalboard with tons of noise and signal loss. It was so impractical that I rarely used it for live gigs here in NYC.

Now with the ME-50, I have a rig, with, ironically, MORE sounds than my old system, that sets up in minutes and fits into a laptop bag. Lovely!

The ME-50 is great bang for the buck. If you can operate a stomp box, you can operate this thing. The manual is an easy read, and handy as a reference, but I haven't needed it yet.

I bought the ME-50 to replace a Digitech RP2000 that I ran in the effects loop of my Boogie DC-3. Since the RP2000 is an amp modeler with cabinet simulation, it was altering the Boogie sound (cardinal sin!!!), and I just couldn't stand it anymore. I wanted to get an all-in-one box that had no amp models and wouldn't reshape my basic tone. But I also couldn't spend a ton of money at this juncture, so the ME-50 was perfect.

I found that running the ME-50 in the effects loop was the best way to go. If I ran it between my guitar and the amp, I got all kinds of variation in the effect levels between my Boogie's clean and overdriven channels. It also muddied the sound. But when I put it in the effects loop and adjusted my Boogie's SEND level, and tweaked the ME-50's level, I settled in on something I was really pleased with.

I was very pleased with the effects overall, but as has been said in many other reviews, the distortions are blah. I may be able to tweak one or two of them to use as a "third channel" as it were, but I have no use for them otherwise. Same with the tone selector.

I haven't used any BOSS gear in years, but it has a reputation for reliable, durable stuff. This is encouraging.

Haven't ever dealt with support.

I have played for 25 years in a number of bands. i used to really love a wet, processed sound, but have outgrown that and am back to just using a really good amp, with an effect or two to sweeten the sound or to mimic the sound of a tune for a cover gig. If I had the money, I would probably go with a rack unit (something from Lexicon or TC Electronics), but the ME-50 is plenty adequate for my current needs.

The ME-50 is great bang for the buck. If you can operate a stomp box, you can operate this thing. The manual is an easy read, and handy as a reference, but I haven't needed it yet.

I bought the ME-50 to replace a Digitech RP2000 that I ran in the effects loop of my Boogie DC-3. Since the RP2000 is an amp modeler with cabinet simulation, it was altering the Boogie sound (cardinal sin!!!), and I just couldn't stand it anymore. I wanted to get an all-in-one box that had no amp models and wouldn't reshape my basic tone. But I also couldn't spend a ton of money at this juncture, so the ME-50 was perfect.

I found that running the ME-50 in the effects loop was the best way to go. If I ran it between my guitar and the amp, I got all kinds of variation in the effect levels between my Boogie's clean and overdriven channels. It also muddied the sound. But when I put it in the effects loop and adjusted my Boogie's SEND level, and tweaked the ME-50's level, I settled in on something I was really pleased with.

I was very pleased with the effects overall, but as has been said in many other reviews, the distortions are blah. I may be able to tweak one or two of them to use as a "third channel" as it were, but I have no use for them otherwise. Same with the tone selector.

I haven't used any BOSS gear in years, but it has a reputation for reliable, durable stuff. This is encouraging.

Haven't ever dealt with support.

I have played for 25 years in a number of bands. i used to really love a wet, processed sound, but have outgrown that and am back to just using a really good amp, with an effect or two to sweeten the sound or to mimic the sound of a tune for a cover gig. If I had the money, I would probably go with a rack unit (something from Lexicon or TC Electronics), but the ME-50 is plenty adequate for my current needs.

The ease of use on this thing really sets it aside from any other multi-effects systems, because there are no endless digital menus to sift through and it is all done manually by knobs. This means that it is like carrying around a few stomp boxes rather than a computer. However, the time it takes to change between each bank can be very annyoying, but you can get round this by waiting for a pause in the song, or getting your co-guitarist to play while you change. Alternatively you could just configure the setting manually without using the patches, but it really up to you and i dont see it as a life threatening drawback. Editing the patches just requires reading the manual.

Manually is long but it is set out nicely and gives you a few handy tips.

I play through a Marshall mg100dfx and i find that you can get super feedback-free sounds from the Me-50 if you set the amp to clean. Some of the distortions are slightly too similar for individual commendations and can produce terrible feedback on small amps like my other marshall 10-watt, but i think that may just be the bollocks amp!

Most of the other effects are super; you can yet awesome wah wah and phase shifting sounds but i haven't really found any particular use or reason for the ring modulator which ultimately sounds something like C3P0 choking on a traction engine.

I would depend on it, i cant see anything going wrong with it and its a BOSS so it's built like fort knox.

never had to use them, hopefully never will.......

I play a variety of rock; red hot chili peppers, muse, rage against the machine etc and i never have a problem with finding new sounds, (except maybe for some of tom morrelo's dickhead solos). I've never got pissed off with it, i find it more than satifactory, and i think its the best in the business for its potential and price.
Great buy!!!

Excellent!!!

This is really easy to use, i have tried other multi-effects pedals and this is by far the easiest to use! No one will have problems with that..

I am using a Gibson Les Paul Studio, SG Special Faded and a Mexican Standard Strat (yes..). Now i have a great sound on my guitars (the 3) with the ST Chorus 2, it gave a new dimension to my setup. I like almost all effects, but they have to be well configured, so you need to loose some time to get your sound!

I've used this on gigs and jams and had no problem or backup.

No, no problem at all yet!

This is a great tool, it's not an 2,000 US$ setup of effects but it will sound like that to 99% of the people that are watching to your gigs.. This is not perfect, but only some really good musicians can estabilish a difference between this and other EXPENSIVE effects, so why buy those expensive stuff?

BOSS has recenlty increased the price of this unit here in PORTUGAL.. :( i could have bought this for 250?..

very easy: a knob for every parameter, no menues.
not quite es easy: find good parameter values (knob positions)

The effects all sound decent and are well worth their price, ranging from great to good in the order delay, modulation, reverb, compressor, NS. The "mod" reverb sounds great, but has no parameters to edit. I admit that it is often difficult to find knob positions that sound good, but you should spend some time! Sometimes small changes make big differences. After some time, I found knob positions that sound great for every effect.

EXCEPT: the distortion is just digital trash! And the pedal sounds are all cheap stuff! The volume pedal function is very convenient, though.

The only distortion that does not sound digital is the rat (it never sounds like a rat, but it sounds good).

I tested this thing at a dealer. Chorus, reverb were good, and the delay was just great, very extreme things are possible. The delay actually convinced me to buy this thing.

had it for a short time, seems ok.

--

Forget the distortion and forget the pedal, all other effects are pretty good. Good "bang for the buck" at any rate. I like the delay and the mod reverb very much.

Some parameters can be changes drastically, but that also means that you have to be CAREFUL with the knobs to find "normal" parameter values that sound good.

All in all, it is very recommendable and well worth the price! If you leave out distortion and wah, you still get a good compressor, chorus, phase, flanger, harmonizer, reverb and delay! And you can tweak things to the extreme! That's what I like most. You can get really spacy sounds with this! It's cool!

Very easy to use!!
Never cracked the manual.

I use Tele's w/George L's cables into a Fender Deluxe RI. I was using a HRD but traded up to the DRRI.
The only noise is with higher Gain settings w/ OD/Dist.
The Chourus is wonderfull for 80's sounds. The Delays can nail everything from Gatton/Setzer Rockabilly to U2 to Cathedral. The Tremolo is the same as the TR-2, usable for sure but I like the DRRI's Trem better. The Rotary is VERY useable, nice touch Boss. I'm not really a Phaser/Uni/Flanger/Harmonizer kinda player,so I don't really use em' that much.
The Od/Dist section fared MUCH better with the darker sounding HRD than with my DRRI. With my present setup, most of the settings are overly fizzy. The Tube Screamer,OD-1,OD-2, will do in a pinch , but they don't exactly shine, (To be fair though, the DRRI is notoriously hard to mate with OD/Dist boxes). With the HRD they sounded great. The BD-2 wasn't nearly as fizzy or harsh as the actual Pedal. The Fuzztones didn't sound like Bumblebee FM radio!!
The Compressor is OK, sounds better than the CS-3. I normally use a DynaComp, and while this one dosent match up, It'd do in a pinch.
The Reverbs are just terrible. There's a thrakk sound when you hit notes. Cheezy sounds. I'll stick w/ the Deluxes Reverb thanks.
The Noise Supressor is kinda useless. It'll cut down on the hiss but it audibly cuts off sustained notes in a really bad ,stuttering way.
The Expression Pedal was a Pleasant suprise. The Wah is actually pretty good. It sounds good with Distortion ,as well as clean. The Taper of the Volume is good,( I never thought about a Vol pedal till I tried this one, now I can't imagine playing without one). The rest of the settings aren't really sounds I'd ever use.
The Good sounds in the ME-50 are REALLY GOOD. The Bad sounds just suck!!

Built like a BOSS. Everything seems sturdy enough.

They came SOOOO close with this Unit!!! This thing would be perfect for Bar gigs and Jams. Perfect size,all the right features. The OD/Dist needs to go back to the drawing board though (COSM must stand for Creates Overall Sound Mutilation). Dump the "Tone Modify" section, it's cheezy. The Tuner could use some work too. The Reverbs should be scrapped alltogether and started again from scratch. Model the Compressor on The DynaComp or Ross units. DON'T TOUCH THE MODULATION,DELAY,VOLUME or WAH!!! Those are winners!!!
I'm keeping this unit to take to Jams and small gigs where I may need some different sounds. I'll be great for sitting in using House amps. I don't use Od/Dist very much so hopefully it'll do in those situations. With a darker amp, this unit'll do just fine. However, I play alot of Roots/Country/Rockabilly where the DRRI is perfect. I'll keep my TU-2/DynaComp/ZW-44/Crybaby/DM-2 setup, but use the ME-50 for portability/backup. This would make a perfect gigging unit with a little tweaking from Boss.

They couldn't have made it any easier.

To the reviewer below. It's not an amp simulator. Put it thru the front of a good tube amp. I have the Pod xt as well that is used for home recording. Neither are are the 10's that my best analog effects would get but if you're using quality guitars, pickups, and tube amps the ME 50 is a solid 9. If you can't get good sounds out of this thing check out the rest of your setup. Also the effects are on par with the GT-6. With the patch changing swithes, which are a necessity for live use they're about the same price.

Been playing pro for over 20 years and this is not the best that money can buy(compared to some analog pedals and rack gear) but it is a quaity, convenient tool.

Very easy to use, the knob-based interface is why I bought it.

I play through PA's, mostly through Seymor Duncan humbuckings. I was happy with the delays, mods, reverbs. The distortions are basically worthless with my setup. They sound like a bunch of mosquitos. I just couldn't use them at all, that's why it's on eBay as I am writing this and a brand new POD XT is on my desk next to my computer.

It was very reliable, I gigged it a bunch and it never even got a scratch in the finish. The expression pedal held up quite well. However, I think the Stereo Chorus 2 effect got a little manky--not sure, but this single effect might have given up the ghost.

I play singer-songwriter stuff, electric lead behind an acoustic guitar. Been playing about 32 years, been through all kinds of effects and guitars. Have been through several Line 6 units, and am back to Line 6 again. My overall rating of the ME-50: Nice try, fellas, but not good enough.

The main selling point of this unit is that is easy to use: You simply twiddle the knobs which are clearly labelled and press the write button to save your settings!

This unit does offer some good quality sounds, but the quality largely depends upon the particular amp you put it through. It definitely sounds better if the amp is set clean with a flat EQ ! Whether you like the effects is a matter of taste - I particulary like the MT2 distortion, the phaser and the tap delay, but I found many of the overdrive sounds too thin and tinny, the compressor is quite noisy and the tone settings are too subtle! The expression pedal works well as a volume and octave control but I didn't feel there was enough range on the wah and filter controls.

Seems very sturdy, I would use it without a backup, but I wouldn't throw it about!

N/A

I play mainly funk and rock on electric guitar and this unit provides me with a wide range of reasonably good quality sounds, in one box, with no menu surfing for a reasonable price. I chose it because I am on a tight budget, I am fed up of plugging in multiple effects pedals and power supplies etc, and hate menu surfing in order to edit sounds. This has now replaced all of my other effects apart from a Digitech Synth Wah and a Boss RC-20 Loopstation. The only complaint I have is that in order to change banks without bending down you have to buy two momentary footswitches. This represents a hidden cost and means extra cables and boxes on the floor!

It's so easy to use, it really doesn't need a manual.

I am a long time Boss user having owned over a dozen Boss pedals and currently own 3 other products including a BR864 which I love. I don't claim to be an expert but I am very experienced and familiar with Boss.

While I found the mods and delays quite nice (Although the choruses were weak) I was really surprised at how little the effects sound like their individual stombox counterparts. This is a big marketing feature with this unit but if you are at all familiar with the MT-2, DS-1 and especially the OD-1 & 2, you won't be able to duplicate that sound with the ME50.

I played, tweaked, set, reset and fiddled with this thing for the full 30 days I got from the merchant to return it, trying desperately to get an authentic warm overdrive out of it. I just couldn't.

The chorus doesn't claim to be the famous CE-1, 2 or ensemble but I've owned a CE-2 for 10+ years and I couldn't even get close with the ME50.

The sweep on the expression pedal in Wah mode is maybe an inch physically. Sonically, it passes by you so quick you hardly hear it. Conversely, the expression pedal is great for whammy/trem effects and the volume pedal is smooth as silk.

Contrary to other comments here, the tuner worked fine for me.

The noise suppressor was surprisingly effective especially at knocking out the buzz on my single coils.

As mentioned in previous reviews, the patch switching latency is easily overcome by either using it in Manual mode or hitting the "Edit" button whilst in Preset mode. This was a big concern of mine but really isn't a problem if you use the pedal as it was designed to be used.

It's Boss.

Never dealt with them and hope I never have to. Getting info off their website is like pulling teeth.

I've been playing for 25+ years. Goth, punk, classic rock, R & B. Mostly Strats and Les Pauls.

I read all the reviews both before and after I bought the ME50 so I had a fair idea of what I was getting into but it still fell short.

This unit frustrated the shit out of me. I was determined to get some quality tone out of it but no matter how much time I spent tweaking it, I couldn't get what I wanted.

My Korg PX4 runs circles around the ME50 in every way; features, sound quality, portability. (Check them out - they're $100 cheaper!)

Nothing sums up the ME50 better than: "You get what you pay for." And maybe I shouldn't be so harsh because of that but if that's the case then merchants need to stop referring to it as the "GT6 Junior," 'cuz it ain't. This stomper is probably perfect for the amateur/beginner - that's who it's really designed for despite how it's marketed.

But that's what I'm returning it for; a GT6.

If you can use other Boss pedals, this should be easy. Looks like a lot of dials but is layed out logically. The manual is pretty good. Its easy to edit patches. Agree with other users that the tuner is nearly useless -- way too sensitive. Why didn't they include their chromatic tuner that's already an industry standard?? Recently played a gig on the roof of Peabody Hotel -- couldn't see the display at all in the sun. Wish it had a separate EQ control, but no biggie.

I run an Epiphone Dot to the ME-50 and into a Peavey Classic 50 tube amp. Its quite. The compressor, noise suppressor and reverb are excellent. I love the choruses and delays. The built in wah is a plus and is decent, but has a little bit of a short sweep. I can get good BB King tones through this rig. I like the more classic overdrive sounds (Tubescreamer imitator) but the more crunch sounds start to sound too much alike for me. Probably less to do with the pedal than my Epi.

Never seen a Boss pedal quit. I don't baby it but I don't drop it either. I think its pretty rugged.

I have called Boss before, not for this item but for their DR-770 drum machine. Got directed to the right place immediately to an informed rep. Positive experience, so far.

I mostly play classic rock and blues. I've been playing guitar and keyboards for over 20 years, although most of my electric experience is recent (last 5 years or so.) I own a high end Martin acoustic/electric, Ibanez jazzbox, Washburn acoustic electic and a couple of throwaways. I like this product -- for me, no wire hassles, -- just plug and play with very good sounds. You have to spend time with it though. I didn't like it right out of the box, until I worked with my whole setup. I've recorded directly through the ME 50 and into my Korg recorder, which went well. The ME-50 brings a lot of good sounds to the table for around $300.

For a multi-effect as versatile as this, it is very easy to use. It may seem a bit intimidating to look at at first for some (novices) but I found it easy to figure out, even without looking at the manual. I was able to get all the sounds I was looking for in less than an hour. With other multi-effects units, you need to spend several hours tweaking to just start getting close to what you are looking for.

I've read some reviews where sound quality is complained about but I have to say it is one of the best units out there for sound quality. All effects sound great and there is very little noise. If noise is a problem for you with your set-up, check your wiring from the guitar through to your amp. Plus the built-in noise gate can help you if needed. I use a US Fender Tele with a Peavey Transtube Studio Pro 112 and get nothing but great results.

This unit is built tough and can handle rough handling. Never had a problem with it and I fully trust it with having extra equipment for back-up.

I've been gigging for nearly twenty years and the ME-50 is the best, most reliable multi-effects unit I've ever used. I play all types of music: country, classic rock, pop, and hard rock and the ME-50's versatility lends itself to all genres of music. For the money, you cannot get more bang for your buck.

Covered already

I run this into a marshall 265R 212 combo so that I could get a deeper distortion for the harder edge stuff we play.I could have just got a couple of pedals but I dont like all the cables and power supplies.You have to set this up to the amp and guitar {LTD H1000 w/active emg's}that you are going to use.It can sound thin or heavy depending on the amp and the settings you use.It does mimic my marshall realy well so I will use the distortions on the boss Me 50. The tone mod is useless on the distortions but seems to do something to the clean side.....not sure what...The effects are good and the reverb works.The weird thing is that when you save a patch you have created the master volume is saved as well.I think it sounds good has plenty of drive on the distortions and overdrives.Delays are nice and clear.Here is the bottom line on any piece of gear,go check it out if it sounds good to you then take it home and try it with your rig.Then make sure you tweak it and make sure its going to work for you.If it does then nothing anyonelse says make a difference.I STRONGLY recomend to anyone that plays in a band to check gear out first in a band setting to make sure it sounds the way you want.What you think sounds good in the spare bedroom at home is not exactly what you are going to get at a club or bar when you have to turn it up to 4-6 to keep up with a drummer and the other guitar/bass players.I have seen bands over the past 15-20 years use everything from a zoom 505 to a full set of miss match pedals and make it work so try it and see what happens.Hope this helps anyone...Later.

Boss,metal case should be fine.

Great value if it works for you.But I must agree with alot of others here....BOSS WHERE IS THE POWER SUPPLY ? COME ON !!!!

I think you have to be a brain-dead moron like "Kev" below to not understand this thing. How much easier can they make it? This is probably one of the coolest Boss multi-effects units ever made outside of the OD-20. It's basically the OD-20 with everything else one could want to complete your guitar tone quest. If you take the time to "dial it in", it's an incredibly useful tool.

Take the best of all Boss has offered (except the rare and hard to find SG-1 Slow Gear, wish they would have included that)and combine it in one easy to use multieffector. You really have to be a moron not to get good sounds out of this box. Go ahead and waste your money on a bunch of different pedals and patch cables to try to get all this thing offers. It's not possible because on top of everything else, you can save 30 different presets ANY WAY that you want them. Wow. Plus cabinet/tone variation knobs gives you unbelieveable combinations of sounds. Compressor is excellent and QUIET! (no pumping) Noise Suppression is excellent and variable. Tuner works excellent. My only gripe is the Spring Reverb setting, as it allows the "boing" sound through too easily, but they give you 3 other stellar reverbs besides that to work with, so live with it. This unit destroys Pod XT, Tonelab, and other similar units. Boss has been making pedals a LONG time, they know what they are doing.

All metal chassis, solid unit feel. Time will tell, but again, it's a Boss product, should last a long time.

Never used their customer support.

Stellar, direct recording device or in front of an amp. They give you both options. All the core guitar effects you will probably need. What I like about Boss is that they don't have to come up with goofy names to spice up their product. They give you Overdrive, Distortion, Delay, Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, Tremolo, Reverb, etc.etc. You know they are good, most pro players use them to this day, and this is simply an incredible all in one package. I submitted a review on the OD-20 Drivezone as the first in a building block of effects. Now, they give me the OD-20 packaged in a multi-effect all in one solution which I didn't think was possible. NO MENUS!!! It's all there on top, dial it in, save it, go play. Way too cool. Thanks Boss!

Very bloddy annoying in "memory mode" even with a patch saved if you turn any knobs it will change the patch.. very annoying indeed, tuner is very inacurate for lower tunings dont even try tuning to b or lower, drop c is pretty much as low as it can handle... Manual was good, even though it lies about how good it is..

Complete and utter shit. The distortion only sounds good on a low volume if you try turning it up my amp farts with a fuzzy bass kinda noise, the chorus is shit I cant get a nice ryhtum distortion\Chorus going at all, the delay is poo as well, and it clunks badly when switching effects, and it's not like im using a crap amp and guitar I'm using a Marshall DSL100+1960A cab and a Explorer with a EMG81 on the bridge...

Wouldnt bring this thing to a shit fight.

Nope. I got more enjoyment smashing it to million bits with a tommahawk than playing through it, not much sense in ringing customer support now.

Shit, shit, and more shit. Do not buy this crap. if you see one in your local music store pick it up and throw it at the sales guy and tell him your dissapointed in him for selling such crap. I generally play hard rock ie. needing a decent distortion and a high output and this did neither I get a better tone out of the stomp box I banged together in my shed. seriously do not buy this junk I wouldnt piss on if it was on fire.

Easy to use but fine tweaking does require a read of the manual, so if you can't read, the benefits of the BOSS Me-50 will be limited(that might explain some of the very negative posts here).

I'm an amateur to be sure, but I've been banging on various musical instruments for the past 20 years. I have a few BOSS pedals in my collection and I've toyed with different processors and amp modelers in the music stores, but nothing has allowed to me get the range and quality of sounds I was looking for until the Boss ME-50. Are there processors with better effects and sound quality? I'm sure there are, but most likely not in my price range. And the ME-50 is good enough for my needs. In fact, it's more than enough. And much more than I hoped for, even after experimenting with one in the shop. Not until I purchased it, got it home, and learned to properly use and tweak its functions did it really shine (I especially like the distortion and reverb effects -- easy to achieve that AC/DC style tube crunch).

I pump this through a home-brew tube amp. If you don't have a good amp, don't worry. Plug in some GOOD headphones and you'll soon get lost in your own guitar world (I used the Sennheiser HD 280 Pro studio headphones and it sounds great).

As suggested in other posts, creativity depends in part on getting the proper sound to tinker with. I mainly like to create my own music and after only a fews days of playing with the BOSS I experienced a rush of creativity. I'm planning to put my existing effects pedals on the auction block.

So far so good.

I read through all of these posts before purchasing the ME-50 and I took special note of the negative evaluations. The good seemed to outweigh the bad, and seemed to be consistent with my own trial run of the product, so I took the leap. Perhaps my expectations were lowered somewhat, but after I received it and learned to tweak it, my expectations were completely blown away. The Me-50 must surely have its limits, so I'm not ranking it 10/10 like some other posts. If you're a pro and have time to explore all the options, you can no doubt find superior equipment. But if you're a regular 6-pack Joe like me, on a limited budget, you shouldn't be disappointed. I think you get quite a bit more than you pay for. Just don't expect the Boss ME-50 to transform your electric guitar into a full-bodied 12-string acoustic guitar, etc., or expect the factory patches to satisfy your every whim. If you don't like the patches, read the manual and learn how to tweak 'em. If you're a performing musician, be sure to read the other posts concerning usability on stage.

very good, intuitive, it pays to read the manual, but usable sounds are quickly available

the sounds are good, usefull. while I may have individual pedals that are more to my liking this is a great way to get to a gig and plug and play. the sound of the unit is very much a product of the amp you are using. so you can change the whole vibe by changing amps. so far I have to say that it seems to like solid state amps, but a tube amp with good head room would work

I think its a solid unit. I would go without backup. I can get through a gig without effects if necessary.I have never had a Boss product fail on me, ever.

no idea

I use this on pop gigs, it works fine. If you tend to stand on your pedals you will find your self in "tap mode" just don't do that and you will be fine. I have been playing for at least 40 years. I own lots of stuff. I would replace this if it were lost or stolen. I have used other boss multi pedals and for my use this is the best. The reviews of this pedal that are intensly negitive should be disregarded. This thing does the job without any fuss. So far I think it sounds better into the preamp rather than into the poweramp or effects loop. It wants some EQ with out a preamp its a bit brittle. so into the front end of your amp and roll off a bit of lows and boost the treble a bit and I am good to go.

As Roland advertise, this thing is simple and easy to use. All the settings can be changed and saved within like 5 seconds. But to me it is a little bit too simplified. for example in the tone mod section terms like "fat, tight, mild..." makes the unit look less professional to me.

This unit is pretty much designed to go with a real amp. If you use the line out option into the PA system, it is hard to get a good tone because this unit does not have an EQ section or amp modelling. If you want that, u should go with a GT6. The noise gate kicks in kind of slow and some of the distortion settings make quite alot of noise. Modulation and delay are ok. I just don't like how the tap tempo delay works in triplets instead of straight 8th notes. There is a slight half second silent when u switch patch in memory mode and the effects (delay and reverb) don't carry over so you will feel and sudden cut.

i've been using it for a year, in and out of gigs and my room... no problem so far.

don't know

I've been playing guitar for around 6 years, mainly rock and metal with my bc rich mockingbird with seymour duncans. if this was stolen, i would upgrade to some other amp modeling units becuase i'm more of a "travelling" guitarist, my tone would be more consistent if i plug into the PA everytime instead of adjusting to a different everytime. However, this unit is a good investment if u use it more for performance instead of recording. It's small and light and easy to adjust on the fly.

I pulled this thing out of the box and immediately began using it, only occasionally needing to refer to the manual. I found most of the settings easy to use - usually just a matter of adjusting a few knobs and/or pressing a switch or two.

My setup is a Carvin Bolt+ guitar plugged into the Boss ME-50, which is then plugged into a Roland Blues Cube 30 amp. All connected with Planet Waves gold-plated instrument cables with the tight-locking plugs. Each item in this setup has always been very quiet for me, including the ME-50 - no unwanted noise at all.

This Boss is my first effects box, so I can't say how it compares to others. But I have been having many hours of fun trying out the wide variety of effects. In a way using this box is like having a bunch of different stomp boxes to pick and choose from, to see which you like best.

I've only had this a short while, but its construction seems sturdy. Everything I've read suggests that Boss pedals are very reliable, and they back it with a 5 year warranty.

Never had to deal with them.

I am pleased with this purchase and would definitely replace it if something happened.

Others have made it clear that all you have to do is twist the dials. Writing patches is about as simple as I can imagine it being. The manual was clear.

I prefer it to units that require scrolling while looking at cryptic LCD displays.

Why not a 10? Because the tuner is a minor pain in the neck. It jumps around too much.

I use it with both nylon and steel electric guitars. It sounds good with both, but, I'm not that demanding. I use chorus, reverb, the volume pedal and the tuner. Now and then I add a little delay.

Chorus and reverb both sound good to me. The volume pedal works smoothly. I don't have enough experience with other delay devices to offer an informed comment, but it didn't make me sound like Metheny. Noise reduction and compression don't help me much. I don't like any of the distortions, but I don't need them. I don't find it too noisy in my application.

My major problem with the sound is that I would prefer a real EQ. The limited number of EQ settings attempt to simulate pickups. That doesn't help me much. I just want a 5 band graphic which allows me to save settings. Not on this device.

Another point is that the master volume control is helpful. Apparently, it can give enough gain to drive a line level signal adequately, or so I think.

I've used it on gigs without backup. It looks solid.

No idea.

I wish it had EQ. It would be nice if the various reverbs were on separate knobs, or selected by a switch on the one knob. It would be good for me if the knobs had a little more resistance. Every time I put the thing away (soft case) the knobs all move. I would have liked a bypass switch.

What I love about it may sound dumb, but I like it that my volume pedal and tuner are integrated with my effects. The tuner isn't great, but all I have to do is move my foot once to turn off the guitar and turn on the tuner. And, I can see it in the dark.

I play with my foot on the volume pedal at all times (btw, it's easier sitting -- when I stand up I tend to turn on the wah wah feature by accident because my foot is heavy on it).

The fact is that I'd probably like it even without the effects just for the volume and tuner -- although it would be an expensive way to accomplish those functions.

Great, works straight out of the box. It's a snip to edit the 30 patches arranged into 10 banks by pressing the edit button. By doing this in a live situation you can use the 3 footswitches to take off or bring in the fx according to taste.

Like most things, it does actually pay you to read through the manual to discover the full functionality. The manual is clear and easy to comprehend.

This is a Boss/Roland gadget and they are pretty much top of the shop market leaders. The ME-50 has enormous range and diversity. Sure, it can be noisy but what isn't until you master it to your own taste?

My setup also incorporates a Roland GR-20 guitar synth channeled via a separate monitor system but the ME-50 goes into a Traynor Custom 40 with a Celestion V30 fitted. Either my Eggle LA Pro or Strat Plus sounds just fine.

I can get what I need from this device.

If I had to name just one inspirational artist, I would say Jeff Beck.

The ME-50 has been well researched and developed IMHO. The sound you get out of it depends on what you put into it and how you shape it.

I take off one point for the 'ping' in the spring reverb but I don't miss it because the Traynor has a good spring reverb built in if I want that specific type - reach over and tweak, simple.

The Boss pedigree suggests that it is built like a brick sh*thouse, but I don't throw my stuff around because I have to pay for it like most other folk.

I have a bag with spare valves and fuses of course but I can't see me needing to worry about the ME-50 especially unless someone dumps a beer onto it but that's my look out.

Roland UK are ok at replying to email queries. They have a record of my purchases and I trust that they would honour the warranties they give. Never had to invoke them though so I can't say that they are incredible when the chips are down.

I play rock and reggae rhythm material and I seek to carve out my own sound and not just endlessly seek to find someone elses.

I've played on and off for 30 years plus and I gig more now than ever before. I've mentioned the Roland GR-20 already - if this kit went on the missing list I would have to buy the same things again because I'm getting what I want out of what I have.

If that sounds smug, excuse me, but I have made plenty of mistakes in getting here. Who doesn't?

I auditioned a GT-6 before choosing the ME-50 and decided that it gave me what I was looking for. The Korg 1500 at 150 GBP was another contender but it sounded a bit digital by comparison.

To address the lack of bank switching, here's a tip: get a Nobels FS-2U and a single stereo patch lead and set negative polarity. This tough metal box has 2 switches, it is convenient and does the job of two Boss unlatch type foot switches at about half the price of just one of them and it works perfectly.

A power supply and bank switches do add to the cost but inclusion in the package at the same price would have forced economies elsewhere and who wants corners cut in sound or build quality?

In response to Mike below, there is a button called 'edit/exit' on the front of the ME-50 that allows you to recall all the individual sounds from a patch in memory mode.

You can then turn them on and off usuing the pedals, just like in manual mode, and also edit them by moving the dials (the dial will kick in when it gets to the same position you had it at when the patch was saved..if that makes sense)

The entire reason I sold my Me-30 and bought this is 'ease of use'. I ALWAYS use any FX unit on manual mode and this is, to the best of my knowledge, the first that's been been designed especially for this purpose. Good work Boss. Although, as someone has pointed out in the Yahoo ME-50 users' group, it would have been visionary to add a pedal for edit, enabling as to access the full structure of any patch and to turn sounds on or off within that patch. But I'll still give it a 10, because that idea is jus t a good one that I heard.

I trust that nay-sayers are doing so because they are hearing digital sounds through it, but I cannot. Here's a go: noise suppressors do cut out sustain: nature of the beast; compressors are noisy: turn it up, there's more noise; master volume turns up->more noise. Why is there such snobbery about all-in-one FX units? I'm using a 1988 standard Fender strat and a homemade Jazzmaster into the ME-50 into Boss Dimension C into (double amp) Vox Cambridge 30R and Yamaha G50 210. The distortions sound great to me. NEVER overdo the gain. Same on any effect unit; same on ANY stompbox. Modulation FX are very good- even the more obscure uni-vibe is great. Choruses (chorusii?) are great. As good as or better than my Boss Dimension C. Delays are all excellent. Without exception. And reverb- why do people complain about the pinging on 'spring' reverb?? That is what springs do! And 'mod' reverb is an excellent idea- essentially allows 2 modulations FX at once. 'Tone modify' is great! The only complaint would be the harmoniser and +/- octave all have a slight performance pause. Will no FX company fix this?

What can anyone say about Boss stuff? My non-Boss pedals (about 10) average about 7 for reliability; Boss gets 10. Why why why are they so reliable?

It's lucky that they're reliable, because their cisutomer support (especially in Australia) is crap. As is thrir website.

We play ambient/alternative guitar pop. It is ideal- maybr it isn't everyone else's. I have been playing for 15 years and this is undoubtedly the best FX unit I've ever owned (others: Boss ME-30; Korg AX1000-G; Boss ME-5; Zoom 2020). I would DEFINITELY buy another if this grew legs and walked. Wish list: doesn't have auto-wish.

Its very easy to use. I didnt even need to read istructions and everything is writen by the buttons(or what) so you dont have even to try what every button does - he he he nice!!!

i found somewhere on the internet plans of chips(and i know electrotehnic) so i noticed that the chips are taken from boss pedals(ofcourse with some changes) and we know that pedals dont give sinthetic sound like all cheaper procesors. So thats good... I tried it with my fender frontman(25w but good one) but fender amps are not for distorsion(warm and soft) so i tried it with my marshal(its so old that i dont know its name hahahaha but i the sound is better than fender) so think that its thing that which sound you need and like is the point of everything so i cant tell anyone which sound and option is good or not. But i say that its near to those procesors which cost more than 1000e. Sound is very nice - i like it!!!

You can definitly depend on it... I play every saturday in a "heavy metal brothers caffe" with it and i never had a problem with it!!!

They re ok... I never had to repair it - lucky me he he he he... I dunno so i say they would probably help or anything...

1. I play metal, rock, blues(metal most of the time) and it is good match. 2.I play like i dunno about 10yrs., and i own gibson les paul(custom + my changes like skuls and some other shits on it), paul reed smith and washburn x50 also amps fender and marshal, some shity pedals and this... Also i have some mixets for recording(doesnt matter). 3.yes i would buy it again if someone steels it but i am not losing my stuff... Look, im to lazy to answer to all questions...LOL q:-{D

Easy to use with very little need for the manual. But if you have to refer to it, it's fine. Bought it new to replace my Behringer VAmp because although more than happy with it, didn't want to use the huge MIDI-pedal to access sounds and so the ME-50 solved all that.

I experimented quite a bit with this. As the manual says, this isn't designed to be patched in via the effects loop and I agree here - too weird and noisy. It works better through the front end of an amp. Through my Fender RocPro 100 the sound was good and warm, not digital or noisy IMHO. If anything, it was slightly toppy and the amp eq needed some drastic adjustments made to it. I then tried it through my Marshall Valvestate 80/80 power amp feeding 2 Celestion Vintage 30 Mesa Boogie speakers and got stunning results. However, my favourite set up and this benefits the acoustic patch which is highly useable and not an after thought, is via a DI box direct to the PA. I found all the effects ultra quiet and the distortion very usable, even down to the fact that I can clean things up via the guitar volume on my PRS without any loss of tone. I've discovered a couple of pedals that I really like e.g Blues Driver, Tube screamer - I do not know how close they are to the originals but these 2 used with some compression, reverb,delay and chorus form the basis of my sounds. Other effects are adequate.I've been able to emulate sounds by fave artists (Nile Rodgers, Andy Summers, Pat Metheny, Neal Schon) and play in a function band where different settings/sounds are required all the time - rock,funk,pop,jazz (check out the pickup simulator for this and it's serious alternative to the Variax guitar) and it's handled them better than the GT5 I use to own. Haven't experienced silly volume jumps or annoying delays when changing sounds. The more expensive PODs do this.
Minor gripes -
Wish the expression pedal had alittle more travel in it, especially for the wah sweep.
I would have preferred a choice of 4 preset buttons instead of 3 and a set of up/down bank buttons like on the the GT units. However, and I think I read this in another review, I use the Behringer 2 pedal switch for the latter and was lucky I already had mine as I think it works out cheaper than buying 2 Boss equivalents.

Generally, the unit is tough and rugged with the expression pedal seeming like the most fragile part. Mind you, it's the only part of the unit that's plastic.

Don't like using adaptors generally and in this case tiny movements sometimes reset the unit but then again most FX these days come like that. I'd get a spare one of these as adaptors are always giving up on me. Haven't had call to use the battery option.

I do still take my V-amp along with me but do not envisage having to use it.

I've dealt with Roland UK on several occasions for other equipment and found them to be freindly,approachable and knowledgeable. If I've required parts or manuals, they have been posted out and arrived exactly when they said they would.

Having gone down the rack route and then about to buy a top notch valve amp and pedals (Fulltone, Keeley etc), this unit saved me spending silly money and the results are fine for me.

I've been playing for 23 yrs and have owned alot of fx units. This is my favourite to date and I do not think you can beat the sound of Boss pedals. I would replace it with the same and preferred the ease of use and sounds over the GT6.
It's a natural sounding unit and I was surprised to see so many mixed reviews on this subject. If you're in the market for going down the amp/pedal route, I'd recommend this as a good sounding and easy routing (it works that out for you) option.

pretty easy to use

I am gonna give it a 9 not a ten. Using this to add to my tone has worked great. I do not use this pedal as another channel for my amp.Except when i am fooling around metal zone setting. I have a good guitar but weak pick ups and this box helped me out just fine. I think the tube screamer sounds good at all settings. I use some chorus everynow and then and a little compression on cleans. I like to have this pedal around to use as a tone modifier and adding little more dirt and it works good for that. There could be improvements but it is not hard to get some good sounds with this.

very dependable eats batteries

Could be better

Cool pedal I like to have but i am not depending on it for my main tone.

pretty esiy to use, simple.

for some reason its really noisy, the delay is pretty good, very few effects but they are pretty good quality, and didnt like the distortion, i couldnt customize the distortion, no 3 band EQ, onl ypre-set distortions, there is only like 12 of them, didn't like that at all, i would reccomend this item, you can buy something of the same quality a lot cheaper.

pretty safe, tough.

its ok, mid to bad item

Very simple to use, just like BOSS stompboxes.

ive used it on Solid state & Valve stacks at very high volumes and i couldnt find 1 distortion that was usable or didnt sound really digital, the delays were passable, Phase/Flange etc were ok & the expression pedal was just a waist of time. i really couldnt see any one using this quality of effect at a gig or in a studio.

I only kept my for a month & in that time i practiced with my band about 6/7 times and i didnt have a problem (apart from it sounding rubbish)

Ive delt with boss/Roland before and theve always been helpful, But for palming this of to the public as a cheap alternative to Stomp boxes im not to happy with them

I can see how this pedal could be fun for bedroom guitarist etc but in a live enviroment this pedal would make any player seem like a joke. the time delay swiching between effects is unbelivable.
Just in a practice the rest of my band burst out laughing when i went to punch in a distortion & i was greated with silence for at least 1 second (it felt like a life time). I feel that BOSS are cashing in on people that want a wide array of effects at a decent price. i personally took this back to the store and spent my #225 on a DS-1, CH-1, DS-2 & a crybaby. I now rock with pride again.

Very easy to use. You don't even need to really look at the user manual. Very user friendly.

I use either a modified G&L S-500 Strat or a modified Ibanez Jem 77FP hooked up to a modified Roland Blues Cube w/ 3 10" Vintage Celestions. Obviously I have a very good setup here, the only problem is the ME-50. It is quite fake sounding and only sounds good at low volumes. Just try turning the EQ to the acoustic setting and turning your amp up (it sounds terrible). Or try chorus up loud or distortion. Every time an effect it on at high volumes the ME-50 creates a crackly distortion noise that is very unnatural and displeasing to the ear. Sure with some adjustments I can get a decent distortion tone at high volumes but it takes a hell of a lot of work. The wah sounds like ass as well. The only good thing is the reverb which is quite nice. Also it is very bad for live use because with the pre-sets come volume drops when switching from preset to preset. The volume will completely cut out for a second or two. The unit sounds pretty good at low volumes though.

I would never use it live and I don't think you'd want to depend on it.

I play Jazz, Fusion, Metal, Rock, Country, Classical, but mainly Metal and Jazz. It is not a good match because it is not good in all of the different mediums. I've been playing for about 7 years and I teach guitar for a living. I would never buy another one if it were stolen or lost, I plan on getting rid of it as soon as possible. It sounds really good when quiet but don't turn up because you will regret it. I wanted a multi effects processer that was a floorboard, cheap, didn't have any amp modeling, and wouldn't dramatically change the sound of my setup. It appears I'll just have to go and buy a DigiTech G Major. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone unless you just plan on using it for teaching guitar, recording at low volumes, or don't have a lot of money.