Boss SE-70

Very easy, but also has a lot to explore. Download the manual(s), they're great. You can easily set up an expression pedal, latches, midi...

I checked and my system is 1.03. I've seen a 1.06 chip for sale on the net. No idea what it does. Anyone have a clue? I'd love to know.

Ignore previous poster. This unit works just fine and sounds great in the 21st century (as if music recorded in this century sounds better?!). If you try to use it to record a guitar direct to a recorder then you might be disappointed, same as any other processor. It's not the processor's fault. Plug it into a tube amp and mic it, then try to tell me it sounds bad. If it sounds bad, then you don't know how tweak sound. It's stuffed with eq's and enhancers and noise suppressors. Learn how to use them.

I've used this as a guitar effect off and on, depending on what pedals I've had at the time. Now I'm shifting it into service as the main processor for my guitar synth. It is perfect for this application. The Rhodes patch for Rhodes sounds obviously, Rotary patch for the organ sounds (the rotary alone makes the SE-70 a bargain at $150 street!). You can program the rise and fall times of the speaker and horn, set up an on/off pedal to control it, add overdrive if you like... I might even set up the vocoder... Once I get all my patches setup in the GR-30 I'll need to use midi to mate certain gr-30 patches with the appropriate se-70 patches.

Its phaser abilities extend beyond what you will find on any phaser pedal. Same for chorus. If you just want a chorus pedal, buy an se-70 and just use it for that. No stand alone chorus will come close. I've owned a TC Electronic chorus, which sounded great, but like every other chorus pedal it is extremely limited in terms of the variety of tones you can get from it. SE-70 choruses can do things you never thought a chorus could do. If you want a very subtle chorus you can easily dial that in. It also has flanger, vibrato, panner, a feedbacker effect which is very cool, ring mod, delays galore with multi-taps, frequency dampeners, ducking, modulation...

Do you know of a pitch shifter pedal that offers 12 voices and adjustable pre-delay for each? You will not have enough time in your life to discover all the sounds this processor is capable of.

there's also slow gear, compressor/limiter, sampler which can be reversed, guitar tuner... I know I'm forgetting things. oh, wah, auto or expression pedal, very tweakable. amp simulators, ambience, reverbs of course.

I've used the built in guitar synth for recording. You can hit a note and latch it so it holds, then use the frequency cutoff filter for some great sounds. you'd be surprised by the parameters available. portamento, vibrato, wave type, sub-oscillator, fine-tune... I can play synth parts with this and you would not know that I wasn't plating through a moog. seriously. It's well beyond what you can do with those little boss bass synth pedals. just learn how to play so it tracks properly.

It's really still amazing how many odd abilities this little box has. There may never be another processor that comes close in that regard. Mine was $750 new. You can usually buy one off ebay for $125. What are you waiting for? I should buy more of them.

Haha - I've had mine for 16 years. No probs. Would be shocked if it suddenly stopped operating.

no need, but like I said, I've seen a 1.06 software upgrade chip and I'd very much like to know what it does. If anyone knows, or has the time to wade through customer service to find out, I'd love to know.

I play rock in general, leaning to the experimental/progressive/ambient/loopy/spacey side. This thing is like batman's utility belt for that kind of music.

I've been playing close to twenty years. Current gear: the SE-70, Parker Nitefly, Westbury Custom-S, Ibanez RD300, Martin D-15, Epiphone 12-str, samick mandolin, GR-30 guitar synth w/GK-2a, '65 twin reverb, creepy face fuzz, carl martin compressor and overdrive, line 6 delay modeler, akai wah, lexicon vortex, guyatone slow gear, tascam msr-16 reel-to-reel recorder, beringer monitors, old allen and heath system-8 board, RNC compressors, Bellari tube preamps, aphex aural exciter, fostex dmv-8vl recorder, Novation K-station, Fatar midi foot controller (like taurus pedals)...

If stolen, I wouldn't be surprised. I'd replace it, no doubt.

Now this processor is a total rubbish,but in twentieth century this unit is great for studio musicians:)

To get started with it is blindingly easy. You need a manual, and if you want to see why everyone raves over this unit, you need both manuals and time to study it. The presets were not ordered that great so you will want SoundDiver to reorganize it. The presets emphasize its warm analogue distortion a bit too much for my taste, so I mostly edit it to bring out it's other astounding talents.

This is a guitar processor of the gods. It is all there. I'll just go over the four four guitar chains {Stomp box all in a row including slow guitar for a kind of echo, harmonizer (10 voice pitch shift +5 band EQ this is amazing for backup vocal processing as well), Wah with panning delay, dual long FX chains for nice hard L/R fun}. The Vox chain has it all {lim, Desser, EQ, Enhancer, Pitch Shift, Chorus, delay, 5 verbs}. The rhodes, keys, and 2 channel mixer chains are others I find useful use. There are two Vocoders both in chains with eq/chorus/verb.

Then there is the pure stereo in/processing/out FXs which can be used to get higher fidelity sound and more edit parameters. Endless amount of delays, amazing modulations like the 16 stage Super Chorus (it never fails to impress), and all the unexpected things like stereo vocal canceller, stereo key changer, guitar synth (very cool monster cry FX), bass synth.
It can be noisey if you want or not. Noise with some guitar patches is very subjective art form. It allows you to go with noise when you want it, and with some wise tweaks all patches can be cleaned up.
Lastly it colours the sound, adds punchy mid range briteness.

I own two, used in home studio and they are great.

Never needed it.

This is great for guitars (lead & bass), kets, all things you need for vocals and back-up processing. It is interesting and very promising for synths which is where I am exploring more with it. I am not thrilled with the rotary (because I like chorus thrown in which is not the classic leslie sound). However I use the rotary for the most amazing warm overdrive patches (go figure!) Least likely to use it for drums (truly it's only weak area).

Can be used as single stereo FX processer has excellent verbs, however I would likely want to use two as it's 16 stage super chorus is awesome. Least likely to use it for Drums. For dedicated verbs, I would like prefer say a Lexicon MPX-550 or more interesting is the MX400, for dual chains in stereo. Lexicon has an edge in shimmering rooms (excellent for acoustic sounds like piano/sax), but se70 distortion/overdrive/modulations create more interest colour for punchy leads. The Lexicon verbs also have awesome Drum rooms even in the presets. For the dollar it's hard to beat the se70.

Couldn't get much easier than this, although sometimes the menu navigation can get a bit tedious when compared to modern MFX units.

No real need for the manual if you've had hands on experience with this sort of unit in the past.

The main reason for me buying this unit was for the Analogue distortions/overdrives, and in this area it does not dissapoint at all. It has a certain character that is not easily obtained when using it's digital competition.

I use the SE-70 in a studio setting for mainly processing synths, and if you're a fan of Prodigy's "Fat of the Land" album, then you'll know exactly what this box is capable of in that area - it's smeared across the whole album!

The reason I am giving it a nine will be explained in the "overall rating" section.

I have never had any trouble with Boss gear, and I don't expect any with my SE-70 - it is afterall 12 years old already.

Never had to deal with them, touch wood.

The reason I gave this unit a nine in the "sound quality" section is that I also own a Boss VF-1, and I feel that the VF-1 has a way better setup/sound than the SE-70 in terms of Amp-sims, Rotaries, reverbs and Delays - not to mention the way you can rearrange the order of many FX chains.

It's just when you want warm, fuzzy distortions that the SE-70 edges the VF-1 out. A combination of the two would be great!

I have just bought my third SE-70 and I may buy another as there isn't much like them at all. They're very cheap when you compare stomp-boxes or digital MFX, so I can see no reason why anyone would be without one!

By the way, they do seem to get a little hot, so racking them may not be an option depending on your studio. Mine hasn't failed me yet, but it's not closed in either.

It is very easy to get a good sound out of the SE 70 if you spent some time trying with many the parameters of each effect. The actual edditing is very easy. I have the algorithm and basic manual and you need some time to study it before to make use of it propperly. I do not know if this unit is able for firmware upgrade. Any person is able to get some fantastic sounds out of it.

In combination with my marshall stack and eh-50 boss enhancer i can make it sound just the way I want it. If you use the noisegate and other effect levels the right way it can be absolutely noiseless. The distortion is analog and still of one of the best available today. The chorus and reverb,hall and those kind of effects are awsome in stereo and come close to the lexicons and eventides if you know how to dail the right numbers when using the right parameters. The presets can be improved and I do not realy understand why boss can not install the presets more perfect.

I own this SE-70 for about eight years and never has let me down and I am not afraid to go to a gig without a backup. I think that when it will fail, it will fail permanently.....like someone has died. I owned several other multieffect devices and this SE-70 became a reliable old friend.

Never needed any customer support so I wouldn't know.

I play blues, ballands, hardrock and I can get every sound I need out of this little magicbox. If it will get stolen or dies I will certainly try to find another one, although they are hard to find....nobody wants to sell it I guess. I also owned a Boss ME-10 whitch is also a very good device but the SE-70 sounds a little bit better overall...that must be the PRO bit. I also heard the new Boss and Roland stuff and the SE-70 does not need to be replaced by any of them.

After 5 minutes use, it?s really easy to use...having a manual makes life easier. You can download it from the rolandus.com site, but that?s only the owners manual, not the algo manual (which is a MUST to see the different effects chains) as you can?t swap effects?they come in blocks which you modify?don?t take it the wrong way, as you can modify till your sick to death which is great!

My god, I love it?. Apparently it?s half analoge? But I don?t use this for distortions?pitch shifter galore..you?d think this an eventide..the pitch shifting options are many..and guess what? There all great. So are all the other effects.. I do like the reverb also.

Don't press the data wheel in or you'll turn the effect off! These are moments you wish you had a manual....

there ok..emailed roland uk who didnt reply which was annoying, but when i phoned them they bent over backwards including emailing japan for me. Hit and miss as with every company, but it's boss, there big, go with it.

The biggest problem is not having a manual?go out of your way to get it and you?ll discover a million things in the effects department?also little thing that make your life easier ..IE, pushing the data wheel in and scrolling allows faster scrolling. Pressing the opposite direction buttons in whilst pressing the direction you want allows faster moving though the effects algos. These units are great. Love em to bits!

By the way, not sure but i think they are all PRO versions, as i have never seen any which are not...

I'm either very dense - or the SE70 is extremely complicated: I'm constantly surprised by this unit and always finding new things it can do - so I mean "complicated" in a very good way, and I don't really think I'm tooo dense ;-)

I've had mine nearly ten years and only today I discovered something else about it - the reverse pitch shift setting, which allows me to get that beautiful Crystal Echo effect that is available on Eventide units.

The manual only provides the barest information of each aspect (it's two big books - if it gave details, they would be massive!)... it hardly explains that Inv1 and Inv2 are the reverse pitch shifts and it was only when reading about the Eventide and wondering if I could get a similar effect that I realised that THAT was what they were for.

It seems that Boss have put so much detail into the SE70 and then not written about it - if they'd put it in a bigger box and called it a Roland product and said it did everything a studio could need, then its qualities might not have got so hidden - many people think it's a stomp-box, but the SE stands for 'studio effects'.

In the end, Boss went the opposite way, I think, because subsequent multi effects they made were no way near as well featured.

All this complexity AND proffessional lush sound.
This is an incredible unit!

Very straight forward

Excellent- has REAL character, LOVE the sound quality.

I have had 2 for about 10 years, yes they do get quite hot, but never had one problem, tripped carrying one in the studio, launched itself accross the room into the wall, worked fine after that ! v. slight dent.

Blows the socks off the SX-700.
I agree, with whoever made the comment about it being a swiss army knife in the audio department.

In its day this thing was the darling of many major recording studios and there was a big buzz over it. I wanted one when they first hit the market in the 80s but they were very expensive (over 800 bucks!) so I waited till the late 90s to get mine. Well worth waiting for! It is very versatile and easy to operate, but I would recommend that users buy the manuals with it because it has features you'll never even know about if you don't have the manual. Easy to edit patches (pretty self explanatory...follow the menus...) and the direct interface is easy to operate, though it's not as modern as some of the very latest gear. Not a big issue for me. I can create new patches from memory, now! Excellent midi suite. Stereo inputs and outputs for full stereo throughput. It's a 1/2 rackspace unit. In it's day it was a complete "10." Due to the improved interfaces of modern processors, I'll give it a 9. As for the sounds of the unit...

I use this in my home recording studio for instruments and mixdowns. The availability of different sounds / processing parameters is more than anyone could ever use. There's something for every application you could come up with. As a guitarist, I create patches to capture a very large variety of amp types, pickup types and guitar tones,just with the algorythms available for guitar, which are extensive to say the least. Of the 4 types of dedicated guitar chains, there is almost no limit to what you can do. Distortions are excellent, pitch shifting is absolutely beautiful sounding and there are multiple shifters on each channel in the algorythms. Chorusing is shimmery with a few different types available. Flanging, phasing and rotary sounds are all excellent...even by today's standards. The distortions range from barely there to over the top. Some here have compared the SE 70 favorably to Eventide products. I have to agree, if utilized properly.
There is one very important aspect of technique that many users fail to develop. I'm referring to the development of the overall patch volume level and the individual element (compression, distortion, modulation, delay, reverb....) levels present within them. Keep your levels low so that you don't have to rely on noise gating to do what should be done at the patch building process. Noise is inherent in digital signal processing so minimize it the RIGHT way instead of the noise gate approach. I have been going to 8 track tape for years, very quietly through this unit. Less really IS more, when it comes to effects processing.
As for using it as a live gigging tool...I have some experience with it and I was satisfied with it in this arrangement but after a while (I thought it to be overkill for gigging so i took it off the road and bought a cheaper digitech RP 7 pedalboard to do gigs with.)
The Boss SE 70 sounds great through an amp and I had some patches that actually used amp simulation, for playing live.
Someone called this a Swiss Army Knife. It is. It does everything pretty damned well!

These are legendary for their reliablity.

Roland and Boss suck in this area.

I'm aguitarist. I play a wide variety of different styles and I'm a pretty average player. I prefer rhythm playing but I solo, too. I now own a modeling amp for live gigging (simple, easy to set up and use) and I still use the SE 70 at home. I am very pleased to have this processor and it is probably going to remain in my studio forever. I demoed the newer VF 1 from Boss but in the end I found the quality of the sound was better in the SE 70 so I stuck with it even though I can afford the VF 1, these days. There's a "real" feel with the SE 70 that the VF 1 and other digital units can't quite convey as well. I would buy this again and I recommend it (get it with the manuals.)

Spend a few hours with the 2 excellent manuals and it will reward you for years. This was the first digital effects unit I bought, and I got to grips with it no problem. Yes, you only have one data knob, but you can only edit one parameter at a time anyway. And there are shortcuts - like pressing both parameter buttons together the thing skips through the menus really quickly. Its fun, its easy, its logical, its rewarding to operate and there's loads of stuff in there - 100 memories really isn't enough but you can always Sysex dump.

I use this for everything. Guitar effects, keyboard and synth delays and processing, vocals (no, really - you can get a great vocal recording sound with this, using the compressor and chorus in the right amounts). And it has a really useful guitar/pitch tuner built in accessable from one key-press - man, that's so useful for live work with an EMS Synthi AKS. Most of the sounds are at the very least useable, and at best, inspirational. The Vocoder is excellent with lots of parameters to vary, Leslie is great, guitar effects are excellent for recording, reverbs - well perhaps not the best I've heard but when you consider what else this thing does.

I bought it in 1994 and its never let me down, either in the studio or on the road. And I don't take a back-up. Sure, it runs warm, but that doesn't seem to worry it.

Never needed to call them.

I buy and sell a fair bit of equipment but this is staying, its way too useful to part with. I play space rock music, and this provides a huge palette of sounds to work with. Would I buy another if it were stolen - too right, if I could find one. Why did I buy it? I was sold on the advertising that said 'Everything Except the Kitchen Sink', which about sums it up. I use other effects (Zoom, Alesis, Art) and while they may be better in one or two areas like Reverb quality (the Zoom has it!), as an overall package nothing comes close.