Boss ME-50

Journey55 · #1 07-02-2011, 10:19 PM

I recently played my friend's Boss ME-50 with his guitar (I didn't have my bass with me) and I thought it sounded pretty awesome and it wasn't confusing as some of the other digital effects pedals. I was wondering if anyone's played a bass through it/how it sounds/any suggestions for other multi effects pedals, I'm totally against the whole digital menu thing though

Joe Nerve · #2 07-02-2011, 10:28 PM

I had an me50 and sold it off pretty quickly. It seems (in theory) simple enough, but wound up being just as (or more) compicated to program, save and use than some digital effects I've owned. In all fairness, I didn't spend a whole lot of time getting to learn them, but I also wasnt very motivated by what they could do. The distortions were ok, the snyths were completely useless, as were the octave effects which I really wanted to use it for. I bought a ZOOM B9.1ut, and I think it's light years away from the Boss. A lot easier for me to program and use, a lot more capabilities, synths that sound great, and way more tweakability.

Bass-desires · #3 07-02-2011, 10:42 PM

I have one, not super easy to use, but a heck of a lot easier than the Digitech low(er) end multi effect pedals. Really if you don't mess with the delay too much, most everything is easily handled. It sounds good, I do think it loses a touch on the low end of freq range but it could be my imagination, it doesn't however want to tune very well. Mine, tunes my electric guitar just fine, but it usually puts the bass a little off consistently for some reason. I might use it tomorrow at church and let you know how it rolls through some subs.

audiomitch · #4 07-02-2011, 11:08 PM

There are two versions - a ME-50 and a ME-50B. The "B" version is voiced for bass, and offers significantly different effects. I had an ME-50, and while I never tried it on bass, I ended up selling it in favor of separate pedals.

I still own an ME-50B, but rarely use it. It's "OK" for generic effects, but it's cumbersome to use and transport. I have to admit I don't use a lot of effects on bass anyway.

matt descending · #5 07-03-2011, 11:06 AM

I own, and have gigged for years with the ME50B. I know this term is overused, but it really is built like a tank. At practice (2 different bands), I play through poor p.a. systems and am able to dial in a decent tone very quickly. Let me list what I feel are the best features:

Rugged!
Built in tuner
Volume/expression pedal
Compressor
Easy, stompbox style interface.

And the drawbacks:

Memory mode lag time. When switching between saved presets, their is a 1/4 to 1/2 second lag. It's not like simply switching pedals on. If you won't be tapdancing during a song, this is a non-issue.

Lame synth sounds. I can't for the life of me dial in anything remotely usable, and when I have, I certainly couldn't recreate it a second time. But this is not the type of unit you would be using in most situations that require a synth sound.

I leave this unit in the basic stompbox mode with a little compression, sonic enhancer, natural tube growl, chorus/reverb and the expression pedal set to resonance filter (which gives a better filter sweep than the wah). Having a volume pedal is priceless.

I would totally recommend this unit to anyone at the beginner to intermediate level as it will introduce you to a world of effects and is rugged enough to last for years.

As a bonus, with enough knob twisting, I can get my baritone guitar to sound like a les paul through a marshal stack, even through my bass amp. I would totally buy this again if it were lost or stolen.

BassAsAHobby · #6 07-03-2011, 09:17 PM

Consider the Digitech BP355. Very easy to use (once you get to know it). Programming is simple: Tweak, push store twice...name it if you want...done. Very great sounding unit. And it is built like a tank....solid and rugid (I dropped mine off a table onto a hard floor and nothing broke or came loose). It has drum patterns to jam to. The looper is great(20 secs....enough to lay a four bar blues jam to solo over). There are a few glitchy models, such as the octaver but the pitch effect can cover that.

StanSzymanskiJr · #7 07-03-2011, 09:29 PM

I have personally had an ME-50B on my pedalboard for the last 5 years, putting approx. 1,100 gigs on it and it has *never* let me down! It solves my need for:
-a volume pedal
-a good, simple onboard compressor (I usually run a little bit of compression on my amp as well
-a great tap delay (which I use everyday as a solo bassist on my looping gigs)
-very good overdrive options which I use to bring out harmonics while soloing
-a nice 'enhance' option I use quite a bit for my slapping
-the reverb on the ME-50b if -great- for recording chords, solos and harmonics....

Using an 'all in one' unit like the ME-50B solves lots of the 'gain staging' problems that one can get with a million boxes cabled together...

Wish I could get an endorsement deal with BOSS! I own two ME-50b's and love them!