Help me decide Boss GT-6B vs ME-50B

[lowendpurveyor]

I'm trying to decide between the Boss GT-6B and the Boss ME-50B. I can get both for a similar price at the moment. I guess the ME-50B is a newer model but is it necessarily better? Is it worth spending extra $$ on a GT-10B. How does the Line 6 Bass Pod compare? Thanks.

[relwof]

Originally Posted by lowendpurveyor

I'm trying to decide between the Boss GT-6B and the Boss ME-50B. I can get both for a similar price at the moment. I guess the ME-50B is a newer model but is it necessarily better? Is it worth spending extra $$ on a GT-10B. How does the Line 6 Bass Pod compare? Thanks.

I had (still have) an original Bass Pod - never really impressed with it (lack of useful sounds, some models were rather noisy). The newer ones might be better.

I've been using a GT-10B for the last few months and so far I'm really happy with it. Very versatile, sounds great. It takes a bit to figure it out, but it's not that hard. I'm not using a lot of crazy effects (mostly EQ, preamp models, and a little reverb for my EUB) but it's great to have multiple setups one step away with really precise, subtle control over your sound - especially when switching between multiple basses.
The only downsides for me with the GT-10B are :

• I wish it has two inputs (although I may eventually be able to get GT-10B patches to run my A/B switch with the amp control relay)

• It's rather wide (21 inches) which makes it harder to design an all-in-one traveling rig like this.

I've heard that it's harder to use the GT-6B, but I suspect it sounds great once you figure it out. Victor Wooten uses a GT-6B, so it must be pretty good.

One other option I might have considered, had I known about it when I got the GT-10B, is the NI GuitarRig Kontrol, which you might want to check out if you have a laptop.

[BluesWalker]

I would get the BOSS GT-10B. I have owned both the ME-50B and the GT-6B. Both of the latter two are very nice.

The ME-50B is really just a Multi-Effects pedal. It is very easy to use. The compressor is very good. Most of the other effects are pretty good but I never found the synth effects to be useful. The expression pedal is ok, I tried to use it as a volume pedal but it didn't seem to be very sensitive: it was either all on or mainly off. Maybe I am too heavy footed. But take a look at the knobs, there are pedal combinations that you cannot access.

The GT-6B is a multi-effects and processor pedal. It is the entry level version with the GT-10B being the all-in version. It is a step up from the ME-50B is you want to get into pre-amp/amp/speaker cabinet processing. The pre-sets are pretty good. It takes time to learn how to setup your own pre-sets but once you figure it out it is pretty easy. Like the ME-50B, there are effects combos that are not accessible.

The GT-10B is a significant expansion of the GT-6B. Many more pre-sets, a lot more user-set options, the ability to hook up to your PC to set/save your patches in case your unit has to be re-booted, no effect conflicts that I have yet to uncover. It is significantly more expensive and takes more time to master, but it is worth it if you are into effects and sound processing.

All of these are built like Tanks as are most BOSS products. Note that you cannot create loops with any of these, some consider this to be a disadvantage and go elsewhere (I benefited from this, the first owner wanted to create loops so he sold it to me at a bargain price to enable him to purchase something else).

[relwof]

Originally Posted by BluesWalker

The GT-6B is a multi-effects and processor pedal. It is the entry level version with the GT-10B being the all-in version.

??? I thought the GT-6B was just older, i.e. it was the flagship "all-in" version when it came out. The GT-10B does more because it's newer, but it's not necessarily a "higher end" model (like the ME-20B vs the ME-50B). Or did I miss something?

[low2groove]

I am not impressed with all in one pedals at all, and I've owned them all over the years. They're a pain to adjust on the fly because of screen and pages you have to wade through. There is also alot of useless crap on them IMHO.

Several years ago I started collecting pedals of all types and I'm much happier when it comes to manipulating those pedals on or off stage. I make up my own short cables out of a 21 ft. bassline monster cable that I cut apart. I use switchcraft angled ends and find very little if any loss of signal. Everything goes through a Radial Bassbone which I can't say enough about.

[relwof]

Originally Posted by low2groove

I am not impressed with all in one pedals at all, and I've owned them all over the years. They're a pain to adjust on the fly because of screen and pages you have to wade through. There is also alot of useless crap on them IMHO.

Several years ago I started collecting pedals of all types and I'm much happier when it comes to manipulating those pedals on or off stage. I make up my own short cables out of a 21 ft. bassline monster cable that I cut apart. I use switchcraft angled ends and find very little if any loss of signal. Everything goes through a Radial Bassbone which I can't say enough about.

Have you really tried the GT10-B? Once you get used to it, you can adjust things pretty quickly "on the fly". One button to select which part of the current effect setup you want to work with, and then you've got four knobs immediately mapped to the most important parameters. Digging deeper than those four does take longer, but then how many stand-alone analog pedals give you more than four knobs? If you do want to get down in the details, you've got a lot more options than most analogs provide.

Also, once you've got it dialed in like you want, you can save that setup. So even if stand alone pedals are one button-click easier than the GT-10B to adjust "on the fly", you have to balance that against the fact that you need to remember and readjust all those knobs by hand every time you want to change to a different sound from that box, instead of simply stepping on a switch to change patches with the GT-10B.

And while they help provide an idea of the extremes flavors available, for performing I agree that "useless crap" describes most of the patches on any all-in-one pedal board I've tried (including the GT-10B). For me, almost all the patches I actually use are ones I created from scratch, starting with everything flat. The flexibility of the EQ, along with a little reverb, work great for my EUB.

IMHO, the main serious potential drawback for the GT10-B would be for effects super-freaks who know exactly what they want from some uber-pedal which the GT10-B can't quite match. But you can get around that by adding those to the GT-10B's effects loop, although it isn't as flexible as something like the TC G-System (which has 5 loops - I suspect that's overkill even for most effectophile bassists).

So while some might find it limiting to be stuck with ONLY a GT-10B, it's still an amazing tool which could complement and probably simplify just about any "traditional" stand-alone pedalboard setup. But I'm not an effects super-freak myself, so feel free to get a second opinion.

[jmattbassplaya]

Originally Posted by relwof

??? I thought the GT-6B was just older, i.e. it was the flagship "all-in" version when it came out. The GT-10B does more because it's newer, but it's not necessarily a "higher end" model (like the ME-20B vs the ME-50B). Or did I miss something?

It is. The guy clearly doesn`t know exactly what he`s talking about.

[BluesWalker]

What I meant to say is that the GT-6B came along first and the GT-10B is a significant upgrade making the GT-6B appear to be like a entry level pedal.

[darkstorm]

I think the GT-10B is very nice and the best of the three. I just prefer the Zoom units for my sound cause is rather picky and just more comfortable with their stuff. I do find the lower end offering by all the companies including zoom to be a bit lacking. But I'll take a nice multi effect unit over pedals any day. They just work beter for me for ready for recording and send to mixer tone.

[GroovinOnFunk]

Originally Posted by relwof

Victor Wooten uses a GT-6B, so it must be pretty good.

I saw Victor this past weekend and was astonished to see that he was using the GT-6B pedal.

Unfortunately, the GT-10B is out of my price range so it's not up for consideration.

I always thought multi-effects processors were a pain to deal with. they always have a huge learning curve and I found that in general the effect from a single pedal is suprior to any single effect in a mutli processor.

However, after seeing victor use his GT-6b, i'm now considering one myself.

I had the ME-50b and didn't like it one bit so I'm worried about investing in the GT-6B.

Part of what I didn't like about the ME-50B though was that it had too few pedals and was tough to adjust on the fly.

Thanks for this thread! I'm trying to decide if I want to sell all my pedals and replace them wiht a GT-6B or not...

[jmattbassplaya]

The GT-6B definitely has a learning curve. A few guys on the forum say it`s easy enough to understand if you read its manual, but I read the manual on multiple occasions and still found it difficult to use and (more importantly) difficult to make it sound good. It`s cool for what it is but it wouldn`t be my top choice unless you can either buy it used or at least try it out first.

[gastric]

I'd choose the GT-6B over the ME-50B. Much more functionality, more patch switching options, great synth effect, and you can NAME your patches in clear English. Even if you don't plan on using the preamp modeling keep in mind that feature is an EXCELLENT tool for shaping your overdrive/fuzz sounds. Much easier to make gross tonal changes with the preamp and/or speaker sim than using just the EQ. That goes for all of the BOSS multi effects including the 1/2 rack units like the SE-70 and VF-1. A lot of people just turn the dirt on, then don't layer in compression, EQ, and preamp and speaker sims to unlock ALL of the options for your dirt sound.

[GroovinOnFunk]

Originally Posted by jmattbassplaya

The GT-6B definitely has a learning curve. A few guys on the forum say it`s easy enough to understand if you read its manual, but I read the manual on multiple occasions and still found it difficult to use and (more importantly) difficult to make it sound good. It`s cool for what it is but it wouldn`t be my top choice unless you can either buy it used or at least try it out first.

i have lots of time on my hands these days so i can sit down and take the time to learn it i think...

i found a used one for under $200... i'm thinkin i can sell 2 of my current pedals and make enough to pay for a GT-6B

[GroovinOnFunk]

with the GT-6B, can you have some effects stay on permanently (for example, maybe compression and fuzz for a particular song) and use the pedals for something else (in this case, wah and fx-1. they're on the same pedal as the comp and od/dist)

does that make sense? so i guess i'm asking if you can have 2 effects that CAN be controlled by the same pedal on at the same time and you just assign 1 of them to the pedal so you can toggle it on and off.

I like to use compression on almost permanently and mostly am wondering if that means I can never use the wah function pedal (not the expression pedal... i mean pedal number 1 of the 5 foot pedals).

this is hard to explain... i hope it makes sense.

[jmattbassplaya]

Sure. You can preset the board so (say) Fuzz and Chorus will instantly come on, and then you can turn those off or add others as you please while playing just by stepping on the switches.

Oh, you mean can one switch turn on two pedals at once? As far as I remember you can`t, but the switches are easy to hit so doing it quickly shouldn`t be hard.

[GroovinOnFunk]

Originally Posted by jmattbassplaya

Sure. You can preset the board so (say) Fuzz and Chorus will instantly come on, and then you can turn those off or add others as you please while playing just by stepping on the switches.

Oh, you mean can one switch turn on two pedals at once? As far as I remember you can`t, but the switches are easy to hit so doing it quickly shouldn`t be hard.

not exactly, what i meant is more this: can you have 2 effects on at once which are labeled on the same pedal? so let's just stick with pedal 1: the one that says comp/wah, for example

can i have compression on permanently in a given bank of effects and then toggle a specific wah from that same patch or bank on and off by using the pedal (and vice versa)

see what i mean now? pedal only used to toggle 1 effect (in this scenario) but 2 effects being used (the comp AND the wah) with the comp permanently on to some predetermined settings

[Sav'nBass]

Originally Posted by GroovinOnFunk

I saw Victor this past weekend and was astonished to see that he was using the GT-6B pedal.

Unfortunately, the GT-10B is out of my price range so it's not up for consideration.

I always thought multi-effects processors were a pain to deal with. they always have a huge learning curve and I found that in general the effect from a single pedal is suprior to any single effect in a mutli processor.

However, after seeing victor use his GT-6b, i'm now considering one myself.

I had the ME-50b and didn't like it one bit so I'm worried about investing in the GT-6B.

Part of what I didn't like about the ME-50B though was that it had too few pedals and was tough to adjust on the fly.

Thanks for this thread! I'm trying to decide if I want to sell all my pedals and replace them wiht a GT-6B or not...

For what it is worth I got my GT10-B right here @ TB for $275 I think it was.. and it is the last effects unit I will ever need.. One reason why I even got it was the price.. I sold my Zoom B2.1u to get it so the cost was even less.. so be a little patient and wait and see what pops up.. I didn't like the Me-50 either.. I chose the Zoom over it.. but there were some things I didn't like about the Zoom.. so far I have no complaints whatsoever about the GT10-B.. One of the guitarists in my band has a GT-10.. the other has a guitar equivalent of the GT-6.. which is pretty decent. From what I have seen if I had to choose between a GT-6 and a Me-50 I'd go with the GT-6.

I recommend that you sit tight and look for something used here on TB.. I see all of those pedals come up from time to time.. I don't use a lot of the effects from my GT-10B. I have about 6 patches that I use regularly out of the 400 available.. but it is nice to have the options and one never knows. If I had to get the separate pedals to dial up the sounds of those 6 patches alone.. the cost that I paid for my GT-10B would be more than worth it. I have yet to have a bad experience from any TBer here.. and I got my Shuttle 6.0, my Schro 1212L and my GT-10B and I sold some stuff here as well without a hitch.

[sandmangeck]

i vote gt10b.save your duckets son. its worth it. trust me

[okcrum]

Just wondering, if you call up a patch on the GT10-B, and you need to tweak something for the room while playing, can you do that in real time, or are you stuck with the patch settings you saved?

[Crowder101]

I own a ME-50B and while it does its job, i didnt find it that impressive.. however, i like the bass boost selection, but im sure just about every pedal has somethin similar.. just my opinion..