Which Multi-FX Processor?

[Fullmetal]

Ok, so I've been thinking of getting a multi-fx processor, and have found a few online. I don't want to spend more than £200 and the current processors that interest me are...

Boss ME-20b (£139.00)
Boss ME-50b (£189.00)
Zoom B2.1u (£125.00)

As this is my first processor I'm curious to know the pros and cons (if any). Also, if anyone owns one of these pedals could I possibly have an opinion on how good it is. Also, if there are any other processors around this price range that are better, please let me know.

Many thanks.

[jblock]

I'm not familiar with those, but I can tell you one not to use, the Vox Tonelab. Sucks the tone out the bass (I know it was made for guitar). I actually like the little Korg red plastic thing that's like 50 bucks: AX3B

[GSPLBASSDC]

Don't know what the exchange rate is...but check this one out...

http://www.bossus.com/gear/productde...?ProductId=413

Probably around $200 used in US dollars.

I've owned one for 6 years and I'm still learning new things it can do...works on basses, guitars, keyboards, mics, and vocorders....

[bassbrock]

Go for the Zoom B2.1u - has a very easy to use interface and the sound quality is fantastic!

I was not as happy with either the interface nor the sounds produced by the Boss models.

[bassistgook]

The boss processors have almost no tweaking of the effects and the zoom is about the same with poor quality sounding effects. If you want a cheap processor i would suggest the digitech bp200. It too has poor quality effects though but at least you can tweak them to make them usable. Remember you get what you pay for. Hope this helps.

[GSPLBASSDC]

Um guys, THIS particular Boss unit has a 24 bit COSM processor and 400 tweakable sound banks... 200 you can create your own sounds.

It's not you typical Boss unit (which I'll agree, there are some lame ones) but one quick read thru the literature and you'll see the difference.

Here are some reviews on it

http://reviews.harmony-central.com/r...Boss/VF-1/10/1

[TerenceSharp]

No tweakability on the ME series? - What are you guys smoking?

I Went for the Me-20b because I am not a heavy effects user but wanted something with some interesting synth effects, a Wah and a few distortions.

Fit the bill perfectly and it does sound really musical.

As I say this bear in mind that till now I've been a "Bass -> amp" guy because I've always liked that Raw Stingray-tone, But I felt I wanted a little exploration, Great piece of kit!

I only feel the Distortions and overdrives lack a bit of "edge" (Really hard to describe) But A Hand-me-down-from-guitarist-who-got-me50 DS-1 has fit that for me.

[WeightedWings]

I can't comment on the other two, but I'll give you my opinions on the ME-50B.

Pros
-Its freaking easy to use. This is what sets it apart from every other Multifx unit I've seen, and was a big influence on why I bought it. It is basically one giant stompbox, so if you're like me and don't want to have to deal twiddling about with a bunch of numbers on a screen and just want to be able to plug and play, this is the best one out of them.
-Its actually got a surprising number of really good sounds. If I remember correctly, its distortion, filters, and compression were a bit weak, but its modulation and delay were ace. Also it has a semi-parametric EQ which is a nice feature. The tuner works well, though its definitely not one of those super duper accurate strobe ones. I thought the foot pedal had an ok sweep, but thats more a personal preference thing. All in all, it was more or less impossible to get a bad sound out of it, though some were more mediocre than others.
-Its pretty freaking diesel. I'm not sure you could break this thing under normal circumstances to be honest.

Cons
-As mentioned before, some of the distortions and filters aren't that great. They're solid, but they don't really wow you.
-If you prefer tweaking values the way that most multifx users have to, then this doesn't do that at all. It still allows you to save presets and whatnot, but you have to do it the old fashioned way.
-Unlike the digitech ones, the whammy feature is limited to only +1 or -1 octave sweeps, so don't expect to be doing the Justin Chancellor thing with it.


I have also played on a few digitech ones. Their floor models pretty much universally suck. On the other hand, they have an older rack unit that's really nifty that I'm blanking on at the moment. I think it had a preamp tube or something in it and it usually goes for pretty cheap, but it had some pretty nice reverb and delay setting and full whammy functionality with a midi pedal.

[MetroBass]

The little know Digitech BP-50 has a lot of bag for the buck: amp modeling, fretless /reg wah, compressor, noise gate, EQ (L,M,H) chorus/Mod, delay, reverb. Different samples in each category, i.e., (Amps: Ampeg SVT, B15, Bassman, Sunn2005, SWR Interstellar overdrive, etc., plus each is adjustable between 1-10. Oh the drum machine, cab modeling and tuner are thrown in at no extra cost. You can select/sequence all or none of the effects in 40 presets and it comes with 40 additional factory presets.

Had the ME-50B and sold it. This is definitely worth the $70.00 and should be on your list.

[tapp01]

Boss ME-50B FTW! I love mine to pieces.

[Crystalman85]

If you want another choice for a multi-effects processor, I would recommend a korg "toneworks" ax3000b. it's got a large variety of effects, amp and cab models at a very affordable price. it's stage-friendly and it works well in recording music.